Douglas County EMA

[SCPD]

Does Douglas County patch the spotter, either ham or react, into their system?

 

[W0JJK]

No, they don't as now. Sarpy houses the REACT repeater and the DCEMA runs the Skywarn net on K0USA repeater which is now on the KETV tower not the 156 and Maple Tower.

W0JJK

 

[SCPD]

I was listening to the scanner feed online. I thought it was douglas spotters but after listening for a little longer the callsigns started with WC. I think it may have been Washington County.

Is that hams, react, or county EMA spotters?

 

[W0JJK]

I don't know what Washington County uses. I have heard a ham from Blair talk about spotting for the County and using a new radio from the county.

It would make sense that they would use the new system since nothing else would cover the county.

 

[NeFire242]

Wouldn't it be a little slightly illegal to patch that?

Washington County uses their own EMA TGID for this. Today NWS had no way to communicate with Washington county at all except by sending some hams up there during today's earlier Tornado Warning.

 

[SCPD]

Wouldn't it be a little slightly illegal to patch that?

Other agencies do it, atleast there are talkgroups labled as ARES, SKywarn patch for systems in the database.

 

[W0JJK]

It those cases most likely, the same people that maintain the TRS maintain the ham repeater. That is not case in Douglas County.

 

[Allan_Love_Jr]

Washington county weather spotters are called up once a watch goes into effect. Once something does happen. The spotters relay the info back to Blair Dispatch (by Radio) and then the info is realyed to the NWS.

 

[NeFire242]

The spotters relay the info back to Blair Dispatch (by Radio) and then the info is realyed to the NWS.

Gee that shouldn't take more than what a couple of minutes, if dispatch isn't already tied up with passing other traffic and dispatching calls. Just pick up the phone and call NWS direct.

 

[NeFire242]

It those cases most likely, the same people that maintain the TRS maintain the ham repeater. That is not case in Douglas County.

Thank God DC has some sense, and not wanting to take responsibility for that POS 94 repeater.

 

[obijohn]

Gee that shouldn't take more than what a couple of minutes, if dispatch isn't already tied up with passing other traffic and dispatching calls. Just pick up the phone and call NWS direct.

I guess I just assumed that the wx spotters in Washington County were hams.

In the past few years they have been communicating directly with the NWS office
when spotting.

I think the NWS just "comes up" on the repeater in the area they need current info on.

Hams were going to the NWS office, but now I believe at least 2 of the forecasters are now hams. I remember meeting Brian...can't remember his last name-and he mentioned he was now licensed.

 

[NeFire242]

Although Brian Smith (KB0QXF) is a ham, he's also the Warning Coordinator out at Valley which means he doesn't have time to play radio. This is why hams are sent out to Valley.

NWS is monitoring all repeater freqs within their CWA and 146.5500 amongst a few others to hear stations who may not be able to check into a Skywarn net give reports or hear for stations needing assistance. Its is carefully planned they just do not show up on a particular repeater.