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This is the second in a series of articles on the SKYWARN program. In this installment we will cover procedures and frequencies in use in Hillsborough County.
The primary SKYWARN net takes place on the Pack Monadnock repeater at 443.350 MHz with a PL of 110.9. Nets are also likely to be active on the N1IMO-N1IMN linked system, and on the Nashua repeater.
The hub of the N1IMO system in Hollis, NH is on 146.730 MHz with a PL of 88.5. This repeater also has a remote receive station in Derry NH, on the same frequency, but with a PL of 127.3. If you have trouble accessing the Hollis 2M repeater, try changing your PL to 127.3 and see if you can access Derry.
These repeaters are linked to other repeaters
in and around Hillsborough, including:
443.500 MHz PL 88.5 in Hollis NH
145.310 MHz PL 88.5 in Moultonboro NH
442.150 MHz PL 88.5 on Pat's Peak NH
147.195 MHz PL 88.5 in Bow NH
53.970 MHz PL 88.5 in Derry NH
447.825 MHz PL 88.5 in Derry NH
448.825 MHz PL 88.5 in Leominster MA
A net may also be active on the Francestown NH repeater 146.685 MHz PL 136.5.
In case of very heavy traffic, or repeater failure, two simplex frequencies will be used to bring up nets: 147.42 MHz (primary), and 147.48 MHz (secondary).
It is very difficult for one net control station to cover all of the repeaters all of the time. Net control may ask for stations to start nets on the secondary frequencies. If you are able to, please volunteer your services to act as NCS on one of the secondary frequencies. Your responsibility will be to bring up a net, collect weather observations or damage reports, and to pass that traffic to net control on the primary frequency on a regular basis. Guidelines for net control operations are available on the web and in Microsoft Word format in the Western Hillsborough County SKYWARN Operations Guide.
NWS Taunton will often check into local repeaters to pick up observations.
Remember that NWS Taunton covers Cheshire and Hillsborough counties in New Hampshire, as well as all of Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut. They will not be able to spend much time on any single repeater, and so all communications to NWS must be of importance, and must be brief.
If a formal SKYWARN net is in progress, let the net control station decide how traffic will be passed to NWS. The net control station may pass the traffic directly, or may ask you or other stations on the net to pass traffic. If you have information to pass to NWS, observe net protocol and ask net control for permission to call the NWS station. Traffic need not be in formal NTS format, but should adhere to the NWS weather reporting criteria. The criteria that NWS is looking for is listed on the web site, and we will cover them in coming weeks.
The primary liaison frequency with NWS Taunton is the Pack Monadnock repeater on 443.350 MHz PL 110.9. Also, NWS frequently comes up on the Mt Wachusetts 6M repeater on 53.310 MHz PL 71.9.
Join the SKYWARN Preparedness Net held each Sunday at 0930 AM local time on 7.230 MHz(+/-) for questions and training. All of the information covered in this article is available on the web at http://www.qsl.net/kb1dfe. Keep an eye on the sky and I hope to hear you each Tuesday on the local ARES nets.
73 de Marc, KB1DFE