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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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NOAA = Silence

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Peregrine
Admiral

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830 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/08/2013 : 16:15:19

I got out to Oyster Bay Sunday to a misty cold afternoon. Spent the night and woke to the radio talking about tornado warnings so I clicked on the NOAA weather radio...
Silence!
As I changed the batteries for the third time it dawned on me that there would be nothing from NOAA!
Isn't weather info "essential"? We do have a Navy still don't we?
Today was much better 15k winds and not much chop.

John Gisondi
Peregrine #4762

*

Edited by - on

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4024 Posts

Response Posted - 10/08/2013 : 16:43:21

Yes John, No channel 1 for NOAA radio. Been like that most of the summer. Only comes on in extreme weather. I believe it is down for maintenance. The channels for farther out east are still operating. CH2 CH3. The down for maintenance is the only info I could find on their web site. Maybe someone else knows more about this.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5376 Posts

Response Posted - 10/08/2013 : 21:12:13

Yes. NOAAs All Hazard Weather radio Ch1 VHF broadcast from Empire (but created in Upton NY, near Stony Brook) has been off the air (mostly) since it started interfering with VHF ch 16, a maritime emergency radio frequency monitored by the USCG and boaters in the area. Apparently a spurious intermodulation product resulting from some effects of the NYC-based transmitter.
www.weather.gov/okx has a blurb on it and several ham radio forums have opined on the problem, however not substantive explanations have been provided on the root cause.
This has been the case for many months and has no relation to the Govt Shutdown. I also receive transmissions from the Meriden CT and Montauk (Riverhead) transmitters.
Because of the math and unfortunate placement of the transmitter frequency and the intermod, Weather Ch 1 is unusable.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 10/08/2013 : 21:25:44

At 12:00 midnight, 10/9, I checked Ch 1 on my handheld here in Mystic, CT, and got reports for Long Island, CT, RI, and out to Block Island. I got nothing on Ch 2, and a distant NOAA signal on 3--I think that's for for NYC, Long Island to Montauk Point, and the western Sound.

When I was in the big-computer industry (more than a few years ago), the US Navy had one of the most sophisticated Cray-based super-computing facilities in the world, for modelling weather systems world-wide. I'm not sure whether there was or is a relationship with NOAA.

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redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2013 : 03:45:57

<< spurious intermodulation product resulting from some effects >>

I always get tickled when you find, in some remote areas, a channel that bleeds all over the wavelengths. A transmitter that has not been properly maintained. We have a radio station on Lake Lanier that seems to come in anywhere from 89 to 93.

My college radio station usta do the same thing, and we would kid about being radiated working there, picking up the station on a filling in your teeth, radiating through your jawbone to your ears....

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2013 : 05:15:20

My oldest daughter, who is completing her Master's degree this semester in Meteorology/Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Michigan's College of Engineering (proud papa shameless plug) works part time at NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), but since the shutdown, she's been furloughed. Although she has no money coming in, she's actually enjoying the time off to concentrate on her studies.

Every sailor should have a meteorologist in the family!

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2013 : 06:56:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">posted by dlucier
 Every sailor should have a meteorologist in the family!

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I'm no meteorologist, but I've been an informal student of weather and its physics since I was a kid. My lady chides me for watching radar, pressure maps, marine forecasts, and the NHC--saying "Whatever happens, happens--they're always wrong anyway." My response: "You apparently haven't been skipper of a sailboat.

"

BTW, Ch. 1 is alive and well on my hand-held this morning. Ch. 3 is not intelligible now, but that doesn't surprise me in daytime.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 10/09/2013 06:57:02

glen
Captain

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359 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2013 : 10:16:02

My lady chides me for watching radar, pressure maps, marine forecasts, and the NHC--saying "Whatever happens, happens--they're always wrong anyway." My response: "You apparently haven't been skipper of a sailboat.

[/quote]Captain Ron: Well if anything's going to happen it's going to happen out there

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4024 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2013 : 13:36:30

Dave, Don't know what ch1 you are getting but this notice from NOAA shows that its off line.
SPECIAL NOTICES

NEW YORK CITY, NY Transmitter (KWO35)
Frequency 162.550

Due to interference issues with the U.S. Coast Guard, the New York City transmitter has been temporarily taken out of service while a solution is being formulated.

During this time, the transmitter may be returned to service intermittently to determine if the interference issue has been resolved.

We will post additional information as it becomes available.

Thanks for your patience and for listening to NOAA Weather Radio.

Weather Forecast Office (WFO) is the office that provides weather information to the transmitter in your area.

Stations that either have degraded performance
or are currently offline.

This information was current on: 10/09/2013 20:16:25. UTC
State CallSign Transmitter Name Frequency WFO Status
CT WWH33 Cornwall 162.500 Albany, NY DEGRADED
FL WWF69 Fort Pierce 162.425 Melbourne, FL DEGRADED
KY KIH40 Hazard 162.475 Jackson, KY DEGRADED
LA WXJ97 Shreveport 162.400 Shreveport, LA DEGRADED
MO WXL47 Bloomfield 162.400 Paducah, KY DEGRADED
NE WXL67 Scottsbluff 162.475 Cheyenne, WY OUT OF SERVICE
NE WXL75 Holdrege 162.475 Hastings, NE DEGRADED
NE KXI20 Chadron 162.525 Cheyenne, WY OUT OF SERVICE
NY KWO35 New York City 162.550 Upton, NY OUT OF SERVICE
SC WXJ22 Florence 162.550 Wilmington, NC DEGRADED
SD KZZ60 Reliance 162.525 Aberdeen, SD DEGRADED
UT KJY79 Tabiona 162.550 Salt Lake City, UT DEGRADED
WA KIG75 Yakima 162.550 Pendleton, OR OUT OF SERVICE
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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5376 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2013 : 19:51:21

I've heard Ch1 during its intermittent transmissions in the past two months. Sometimes it will be up other times down. You just never know when it will be on.
The thing that doesn't figure for me is what's changed? The weather radio transmitter? The VHF radios at the coast guard stations? Or the shipboard radios on everybody's boat? Seems like the NWS NOAA should able to maintain their equipment.

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