Weather-spotting
and weather data
One of the interesting things we do with ham
radio is to participate in "Skywarn" weather-spotting activities. (More Skywarn information is available through
the MSU Amateur Radio Club's web page; click here for that link).
Weather-spotting has led to more interest in
learning about weather in general. I
have installed a home weather station, a Davis Vantage Pro, at our residence just north of
http://home.mchsi.com/~wcall/weather/MurrayWeather.htm
A subset of the weather data is also
transmitted in a beacon on ham radio "APRS" channels. This is a "packet radio" mode; the
local APRS frequency is 144.390MHz, and more information on operating this mode
is available on the radio club web site and on Scott Thile K4SET's web site (follow the link from the radio
club's page). I have used both WinAPRS and UI-View
for APRS software; both seem satisfactory, though I prefer the “feel” of
UI-View.
APRS data is collected and compiled from many
participating local stations into an impressive on-line database. You can see the national data by going to:
http://www.wulfden.org/APRSQuery.shtml
and scroll down the page to the View APRS Weather Stations Data section. In the Table summary from call section,
enter my callsign, KJ4W (or another participating ham's callsign). You can restrict the data to the last hour or
two to reduce amount, if you wish. A cgi-script dialog results, giving a unique
URL. For later fast lookups, that URL
can be used to go to the table directly. For example, the URL for KJ4W for the last 1
hour's data is:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wx.cgi?call=kj4w&last=1
Another available dialog script, by zip code,
allows viewing data from other stations in the area, for most-recent reports
only. That entry is available in the
first link given; or, directly, the URL is:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxnear.cgi?zip=42071&popsub=Find
Receiving the APRS data directly by radio is,
of course, the most fundamental method! Participation
in the Skywarn program is very interesting, and a rewarding way of using ham
radio to benefit the community.
Generally I upload data to radio and this web
page every half hour. I do so more often
when stormy conditions make fresh data more valuable, if I'm home in advance to
make the setup change.
There are any number of good links for
additional weather information. "Weather for You" has lots of info:
In our immediate area, the
For a log and notes of station
updates, changes and problems, click here.
Go Back to Bill
Call's Home Page
Last page update: October 25, 2005