Hurricane Gustav

With the approach of Hurricane Gustav towards the US coast, Australian volunteers are again assisting and supporting US radio amateurs by keeping a listening watch and when required, assisting with Net Control for the VoIP SkyWarn / Hurricane Net.

D-Star will again be used be used as a new communications tool along with EchoLink and IRLP to assist radio amateurs in helping the public in time of emergency. VK3RWN B will be used to monitor reflector REF002 A where the VoIP SkyWarn / Hurricane Net will be taking place. The emergency is expected to last between 48 to 96 hours but could be extended if there are problems.

A clear frequency is requested while this event is taking place. If you have a contact on VK3RWN B please keep it short and move to another repeater port. There are currently a number of repeaters and stations linked into the reflector (REF002A). These stations are in standby for Gustav activities. There are also a number of Emergency Operation Centers connected.

Stations are invited to check into the net and monitor through Monday and Tuesday as Gustav crosses the coast into Louisiana and Texas. Remember that when connected to a Reflector, all transmissions are sent to the Reflector and all connected repeaters, so any activity is heard by all stations. Please keep transmissions to a minimum. While it is anticipated that the reflector will be quiet, please do not assume that no one is there and that it is okay to have a QSO. There will also be data activity using D-RATS. If you hear a number of beeps without user conversation, these can be assumed to be data transfers.

More information on the VoIP SkyWarn / Hurricane Net can be found at http://www.voipwx.net/ As of August 31, Hurricane Gustav is was in the Eastern Central Caribbean heading in a northwesterly direction. Current predictions for landfall put it near the Louisiana / Mississippi border in the early afternoon on Monday, September 1, 2008 Central US time. For up to date information on Gustav visit http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Radio Amateurs are requested not to transmit on or near Hurricane net frequencies in the 20, 40 and 80 metre bands to let through emergency net traffic.

A list of frequencies in English may be found at: http://www.hurricanefrequencies.com/

Regards
Richard
VK3JFK

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