Weather related

[transam76]

I have a pro96, and programmed all the FIPS codes in for my area and during the storms a couple days ago didnt hear a thing. Just wondering if there was a switch on my scanner that i have to turn on. Iwas in standby mode and didnt hear a thing. Weather chanel comes in clear as a bell though

 

[hypersight]

Could be a problem with weatherradio canada....I found this link in a yahoo group

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/wxscan/message/13086

 

[MetalCarnage]

I am in Durham and the S.A.M.E. sounded off fine with the recent big storm, it did twice in fact, this was with my 396. However i was in Thunder Bay for 8 months (Sept 07 --> April 08) and was using my 250D and 396 as a weather monitors and was having big problems with weather radio setting off either one (even on testing days) so i dont know if its a problem in just certain areas/broadcast towers or what. Didnt seem to consistent when it came to different areas. I did find though that have near perfect reception helped.

 

[IdleMonitor]

Or got to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/weatheradio - Ontario based, with lots of info.

Could be a problem with weatherradio canada....I found this link in a yahoo group

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/wxscan/message/13086

 

[MetalCarnage]

Or got to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/weatheradio - Ontario based, with lots of info.

Right on the front page of this URL

"......DO NOT use *PARENT CLC REGION CODES* at this time as they are not being transmitted, ie, **043200 All of York - Durham" glad i saw that, i am lucky i had both the Parent CLC Region code AND Southern Durhams Programmed in

 

[rcvmo]

My guess would be maybe the radio (s) were in a fringe area just enough to catch the signal, but far enough away to bring on noise with the signal. I know the FIPS code are sent 3 X , but in a weak signal area, the FIPS code may not be decoded properly, thus leading to no alarms.
just my technical thought.

 

[MetalCarnage]

I read through some posts on that weather radio group and apparently Montreal got battered to hell with weather and they had the same probs, no SAME pages came through despite the violent weather...looks like maybe weather radio was just a mess for that storm...hopefuly they get it fixed

 

[petergriffin]

hey, i am in welington county and i have my WX alert on and all CLC codes for my area and then some and i have heard nothing this entire night with respect to the Tstrorms.. i have a 396

if i just monitor 162.5500 i hear some low hum and i get a full signal... but i don't get any audio either with alert or monitoring

 

[Jammin_Jay]

I still think the National Weather Serivce in the U.S. does a much better job. I think Environment Canada needs to revamp the system, and make sure things work right, that alerts are going out, when a weather warning is issued. They say right in their broadcast that you can call this 1-800 number to report any comment regarding the operation of the e.c radio service.

 

[mikewazowski]

SAME has worked without any problems for me. We had a Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued a few hours before the bad weather hit which showed up fine on my Weatherradio. Currently it's showing a Severe Thunderstorm Warning with about 51 minutes left.

 

[petergriffin]

hmmm well you have an actual weather radio where i have and the others have a scanner (and even uniden has a disclaimer not to rely on it as a weather radio etc.) any ways. what is the frequency you would listen to , to hear weather updates (that is if you didnt have a SAME decoding radio/scanner?) i know when i first got a scanner i would scan the service search on the uniden 296 and i would hear in french and english the weather conditions and it would repeat. i don't hear that anymore all i hear is that low hum i spoke of before.

MIKE_OXLONG what frequency do you tune to for your weather alerts?

 

[mikewazowski]

MIKE_OXLONG what frequency do you tune to for your weather alerts?

I tune to 162.4750Mhz.

My Weatherradio is actually a combination AM/FM Clock Radio from Radio Shack.

I had to select the strongest signal, enter the FIPS codes and what alerts I wanted to receive when I first set it up.

Basically the same procedure you had to follow when you set your scanner up.

 

[hfxChris]

Don't they do tests of the system? Couldn't you just see if it picks up the test?

 

[petergriffin]

okay,well lets say i don't have a SAME decoder i jsut tune to 162.5500 or whatever station frequency is closest to my area.. I should be able to hear in both FRENCH AND ENGLISH audible warnings in general. i am only hearing this faint background noise (and, YES, i have full signal) can anyone explain that?

 

[mikewazowski]

Don't they do tests of the system? Couldn't you just see if it picks up the test?

I think it's just before noon on every Wednesday.

I've been home when the tests have been done and my box showed Test Alert.

 

[mikewazowski]

okay,well lets say i don't have a SAME decoder i jsut tune to 162.5500 or whatever station frequency is closest to my area.. I should be able to hear in both FRENCH AND ENGLISH audible warnings in general. i am only hearing this faint background noise (and, YES, i have full signal) can anyone explain that?

Try it on another radio and if you still have full signal and only background noise, then call the 1-800 number and advise them they might have a problem with the equipment at the site.

 

[hfxChris]

I think it's just before noon on every Wednesday.

I've been home when the tests have been done and my box showed Test Alert.

Wednesdays at noon? Jeez, could they have picked a more inconvenient time for those of us with jobs?

 

[IdleMonitor]

Could've been worse, could've been at 4:30 am when everyone else is sleeping. Because that's usually the time of day that the weather starts to act up.

#1 not everyone has jobs, #2, some people are at work at other times of the day as well. not everyone is 9-5, I know I certainly aint', but I'm still in the know with what happens on the system through the yahoogroup, #3, hook up your radio to the computer and record it there are programs that will do that. #4, take the radio with you. Would you be still upset if they sent out an alert and you didn't have the radio with you to hear the alert.

If people are having problems getting the reception, the best spot to post your findings or inaccuracies in on that yahoo group. There are people in the group that work for EC and do read the everyday messages and will often reply.

Wednesdays at noon? Jeez, could they have picked a more inconvenient time for those of us with jobs?

 

[hfxChris]

#1 not everyone has jobs, #2, some people are at work at other times of the day as well. not everyone is 9-5, I know I certainly aint', but I'm still in the know with what happens on the system through the yahoogroup, #3, hook up your radio to the computer and record it there are programs that will do that. #4, take the radio with you. Would you be still upset if they sent out an alert and you didn't have the radio with you to hear the alert.

Jeez, sorry. Dunno if you misread me or what, but I'm actually not upset about anything, just musing that noon on a weekday isn't the greatest time to do tests because a large number of people do in fact have jobs, and a large percentage of those people do work 9-5 (or some shift which has them working around noon). Our local fire department does their pager tests at 7pm, which works good for all of the volunteers who have day jobs.
Anyway, as I said I'm not upset about anything, I don't even monitor weather alerts, I just happened to stumbled upon this topic.

 

[transam76]

well my alert finally wen't off today being Sat. June20 with the big storm. Don't know how though, just turned my scanner on at about 2;oopm, soon as i turned it on the alert wen't off saying Severe thunderstorm warning. I was in scanning mode, scanning the police and amb,fire freqencies, but it was only the audio alarm and the saying. Had to hit Wx to hear the verbal and shut it off. Is this how this is supose to work. This is the first time i heard this on my scanner, listen to it for the last 8 months with the clc codes in it. I guess my question is can you scan and still hear the weather alert and will it tell you the actual area its for, like in my clc code you enter the number and label it like for example (041410-CHATHAM-KENT) will you see that display on your scanner.