Virginia Emergency Management Symposium

Outreach Presentation

Estimated Run Time: 30 Minutes

Produced: 22-Feb-2010

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative

Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

NOAA - National Weather Service

Wakefield SKYWARNAmateur Radio Support Team

VEMS Presentation

Steve Crow, KG4PEQ – Amateur Radio CoordinatorSteve.Crow@WX4AKQ.org

(877) 499-4257 ext. 3900

Revised February 22, 2010

SKYWARN Spottersand Amateur Radio

What is Amateur Radio?

Amateur radio, or “ham radio” exists to further the radio art and facilitate communications during emergencies.

It is both a hobby and a radio service.Participants, often called hams, must pass an examination

demonstrating their proficiency in basic electronics theory, FCC regulations, and communications technique prior to receiving

their license from the FCC.Many hams have a strong desire to use their radio

communications skills and equipment in service to their community through several local and national organizations.

Amateur Radio Services

There are several major amateur radio service groups that exist in our area and across the country. All are dedicated to providing

critical emergency communications services.Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES)

Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES)Virginia Dept. of Emergency Mgt. (VDEM-ARCA)

Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN)Radio Emergency Associated Comm. Teams (REACT)

National Traffic System (NTS)And of course...

National Weather Service SKYWARNAll of these programs exist to serve the public in some way.

Why Ham Radio ServesThe National Weather Service

Many hams are naturally curious about the weather.Many hams are community-service minded.

They enjoy working with the forecast team at the NWS.

How Ham Radio andSKYWARN Fit Together

Ham radio operators and the clubs they often belong to have invested many thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into

building resilient, high quality communications systems.These systems are made available to the National Weather

Service for purposes of the SKYWARN program.Hams donate their time, skills, and equipment to serve the National Weather Service during SKYWARN Activations.

Even if phone lines are working and the power is on, hams still serve a valuable purpose for your office: collecting and

disseminating weather information and serving as a filter for all of those “sunshine” and “dark cloud” reports!

For More Informationhttp://www.wx4akq.org/coordinator@wx4akq.org