🚀 go-pugleaf

Date:  Mon, 22 Jan 1996
From:  Robert Watkins <aa455@freenet.akron.oh.us>
Subject: cleveland skywarn
   Robert Walchli <BobW@MSN.COM> writes this regarding Cleveland Skywarn.

>I am curious to know how spotter reports are collected and consolidate
>before being relayed to your local Nation Weather Service Office in other
>parts of our country (I am in the Cleveland Ohio NWS area).
>Currently our NWS office has an amateur radio station set up with the
>ability to operate of different bands. The amateurs stationed at the NWS
>office try to collect information from too many radio sources which causes
>delays and confusion, and often requires us to repeat our traffic.
>Initially the field spotter collection system was designed for spotters to
>send their field reports to the county Skywarn repeater who would then relay
>the information, if appropriate, to the NWS on a wide area 6 meter
>repeater system.
 Greetings Bob,
I am as close to the problem that I think I can
be. I am on the state steering committee for
Skywarn and one of the coordinators for Summit County. The problem you
have discussed has been a concern to the steering committee for a long
while.

While it is a difficult problem to resolve, we have a new plan
going into effect for 1996 that will reduce the reports to the National
Weather service by using the 6 meter backbone system only.  Some of the
changes are that the steering committee has divides counties into "LOCAL
FOCUS GROUPS" which consist of a few counties.  The counties local net
will have a liaison that will pass the traffic to ONE person who then
passes the traffic to the National Weather Service via 52.68 Mhz. (6 meter
backbone) The 146.76 repeater will no longer relay (except if the 6 meter
goes down) traffic to the weather service or will they take routine
traffic from outside their local focus group.  Even the Cleveland group
must pass all traffic onto the 6 meter backbone.  We hope this system will
help reduce the problem. Skywarn is changing as we know it due to the
closing of the local weather service offices. There will be some more
changes in the system for the future, but we need to do one at a time.  I
hope this information helps.

If you have anymore questions feel free to
e-mail me.  my address is aa455@akron.freenet.akron.oh.us.
 Bob Watkins
Summit Co. Skywarn.













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