Hi Everyone,

I hope this finds you doing well & that you have been enjoying these coolish spring days.

Our next ALERT meeting will be May 8 and will feature our annual elections.

If you are a paid up Operational or Supporting Member, which is a member interested in Amateur Radio, Skywarn or Emergency Communications, but doesn’t have a ham license (yet), you may vote in the 2018 – 2019 ALERT leadership elections.

The officers will assume their positions at the July meeting.

We will also be voting on Proposed Amendment 7, which was published in last month’s newsletter at the May 8 meeting.

I hope to see you there!

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Then & Now
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Monitoring Distress Frequencies

The concept of regularly monitoring certain frequencies for distress signals has been around for a long time, for over a century, in fact. After the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the Third International Radiotelegraphic Convention set regulations designating 500 kHz or 600 Meters as an international distress frequency, and for 86 years, from 1913 to 1999 the US Coast Guard, similar services of other nations and vessels at sea would maintain a 24 hour watch on 500 kHz, handling countless SOS calls and medical emergencies at sea, at first using spark gap CW transmissions and later the standard CW signals which we are familiar with today.

One problem that was encountered was that non-emergency communications were also allowed and routinely being conducted on this single frequency. How could a distress signal hope to break through the racket?

To solve this, the following rule was implemented: “Coastal stations engaged in the transmission of long radiograms … and shipboard stations working under the conditions….shall suspend work at the end of each period of 15 minutes and listen in with a wave length of 600 meters during a period of three minutes before resuming the transmission.”

When working distress traffic, all non-distress traffic was banned from 500 kHz and adjacent coast stations then monitored 512 kHz as an additional calling frequency for ordinary traffic.

The silent and monitoring periods were soon expanded and standardized. The 1914 “Radio Communication Laws of the United States”, stated ”operators of all coast stations are required, during the hours the station is in operation, to ‘listen in’ at intervals of not more than 15 minutes and for a period not less than 2 minutes, with the receiving apparatus tuned to receive this wave length, for the purpose of determining if any distress signals or messages are being sent and to determine if the transmitting operations of the ‘listening station’ are causing interference with other radio communication.”

As a visual memory aid, in a ship’s radio room would have a clock that would have the silence periods marked by shading the sectors between hour +15 to hour +18 and hour +45 to hour +48 in RED. Similar sectors between hour +00 to hour +03 and hour +30 to hour +33 marked in GREEN were added later which was the corresponding silence period for the new 2.182 MHz USB voice communications distress signals.

Another problem that was encountered was interference from the broadband spark gap transmissions from non-commercial radio experimenters. There is a theory that the marine radio operators coined a derogatory term for these “amateur radio operators”. “I can’t hear anything for these ‘hams’”, they would say. This may be the reason why we are called “hams” today.

To solve this problem, the pesky “hams” were shifted to the “useless wavelengths” above 200 Meters, or 1500 kHz.

The use of the 500 kHz frequency was discontinued in 1999 in favor of The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which set safety procedures, types of equipment, and communication protocols used to increase safety and make it easier to rescue distressed ships, boats and aircraft.

GMDSS consists of several systems, including Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) using the Cospas-Sarsat satellite-based search and rescue system on 406.0 & 406.1 MHZ, Navtex, an international, automated system for instantly distributing via text maritime safety information, including navigational warnings, weather forecasts and weather warnings, search and rescue notices and similar information to ships.

A small, low-cost and self-contained “smart” printing radio receiver is installed on the bridge, or the place from where the ship is navigated, which monitors 518 kHz in English. 490 kHz is sometime used to broadcast in a local language.

MF and VHF maritime radio still play a vital part of the GMDSS system, including VHF Marine Channel 16 156.800 MHz and 2.182 MHz USB used for distress, safety and calling.

Though the requirement to maintain a listening watch aboard GMDSS-equipped ships on 2.182 MHz ended in 1999, it is still required that ships operating off the U.S. coast and radio equipped vessels operating on inland rivers and lakes monitor Marine Channel 16.

This is very similar to aviation protocols of ground stations and aircraft monitoring the aircraft distress frequencies 121.500 MHz for civilian aircraft and 243.00 MHz for military aircraft.

Hams & CONELRAD

During the Cold War another monitoring program involved hams.

From 1957 to 1962, hams were required to monitor a local broadcast station at intervals of 10 minutes or less whenever they were operating, and if the broadcast station went off the air due to an emergency, hams had to leave the air as well.

Several companies marketed special receivers that monitored local broadcast stations, sounding an alarm and automatically deactivating the amateur’s transmitter when the broadcast station went off the air.

One was the Heathkit CA-1 “’Automatic’ CONELRAD Alarm Kit

In the event of an incoming nuclear attack by the Soviet Union, to prevent the Soviet long range bombers form using America’s broadcast stations as homing beacons, as the Japanese did when they used the signals from Honolulu’s KGMB (now KSSK) 590 kHz and KGU 760 kHz to lead their aircraft to Pearl Harbor, or as German bombers also did when attacking cities in Europe.

In the event of an emergency, all United States television and FM radio stations were required to stop broadcasting.

Most AM medium-wave stations would shut down, and a system called CONELRAD – Control of Electromagnetic Radiation, would be implemented.

CONELRAD had a simple system for alerting the public and other “downstream” stations, consisting of a sequence of shutting the station off for five seconds, returning to the air for five seconds, again shutting down for five seconds, returning to the air again for five seconds, and then transmitting a 1 kHz tone for 15 seconds. Key stations would be alerted directly. All other broadcast stations would monitor a designated station in their area.

The stations that stayed on the air would transmit on either 640 or 1240 kHz. They would transmit for several minutes and then go off the air, and another station would take over on the same frequency in a “round robin” chain. The 640 and 1240 AM frequencies were selected to confuse enemy aircraft Radio Direction Finders or RDF’s, as it would be very difficult for enemy aircraft with RDF to get a “lock” on any signal accurately.

By law, radio sets manufactured between 1953 and 1963 had these two frequencies marked by the triangle-in-circle, or “CD Mark”, the symbol of Civil Defense.

As simplistic as it may sound now, it wasn’t a bad idea for the time.

The CONELRAD system ended with the implementation of the Emergency Broadcast System in 1963, which in turn was superseded by the Emergency Alert System in 1997, which is in use today.

REACT

At this point in our discussion, an honorable mention should be given to a group called REACT – the Radio Emergency Associated Communication Team.

Starting in 1962 these souls took on the unenviable task of monitoring 27.065 MHz, also called CB Channel 9, for emergency calls.

During the 1960’s very little activity was heard on the CB band. This I know because one Christmas, when I was 7 or 8 years old, I was given some Channel 14 walkie talkies (no one called them HT’s back then) which I and my brother played with. These, sets, while being crystal controlled for transmit, had very wide open receivers, receiving anything in the 11 Meter band, because they were basically junk. During the brief time we used them, I heard only one other station come through the ether.

Ten years later, in 1976, I found one of the pair in the closet and out of curiosity popped a 9 volt battery in and thought the receiver must have been shot, as there were dozens upon dozens of people doubling, tripling, cussing and screeching on top of each other.

The CB Boom was booming.

Two factors made the CB Boom the disaster that it was. One being that it was the fad of the day which suddenly plopped two million people into 23 channels, soon to be increased to 40, seemingly drawing every lunatic on the planet. The second factor was that the boom hit just as the sunset cycle was heading towards its peak. So not only did you have to deal with the local nut cases, you had a few hundred thousand intimate friends from California dumping in on you via the ionosphere as well.

Why the FCC would create a service meant for local communications in a DX band is still hard to comprehend.

If you have a CB, which I still do, the same old 23 channel Midland from 1976, and you listen, while you can still on occasion hear some of the same shenanigans you could hear back “in the day”, it is a pale comparison to the muddled maelstrom of muck it was back then. But, to be fair, even back then, though it didn’t seem as such, more operators than not wanted and tried to operate in as “proper a fashion” as they knew how, as many were or later would became hams.

Though REACT is still in existence, there are no longer any REACT Teams in Alabama. The closest listed teams are Units 4623 in Macon GA, 6251 in Etowah, TN & 6191 in Crestview FL.

Those still active rarely use CB, having added FRS, GMRS, Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS), Trunked radio systems, business band radio (LMR) and even amateur radio to their operations. Their original purpose, to monitor CB, has largely gone by the wayside.

Through it all REACT has tried their best to pull signals out of the chaos and help their fellow man. Which is to be commended.

The BARC Notification Proposal

Back to ham radio, in the 1980’s, before the idea of ALERT was conceived, there was a proposal among some of the local hams involved in Emergency Communications, namely the operators which BARC would send to the NWS when it was located in Homewood, that a system be implemented where hams could be better alerted if an emergency arose and that they needed to activate.

Remembering that in the 1980’s email & cellphones did not yet exist and pagers were few and far between, most notifications were done by a telephone call tree, which was cumbersome, but, the best method they had.

Birmingham’s ham radio landscape had grown to include six repeaters, the BARC repeater then 146.94 MHz, Hop Hayes K4TQR and Henry Wingate K4HAL’s 146.76 MHz repeater, Ronnie Pitts 146.88 MHz repeater, which would later to be donated to BARC. 146.94 had a better location and 146.88 was a better frequency which wouldn’t interfere with Huntsville, as would occasionally happen, and since the 94 & 88 repeaters were identical, they swapped crystals, and 94 became the 88 we know and love today. 94 later became the 145.45 repeater and years later was converted to D-Star. There was also the 147.14 aka the “Hueytown Repeater”, WA4MHO’s 147.33 repeater and 147.28, the Telephone Pioneer Repeater. There were also one, maybe two 440 MHz repeaters.

None of these repeaters were “toned”, for with the exception of repeaters on the West Coast, PL toned repeaters were not in vogue, or really necessary at that point. In fact, PL toned repeaters were sometimes mistakenly considered a sign of ham radio snobbery, akin to the imagery of the term “closed repeater”. Which in turn was viewed, rightly or wrongly, as a “we want us four, no more on here”, approach which did and does exist in certain locales and circles.

The Shelby County repeater had not yet found a permanent home on the radio dial, which is worthy of a story of its own.

Shelby County needed a repeater and the Repeater Council gave them a frequency. But, as luck and bad Karma would dictate, that frequency did not work out, nor would the next, nor would the ones that followed. Try as they may, every pair they were given would interfere with someone over the horizon, or vice versa or end up having a spur from an FM broadcast station blasting in.

The radio terminology has evolved over the years, and at this time when referring to a repeater frequency they would mention the input as well as output, as some repeaters had reverse offsets. For instance 146.88 MHz was called 28/88, 146.76 MHz was 16/76 and so on.

Using the terminology of the day, Shelby County tried 147.63/03, 147.715/115, and some weird 43 frequency, as I recall, all to no avail. Then they decided to try 147.385 MHz or 985/385. It was a “splinter frequency” ending in a 5 and was a reverse combination of anything out there.

That would cure the problem….almost, anyway.

As is the natural cycle of things, every morning as the Sun rises, the Sun heats up the upper and then mid layers of the atmosphere, while the lower levels remain cold or colder. Warm air topping cold air is a temperature inversion, and those will trap radio signals, sending them far beyond the horizon. It’s a daily occurrence, sometimes weak, sometimes strong. Sometimes only a few minutes, sometimes beyond noon, but, it is fairly reliable, and is independent of the Sun’s quirky ways.

There was this one stinking repeater in Kentucky on the exact opposite frequencies, 385/985. Every morning someone here or there would key up one repeater which in turn would key up the other repeater and they would lock up. They would time each other out, revive, and do it again, hour upon hour, with a screech that the memory of makes my skin crawl today.

Finally, perhaps in desperation they decided to reverse the frequency pair and detune it down 5 kHz to 146.38/98 MHz, which by some miracle worked, which is why the Shelby County repeater is on 146.98 MHz today.

But, back to the BARC proposal, it was proposed that they take a repeater, probably on 2 meters, maybe on 440, and normally run it without a PL tone. If an emergency occurred the Net Control Station or Repeater Trustee would activate a transmit PL tone, the purpose of which was to break the PL toned squelches of radios at home, which would be monitoring 24/7, but, normally remain silent, as the normal signal and random chitchat wouldn’t break the PL toned squelch and drive operators crazy, especially at 3 AM in the morning.

The plan, though interesting, was never implemented. Possibly due to the cost of the equipment, as tone encoding radios were still fairly new and expensive, and perhaps due to the NWS moving to Shelby County, and then ALERT being formed not that long after.

Incidentally, ALERT used Alpha pagers for callout notifications in its early days, and now of course we use text messaging and email for callout announcements.

One thing we learned to avoid was accidentally saying “we will need help at the NWS” as you could easily get random guys just showing up, usually well meaning, sometimes just to impress their buddies, but clueless in either case, the babysitting of which would just hamstring operations.

The Wilderness Protocol

In February 1994 N6XMW, William Alsup of Oakland California proposed in QST Magazine a “’Wilderness Protocol’ for the effective simplex use of handheld VHF and FM transceivers in the Backcountry.””

The proposed frequency range was two meters, with the National Simplex Calling Frequency 146.52 MHz being suggested.

It was reported in the August 1995 QST that there was “’enthusiastic support of the proposal’ and it was reminded to spread the use of the protocol.”

QST feature editor Brian Battles, WS1O added “Remember, though, this protocol won’t work if it’s only used by hams who need to call for help – someone else has to be listening.” Alsup’s original proposal was only for 2 meter use, but Battles urged hams to, “Check the national calling frequencies on all bands for which you’re equipped, and give your call sign once or twice so that others will know you’re there.”

The Wilderness Protocol is now included in the ARRL ARES Emergency Resources Manual. Per the manual, the protocol is:

“The Wilderness Protocol calls for hams in the wilderness to announce their presence on, and to monitor, the national calling frequencies for five minutes beginning at the top of the hour, every three hours from 7 AM to 7 PM while in the back country. A ham in a remote location may be able to relay emergency information through another wilderness ham who has better access to a repeater.”

Though this concept was originally designed to be used mainly in the wilderness settings, it’s not just for hikers, back packers, or similar situations. It is also available for anyone anywhere to use anytime assistance is needed.

Recommended procedures for the “Wilderness Protocol” are as follows:

MONITOR THE PRIMARY CALLING FREQUENCY: 146.520 MHz and or any of these
SECONDARY FREQUENCIES: 52.525 MHz, 223.500 MHz, 446.000 MHZ and 1294.500 MHz.

MONITOR TIMING: Every 3 hours starting from 0700 Hours local time, on the hour until 5 minutes past the hour. Listen from 7:00-7:05 AM, 10:00-10:05 AM, 1:00-1:05 PM, 4:00–4:05 PM and 7:00-7:05 PM.

ALTERNATE TIMING: From 06:55 to 07:05, etc., beginning at 5 minutes before till 5 minutes after, to allow for differences in peoples watch settings. You can always listen for longer if you wish.

ENHANCED MONITORING: Some suggest extending the monitoring time by extending adding 10:00-10:05 PM. Fixed stations or portable stations with enough battery power levels listen every hour. Continuous Monitoring is also an option.

LISTENING / MONITORING: Listen to the calling frequencies until 4 minutes past the hour, and then make a few calls asking if there are stations listening that may need assistance. This calling traffic should only start at 4 minutes after the hour preceded by listening for 30 seconds, unless of course you’re the one making an emergency call.

LISTEN FIRST: Then call CQ with short transmissions.

Note: 146.520 MHz is a CALLING FREQUENCY. Make your Calls, and then move off the frequency so others can use the frequency. Suggested frequencies to move to: 146.550 MHz, 146.430 MHZ, etc.

PRIORITY TONE SIGNALS: Suggested for Priority Radio Transmissions ONLY, using LONG TONE ZERO (abbreviated LiTZ).

USING THE LONG TONE ZERO: Begin calls for assistance with about 10 seconds of tone by keying up and holding down the zero key to continuously transmit the zero DTMF tone (hence: LONG TONE ZERO). Then proceed to make your emergency call. This should help those listening to realize that an emergency or priority call is coming through.

Some addition thoughts by Bob Witte, K0NE of Colorado are:

“The Wilderness Protocol is a good idea but is overly complex for practical use. Here’s my proposal to make it much simpler for practical backcountry use:

Principle #1: Don’t ever rely on a radio or mobile phone to get you out of trouble in the backcountry. Your primary strategy must be self-sufficiency. Avoid trouble. Be prepared for the unexpected.

Principle #2: Know what repeaters are available in your area. We have many wide coverage repeaters available but you need to know the frequency, offset and CTCSS tone (if any)….

Principle #3: In remote areas, monitor 146.52 MHz as much as possible. This applies to backcountry travelers, mobile stations and fixed stations.”

Distress Signals

One subject that should be emphasized in ham training is how to get help via amateur radio. Do you really know how to seek help?

Just saying “Hey can someone out thar call the pair of medics over to the Wall Smart” just might not suffice, especially if they don’t say which Wall Smart they mean.

This is as useless as someone calling you on the phone and saying “CALL 911!” and hanging up. Send them where? Why? Who – police or fire department?

How do you transmit a distress call on a radio? I’m glad you asked.

Now the following is to be used only for bonifide EXTREME emergencies. Using it in any other case and you could end up making license plates.

Distress calling procedure:

1. Tune to your local Club, ARES / Skywarn frequency or the most heavily populated frequency you know of or 146.520 Simplex.
2. If you hear stations on frequency, break in and attempt to contact them.
3. If they hear and acknowledge you, calmly give your situation, remembering the “who, what, where, when and why” rules. Then wait at the location for help. Don’t wander off. That turns a rescue into a search and rescue. In 99% of the cases STAY PUT.
4. If it seems no one has heard you, or you can’t hit the repeater, then you will have to “broadcast in the blind”. Don’t let the words “broadcast in the blind” scare you. You do this every time you send a CQ or throw your call out on a silent repeater seeking a contact. If you are on a repeater frequency and can turn the offset or frequency shift off, transmit Simplex on the repeater output. That’s where people listen. They may hear your faint signal.
5. Say slowly and clearly the words “MAYDAY” three times.
6. Say, “This is” and give your call sign three times and your name once.
7. Give your position as exact as possible. Give your address, or street / cross street, or highway mile marker (you do you pay attention to those little green signs, don’t you?) or if you have GPS, your latitude and longitude. Or give your distance to any well-known landmark that may help rescuers locate the incident location. Use the best or most logical options you have. Giving latitude and longitude, when you know the street and cross street is a little kooky. Use common sense.
8. Give the nature of the emergency – medical, fire, criminal, etc.
9. Indicate the type of assistance required – police, EMS, etc.
10. Say “over” and listen.

Example:

“Mayday – Mayday – Mayday. This is WD4NYL, WD4NYL, WD4NYL. My name is Mark Wells. I’m located on Highway 45 near Johnson Road. I’ve just been in an accident and I’m trapped in my car. Please call 911 and send the fire department. Over”.

If someone responds, great! If not, there is a decent chance someone listening on a scanner could be calling 911.

If you hear no response, repeat the above for two minutes and then listen for three. If still no answer, to save your batteries, cut off the radio and wait until the top of the hour and begin calling again. It’s good if you indicate that you are going to do this, so someone listening will know to listen again.

Now let’s complicate things a bit. Suppose you are the only one who can hear the distress signal, but, no one can hear you either. Guess it’s just tough luck for that Dude, right? “Oh well, probably an <insert team of your choice> fan anyway. Cest le vie and all that…”

Not necessarily, as there is also a procedure for relaying a Mayday.

Example:

“Mayday Relay – Mayday Relay – Mayday Relay. This is WD4NYL, WD4NYL, WD4NYL. My name is Mark Wells, I am receiving a Mayday from Joe Blow. He is located on Highway 45 near Johnson Road. He has been in an accident and is trapped in his car. Please call 911 and send the fire department. Over”.

This method is the recommended procedure for marine radios and can be effectively used on both the ham bands or on the 11-meter band.

And, yes, even though we may cuss it, every amateur in emergency communications or planning on going on a trip, should have a CB radio stashed somewhere in their “tool chest”.

Repeaters may die; whole forests of repeaters may be uninhabited just when you need someone the most, or you may get stuck somewhere between the Podunk and Possum Hollow repeaters. But, chances are some Bubba is listening on Channel 9 or even more likely on Channel 19. He may call 911…. or he may just come in his dually and help haul you out of that ditch.

Giving oneself multiple options is savvy move, one that could save your life someday.

Always have one or more backup plans.

(Special Thanks to Michael Lamb, KK4OHW who suggested this article.)

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Mark’s Almanac

May is the fifth month & third month of the Roman calendar. May is named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with, Bona Dea, the Goddess of Fertility, who was celebrated in May.

Since ancient times the first day of the month, “May Day” has been a time of celebration. In Rome it honored Flora, the goddess of flowers.

On May the fifth Mexican’s celebrate Cinco De Mayo, the celebration Mexico’s 1862 victory over Napoleon III’s forces at Puebla. This is not, as many assume, Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually on September 16.

Rainfall decreases in May as the Azores-Bermuda High strengthens, expands Westward over the Southeastern US & begins rerouting storm systems northward.

The door opens to the Gulf of Mexico & Gulf moisture spreads northward over the continent.

The center of maximum tornadic activity also shifts northward over the Nation’s Heartland. May is the peak tornado month, with a 42% increase over April’s amount.

Eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15, and although the North Atlantic hurricane season has not arrived, occasionally a tropical system will form in the Gulf of Mexico. From 1851 to 2016 there have been 23 Tropical Storms and 5 Hurricanes, including an 1863 Category 2 storm, the knowledge of which is based on historical reanalysis by NOAA’s Michael Chenoweth and Cary Mock in 2013 and posthumously given the name Hurricane Amanda, named after, a Union ship the storm washed ashore. It made landfall near Apalachicola Florida.

60% of off-season Hurricanes occur in May

After the costliest Atlantic hurricane season in history last year, early forecasts indicate 2018 will be above average.

Look for 14 named storms, and there’s a greater than normal chance of a major system striking the U.S., according to Colorado State University.

Seven storms could become hurricanes this year and three storms may reach Category 3 or stronger according to the forecast. There’s a 63 percent chance the continental U.S. will get hit by a major hurricane, compared with the 20th Century average of 52 percent.

Days continue to grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon increases from 71.43 degrees at the beginning of the month to 78.6 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight increases from 13 hours 31 minutes on May 1 to 14 hours 13 minutes on May 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

May 1 Sunrise 5:59 AM Sunset 7:30 PM
May 15 Sunrise 5:47 AM Sunset 7:40 PM
May 30 Sunrise 5:38 AM Sunset 7:51 PM

Looking towards the sky, Mercury is very low, deep in the glow of sunrise.

Brilliant Venus, magnitude -3.9 shines brightly in the west in twilight. It doesn’t set now until about a half hour after nightfall becomes complete. On May 15th Venus well be at perihelion, or her closest distance to the Sun, 66.8 million miles.

In a telescope Venus is slightly gibbous, being 90% sunlit.

Mars, magnitude -0.2 in Sagittarius rises around 2 AM.

Mars is brightening on its way to an unusually close opposition, or close distance to Earth in late July.

Jupiter, shining very brightly at magnitude -2.5 in Libra, rises around the end of twilight after dark and shines as the brightest point in the sky after Venus sets. He is approaching his closest approach to Earth, or Opposition, 409 million miles, on May 9th so it appears about as bright and big as he will get this year. He is highest in the south, presenting the sharpest views in a telescope, being fully illuminated by the Sun around 1 or 2 AM daylight-saving time.

This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details in Jupiter’s cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons, appearing as bright dots on either side of the planet.

By dawn he is getting low in the southwest.

Saturn, magnitude +0.4 in Sagittarius rises around 2 AM, with Mars to the lower left.

This region of the sky has always been one of my favorite places to explore with binoculars, as you are looking into Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way and toward the center of the galaxy. Give me a dark sky away from the city lights, a pair of binoculars, and I will easily become lost for hours draped on a car hood drifting among the star clouds and nebulae of Sagittarius. It’s almost like really being “up there”.

Uranus is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

Neptune is deep the glow of dawn.

The Moon will be at Apogee, or her farthest point from the Earth on May 5 at a distance of 251319 Miles.

The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower, an above average shower, peaks May 6 & 7. It is capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak, but, most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour, which is still a decent shower. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, due to return in a mere 43 years in the summer of 2061. The shower runs annually from April 19 to May 28. It peaks this year on the night of May 6 and the morning of the May 7. The waning gibbous moon will block most of the fainter meteors this year, but you should be able to catch quite a few good ones if you are patient. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

New Moon will occur May 15 at 6:48 AM CDT or 11:48 UTC. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky This is the best time of the month to observe faint deep sky objects such as galaxies and star clusters, as there will be no moonlight to wash out the evening sky.

The Moon will be at Perigee, or her closest point from the Earth on May 17 at a distance of 226041 Miles.

Full Moon will occur May 29th at 9:19 AM CDT or 14:19 UTC. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. May’s Moon is “Flower Moon” in Native American folklore, because of the abundance of spring flowers. It has also been called “Corn Planting Moon” & “Milk Moon”.

3725 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of April 26, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

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This month’s meeting will be on May 8 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport.

If for some reason you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can still participate via telephone. The teleconference number is 1-877-951-0997 & and the participant code is 741083.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/

Mark’s Weatherlynx
Weather Resource Database

Hi Everyone,

Spring has sprung as they say, but, there is still a chill in the air. My Mom always said “it turns cold for Easter” and more times than not that has proven to be true.

As the Spring progresses so do the lawns needing attention, the campgrounds wanting a visit and us balancing needs vs wants, along with time available, which always seems to be in short supply.

But, such is life.

However busy your schedule may be, make sure to schedule time for YOU, for you deserve time and attention also, and remember that life was not designed to be lived on the sidelines. So go have some fun.

Just a brief reminder, that our next ALERT meeting will be on Tuesday April 10. At this meeting the Nominating Committee will issue its recommendations for the upcoming ALERT elections in May. Nominations from the floor will be allowed the night of the elections in May.

I hope to see you there!

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Proposed Amendment 7

To all ALERT Voting Membership (Operational Members and Support Members):

The Board of Directors has approved the following proposed amendment to go to a vote of the membership.

The purpose of this amendment is to better define and outline actions that ALERT’s Board of Directors would take, in the unlikely event that disciplinary action might need to be taken with one of its own. In the spirit of amateur radio’s commitment to furthering good-will, we are also seeking to make it fair to members if such a controversy ever occurs, with appropriate levels of response.

Bylaws Excerpt for Process:

Article XV, Section 1.

The Bylaws of ALERT may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at any regular meeting, provided the following has been observed:

The proposed amendment must be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors and read by the secretary at a regular meeting.

Written notice of at least one month has been given to the voting membership.

The proposal then shall be discussed and voted on at the next regular meeting.

Proposed Amendment 7, as approved by the Board of Directors (to be read at the April 10 meeting; this is part of the written notice requirement):

Amendment 7

Section 1

All members shall at all times comply with the Rules and Bylaws of the Alabama Emergency Response Team, local, state and federal laws or the norms of civilized conduct.

Section 2

Should members be charged with misconduct, as defined by the Rules and Bylaws of the Alabama Emergency Response Team, local, state and federal laws or the norms of civilized conduct, they shall be held accountable to a formal review by the Board of Directors.

Section 3

If after review by the Board of Directors it is recommended that action should be taken, dependent on the severity of the offense, the following actions will be taken:

1. The member shall be approached by two or three members designated by the Board of Directors and discuss the situation with that member.

2. If the member continues to act inappropriately, the member will be sent a formal Letter of Reprimand from the Board Of Directors, informing the member that should said behavior continue, that member will be expelled from membership from ALERT.

3. If after review by the Board of Directors it is recommended that action should be taken, upon Board vote that member will be disaccommodated, that member shall be expelled from ALERT and lose the privilege to operate as an ALERT member and be banned from the National Weather Service.

If the offense is of a severe nature Subsection 1 or 2 may be bypassed and summary dismissal action may be taken by the Board of Directors.

Regards,

Casey Benefield

President of ALERT

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Changes Are In The Wind

As many of you have probably heard, the ARRL has asked the FCC to alter HF frequency allocations to grant voice privileges to Technician Class Licensees on the 3.900 to 4.000 MHz, 7.225 to 7.300 MHz & 21.350 to 21.450 MHz Amateur bands. Basically the most heavily populated portions of the current General Class 75, 40 & 15 Meter Bands. The current HF Technician allocations in the 80, 40, 15 & 10 Meter Bands would remain the same, including 10 Meter voice privileges. For the 10,678 remaining Novices there would be no frequency allocation changes.

Per the ARRL: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-requests-expanded-hf-privileges-for-technician-licensees

“This action will enhance the available license operating privileges in what has become the principal entry-level license class in the Amateur Service”. “It will attract more newcomers to Amateur Radio, it will result in increased retention of licensees who hold Technician Class licenses, and it will provide an improved incentive for entry-level licensees to increase technical self-training and pursue higher license class achievement and development of communications skills.”

This proposal, for which the FCC is not yet soliciting comments, naturally has ignited a firestorm of comments.

Some think it’s the most logical, sensible suggestion in years, as “Technicians aren’t upgrading”, “the amateur population is graying, with young people not being interested I ham radio, with high tech options competing with attention” aka the “Ham Radio Is Dying Theory” though the number of ham radio licenses has never been higher, to which observers comment “but, how many are actually active or even alive?” “Opponents are just arrogant pompous old goats.” Etc.

Others point out that is just another example of “the dumbing down of America”, “nothing is blocking anyone, anywhere from the HF bands – all you have to do is just get off your duffs and upgrade” & “upgrading has never been easier, with readily to obtain study materials, and test sessions more frequent than ever.” “This takes away the incentive from ‘incentive licensing’”. “Just another scheme for the ARRL to get more members”, “People just want something for nothing, and since little effort is expended, little value will be felt either.” Etc.

I won’t delve into my opinions on this, except to say I’ve heard the “Ham Radio is dying” spiel since 1973, when I first started toying with the idea of getting a ham license. The reasons varied through the years, but, it’s an ever popular clarion call or lament. I have even heard folk using this as an ill-advised recruitment tool. Even as I was studying and upgrading I would hear this and think “why in the world would anyone want to respond to an invitation like this? “Come spend, or perhaps more accurately waste your time and money by joining our hobby, which will most certainly be dead in five years.” It didn’t make much sense in 1978 and it still doesn’t make much sense today.

Of course, it didn’t die, and isn’t dying. But, it “sounds good” so people buy into this theory.

Regardless of how you feel about this proposal, if the FCC does indicate they will entertain this proposal, they will ask for comments. When they do ask for comments, follow the procedure they will spell out for commenting and do so.

Do so preferably in a logical, coherent manner, minus name calling and whining, as those types of comments they usually just ignore.

Tell them your feelings on this, the reasons for your feelings, any alternate proposals or idea.

Whether you are for or against this, let your voice be heard.

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Mark’s Almanac

The Romans called April “Aprilis”, probably from the word “aperire”, which means, “to open”. This time of year being when buds open. It was originally the second month of the Roman calendar, before Roman King Numa Pompilius added January & February in 700 BC.

Freezing weather comes to an end as Birmingham’s average last freeze is April 1, while Tuscaloosa’s is March 26. The record for the latest freeze date is April 21, 1953 for Tuscaloosa and April 23, 1986 for Birmingham.

April is less wet than March & rain becomes more localized and less widespread in nature. The sun heats the lower atmosphere near the ground and since the upper atmosphere is still cold, the warm air rises, reaches the dew point line, forms clouds & then it may rain. April is the first time in the spring season that favors local convective activity, which is why you have “April Showers”.

North Atlantic Tropical activity remains at a minimum. From 1851 to 2017 there has never been a Hurricane and only two Tropical Storms – Ana in 2003 and Arlene in 2017 which affected only shipping.

April is peak tornado month, with wide scale outbreaks possible. There are 2 ½ times the number of tornadoes as in March. 25% of the year’s tornadoes will have occurred by April 28.

From April 1950 to 2017, 8827 tornadoes were reported causing, as of 2017, 1771 deaths and as of 2013, 29,090 injuries.

As of 2017, Oklahoma leads the nation in killer violent tornados, having had 64, followed by Iowa with 54, Texas with 53, Kansas with 48 and Alabama 44.

As of 2015, Alabama ranks fourth in the number of April tornadoes, following Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. They along with Illinois belong to the “over 400 club” having had over 400 tornadoes since 1950.

As of 2017 Alabama leads the nation in F5 & EF5 tornadoes, having had 9, followed by Oklahoma and Kansas with 8, and two way tie for third between Iowa and Texas with 6.

As of 2016 Alabama leads the nation in tornado deaths with 633, followed by Texas with 552 and Mississippi with 477.

The counties most likely to be struck by violent EF5 tornadoes are Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan, Madison and Marion, all of which have been struck three times.

Tuscaloosa has been stuck by four F4 & EF4 tornadoes including 1932, 1975, 2000 & 2011.

The suburbs of Birmingham, including Oak Grove, Pleasant Grove, McDonald Chapel and Smithfield have been struck by two F4 & EF4 tornadoes in 1956 & 2011 and by two F5 tornadoes in 1977 & 1998.

My Grandfather, who passed away in 1958, once said “someday a big tornado is going to go right up Jones Valley and tear everything up”.

Indeed there is no logical or climatological reason why and an EF4 or EF5 tornado hasn’t struck or won’t strike the densely populated areas of Birmingham, including the high rises of downtown.

Whether it is due to “Divine Providence” or “random chance” otherwise known as “luck”, Birmingham has been spared.

When will that luck run out?

Some notable Alabama tornados in past Aprils include:

April 18, 1953 F3 Lee & Russell County 6 dead 195 injured

April 18, 1953 F3 Shelby County 8 dead 495 injured

April 15, 1956 F4 Jefferson County 25 dead 200 injured “McDonald Chapel Tornado”

April 18, 1969 F4 Montgomery, Bullock, Butler & Crenshaw Counties 2 dead 15 injured

April 3 & 4, 1974 “Super Outbreak” or produced at least eight tornadoes in Alabama, including four extremely intense and long-lived storms that swept the state killing eighty-six persons and injuring 949. The Huntsville area had an F3, F4 & an F5 tornado. The F4 tornado struck a half mile from where they were still digging out from an F3 tornado that had struck earlier in that day. Guin was literally wiped off the map, as was Xenia Ohio. The entire Eastern US and Southern Canada was affected during “The Day Of 100 Tornadoes”.

April 3, 1974 F5 Lamar, Marion, Winston, Lawrence & Morgan Counties 30 dead 230 injured

April 3, 1974 F4 Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Walker & Cullman Counties 3 dead 178 injured

April 3, 1974 F5 Limestone-Madison 28 dead 260 injured

April 4, 1977 F5 Jefferson County 22 dead 130 injured “Smithfield Tornado”

April 1, 1998 F3 Russell County 2 dead 23 injured

April 8, 1998 F5 Tuscaloosa & Jefferson County 32 dead 259 Injured “Oak Grove Tornado”

April 25 – 28, 2011 Super outbreak was the largest and deadliest tornado outbreak on record,

with 358 tornadoes in 21 states and southern Canada. April 27 alone had 211 tornadoes. Of 348

people killed, 324 were tornado related, the other 24 being non-tornado storm related deaths, such as straight line winds.

Alabama was hit by two distinct waves of tornadoes, the first hitting during the early morning hours resulting in 52 injuries and the second in the afternoon and evening resulting in 238 deaths and 1946 injuries in a total of 62 tornadoes.

April 27, 2011 F5 Marion County 18 dead 100 injured

April 27, 2011 F4 Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Walker & Blount Counties 13 dead 54 injured

April 27, 2011 F3 Marion County 7 dead 100 injured

April 27, 2011 F4 Greene, Tuscaloosa & Jefferson counties 65 dead 1500 injured

April 27, 2011 F3 Greene, Hale & Bibb counties 7 dead 50 injured

April 27, 2011 F4 Jefferson, St. Clair, Calhoun, Etowah and Cherokee counties 22 dead 81 injured

April 27, 2011 F4 Elmore, Tallapoosa & Chambers counties 7 dead 30 injured

April 3, 2012 F2 Tallapoosa & Chambers counties 1 dead 2 injured

April 28, 2014 F3 Limestone County 1 dead 30 injured

Always beware of the storms of April.

Days continue to grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 61.2 degrees at the beginning of the month to 71.4 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 12 hours 33 minutes on April 1 to 13 hours 30 minutes on April 30.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

April 1 Sunrise 6:35 AM Sunset 7:08 PM

April 15 Sunrise 6:17 AM Sunset 7:18 PM

April 30 Sunrise 6:00 AM Sunset 7:29 PM

For other locations go to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php and input the locations and dates you are interested in.

Mercury is directly behind the Sun on April 1 and then reemerges in the morning sky. Mercury reaches Greatest Western Elongation, or the highest point above the horizon, 27 degrees above the Sun on April 29. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

Venus, magnitude –3.9, shines low due west in twilight.

Mars, magnitude +0.5, in Sagittarius, rises around 2 or 3 AM, with Saturn nearby and closing.

Jupiter (magnitude –2.4, in Libra) rises around 11PM and shines as the brightest point in the late-night sky. It’s highest in the south, presenting the sharpest views in a telescope, around 3 or 4 AM, well before dawn.

A medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details of Jupiter’s cloud bands, while a good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as bright dots on either side of the planet.

Each night their positions will have changed as they continue the waltz they have danced with Jupiter for millennia uncounted.

Saturn, magnitude +0.5, in Sagittarius, rises around 2 or 3 AM. At beginning of dawn, Saturn and Mars are the two bright points close together in the south-southeast, above the fainter Sagittarius Teapot. Mars is the redder of the two.

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Saturn and Mars continue to draw closer to each other. The gap between them will shrink to 1.3° when they pass each other on April 2nd.

Saturn will reach Aphelion or his greatest distance from the Sun on April 11.

Saturn’s rings are currently tilted +25.5 degrees as viewed from Earth. Small telescopes will easily reveal his rings along with a small dot nearby, the moon Titan. The only moon with a dense atmosphere and the only moon besides Earth’s that has had a spacecraft land on its surface. The European Space Agency’s Huygens probe in January 2005, which is also the farthest landing from Earth a spacecraft has ever made.

Uranus will pass directly behind the Sun on April 18.

Neptune is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

The Moon will be the farthest distance from the Earth or Apogee on April 7, when she is 251124 miles from the Earth

April’s New Moon will occur April 15 at 8:58 CDT or April 16 at 1:58 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters, as there will be no moonlight to wash out the evening sky.

The Moon will be the closest to the Earth or Perigee on April 20, when she is 229108 miles from the Earth.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower which, runs annually from April16 – 25, peaks on the evening of April 22 and morning of April 23. This is a minor shower, with only 12 to 24 meteors per hour. These meteors sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds.

This shower is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861.

The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for what could be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

April’s Full Moon was known as “Full Pink Moon” in Native American folklore as it marked the reappearance of pink wild ground phlox. This will occur April 29 at 7:58 CDT or 00:58 UTC, April 30. This moon was also called by various tribes, the “Sprouting Grass Moon”, “Growing Moon”, “Egg Moon” and “Fish Moon”, as this is when shad swam upstream to spawn.

Evenings in early April offer an excellent opportunity to view the zodiacal light. Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the ecliptical plane. It is caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the orbital plane of the Earth.

From the Northern Hemisphere, early spring is the best time of year to observe this elusive glow after sunset. It appears slightly fainter than the Milky Way, so you’ll need a clear moonless sky and an observing site located far from the city. Look for the cone-shaped glow, which points nearly straight up from the western horizon, after the last vestiges of twilight have faded away.

This is the time of year when the dim Little Dipper – Ursa Minor – juts to the right from the North Star, Polaris, which is the end of the Little Dipper’s handle, during late evening. The much brighter Big Dipper curls over high above it, “dumping water” into it. They do the reverse in the fall.

Now that it’s spring, the signature fall-and-winter constellation Cassiopeia is retreating down after dark. But for mid-northern latitudes Cassiopeia is circumpolar, never going away completely. Look for it fairly low in the north-northwest these evenings. It’s standing nearly on end.

3708 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of April 26, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

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This month’s meeting will be on April 10 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport.

If for some reason you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can still participate via telephone. The teleconference number is 1-877-951-0997 & and the participant code is 741083.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL

Editor

ALERT Newsletter

www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/

Mark’s Weatherlynx

Weather Resource Database

Hi Everyone,

The Birminghamfest is here, and I hope you can attend.

I remember well my first Birminghamfest back in 1978 at the BJCC. I had been on the air for about five months and suddenly found myself in a wonderland of equipment old and new. I met people I had met on the air, and quickly discovered the closely guarded secret that in many cases what people look like in person in no way matches what their voices sound like on the air. Guys with deep voices that I had imagined to be big beefy dudes were in fact 80 years old and guys with high pitched squeaky voices looked like they could bench press Volkswagens. I don’t recall if I bought anything that year except a Kenwood MC-50 microphone. The biggest achievement of that day was me upgrading to Technician Class.

My biggest hamfest equipment haul was one year in the 1980’s when the hamfest was held at the Boutwell Auditorium – rent free courtesy of the Jefferson County EMA. It was a little crowded, complaints of which is why the BARC declined to accept the same offer of this free venue the next year, and the hamfest was relocated to its current home. But, perhaps that crowding worked in my favor as I hauled heavy armloads of equipment including a not so old Radio Shack DX-300 shortwave receiver. This is the only receiver I’ve seen that went below 10 kHz, which, along with the 1000 foot antenna I strung, that a fireman mistook for an electric fence, allowed me to hear the old Omega navigation beacons on 10.2 kHz, 13.6 kHz & 11.33 kHz, along with the Soviet Alpha navigation beacons on 11.9 kHz, 12.6 kHz and 14.8 kHz. Add to this RTTY being sent to US Navy strategic submarines, Air Force CW and weird atmospheric phenomena such as “whistlers”, which sound just as the name implies, I found the VLF – Very Low Frequency realm an interesting place to explore.

Someday when I retire and actually have time to spare, I may give it another try.

So if you have the chance, I hope you can attend and hope that you will find the Birminghamfest as enjoyable as I do.

Our next ALERT meeting will be on Tuesday, March 13 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport.

Hope to see you there!

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ALERT’s PLACE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

The heart of ALERT’s operations has and always will be via VHF & UHF analog FM modes. For this is the most common, most populated, most affordable and easiest mode which hams can operate.

However FM voice is just one of the tools we have in our toolkit.

Two other arenas of operation in which we are present, use and will continue to expand are Social Media and Amateur Digital Modes.

Social Media is a major part of ALERT’s operations. In 2008 – 2009 the Birmingham NWS Office and ALERT were the testbed for the Spotterchat system which is in use today, as we experimented with, tweaked and helped make the system, which is now a national NWS resource, an operational reality. This system has proven to be a vital tool for ALERT operations, fitting hand in glove with our RF operations at K4NWS.

In addition to the NWSchat via the BMXEMACHAT and the Central Alabama Spotter Chat via BMXSpotterChat (see https://alert-alabama.org/blog/?page_id=521), ALERT also has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and an ever expanding list of other social media outlets.

As to digital modes, ALERT has from its early days had a digital presence in Amateur Radio. Packet was utilized at K4NWS with success and was only ended as post 911 NOAA security protocols restricted that option. D-Star followed and has been a mainstay at K4NWS for over a decade.

This month Russell KV4S will detail some of our activities using digital modes.

Admittedly, some of this is beyond my current level of knowledge, but, then that is the case with any new subject or activity until you research, study and learn.

Which is fine, for I firmly believe in the saying “It’s never be too late to learn”.

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ALERT & AMATUER DIGITAL MODES
BY
RUSSELL KV4S

ALERT is further embracing Amateur Digital Modes. It’s our job to find you and your Nets when the Weather Service in Birmingham is asking for locations specific reports. We also know that we can’t be everywhere at once. Digital Modes allows us to distribute the load to multiple control operators at remote locations (home/mobile/portable) to help get storm reports.

The following is information on what digital options we monitor.

D-STAR:

Our first and longest digital mode. We have a radio at our station at the NWS with our primary point of contact being the K4DSO repeater and Reflector 58 B.

What’s new? Hotspots, and in particular Pi-STAR based Hotspots which are more kin to a personal repeater gateway on the network. Thanks to the ircDDBGateway protocol, which is built into the Pi-STAR image, a Gateway’s IP address is automatically on the network for easy Callsign and Gateway routing. What this means is 2 stations that have a Pi-STAR hotspot conversation off the reflector and/or repeater. Each ham uses the other hams callsign in the UR/To: field and ircDDB does the magic. You can also utilize one hotspot as the conversion point and several hams can connect to the one person’s hotspot gateway and have a conference hotspot to hotspot. This also brings in QuadNet (https://www.openquad.net) They have used the ircDBB system to create group routing which is similar in thinking about DMR talk groups which they call Smart Groups. To operate, you put a defined UR/To: group name in your radio and you can have a group conversation with anyone that’s subscribed to the Smart Group. ALERT’s Smart Group is QK4NWS.

Additional D-STAR Information:

Call routing (UR/To: field): QK4NWS (Smart Group from QuadNet)
Repeater Gateway: K4DSO C
Reflector: REF058B
If you need to unsubscribe from the SmartGroup use QK4NWS Z in ur UR/To: field. It also times out and logs you out after 5 hours.
For information on Routing Groups and who’s logged in visit: https://www.openquad.net/node/8

DMR:

ALERT currently does not have a DMR radio at the NWS. However, KV4S is acting as our DMR Liaison to utilize this mode to gather storm reports to relay to ALERT and/or the NWS. He has access to both DMARC and Brandmiester networks. From a repeater perspective in Alabama, we have a split between the 2 DMR networks and while this split is not preferable from a spotting perspective we hope to still be able to utilize both modes for maximum coverage. Mobile Hotspots is also driving DMR as a whole but something ALERT sees value in a storm spotting perspective. Hotspots are connected to the Brandmeister network which we see as an advantage because more and more hams and storm spotters use mobile internet hotspots or there phone’s for anywhere internet access. The internet is not the end all be all of connectivity especially, for hams so that’s where repeaters, portable repeaters, simplex, and ham internet through HamNet or ARDEN could get you connected if the normal internet backbone is down. Some Hams part of Emergency Services and first responders are put on priority networks which are restored before the general public internet. We will attempt to have a presence on the Alabama Statewide TG (TalkGroup) 3101 for both DMARC and Brandmeister. The Alabama Link is another powerful TG (31010) will be utilizing and has added benefits as a cross mode and mobile first. Cross mode means there are access points for D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, Analog, Mobile apps such as EchoLink and Teams speak to get the message out. ALERT will also have it’s own TG on Brandmeister 31013 which may be used for more internal operations of the club but an additional way to get us if other methods fail. While Private calls are a strong part of DMR it is likely not something we will utilize for passing reports as to it’s one on one nature.

Additional Information on DMR TalkGroups:

ALERT-K4NWS (Brandmeister): 31013
Alabama (DMARC and Brandmeister): 3101
Alabama Link (Multimode): 31010
Central Alabama (Brandmeister): 31015

73
Russell
KV4S

(Editors note: One feature of the Alabama Link site that I like is that you can actually monitor DMR QSO’s and get a “feel” of what the mode is like during “normal operations”, which has always been desire of mine with D-Star. I know D-Star’s worth during severe weather, but, I’ve always wondered what about “normal times?” Is it an interesting, fun mode, with friendly patient people, realizing that newbies will make newbie mistakes? As opposed to “giving them the treatment”, as I have seen done. Because I can guarantee you, I will be making some mistakes.

Since you can’t monitor D-Star communications unless you have already invested in D-Star equipment, to me it always felt like investing “sight unseen” for an unknown realm. Being stingy to begin with, I found that discouraging me from participating. Maybe now, being able to “taste” what the Digital world is really like, I will be much more willing to take that Digital plunge.)

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Birmingham NWS Spring 2018 Storm Spotter Course Schedule Updated

In last month’s Newsletter we discussed the Birmingham NWS office online Storm Spotter Courses.

This month we will cover On-Site Classes.

The current schedule is as follows:

Lee County
Basic Class
Tuesday, March 20 at 1:00 PM
University Campus Safety & Security
543 West Magnolia Avenue
Auburn, Alabama

Etowah County
Basic Class
Wednesday, March 21 at 10:00 AM
Gadsden/Etowah County EMA
Gadsden City Hall Basement
90 Broad Street

Tuscaloosa County
Basic Class
Thursday, March 22 at 6:30 PM
Alabama Fire College
2501 Phoenix Drive
Tuscaloosa Alabama

Dallas County
Basic Class
Wednesday, April 18 at 5:00 PM
Wallace Community College Selma
3000 Earl Goodwin Parkway
Selma, Alabama

These classes, which are around two hours long, will help you provide the NWS the vital “ground truth” information they need to verify radar indications, target their attention and help you relay reports in a clear manner to the NWS, either directly via the 1-800-856-0758 Storm Reporting Hotline, online at http://www.weather.gov/bmx/submit_storm_report or amateur radio. This knowledge helps SKYWARN Net Control stations filter reports, by giving them knowledge of what reporting stations are trying to describe. This way they can tell if the report is a valid report, an invalid report by an overly excited operator or a valid, but, poorly described report, which without this knowledge would be mistakenly dismissed.

For further information on these classes and the online classes visit: http://www.weather.gov/bmx/skywarnschedule

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Mark’s Almanac

Originally called Martius, March is the third month & first month of the Roman calendar. March is named for Mars, the god of war, and was the start of the military campaign season.

The beginning of “Meteorological Spring”, which is based on changes in temperature and precipitation, not the solar angle, is March 1

March is a wet month. Most floods occur in March and rainfall averages around 6 inches.
Tornadic activity sharply increases in March with there being an increase of 2.2 times the number of tornadoes over the February amount. The focal point for this tornadic activity is the Gulf States.

March is the hail maximum for the Deep South. This is due both to the number of thunderstorms & due to the freezing level still being near the surface. This allows hail to form at lower altitudes and reach the ground intact, as opposed to summer months, when the freezing level is higher and near surface level temperatures are higher melting the hail into liquid before impact.

North Atlantic Tropical activity remains at a minimum. From 1851 to 2015 there has been only one Hurricane to occur. A 100 MPH unnamed Hurricane which affected the Lesser Antilles in March 6- 9, 1908. Some sources also cite a pre-Civil War Tropical Storm also occurring, but others do not.

South Atlantic Tropical activity doesn’t have a sharp peak as the North Atlantic season does in September, however currently March has a thin lead in activity, as from 1957 – 2017 there have been 10 identified Tropical Systems, including the only known South Atlantic Hurricane – Hurricane Catarina which struck Brazil March 28, 2004.

Brazilian authorities at first were unwilling to admit that Catarina was a hurricane, for up until that time is was considered impossible for the South Atlantic to generate a tropical system, due to wind shear, cold sea surface temperatures and the lack of storm systems from which a storm could develop. With extensive damage from an impossible storm looking at them, they finally reluctantly agreed that maybe NOAA’s opinion was right.

Another area where Tropical Cyclones are not supposed to develop is the Mediterranean Sea.

However, there have been instances, 100 instances, in fact, from 1947 to 2011, where tropical like systems have formed, some including eye-like features, which some refer to as “Medicanes”.

The only “officially recognized” Mediterranean Tropical Cyclone was 2011’s Tropical Storm Rolf, a storm which NOAA named Tropical Storm 01M and was then dubbed “Rolf” by the Free University of Berlin.

These storms, which can last from 12 hours to 5 days and have 89 MPH maximum sustained winds, are perhaps the type storm that caused St. Paul’s shipwreck as described in Acts 27:10-44.

Meanwhile, back in Alabama…

Killing frosts are gone and the last average frost is on March 16.

March is a snow month for Alabama & there is a 45% chance of snow up to one inch, and an 8% chance of one inch or more.

The good news is that there is hope on the horizon as Spring will arrive at Vernal Equinox on March 20 at 16:15 UTC or 11:15 A.M. CDT.

The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall, or Autumnal Equinox, in the Southern Hemisphere.

Remember to get the eggs out, as it is said that you can stand eggs on their ends at the hour of equinox.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 49.1 degrees at the beginning of the month to 60.8 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 11 hours 29 minutes on March 1 to 12 hours 31 minutes on March 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

March 1 Sunrise 6:16 AM Sunset 5:44 PM
March 15 Sunrise 6:58 AM Sunset 6:55 PM
March 31 Sunrise 6:36 AM Sunset 7:07 PM

Why the sunrise is later midmonth as opposed to the first and the last of the month is due to a combination of the quirks in the Earth’s orbit, it’s axial tilt and it being near equinox affecting the length of day based on sunlight as opposed to the measurement of time based on the Earth’s rotation.

For other locations go to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php and input the locations and dates you are interested in.

Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 AM on March 11. So remember to “spring forward” one hour. This, of course means I will lose one hour of “beauty sleep”, which is something I desperately need.

Saint Patrick’s Day is Saturday March 17, and you better participate by wearing a Touch O’ The Green or you will be plagued by leprechauns and gnomes. Not a pleasant experience, I can assure you.

Looking towards the sky, Mercury, magnitude –1.4 emerges from deep in the sunset, close to Venus. On March 3rd and 4th the two planets will appear closest, with Mercury 1.1° to Venus’s right.

On March 15 Mercury will be at Greatest Eastern Elongation, or his highest point in the sky at an angle of 18.4° from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.

Venus emerges low in the afterglow of sunset. Look for it just above the horizon nearly due west about 20 minutes after sunset. Venus is beginning an “Evening Star” apparition that will continue through next summer. On March 19 Venus will be 3.8° from Mercury giving you a good chance to spot both planets in the evening sky and on March 18, she will be 3.7° North of the Moon.

Mars, magnitude +0.8 in the feet of Ophiuchus rises around 2 AM, some 25° to the lower left of Jupiter. On March 9, Mars will be 3.8° South of the Moon

Nearby is the red star Antares, about 10° to Mars’s left or upper left in the early-morning hours. By dawn, Mars and Antares are approaching the meridian in the south and are at very nearly the same height.

The name “Antares” is said to come from the Greek word Ἀντάρης,, meaning “equal to Ares”, Ares being the Greek equivalent to Mars, since they have the same reddish appearance. Though some think the comparison actually began with the ancient Mesopotamian astronomers a thousand years before.

Jupiter, magnitude -2.2, in Libra rises around midnight and is high in the south-southeast before the beginning of dawn. On March 6, he will be 4.1° South of the Moon.

Saturn, magnitude +0.6 in Sagittarius above the Teapot of Sagittarius, is in the southeast, about 15° or 20° lower left of Mars. On March 10, Saturn will be 2.2° South of the Moon.

The Teapot of Sagittarius is an asterism, or a popular known pattern or group of stars, and it looks just as the name suggests – like a teapot. The Teapot is significant for two reasons; one is that the “spout” points towards the galactic center and because it also points toward where the sun is located on Winter Solstice around December 21.

Uranus, shinning at magnitude +5.9 in Pisces, is sinking in the west after nightfall.

Neptune is hidden in the glow of the Sun

3704 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of February 22, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

March’s first Full Moon will occur on March 1 at 6:51 PM CST or at 00:51 UTC March 2. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes “Worm Moon”. So called because the rains disturb the earthworms & they are seen wiggling around after the rains.

They are edible, nutritious and yummy by the way, or so I have been told, but I think I’ll let you have my share. Incidentally slugs are edible also. Just think of them as snails without the shell.

This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, the Full Sap Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

The Moon will be at her greatest distance from Earth or perigee at 251,457 miles on March 11,

New Moon will occur March 17 at 13:12 UTC or 8:12 AM CDT. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

The Moon will be at her closest distance from Earth or apogee at 229,350 miles on March 26,

March’s second Full Moon or Blue Moon will occur March 31 at 12:37 UTC or 7:37 AM CDT. This year is particularly unique in that January and March both contain two full moons while February has no full moon.

Celestial carnivores are emerging from hibernation. After dinnertime at this time of year, five carnivore constellations are rising upright in a ragged row from the northeast to south. They’re all seen in profile with their noses pointed up and their feet (if any) to the right. These are The Great Bear, Ursa Major in the northeast, with the Big Dipper as its brightest part, Leo the Lion in the east, Hydra the Sea Serpent in the southeast, The Lesser Dog, Canis Minor higher in the south-southeast, and The Greater Dog, bright Canis Major in the south.

Sirius, shining at magnitude −1.46, the brightest night time star, blazes high in the south on the meridian, in Canis Major by about 8 or 9 p.m. Using binoculars, you will find a fuzzy spot 4° south of Sirius, directly below it when directly South. Four degrees is somewhat less than the width of a typical binocular’s field of view.

That dim little patch of gray haze is open star cluster Messier 41, a small gravitationally bound group of 100 stars about 2,200 light-years away, and moving away from us at 869 miles per second. Sirius, by comparison, is only 8.6 light-years away.

Canopus, the second-brightest star after Sirius, lies 36° almost due south of Sirius. That’s far enough south that it never appears above the horizon if you are above latitude 37° N, such as southern Virginia, southern Missouri and central California. Luckily we lie south of that latitude, with our horizon lying, in the case of Central Alabama, around latitude 33°. So give Canopus, which crosses low above the horizon, due south just 21 minutes before Sirius does, a peak.

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The Birmingham Hamfest http://birminghamfest.org/ is days away, March 2 & 3.

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, this it will be a Friday & Saturday affair; instead of the Saturday & Sunday dates of years past.

This month’s ALERT meeting will be on March 13 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport.

If for some reason you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can still participate via telephone. The teleconference number is 1-877-951-0997 & and the participant code is 741083.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

The glorious day has almost arrived when we get to see if our resident groundhog Birmingham Bill will see his shadow this Groundhog Day. No we dont rely on that Danged Yankee Punxsutawney Phil. Why he doesnt even know what sweet tea is, not to mention sweet tater puddin, so that shatters his credibility beyond repair. Why if he doesnt possess that basic knowledge, how can he properly prognosticate ponderous possibilities such as these?

Plus, he talks funny.

If Birmingham Bill does see his shadow, and if the folklore were true, then we would have a late spring.

Whether it is late or timely, are you ready for the storms of spring and for the callouts that will come?

Now is a good time to review your personal emergency preparedness plans and to brush up on your skills. Dont wait until the sirens sound, for by then it may be too late.

In preparing, you should ask yourselves these questions:

Is my family shelter, which everyone should have, still ready?
Is my emergency equipment & radios working?
Are my emergency supplies still adequate and in date?
Are the batteries still good and the rechargeable batteries charged?
Are my communications channels still functional? This includes RF, Internet & telephone resources.
Can I reliably receive weather watches and warnings, in multiple ways?

Are you prepared both at home and at work?

Remember, keeping yourself and your family alive and intact during and after the storms is your number one priority.

Stay safe.

This months ALERT meeting will be February 13 at 7PM.

I hope to see you there!

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Birmingham NWS Spring 2018 Storm Spotter Courses

The Birmingham NWS office will present several online Basic Spotter Courses and a single online Advanced Spotter Course this Spring. These online classes allow individuals to complete the courses in the comfort of their own home or office with the use of https://www.join.me/ meeting site.

By attending any course, which runs about 1.5 – 2 hours, individuals or a group of individuals will become SKYWARN Storm Spotters.

Unless you are in need of or just want to attend a refresher Course, you do not need to attend more than one Basic SKYWARN Course, as the material covered is the same; however it is required you to attend at least one Basic SKYWARN Course before taking the Advanced SKYWARN Course.

These courses are two-way, meaning you will be able to interact with the meteorologist leading the training. You will be muted while training is in-progress, and unmuted when applicable (e.g., for questions); or, you can use the built-in chat feature.

The current schedule is as follows:

Basic Class Wednesday, February 21 at 6:30 PM Use Session Code 173-280-976
Basic Class Tuesday, February 27 at 6:30 PM Use Session Code 302-207-574
Basic Class Tuesday, March 6 at 1:00 PM Use Session Code 539-919-581
Basic Class Thursday, March 15 at 1:00 PM Use Session Code 541-472-536
Basic Class Thursday, March 22 at 6:30 PM Use Session Code 425-457-943
Advanced Class Tuesday, March 27 at 6:30 PM Use Session Code 743-275-677

Enter the session code at https://www.join.me/

These classes will help you provide the NWS the vital ground truth information they need to verify radar indications, target their attention and help you relay reports in a clear manner to the NWS, either directly via the 1-800-856-0758 Storm Reporting Hotline, online at http://www.weather.gov/bmx/submit_storm_report or amateur radio. This knowledge helps SKYWARN Net Control stations filter reports, by giving them knowledge of what reporting stations are trying to describe. This way they can tell if the report is a valid report, an invalid report by an overly excited operator or a valid, but, poorly described report, which without this knowledge would be mistakenly dismissed.

For further information on these classes visit: http://www.weather.gov/bmx/skywarnschedule

If you dont mind travelling to North Alabama, you might consider NWS Huntsvilles training classes also.

For further information on these classes visit: http://www.weather.gov/hun/skywarn &
http://www.weather.gov/hun/DeafandHardofHearingFebruary122018

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The Strangers Among Us

People become interested and involved in Amateur Radio for many reasons. Some are drawn by the comradery they hear on the air, the lure of talking to people in foreign lands, some by the technical aspects and opportunities for experimentation and many for public service and emergency preparedness. We usually join for one reason and in the process of time branch out into different areas.

Whatever the reasons that we are initially drawn into the hobby; there is one common bond for us all:

We all had to get a license.

We have always had the occasional problem of an unlicensed operator trying to get on the air. It is usually a short lived problem and usually these people, who are very recognizable, either get caught or grow bored, give up and go away.

Only twice in my 40 years of ham radio have I encountered someone on the air who I did not realize was an unlicensed operator or bootlegger. One was a gentleman I worked twice in 1978 on 10 meter CW from Pasco Washington. He sent absolutely perfect CW, had a valid sounding call sign and they were very enjoyable conversations.

He sent me his address twice, but, the QSL cards I sent kept coming back and I had someone look him up in a Callbook, and he wasnt listed. Looking further I found that he had never appeared in any Callbook or any other record I checked and never has since, letting me know that he was bogus.

The second was a local gentleman from Bessemer who appeared on 146.88 MHz in February 1984. A nice guy, with a good sounding call, who made a lot of friends on the air. June came, and he had a new N4 call sign, and I congratulated him on his upgrade. He called me on the phone and said Mark.I hate to admit it, but, Ive been bootlegging all this time. I wanted a license and was studying, but, I just couldnt resist the urge. I passed my general test last month at the Birminghamfest. He would freely admit his sin on the air and folk would tell him that he might not really want to say that on the air. No one turned him in, since he was now legit and no one wanted to turn in a friend. He no longer lives in the area, but, I understand he is still active today.

Others who bootleg are obvious, giving impossible call signs, such as ZXY45K, Rubber Duck handles, using CB terminology and with their actions displaying that they dont have a clue about what they are doing.

This problem, which has always existed, is threatening to become a more widespread problem.

I am on several Facebook groups dealing with emergency preparedness and outdoor survival. I am seeing more and more postings of people either purchasing or being given inexpensive ham radios such as Baofeng HTs with the stated purpose of putting them in their bug out bags so they can talk to people during an emergency. Some state I tried to talk to some of the local hams to test it out, but, I couldnt seem to reach them. The majority of them are not licensed.

We hams try to educate them, telling them that this isnt a good idea, that a license is necessary and that the FCC will fine you WHEN you are caught, and that YOU WILL be caught. We then tell them how to obtain a license, to which some say they honestly didnt know a license was needed and thank us. Some say they will get a license and hopefully they actually will bother to do things legally.

There is a certain percentage however whose attitude is who cares?, anything is legal during an emergency and big deal if it saves a life.

To one gentleman who stated the latter I responded as follows:

The problem is that it can COST lives. Before I explain what I mean, I am part of a group called the Alabama Emergency Response Team. We provide communications support for the National Weather Service during severe weather outbreaks. Ive been involved in emergency communications since the 1980s. During hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, and untold dozens of tornado outbreaks, I was on the air, so Im speaking from experience.

During an emergency, conditions are chaotic anyway, with damage, injuries, communications systems damaged, etc. So here you are, the Net Control Station during the middle of all this and an unlicensed guy comes on the air. He knows nothing about proper protocol, net operations or even the proper way to communicate. So the net grinds to a crawl while we try to deal with this person. Trying to make sense of his report, knowing full and well he may be giving a false report anyway. For that has happened.

Back a few years ago a guy came on the radio, said he had just been released from the hospital and his stitches had burst. Please send help. We called the EMS, and of course they found nothing but an empty field. Point being we have no way of telling if the report of an unlicensed person is bogus or not. But, by being a licensed ham, with a callsign being given for identification we know it is probably valid, and help can be sent. But, the time wasted dealing with an unlicensed person delays emergency response, and them arriving on time so they can potentially save someones life.

Its not a case of hams saying you cant join our little clique unless you meet our approval. Its us dealing with real life situations and scenarios. I hope this clarifies it a little. Study and get your ham license and join us. Its fun and we need you!

To this no response was offered.

I also addressed in another thread the kindred theory I bought a police radio so I can talk to the police directly and not have to go through the dispatcher.

To this I pointed out that the police absolutely dont want this, as it disrupts normal communications and could cost an officers life, especially during the frequently heard call all units hold the radio as an officer enters a dangerous situation, only to have some bozo suddenly yell can yall send a unit to Billy Bobs car wash, his durned stoopid dawgs are at it agin.

Seeing that this is an ongoing and developing problem, what can we hams do to help counter this trend?

1. Be aware that the problem exists. You cant address something, if you blissfully ignore it.

2. If you become aware of someone planning on such actions, educate them. Tell them how to become a ham and invite them. One of three things will happen, they may give up the idea, they may brush you off and do it anyway or they may study and get their license and become a valuable member of the ham community.

3. If you find a person bootlegging on the air, dont talk to them. Call the repeater trustee or a club officer, and let them know what is going on. Talking to them will only encourage them to continue and the Im gonna open a can of whoop butt on you approach can backfire and inspire them to interfere with every net and QSO in central Alabama.

4. Clubs and groups, if you are not active in foxhunting and direction finding, you may want to get involved in this activity. Those already involved in these need to hone their skills so you can locate these individuals so you can turn them and the evidence you gather over to the FCC.

Remembering that though tarring and feathering may be tempting please let the FCC be the one that does it.

For if you try to handle it own you own you might encounter one of those frogs on a lily pad in a lake of pain.

In other words, you may end up being sued out of house and home.

Incidentally, that reference to a fake distress call is a true story.

One Tuesday night in 1985 on the old AENX Net on 146.88 an SOS in perfect CW began doubling and heterodyning with the Net Control Station, Joe Smith WA4RNPs signal causing a series of screeching tones.

No tone was being sent. The letters were being sent by keying the mic button over and over. The NCS could not hear it of course, since he was transmitting, but, the other hams could, and asked the NCS to key the mic while the other station transmitted and they copied what was being sent.

This worked, and the gentleman, who gave a K4 call sign, sent that he had just come home from surgery at Baptist Montclair, his stitches had burst and that he was hemorrhaging and growing very weak, please send help.

The hams called 911 and the paramedics found the address given to be an empty field. A call sign search gave an address in Nashville, which confirmed this as being a bogus SOS.

Though it turned out to be a false SOS, it demonstrated a few things. One, that even if you have no audio, either due to a damaged radio or due to an inability to speak, you CAN send a usable distress call that can be heard by using the microphones PTT button. Using the touch tone keys, however might not work, as some repeaters will automatically blank the tones out. Secondly, IF operators take the time to learn CW, even though it is no longer a legal requirement, they will be able to understand and respond to such a distress call.

It was not the last time this person was heard from. A few weeks later this happened again and I was the NCS. I said if you have a problem well be glad to help you, and if you dont have a problem well be glad to give you one. We stood by for another transmission, and he was never heard from again.

All it took was a little diplomacy.

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Marks Almanac

February, or Februarius, as the Romans called it, is named after the Latin term februum, which means purification. Ancient Rome celebrated the Februa purification ritual on February 15, which was Full Moon on the old lunar based Latin calendar.

February was not originally included in the Roman calendar, which began in March, but was added, along with January by Numa Pompilius around 713 BC, and until 450 BC was considered the last month of the year.

February was originally 29 days long, but one day was taken and added to August, so the that Emperor Augustuss month would be equal to Julius Caesars month of July. Now only Leap Year has 29 days, the next of which will occur in 2020.

In the Southern Hemisphere February is the equivalent of August. But, for us, February is a cold month with more snow falling in February than in any other month.

Statistically speaking, there is a 70% chance of snow flurries, and a 57% chance of snow up to one inch. There is a 13% chance of over one inch, and a 3% chance of 4 inches or more.

There is hope on the horizon though, as the worst of winter weather is usually over by February 15.
North Atlantic Tropical activity is at a minimum. From 1851 to 2015 there has been only one Tropical Storm to occur, 70 MPH Tropical Storm #1, which affected Florida on February 2 & 3, 1952.

Looking towards the sky, Mercury is lost in the glow of the sunrise.

Venus is hidden very deep in the sunset.

Mars, magnitude +1.3 in Aquarius rises in the east-southeast around 2 or 3 a.m. and are high in the south-southeast by early dawn.

Jupiter 1.9, in Virgo respectively rises in the east-southeast around 2 or 3 a.m. and are high in the south-southeast by early dawn.

Jupiter, the first up, is the brightest point in the sky. Mars glows to Jupiter’s lower left. They’re 7 apart on the morning of January 20th, widening to 10 apart by the 27th.

Lower left of Mars, look for the red star Antares and the rest of upper Scorpius. This is an area very rich in nebulae, so grab the binoculars and explore region.

Saturn, magnitude +0.5 in southern Ophiucus, is becoming more easily visible very low in early dawn. About 45 minutes before sunrise, look for it above the southeast horizon a good 43 to the lower left of Jupiter. Don’t confuse Saturn with twinkly orange Antares about halfway back toward Jupiter, or twinkly Altair far to the left due east.

Uranus, shining at a borderline naked eye brightness of +5.8 in Pisces, is high in the southwest right after dark.

Neptune, shining at magnitude +7.9 in Aquarius, is getting low in the west-southwest right after dark

3588 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of January 25, per NASAs Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

In an oddity of celestial mechanics, there will be no Full Moon this February. This is because the last Full Moon, the partially eclipsed Super Full Blue Blood Moon occurred on January 31 and the next Full Moon will occur March 1.

Normally Februarys Full Moon is Full Snow Moon in Native American folklore, since the heaviest snows usually fell at this time of year. Since the harsh weather made hunting difficult, some tribes called it Full Hunger Moon.

New Moon will occur at 3:05 PM CST or 21:05 UTC on Thursday, February 15, as the Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky.

This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

There will be a Partial Solar Eclipse on February 15. A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers only a part of the Sun, sometimes resembling a bite taken out of a cookie. A partial solar eclipse can only be safely observed with a special solar filter or by looking at the Sun’s reflection. This partial eclipse will only be visible in parts of Chile, Argentina, and Antarctica.

Days grow longer as the Suns angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 34.5 degrees at the beginning of the month to 40.2 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 10 hours 35 minutes on February 1 to 11 hours 26 minutes on February 28.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

February 1 Sunrise 6:43 AM Sunset 5:19 PM
February 14 Sunrise 6:32 AM Sunset 5:31 PM
February 28 Sunrise 6:17 AM Sunset 5:43 PM

For other locations go to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php and input the locations and dates you are interested in.

Sunset times are especially important if you are involved in outdoor activities, such as hiking for instance, for people sometimes forget the principle remember you still have to hike back. If it takes 3 hours to hike from your car to Moccasin Lake, it will take that long at least, if not longer, since you will be fatigued, to hike back. So if you started at 10 AM, arrived at 1PM, spent 2 hours fishing, and it takes 3 to 4 hours to hike back you will run out of daylight before you reach your car.

Trails and paths always look different hiking back, due to the different lighting angles and the fact you are looking from a totally opposite direction, plus now it is getting dark. You did good marking your trail with the orange surveyors tape you carried, but, you forgot and tied it on the side facing you rather than the side you would be returning from, so you cant seem to locate any of it. Yep, it seems you just might get stuck in the wilds for the night.

But, you have your little emergency kit with you, so you will be ok

You did remember your kit didnt you? You know the one. That little fanny pack you filled with all that junk you got from Academy, or was it Dicks Sporting Goods?, I forget which, anyway with the Mylar space blanket, the little Mylar tube tent or two 55 gallon drum liners you can tape end to end with the little roll of duct tape you packed, and open bottom to make a tube tent, and the roll of paracord to tie it to a tree. Along with the lighter and matches for making a LITTLE camp fire, a pocket knife or multitool, a headlight flashlight with the fresh batteries, the police whistle for signaling folk, a rain poncho, water purification tablets and some Snickers bars for comfort food.

All that, with the couple of water bottles in a cozy attached to your belt, or maybe that metal canteen with a nesting metal cup you got online, so you can filter water you might find through a handkerchief or undershirt and boil it three minutes, so you can keep hydrated, the hoodie you carried just in case it got chilly and that compass, map and GPS you remembered to frequently look at, and you know you are in good shape, for the shape you are in.

After all, you know that if you try to hike out at night, the distance which always seems to take twice as long as the map indicates even in the daylight, you may get totally lost, but, since you practiced in your back yard with all that junk in the fanny pack, you know what to and you know that all will be fine.

Plus you told two people where you were going and when you should be back, so someone would know that something went wrong if you didnt return. So someone might be looking for you, which is why you carried the whistle to blow in blasts on three, to get their attention. You remembered reading in the ALERT Newsletter to tell folk your plans, because if no one knows you are missing, no one will be looking for you. But, you did, so everything is copacetic.

That is unless you didnt bother to check the weather forecast from our friends on Weathervane Road aka the National Weather Service, and it starts bucketing rain and ice on you, but I know you did that also, so you are as good as gold.

You know you will be safe through the night, as the campfire will drive away the Boogey Man and those rabid man-eating raccoons, plus, you have a smartphone with a camera. Everyone knows that a camera is the best Bigfoot repellant ever invented. Even if you dont have a signal, which really doesnt matter anyway since you forgot to charge the durned thing and its battery died hours ago.

That crackling sound..a wolf perhaps? Nah… Remember the snakes and bears took care of them years ago. Supposedly around the same time those convicts escaped from the mental ward at the State Pen a few miles up the road, and all those gnawed bones started to appear.

Or so it is rumored anyway.

But not to worry, all is good.

No problems do I see.

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The Birmingham Hamfest http://birminghamfest.org/ is now only five weeks away, March 2 & 3.
As mentioned in last months newsletter, this it will be a Friday & Saturday affair; instead of the Saturday & Sunday dates of years past.

This months meeting will be on February 13 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport.

If for some reason you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can still participate via telephone. The teleconference number is 1-877-951-0997 & and the participant code is 741083.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter