ALERT NEWSLETTER – December 2020

Hi Everyone,

I hope this finds everyone well as we look forward to the Christmas Season.

As I travel to and from work I notice more and more Christmas decorations appearing on every street and corner, transforming the world into Winter Wonderland.

I don’t know where I stand on the Naughty and Nice List this year. Sometimes it’s hard to trick Old Saint Nick, especially with Alexa and Siri snitching on me, for you do know they are listening, don’t you? I heard them talking about me just the other day.

Will I get a nice new antenna or that large sack of coal, as the mechanical sounding whispers say?

Only time will tell.

I know you are all on the Nice list and are safe.

So I wish you a very safe and Merry Christmas!

 

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Skywarn Appreciation Day!

It’s time for Skywarn Day 2020!

Skywarn Recognition Day was developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the ARRL to honor the contributions that Skywarn volunteers make to the NWS mission – the protection of life and property during threatening weather.

During the Skywarn special event, normally hams operate from ham equipped NWS offices nationwide. The object of the event is for all participating Amateur Radio stations to exchange contact information with as many NWS stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2 meters, 220 MHz and 70 centimeters. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.

These of course are not normal times, and while we won’t be activating K4NWS onsite at the NWS, we WILL be an active bunch during this event.

If you have never participated in SRD you definitely want to give it a go, for this is a fun event.

Details from the Alert Blog alert-alabama.org/blog/ (alert-alabama.org) follows.

“Friday, December 4th, 2020 @ 6PM Central Time (Dec 5 0000z to 2400z), Skywarn Recognition Day kicks off, and continues for the next 24 hours.

The National Weather Service office in Birmingham is represented by ALERT (The Alabama Emergency Response Team) as the callsign K4NWS.

Skywarn Recognition Day is an event celebrates the contribution of SKYWARN volunteers to the NWS’s mission. More information about the event, including Operating Procedures for the contest, Participating Offices, Echolink Info/IRLP info, all can be found at the link below. Also, NWS request you fill out the Registration form so NWS can associate your operation with a specific NWS office, the form can also be found at the following link:
https://www.weather.gov/crh/skywarnrecognition

To make contact with us via Amateur Radio:
HF: 10,17,15,20 Meters
2M FM 146.880 (BARC), 147.320 and 146.980 (SCARC)
220 FM 224.500
70cm FM 444.700
DMR Talk Group 31013 which is available on all DMR repeaters in the Birmingham area but is also available on various repeaters in the BMX county warning area.
D-Star: REF058B or REF090C/XRF334C
AllStar: 48168
EchoLink: K4NWS-L (155003)
IRLP Experimental Reflector: 0091
WinLink: K4NWS (at) winlink (dot) org

In 2020 and in response to COVID, SRD was expanded outside of Amateur Radio to include all Skywarn Storm spotters.
Here are some ways to contact our station that are not Amateur Radio:

Zello: https://zello.com/channels/k/duTMd
Telegram: http://t.me/K4NWS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/K4NWS/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/K4NWS
MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/alert

Our participation in SRD in previous years can be found here:
http://alert-alabama.org/SRD/index.htm”

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The Other Bands

After last month’s article “August 21, 1945“ there were several questions which have been asked, which I will answer here.

One question was “what are the MURs (Multi User Radio Service) frequencies?”

Using the unofficial channel designations that have evolved, they are:

MURS 1 151.820 MHz 11.25 kHz Bandwidth
MURS 2 151.880 MHz 11.25 kHz Bandwidth
MURS 3 151.940 MHz 11.25 kHz Bandwidth
MURS 4 154.570 MHz 11.25 or 20.0 kHz Bandwidth
MURS 5 154.620 MHz 11.25 or 20.0 kHz Bandwidth
“You mentioned there are no GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) repeaters in Birmingham, who does have some?”

GMRS does not have a Repeater Council as Amateur Radio does, as things are not organized at all, nor is there an official repeater list.

The following, based on several sources, are all known Alabama GMRS repeaters listed by output frequency.

Channel 15 462.550 MHz Tuscaloosa 30 Mile Footprint 141.3 Hz Tone Open
Cleveland 13 Mile Footprint 141.3 Hz Tone Open
Channel 16 462.575 MHz None
Channel 17 462.600 MHz Oneonta ?? Mile Footprint Unknown Tone Open
Channel 18 462.625 MHz Cullman 20 Mile Footprint 141.3 Hz Tone
Channel 19 462.650 MHz Madison, Co 50 Mile Footprint Unknown Tone Private
Channel 20 462.675 MHz Tuscaloosa 20 Mile Footprint 141.3 Hz Tone Open
Jackson, Co 5 Mile Footprint 141.3 Hz Tone Open
Channel 21 462.700 MHz Lee, Co 18 Mile Footprint Unknown Tone Private
Limestone, Co ?? Mile Footprint 141.3 Hz Tone Open
Madison, Co 18 Mile Footprint Unknown Tone Private
Channel 22 462.725 Cleveland, AL 18 Mile Footprint Unknown Tone Private
Blount, Co 13 Mile Footprint Unknown Tone Private

As with ham repeaters on 440 MHz, the repeater input frequencies are +5 MHz.

On open repeaters all are welcome, though it is proper GMRS etiquette to ask the owners permission to use the repeater first. Private repeaters are closed except for members of the repeaters group members.

“Could you use a Baofeng or similar radio on MURS and GMRS?”

Technically “Yes” you can, but, legally “No” you can’t. They, having an “open VFO” not limited to ham band coverage or any radio that has had a “MARS / CAP Mod” to reach out of the ham bands can reach these frequencies, but, they are not type accepted for those services by the FCC. Nor will they necessarily perform as well as equipment designed exclusively for those bands, as the radio’s tuned circuits are not resonant on those frequencies nor are the antennas used resonant, which can give you a high SWR which could damage your radios final amplifiers. This includes rubber duck antennas. Even operating in band, you really have no clue what the SWR really is.

“Does ALERT monitor GMRS or MURs?”

ALERT doesn’t monitor these frequencies. However if there was a wide coverage GMRS repeater and an there was an organized group of trained storm spotters who used that repeater, then ALERT would find it a valuable asset that could be monitored, perhaps using an offsite ALERT liaison, to gather reports for the NWS. But, this is not the current situation.

“Why don’t YOU put up a GMRS repeater?”

Lack of knowledge, lack of time and certainly lack of funds is a decent reason.

There are those with deeper pockets and stronger pull who perhaps someday might be bitten by the bug and erect a repeater, but, as of yet, I know of no one considering this.

Perhaps that someone may someday be you.

If you do and you hear WRJE893, which is me, using it, make sure to give me a call.

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Mark’s Almanac

December was the tenth Roman Month, from whence it gets its name, “decem” meaning “ten”. Among many Native American tribes it was called “the Moon of Clacking Rocks”, as it was the time when they prepared and manufactured stone tools, implements and weapons, since the growing season was over, and bad weather prevented them from hunting.

December is the cloudiest month of the year, with only 40 to 60% of possible sunshine poking through the clouds. It is also the stormiest month of the year for the Continental US & the Gulf of Mexico. By “stormy” meaning large-scale storms, not necessarily the tornadic storms that they bring, even though we are still in our Second Tornado Season.

A region of heavy rainfall usually forms from Texas to Northwest Florida to Tennessee and Arkansas. Cold waves bringing rain, snow, ice and occasionally tornadoes, sweep across the region.

Average precipitation in Birmingham is 4.47” of rainfall and 0.1” of snowfall.

December can be cloudy and cold, and, then it can swing into spring like warmth, luring plants to bloom early, only to have the frosts and freezes return and the plants are “nipped in the bud”.

Hurricane season is now “officially” over, however Mother Nature sometimes throws a surprise in to make life interesting.

From 1851 – 2019 there have been 19 Tropical Storms and from 1822 to 2019 there have been 8 Category 1 hurricanes, but, none have ever struck the United States.

Two notable December hurricanes are:

Hurricane Alice of 1954, which is the only known Atlantic hurricane to span two calendar years and one of only two named Atlantic tropical cyclones, along with Tropical Storm Zeta of 2005, to do so.

Alice developed on December 30, 1954 from a trough of low pressure in the central Atlantic Ocean in an area of unusually favorable conditions. The storm moved southwestward and gradually strengthened to reach hurricane status. After passing through the Leeward Islands on January 2, 1955, Alice reached peak winds of 90 mph before encountering cold air and turning to the southeast. It dissipated on January 6 over the southeastern Caribbean Sea.

The last December hurricane to occur was Hurricane Epsilon during the 2005 season, the year in which we ran out of hurricane names. The year also featured Tropical Storm Zeta, the latest forming Tropical Storm which formed on December 30, 2005 and lasted until January 7, 2006.

Days continue to grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 34.6 degrees at the beginning of the month to 33.0 degrees at Winter Solstice on December 21 and then the angle begins to lift reaching 33.4 degrees on New Year’s Eve,

Daylight decreases from 10 hours 6 minutes on December 1 to 9 hours 56 minutes at Winter Solstice and then increases to 9 hours 58 minutes on December 31

 

Sunrise and Sunset times for Birmingham are:

December 1 Sunrise 6:33 AM Sunset 4:39 PM
December 15 Sunrise 6:43 AM Sunset 4:40 PM
December 21 Sunrise 6:47 AM Sunset 4:43 PM
December 31 Sunrise 6:51 AM Sunset 4:49 PM

Looking skyward, at the beginning of the month, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Scorpius

Mercury, magnitude –0.8, in Libra, is very low in the eastern dawn, and is sinking farther down and away from sight day by day and by midmonth will disappear behind the Sun.

On December 15 Mercury reach his furthest distance from the Sun in his 88 day orbit or year.

He will be directly behind the Sun or at “Superior Conjunction” on December 19.

Venus, magnitude –3.9, in Libra, continues to shine in the eastern dawn as the bright “Morning Star.” She is getting a little lower every week.

On December 12 she will pass just South of the Moon.

Earth, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the Constellation Orion

Mars, magnitude –1.1, in Pisces, shines bright yellow in the east-southeast at dusk.

Earth, in her faster orbit is leaving Mars in the distance and he is fading and shrinking into the night.

Widespread yellow dust storms are under way on the Red Planet. Whether they will spread globally is yet to be see.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 9.0, is in Aquarius.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.0, in Sagittarius, is in the Southwest during and after twilight.

Saturn, magnitudes +0.6, in Sagittarius sits next to Jupiter as a stately pair. Jupiter is the brighter of the two, with Saturn to the upper left of him.

The separation of the two is shrinking.

On December 21st, Jupiter and Saturn will pass within 0.1° of each other at “Great Conjunction” low in the glow of sunset. Their visibility will not be as good as it has been, as they are moving to the far side of our orbit from them, and steadily lower in-altitude, but, will still be noteworthy.

They will be so close that they will appear to make a bright double planet. Look to the west just after sunset for this impressive and rare planetary pair.

This is a special event in that while the two giants have “Great Conjunctions” about every 20 years, this will be their closest one visible since March 4, 1226.

The Next Great Conjunction, and only Jupiter and Saturn have “Great Conjunctions”, will be November 4, 2040, though they will not be as close as in 2020.

The next time they will be this close will be on March 15, 2080.

What will be best “Great Conjunction” will feature Saturn passing directly behind Jupiter. I ‘m really looking forward for this event, which will occur on June 17, 7541.

Uranus, magnitude 5.7, in Aries, is high in the east-southeast after nightfall

Neptune, magnitude 7.9, in Aquarius, is high but in the south in early evening.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.4 in Sagittarius.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, its ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.4 in Bootes.

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon faintly shines at magnitude 17.3 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude 18.8 in Cetus the Sea Monster

4306 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of November 19, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur December 7. This is always a reliable navigation tool, as it lets your know where East is and because when the Moon is at her highest point, at Sunset, the dividing line between the light and dark side, or the “terminator” will be on an exact North / South line.

You might say “well if the Sun is setting wouldn’t you know where West is anyway?” Not exactly. You see the Sun only rises and sets directly on an East and West line during the days around the Equinoxes. During the Winter it actually sets towards the West-Southwest, and in the Summer towards the West-Northwest. So if you needed to head directly west, and head towards the Sun at those times, you would miss your target.

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on December 12, when she will be 224,798 miles from Earth.

The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks on December 13-14. Geminids are one of the year’s best meteor showers. It is my favorite meteor shower and considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens. It’s a consistent and prolific shower, and usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing the more widely recognized Perseids of August. This shower typically produces 50 or more multicolored meteors an hour, or about one every minute, and at the peak 120 meteors per hour.

As a general rule, the dazzling Geminid meteor shower starts around mid-evening and tends to pick up steam as evening deepens into late night. No matter where you live worldwide, the greatest number of meteors usually fall in the wee hours after midnight, or for a few hours centered around 2 a.m. local time, as the Earth plows headlong into the stream. If you’re game, you can watch the Geminid shower all the way from mid-evening until dawn.

The nearly new moon will ensure dark skies for what should be an excellent show.

The Geminids are produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982. The shower runs annually from December 7-17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. The morning of the 15th could also be nearly as active this year.

Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

New Moon occurs December 14 at 10:18 AM CST or 16:18 UTC December 26 when the Moon will 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.

On December 14 there will be a Total Solar Eclipse. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the Sun, revealing the Sun’s beautiful outer atmosphere known as the corona.
The total eclipse will only be visible in parts of southern Chile and southern Argentina. A partial eclipse will be visible in most parts of southern South America, the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Winter Solstice will occur on December 21 at 4:02 AM CST or 10:02 UTC. The South Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its southernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.44 degrees south latitude. This is the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur December 21. As with Last Quarter Moon, this phase can be used for navigation also, with the Moon telling you where West is located, and it her highest point, which is at Sunrise, the North / South line.

The Ursid meteor shower, a minor meteor shower, which runs annually from December 17-25 will peak on the night and morning of December 21 – 22 producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790.

The first quarter moon should set just after midnight leaving dark skies for what could be a good show.

Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on December 24, when she will be 251661 miles from Earth.

Full Moon occurs at 8:30 PM on December 29 or 3:30 UTC on December 30 when the Moon will be fully illuminated. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Cold Moon because this is the time of year when the cold winter air settles in and the nights become long and dark. This moon has also been known as the Moon Before Yule and the Full Long Nights Moon.

’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

Christmastime is a time of wonder & mystery. A time of bright lights, shining trees and the time of hide and seek, as presents are hid from inquiring minds and fingers.

It is a time when one’s mind and memories drift back to days of childhood, and Christmases now long gone by. Remembering friends and family, some here, some now gone & longing that they were near once again, as it was once upon a time not so long ago.
And, it is a time when, if we allow ourselves and don’t choose to “Grinch out” and be sour pusses, we can become kids once again.

Most importantly though, it’s a time to remember that the true “reason for the season” occurred in a manger, long ago on that first cold and chilly “Silent Night.”

So as you go about your Christmas preparations remember the magic that was there when you were a child & don’t let that magic die. Make it magic once again

For Christmas truly is “the most wonderful time of the year”.

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This month’s meeting will be on December 8 at 7PM.

The meeting will be done remotely as was last month’s meeting. Details and instructions will be issued as the time nears.

I hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter
Wd4nyl@bellsouth.net

Mark’s Weatherlynx
Weather Resource Database
https://weatherlynx.webs.com/