I’m pleased to announce an upgrade to the Weather Alert System on the W4MSI Repeater System. I recently changed over from the older AutoSkywarn to the new SkywarnPlus program. This runs in the background on the repeater controller and checks frequently for weather alert updates from the NWS. When a new alert is issued, this picks it up and through the magic of programming, creates a voice announcement of the alert. That is then broadcasted over the air on the repeater for listeners. Whenever the alerts are cleared by the NWS, an all clear message is broadcasted.
Currently it’s enabled for the Elkton repeater and is setup to broadcast out the local repeater (Elkton) and any connected repeaters/nodes such as the Oak Grove and Agnes repeaters. Which means no matter which of the repeaters you are listening to, you should hear the weather alerts so long as the links are up.
Hopefully this will help us all stay more weather aware and aid in storm spotting and tracking as well as general safety of the repeater users and general public that may be tuned in and listening.
73,
W4MSI
2 Responses
Great
Afternoon Steve!
If forecast holds, may hear some automated announcements this evening. We’ll see.