The WX5FWD SKYWARN™ team are volunteer radio operator liaisons for the Fort Worth National Weather Service (NWS) North Texas SKYWARN™ Spotters. During SKYWARN events, you are reporting information to our team and the NWS warning forecasters. Three goals of a storm spotter are to safely observe, identify and report conditions.

Weather spotters provide what's called "ground truth" to the National Weather Service and emergency weather management. Spotters are needed because, while radar is very good at helping the National Weather Service see what's going on in the upper atmosphere, it's unable to detect what's actually happening on the ground because of the curvature of the Earth. Knowing the "ground truth" about a weather event from the location can be the deciding factor to issue a warning.

About WX5FWD SKYWARN® Team

NWS Fort Worth Ham Radio Operators: An Invaluable Resource

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth utilizes various technologies when making warning decisions on storms. Radar, satellite, and upper air data are all critical in determining a storm’s strength and potential to become severe. However, ground-truth information, or what is actually occurring, is vital.

Off-Center-Fed (OCF) Dipole Antenna

Off-Center-Fed (OCF) Dipole Antenna for the National Weather Service

October 2007

Rick Sagers, W7YC

 

Overview:

An OCF dipole was designed for the National Weather Service so as to be resonant on even harmonics of 80 meters (80-40-20). This antenna will replace the fan dipole antenna currently in operation, which serves the same three bands.

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