Albemarle County Storm Spotting Frequencies

QDP2012 said:

Good afternoon all,

I notice that the Albemarle: Miscellaneous: Storm Spotting DB page has been added/updated recently, with a list of all five MURS frequencies and some interesting descriptions.

Just curious, what local organization, or group of people, chose these descriptions/purposes for the MURS frequencies, and is actively using them in Albemarle?

Any information about the organization, etc. that is "behind" these frequencies would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

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BlueMoon2 said:

There are dedicated 2-meter frequencies in the Albemarle Charlottesville area. The Aarc has a member that monitors one of their repeaters. The frequency does rotate around unless there has been a specific ares activation.


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§95.1309 Channel use policy.

(a) The channels authorized to MURS systems by this part are available on a shared basis only and will not be assigned for the exclusive use of any entity.

(b) Those using MURS transmitters must cooperate in the selection and use of channels in order to reduce interference and make the most effective use of authorized facilities. Channels must be selected in an effort to avoid interference to other MURS transmissions.

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QDP2012 said:

It would not surprise me if SAR used Amateur Radio repeaters and simplex frequencies, especially 2-meter. That would be similar to a weather-net being activated during a storm/tornado, etc.

But SAR on MURS?
MURS must be shared with all users, per §95.1309. MURS cannot be repeated, per §95.1311. MURS is limited to 2W, per §95.639.



It just seems odd to me that anyone would choose MURS as a permanent solution for SAR Ops, and furthermore would attempt to assign all MURS channels for SAR Ops use, knowing that MURS is shared, never exclusive, and is not a public-safety band.

With Amateur Radio, SAR Ops can establish net-control and occupy a repeater, or repeater network, exclusively. But, MURS for SAR Ops? Really?

So far, the whole thing just seems a bit odd. It would be interesting to learn the "official" reason behind the MURS assignments for SAR use.

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lifeguard17 said:

There is a chance that this is not good Info and I would be hesitant to think this is part of an organized and authorized group.

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lifeguard17 said:

There is an individual in Albemarle county that has been playing around with radios and operating them illegally. He wants to build a Storm Chasing Team and a CERT. There is a chance this individual is responsible for posting these frequencies.

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• I was typing a long comment here, but was "on the soapbox" a bit too much, so I'll just say this, I hope the person(s) who might be doing what you describe, will avoid "going rogue or freelancing", and will choose to join existing, authorized, organizations, use radios/frequencies properly, and get proper training/licensing, instead of creating trouble, intentional or unintentional.
  
  
• The local Charlottesville/Albemarle/UVA CERT team...
  • is well-established, has existed for years, and (through the determined efforts of a handful of dedicated overworked Emergency Managers),
  • has grown over time,
  • teaches several classes each year (totalling many hundreds of people through the years),
  • holds monthly meetings,
  • helps host/co-host/support community-awareness seminars (like the active-shooter training held at ACOB-McIntire),
  • responds when activated (like the Hannah Graham search), and
  • supports/cooperates with CERT teams in neighboring jurisdictions.
  On a personal-opinion level, an Albemarle County resident would have a difficult time convincing me why they would need to create another CERT team instead of joining the existing CERT team and helping to improve it.
  
  
• As far as weather-watching is concerned, I was getting back on that soapbox again. So, I'll trim it down and say this. I have been a licensed amateur radio operator and certified weather-watcher for years. Some might disagree with this, but in my opinion,
  • Across this nation, detailed local-level radar coverage is so good now that storm-chasing in a metro/populated area seems to be of little purpose than to get pictures to sell to the media.
  • Storm-chasing's value for community-warning purposes is decreasing as radar coverage improves.
  • Storm-spotting, which can be done from the relative safety of a properly-equipped shelter, is more useful especially when multiple spotters in multiple locations are observing and reporting appropriately.
  • When cell phones and landlines get interrupted, amateur radio can be a useful tool for communicating weather information to the NWS and/or the local 911/ECC/EOC/PSAP. In some places, when the phone system's voice-channels are busy, text messages, email, and social media might still be an option.
  • So, I recommend people get licensed/certified as weather-watchers and amateur radio operators.
  
  
• If a person wants to be involved in weather-watching, and is not yet properly trained and certified, then please go get the weather-watching training and certification(s). If a person wants to use radios during weather-events, other than cell phones, please go get your amateur radio license. There's a whole amateur-radio community, where there really is not a MURS community.
  
  Just one opinion,

QDP2012 said:

Thanks for the reply lifeguard17,

---

My guesses are along this line, too, but wanted to allow for the possibility that there might be two people involved instead of just one.

---

• I was typing a long comment here, but was "on the soapbox" a bit too much, so I'll just say this, I hope the person(s) who might be doing what you describe, will avoid "going rogue or freelancing", and will choose to join existing, authorized, organizations, use radios/frequencies properly, and get proper training/licensing, instead of creating trouble, intentional or unintentional.
  
  
• The local Charlottesville/Albemarle/UVA CERT team...
  • is well-established, has existed for years, and (through the determined efforts of a handful of dedicated overworked Emergency Managers),
  • has grown over time,
  • teaches several classes each year (totalling many hundreds of people through the years),
  • holds monthly meetings,
  • helps host/co-host/support community-awareness seminars (like the active-shooter training held at ACOB-McIntire),
  • responds when activated (like the Hannah Graham search), and
  • supports/cooperates with CERT teams in neighboring jurisdictions.
  On a personal-opinion level, an Albemarle County resident would have a difficult time convincing me why they would need to create another CERT team instead of joining the existing CERT team and helping to improve it.
  
  
• As far as weather-watching is concerned, I was getting back on that soapbox again. So, I'll trim it down and say this. I have been a licensed amateur radio operator and certified weather-watcher for years. Some might disagree with this, but in my opinion,
  • Across this nation, detailed local-level radar coverage is so good now that storm-chasing in a metro/populated area seems to be of little purpose than to get pictures to sell to the media.
  • Storm-chasing's value for community-warning purposes is decreasing as radar coverage improves.
  • Storm-spotting, which can be done from the relative safety of a properly-equipped shelter, is more useful especially when multiple spotters in multiple locations are observing and reporting appropriately.
  • When cell phones and landlines get interrupted, amateur radio can be a useful tool for communicating weather information to the NWS and/or the local 911/ECC/EOC/PSAP. In some places, when the phone system's voice-channels are busy, text messages, email, and social media might still be an option.
  • So, I recommend people get licensed/certified as weather-watchers and amateur radio operators.
  
  
• If a person wants to be involved in weather-watching, and is not yet properly trained and certified, then please go get the weather-watching training and certification(s). If a person wants to use radios during weather-events, other than cell phones, please go get your amateur radio license. There's a whole amateur-radio community, where there really is not a MURS community.
  
  Just one opinion,

---
I guess I ended up on the "soapbox" anyway.

Thanks again for the reply.

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