West Texas Connection
                                    Newsletter

JANUARY - FEBRUARY 1998
 
 
 

The WTC Newsletter is available on a bi-monthly basis for a subscription/donation of $12 per year.  Subscribers also receive new maps of the system
twice a year.  Send $12 to:  WTC, P.O. Box 7033, Odessa, TX  79760  After postage, all money goes toward maintenance of the West Texas
Connection.  Editor - Les Blalock, N5KOA   email:  LCB911@apex2000.net
 

WTC Sunday Morning Net

The WTC Sunday Morning Net meets at 0900 (Central) every Sunday morning.  The net is informal and open to all.  Check in for local ham news and events.

The West Texas Connection homepage is at:

                    www.apex2000.net/nonprof/wtc
 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The West Texas Connection moves in to 1998 with strong support and many dedicated people keeping it going.  On behalf of all the users of the Connection I say "THANKS!" to all the repeater owner/operators:
 

And on behalf of these guys, THANKS to you, the users, for your support.
 

WTC News

Fred, KC5BNS is still trying to get the new Lamesa repeater up.  The project is being delayed while looking for a tower climber.  The frequency will be 444.750.

At press time, the Marathon repeater on 147.500 is still down.  Mark, N5SOR has the necessary equipment and is trying to
find the time to take care of it.

Also, there is a problem at Pleasant Farms, the Odessa Hub, on 145.410.  Apparently there is a receiver problem on that radio but Odessa users can use the North Odessa machine on 146.700, the Hub 444.100 machine or 442.500 at Notrees.

GOINGS ON

Is it just me or does there seem to be a LOT of new things and renewed interest in amateur radio?

Maybe it's the anticipation of better HF conditions as the band openings seem to be slowly getting longer and better.  Both locally and around the country there seems to be more interest in 6 meters, too.

Or maybe it's all the new stuff that's fun to try.  Packet is surviving with the BBS's, APRS and new developments in the use of TCP/IP.

Long the local mainstay of FM packet, the Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) remain in place with lots of traffic passing through them.

Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS), although not so popular in West Texas as other areas, is still growing and gaining popularity as new features are made available.  The latest versions of APRS now allow users to share information over the Internet.  There is even a DOS version for use with Telnet access.  It's really neat to see over 1000 packet stations around the world on your map.  Keyboard QSOs are possible with any of the stations and in the future APRS stations connected via local internet provider will be able to exchange messages with stations through RF gateways.  This is truly an exciting marriage of amateur radio packet and the Internet.  All versions of APRS are shareware and can be downloaded from the Tuscon Amateur Radio web page at: http://www.tapr.org    Follow the links to the APRS Special Interest Group (SIG).  The Windows
version of APRS (WinAPRS) can be used on the Internet with or without a radio or tnc.

Using 900 mHz Spread Spectrum equipment for packet communication is another exciting prospect.  Members of the Texas Packet Radio Society (TPRS) are showing how TCP/IP protocols can allow pictures, video and audio clips, email and all the other features of Internet access on packet radio.  You could run Internet Explorer or Netscape to communicate with other local packeteers at speeds faster than those provided by wireline service now.

Also gaining popularity is Slow Scan Television (SSTV) and you might be surprised to find that you already have everything you need for Slow Scan.  A couple of nice programs (W95SSTV and WinPix) use your computer's sound card to send and receive the necessary audio for pictures.  Their are also DOS programs available and regardless of license class, if you have an HF rig you can start copying pictures today!  Listen at 14.230 or 14.233 mHz for SSTV action. SSTV is also popular in many areas on local FM repeaters.  I know there's interest in West Texas to move some SSTV activity onto 2m/440 so don't be surprised if you find yourself hooked on SSTV in the near future.

There ARE new and fun things to do in amateur radio and they don't have to cost an arm and a leg and you don't always have to upgrade your license to take advantage.

Check out these sites for more information about the applications described:
 

THE SKYWARN CONNECTION
by Ray Fagen, KC5JHC

Past SKYWARN CONNECTION columns have discussed El Nino and NOAA Weather Radio.  Below are updates in these two areas.

Recent local stories have concentrated on the effects of El Nino on West Texas weather, some stating we will double or triple our average snowfall this winter.  Well...maybe.  This is a look at snowfall from the past eight El Nino winters as compared to the overall 30-year average snowfall at the Midland Airport .

1969-70....9.5 inches
1972-73....7.4 inches
1976-77...5.8 inches
1977-78....1.1 inches
1982-83....12.3 inches
1986-87...11.7 inches
1991-92....8.0 inches
1993-94....7.0 inches

So, the records say an average of 7.9 inches of snowfall for recent El Nino years as compared to the overall average of 4.3 inches of snowfall.  Yet, one of the El Nino years had only 1.1 inches of snow all winter, another El Nino year 5.8 inches of snow all winter, while two of the eight El Nino years had around a foot of snow.  There is the potential for more snow across West Texas in response to the climate effects of El Nino but the cause-effect relationship between Pacific Ocean water temperatures and West Texas weather is not clear cut.

Earlier SKYWARN columns have discussed some features of  NOAA Weather Radio, an existing network of radio  transmitters that broadcast weather warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information across West Texas 24
hours a day.  An improvement added to this system in 1997 was a new  broadcasting technology for sending severe weather warning alarms, allowing listeners with new Weather Radio receivers to screen out those severe weather alarms that do not apply to them.

A new improvement to be added to this office in 1998 will be the ability to automatically translate written NWS forecasts and warnings into voice recordings and schedule them for broadcast onto NOAA Weather Radio.  For example, when we have numerous severe storms bearing down on several West Texas counties, the weather staff, rather than making recordings, will be able to use their time to track and analyze the storms via the SKYWARN net controllers, radar and satellite.  This new feature will dramatically speed up the broadcast of warnings to the listening public, especially during multiple severe weather events.   Also, this new automation feature will allow this office the ability to offer more data and information products than the staff previously had the time to produce and record, and to broadcast particular forecasts and information in regularly scheduled time slots, i.e. the local climate summaries at :06, :16, :26, :36, :46, and :56 each hour.

 The staff at the NWS Midland/Odessa office genuinely would like to thank the many public services provided by the amateur radio community during 1997, especially the SKYWARN field spotters and network controllers.   Your ability to spot severe weather as it develops, and to communicate that information to this office, does more to provide accurate and timely severe weather warnings than all the Doppler weather radars and weather radios in existence.  We are indebted to your dedication on behalf of our neighbors across West Texas.

Ray Fagen, KC5JHC, NWS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

West Texas Connection
P.O. Box 7033
Odessa, Texas  79760 Reader Notice

If you would like to contribute an article
or just a topic for publication in the
WTC Newsletter, please feel free to so.  I
know everyone must get tired of reading
the opinions and interests of one person
so let me hear from you.  You can send
articles via email or snail mail.  For email
(or diskette) submissions, most word
processor formats (IBM compatible) are
acceptable.  Addresses can be found in
the first page fine print.

73 de Les/N5KOA

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!