South East Michigan Skywarn

[mbook87]

I was trying to do some searching on this and got a bit confused.

I am a Skywarn spotter for my county on the West Side of Michigan. However, I visit family and friends often on the south east side of the state. Currently all I have is an analog radio. In West, MI our NWS office delegates Skywarn to the county level. That being said it is the counties that create the Skywarn teams.

So in my readings Gaylord and Detroit office instead have a regional coordinator that will run the Skywarn teams and nets. I'm pretty sure if I'm out that way during a storm event I can relay ground truth data but how? I see that Detroit NWS uses the DMR system through MI5 and I think on event 1. As stated I don't have a DMR radio just plain ole analog.

I noticed many counties such as Genesee, Oakland, Monroe, Macomb, and a few others are listed to have an analog repeaters designated for Skywarn for that county.

So if I'm tuned in to that repeater am I going to hear the active NET from the NWS. I was reading that the analog is patched through to the DMR.

If there is any SE, MI Skywarn HAMs out there willing to give insight and how it works out that way it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[smithken]

The DMR system on MI5 is for key stations ONLY. There is one key station per county, the key station listens to the county net (usually on 2 meters) and relays any pertinent information to the MICON net on the DMR system. At most there should be 18 stations on the MICON net, one for each of the 17 counties MICON covers and a net control station.

 

[WQWD609]

The DTX Coverage area uses the Central Michigan Emergency Network UHF analog system to establish a MICON Net. The Micon net is for one station (Key station) per county to communicate directly with NWS DTX. The Key Station is established at the County level. Only that one station per county is allowed on the net. A lot of times the boys at CMEN with patch in the DMR on Event 1 so that is an option to use as well for those with out a local UHF repeater thats on the system.

Each county runs their own Skywarn net and that one MICON Key station will pass traffic between the two nets. I would suggest you program in all of the CMEN UHF repeaters so you can listen to the MICON Net and any local repeaters that the county you are in might use for Skywarn. In St.Clair we use the 146.720 (WO0O/AA8K) mostly but will change repeaters depending on the storms track. I believe Macomb uses the 147.200 Repeater.

 

[mbook87]

Thank you to you both for the information. It helps me tremendously. The counties of interest to me are Oakland, Macomb, and Genesee. Other counties are some what important but those three counties are the ones I spend time in. I do have the repeaters for them already.

I don't have DMR capabilities so I don't see the option of being able to listen to the MICON net. Although, reading the message before this it sounds like it is indeed patched through.

The next time I'm out that way and a severe weather event takes place I will play with my radio and see what I get.