WX4NHC, the amateur station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, will conduct its annual station test on Saturday, May 26, 2018 from 9AM-5 PM EDT (1300Z-2100Z). This year marks the station’s 38th year of public service at the NHC.

The purpose of this event is to test station equipment, antennas and computers prior to this year’s Hurricane Season, which starts June 1st and runs through November 30th.

This event is good practice for ham radio operators worldwide, and helps NWS offices across the country become familiar with Amateur Radio communications support services available during times of severe weather.

WX4NHC operators will be making brief contacts on many frequencies and modes, exchanging signal reports and basic weather data (“Sunny”, or “Rain”, etc.) with any station in any location. WX4NHC will be on-the-air on HF, VHF, UHF, 2 and 30 meter APRS and WinLink wx4nhc@winlink.org (subject line must contain “//WL2K”).

Operators plan to stay on the accepted Hurricane Watch Net frequency 14.325 MHz most of the time. Due to space and equipment limitations, there will only be two operators per shift. Hams may be able to find the operation on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as DX Watch.

Operations will also be run on the VoIP Hurricane Net 4PM to 5PM EDT (2000-2100Z). (IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). The Florida Statewide SARNET and local VHF and UHF repeaters will also be employed to make contacts.

QSL cards are available via WD4R. Please send your card with a S.A.S.E. Do not send QSLs directly to the Hurricane Center address, as they will get delayed.

Due to security measures, NO VISITORS will be allowed entry to NHC without prior clearance from the NHC PIO and Security. Only WX4NHC Operators on the pre-approved operating schedule will be allowed entry. For more information about WX4NHC, please visit the website.

Thank you for your participation in the WX4NHC Annual Station Test event. — Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator, www.wx4nhc.org — celebrating 38 years at the National Hurricane Center, www.nhc.noaa.gov