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ISS tonight - 19:32 to 19:39

I participated in ARRL’s WINTER FIELD DAY Event, held 25&26/Jan. My after-action-report follows: 25/Jan: WCARG’s at Dave’s QTH, What I brought: -40m dipole kit: directv tripod, mast support, 24’ painters pole, top-mount pulley, balun, guy ropes and stakes. -Elk Antenna’s handheld dual-band yagi. -LifePo4 30ah battery (on-board BMS and display panel). -MFJ 12v distribution panel, Anderson power pole (APP) connectors. -FT-991a (with MFJ mini tuner): Anytone 878/DMR, Tidradio H8. -PI-star hotspot (tyson built), DMR configured, with on-board UPS and USB power. -T-mobile home internet gtwy (with 12v to 20v ‘car charger’ with APP connectors) -Laptop (with 12v to 20v ‘car charger’ with APP connectors) -10 watt polar panel. -USB LED lit radio signage, similar to: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VibeSign?search_query=Radio All devices capable of being powered by 12v battery by various DC-DC up, down or power delivery converters. Next test, my DC powered computer monitor (native external AC to DC power block). -6 ft ladder (to reach mast extension rings). -10x10 ft canopy (did not deploy) WHAT worked: -Dipole worked -7290 Traffic net check-in -FT-8, two contacts on 20m, Africa and Arkansas !! -Elk antenna on dipole mast, club and ares repeater access. -Handheld’s accessed the clubs repeater with HT’s antenna!! -Pulled pork sandwich! Thanks Dave; Thanks Laura for the delivery. -Battery capacity, by 1pm, capacity was 94% -ISS cross-band repeater; flyover just before 2pm. Elk antenna was amazing. I maintained reception throughout the whole pass (5 min+). I attempted QSO’s, however, as expected, there was a field day pile-up, so many people calling out, no one could reply and complete a QSO exchange. What Didn’t work so well: -Dipole ‘field kit’ too cumbersome and time consuming. Better options displayed by Ryan and Chris (?), Laura’s photos. I ordered a ‘reel potable’ from Robert’s shop in Cleveland, TX. -Having to carry a 6’ ladder to reach painter pole collapse compression rings. -Will consider displayed EFHW end mast options (spiderbeam, basspro fishing rod) -Consider re-purposing directv tripod with 10’ mast to support VHF/UHF antennas. -Elk antenna hand held for ISS fly-over, became heavy (or my weak arm). Will try mounting on a camera tripod. -Could not see my laptop screen (small and outdoors). Will try a monitor or popup canopy option. -Brought WAY too much stuff. More like a ‘go-truck’ with many bags/boxes, than a ‘go-box’. However, this is my first field day since I was about 17 years old!! During my oil spill incident response days, we had a semi-trailer command center and many crates. 26/Jan: HOME QTH, WHAT worked: -MARS net check-in; With his NCS role completed - congratulations Scott !! -Participated in my first ARRL field day contest - 20m / SSB. Responded to five or so CQ Field day calls. My observation: A contest using voice is the analog version of an FT-8/FT-4 digital exchange except FT-8 is every day, all day… short, sweet, impersonal, pre-defined exchange. Learnings: verify I’m operating within my license class; Field day ‘class and section’: 1H, STX. -TX RACES winlink / vara hf peer to peer (WEBEOC request form) exercise. Three of four ICS- 205 targeted stations contacted and message sent. 27/Jan: Yeah, my repaired FT-710 (failed USB comm port) arrived this morning by FedEx. Now, let’s see if I need to solder in the MARS mod (again). / Being RADIO-ACTIVE,,, is exhausting Looking forward to Laura’s photos !! Rick, WA2HRF - find me on QRZ: https://www.qrz.com/db/WA2HRF

This is from the San Antonio Radio Club. Catch you on the air, Jason Hampton -Freedom Isn't Free 830-992-1334 https://www.qrz.com/db/n2txs Texas Patriots Room: Wires-X 60755 or YSF 60755 Sent from an Android mobile device. Please excuse brevity and disregard any spelling or grammatical errors. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Bill Craft via groups.io <billc851@...> Date: Sun, Jan 19, 2025, 19:02 Subject: [Special] [W5SC] Silent Key- Estate Sale- Mark your calendar Jan 30-31 To: <[email protected]> Silent Key Thomas Ortiz Call sign K5VFE His son (Bryan Flanigan) is having sale. 3546 McCormick St, San Antonio, TX 78247 Thursday 30th 10-2pm Friday 31st 10-1pm -- Catch you on the air, Jason Hampton *Freedom Isn't Free N2TXS, WXCT237

Significant model inconsistency continues regarding the possibility of wintry precipitation across southeast Texas Monday night into Tuesday but the risk of a hard freeze continues--particularly north of IH10. The latest run of the GFS model keeps the frozen precipitation risk down toward Houston and produces none in the northern-most counties of southeast Texas. ECMWF also produces most of its wintry precipitation over the southern counties but does extend some light coverage into the northern counties. Then, there's the Canadian that tries to kick out darn near 2 feet of snow generally north of Walker county with a sharp cutoff to the south and the German icon producing close to 3 inches over the northern counties. Just for fun I've attached the 12Z Canadian model image. NWS this morning issued released the attached hard freeze image which depicts current temperature forecast thinking. Jim Robinson, W5ZYX Get BlueMail for Desktop

Latest NWS thinking. From: NWS Houston - NOAA Service Account <nws.houston@...> Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2025 2:23 PM Subject: NWS Houston Update- Winter weather and arctic air forecast for next week Bottom Line The coldest air of the season is still on its way to southeast TX starting Sunday and continuing into Thursday/Friday. There also remains a decent chance to see some snow or freezing rain/sleet across much if not all of the area as cold air is reinforced early in the week and an upper level weather system moves across. What Has Changed Since Previous Email? The initial cold front will move across southeast TX earlier on Saturday. Snow/Freezing Rain/Sleet chances remain about the same, if not a bit higher than yesterday's forecast. Overview A leading cold front will move quickly across southeast Texas on Saturday with brisk northerly winds and temperatures moderating in the 50s, before dropping overnight. We should see a return to freezing temperatures roughly from Columbus to Livingston and areas north Sunday morning. This cold air will be reinforced Sunday night with the real arctic air blasting to the region dropping temperatures considerably into Monday. This will set the stage for perhaps 4 consecutive nights of sub-freezing temperatures into Thursday morning, with a hard freeze likely for multiple nights for most spots north of I10. Some sites from the upper Brazos Valley into the Piney Woods could remain below freezing from Monday afternoon into Wednesday. Most other locations should get above freezing each day for at least a few hours. Wind chills each night/morning will also be quite cold and will eventually require Cold Weather Advisories as we get nearer the event. Another complicating, and less certain, aspect of this arctic intrusion for our area is the potential for snow and freezing rain/sleet. There is still a lot to play out in the next 5-6 days, so this could easily change. However, forecasts remain fairly persistent in developing a mix of winter precipitation from late Monday into early Thursday. Details remain a mess right now to pin down, as we could see a switch over between liquid to freezing to frozen precipitation a couple of times over the 2-3 day window. Although with the magnitude of the cold, refreezing of roads each night could be a major concern Tuesday even into Thursday. This is still pretty far out into the future, so details will certainly change in the coming days. Please continue to monitor and we will maintain daily briefs the rest of this week, and at least twice a day briefs over the weekend. Alternate Possibilities The upper level disturbance and associated surface low over the Gulf of Mexico could end up tracking much farther south and pull most of the rain/snow with it. Or, the system could take a bee-line for southeast TX and bring heavier amounts of snow or ice. Current forecasts are kind of in between these two extremes. Forecast Graphics Resources NWS Houston Galveston Phone Numbers: (281) 337-5074 ext. 232 or ext. 234 NWS Houston/Galveston Webpage: www.weather.gov/houston National Hurricane Center Webpage: www.hurricanes.gov Hourly Forecasts (Click Your Location) West Gulf River Forecast Center Webpage: www.weather.gov/wgrfc NWPS Webpage If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact our office at the phone numbers listed in the Resources section above. Jeff Evans and Amaryllis Cotto National Weather Service - Houston/Galveston, TX

I'm forwarding this afternoon's update for local governments from NWS which better depicts evolution of the coming blast of arctic air. Jim Robinson, W5ZY Get BlueMail for Desktop -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Fw: NWS Update: Much colder air and possible wintery precipitation early next week Date: Tue Jan 14 2025 14:35:37 GMT-0600 (Central Standard Time) From: "Robinson, Jim (Office of Management and Budget)" <jim.robinson@...> From: NWS Houston - NOAA Service Account <nws.houston@...> Good afternoon. The forecast is still trending much colder to end the weekend and continuing well into next week as a series of cold fronts move across the area. The leading front is still on tap to arrive Saturday afternoon and bring a return of freezing temperatures Sunday morning generally from the Brazos Valley into the Piney Woods. However, a reinforcing surge of arctic air is set to arrive Monday into Tuesday which looks to be the coldest air of the season for southeast TX with hard freezes possible down to I10, and maybe even occur closer to the coast. In addition to this arctic air intrusion, a weather system may overspread the area and bring the possibility of frozen or freezing precipitation late Monday into Tuesday. While there is greater confidence in the cold air forecast, the snow/sleet/freezing rain potential is much less certain. It is also quite possible this weather system develops too far from the area to generate any precipitation over southeast TX. Given this is a full week out, expect the forecast will evolve as we get closer to the event. Bottom Line - Arctic air is heading towards the area late this weekend into next week. - Likely to see a return to freezing temperatures perhaps as early as Sunday morning for portions of the area, with near or below freezing temperatures likely area-wide (including the coast) by Tuesday morning. - Much less certainty regarding the potential to see snow or freezing rain/sleet late Monday and/or Tuesday. - A lot will change with the forecast this week for early next week, so please stay tuned! Overview Graphics using current forecast data Forecast low temperatures Sunday morning: Forecast low temperatures Monday morning: 25% chance to see low temps this cold Monday morning: Forecast low temperatures Tuesday morning: 25% chance to see low temps this cold Tuesday morning: Chances of seeing light freezing rain Monday and Tuesday: Chances of seeing light snow Monday and Tuesday: Resources NWS Houston Galveston Phone Numbers: (281) 337-5074 ext. 232 or ext. 234 NWS Houston/Galveston Webpage: www.weather.gov/houston National Hurricane Center Webpage: www.hurricanes.gov Hourly Forecasts (Click Your Location) West Gulf River Forecast Center Webpage: www.weather.gov/wgrfc NWPS Webpage If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact our office at the phone numbers listed in the Resources section above. Jeff Evans and Amaryllis Cotto National Weather Service - Houston/Galveston, TX