• Severe Weather Season
• Statewide Tornado Drill
• VHF Log Periodic Update
• New Local Feeds
• Feed Stats
• Solar Flare
• Major Update for Unknowns in Progress
• Chapter 18 Test

Check out the Radio PhoneBook (link at bottom) for more.

Severe Weather Season

Its that time of year again, already by 2/28 we have seen a major severe weather event with severe flooding in may areas. Local Skywarn Nets can be heard on 146.700 VDOT had also been active with road closures and cleanup of downed trees, VDOT activity on the Digital Stars network has been very minimal. VDOT Frequency Repeater Input Tone Name 47.2800   77.0 VDOT - Mobile (Abingdon Area) - CH 3 47.0800 45.3800 110.9 VDOT (Wise County) - CH 32 High Knob 47.2200 45.7200 110.9 VDOT (Bristol Area) - CH 27 Whitetop With any weather event there's always a spark of activity on the local power utilities. AEP continues to use their seasoned 800 MHz trunked system, see the Radio PhoneBook for frequencies, LCN order, and talk groups.

Statewide Tornado Drill

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) in cooperation of almost all state and local agencies will be conducting it's annual statewide tornado drill on March 15th at 9:45 AM. This day is also designated by the Governor as "Tornado Preparedness Day". This will be a wildcard for any and all state agencies, keep an ear out...there will be some interesting radio traffic. Register if your group or organization would like to participate. A nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) is also scheduled for some time this Spring.

Log Periodic Antenna

We're still working on a model; some changes to the design were noted.
Right now we consider ourselves still a rookie to Log Periodics, but have found a new way to augment the phasing.
We'll keep you posted on the work in progress, and apologize for the illusion that phasing was optional.
See last month's newsletter for the initial plans and dimensions.

New Local Feeds

RadioReference has two new feeds operating in our area, Russell County, VA and a Railroad scanner out of Bristol, VA.
While we are not affiliated with either, we welcome any inquiries and appreciate the hard work before and to come, to keep the feeds on the air.


Russell County, VA - Fire/EMS/ Police - Listen

Norfolk Southern and CSX - Bristol, VA - Listen

Feed Stats courtesy of radioreference.com

Spikes in listeners (73) on 1/20 for the Wide Area Feed at 4:45 PM
Washington County (30) feed on 1/28 at 7:01 AM

For select recordings see the Media Section.


Wide Area Feed


Washington County, VA

First Major Solar Flare

This solar cycle's first major flare occurred on February 15th, the resulting wave of energized particles streamed toward the earth and only caused a minor interaction with the poles. The resulting radio blackout was a R1 class event. To learn more about solar flares and the geomagnetic storms they cause, visit
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/.

Unknowns Database

Scannerfood's research teams have been working on an update for the Unknowns section, our plan is to clear out some of the mystery frequencies before we accumulate anymore, right now we are at 287 and counting. We may have to have a contest this spring.... :)

Recommended Reading Two- Way Radios and Scanners for Dummies ISBN: 978-0764595820 Perfect for anyone new to the hobby and an excellent refresher for us that have become a little rusty. This is the most up to date publication that effectively covers multiple radio services available. I have been mentoring someone new to the scanner hobby and provided a little reinforcement. If you're wanting to test your skills, here are some sample tests I quickly drew up to make the subject matter a little more intensive. Chapters 1-6 Test Chapters 7-9 Test Chapters 10-12 Test Chapters 13-14 Test Chapter 15 Test Chapter 16-17 Test Chapter 18 Test Answers to chapters 1-6 HERE Answers to chapters 7-9 HERE Answers to chapters 10-12 HERE Answers to chapters 13-14 HERE Answers to chapter 15 HERE Answers to chapter 16-17 HERE Answers to follow in each new newsletter

General Area Covered