|
During the first weekend of December, the National Weather Service Office in Melbourne, Florida supported SKYWARNTM
Recognition Day for the 9th consecutive year. The event for Amateur
Radio (ham) operators was held from 7 pm Friday November 30 until 7
pm Saturday December 1 and was co-sponsored by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League. The event
is held each year to celebrate the contributions that ham radio
operators make to the National Weather Service during times of critical weather. During the event, hams across the country contact as many
other NWS offices as possible using their radio equipment. The contacts
are received and logged at the individual NWS offices by volunteer amateur radio operators
and licensed NWS staff.
During the 2007 special event, operations
from NWS Melbourne included a High Frequency (HF) station, a Very High Frequency (VHF)
station and a PC-based EchoLink (VoIP) station. HF operations utilized
the 20, 40, 80 and 160-meter bands with both SSB (voice) and CW (morse code) modes.
Antennas used were a rotatable Hygain TH6DXX beam at 35 feet
(20-meters), a GAP Voyager (40, 80, 160-meters), and a
rotatable beam at 40 feet for VHF (2-meters). Amateur Radio operators
from the Treasure Coast Weather Net (TCWN)
participated as well as an operator from Brevard County. Several licensed NWS Melbourne meteorologists (East Central Florida SKYWARNTM Group) also operated during the event. The NWS Melbourne East Central Florida SKYWARNTM Group special call-sign WX4MLB was used.
NWS Melbourne thanks
the individuals who supported the event, including those
assisting with antenna and station set-up, those who loaned equipment, and of course the
dedicated operators. We also appreciate the work of the many individuals who provide valuable SKYWARNTM communications services and severe weather reports throughout the year - and we
thank the hundreds of radio operators who took the time and
effort to 'work' us during the event. Finally, GAP Antenna
Products, Inc. is recognized for providing use of the GAP
Voyager.
The 2007 official results:
Total Contacts: 930
States Contacted: 47
NWS Stations Contacted: 64
Countries Contacted: 17
Bands: 2, 20, 40, 80,
160 meters
Modes: SSB, CW, Packet, Echolink |
Radio Operators & Assistance Provided by:
| Eric Smitt - K9ES |
Brevard County - PCARS |
| Chuck Green - AD4ES |
Brevard County - PCARS |
| Wayne Burkett - KA1VRF |
TCWN |
| Eric Larabell - KF4UJO |
TCWN |
| Brian Cook - KI4HLW |
TCWN |
| Duane Duncan - K4LNN |
TCWN |
| Mark Timblin - AI4HO |
TCWN |
| Vince Weal - K4JC |
TCWN |
| Willie Thompson - KB5FKG |
TCWN |
| Roger Snyder - K4RS |
TCWN |
| Toni Snyder - K1TS |
TCWN |
| Ray Jaworski - KI4RHL |
TCWN |
| Scott Spratt - KT4PD |
NWS Melbourne SKYWARN Group |
| Pete Blottman - N2RFW |
NWS Melbourne SKYWARN Group |
| John Pendergrast - KC5SVA |
NWS Melbourne SKYWARN Group |
| Dennis Decker |
NWS Melbourne |
| Roddey Stevenson |
NWS Melbourne |
| Don Burkhardt |
NWS Melbourne |
| Bill Bennett |
NWS Melbourne |
| Tony Cristaldi |
NWS Melbourne |
| Matt Bragaw |
NWS Melbourne |
| GAP Antenna Products, Inc. |
|
For questions, comments, feedback, please email Scott Spratt. To receive a QSL card from WX4MLB, please send an your card along with an SASE to: NWS Melbourne, 421 Croton Road, Melbourne, FL 32935. Electronic QSLs can be exchanged via . For certificate information,
click here.
Annual Statistics from WFO Melbourne (local records)
YEAR
|
Total Contacts |
NWS Contacts |
States
|
DX Countries |
Contacts
nation-wide |
| 1999 |
279 |
20 |
38 |
7 |
|
| 2000 |
489 |
38 |
43 |
12 |
|
| 2001 |
276 |
33 |
48 |
3 |
|
| 2002 |
388 |
35 |
44 |
29 |
|
| 2003 |
538 |
42 |
43 |
20 |
|
| 2004 |
1524 |
68 |
49 |
57 |
1st Place |
| 2005 |
778 |
71 |
49 |
20 |
3rd Place |
| 2006 |
921 |
70 |
50 |
24 |
2nd Place |
| 2007 |
930 |
64 |
47 |
17 |
1st Place |
| 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Weather Service Forecast Office
