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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hey all,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It’s been a while since we’ve had to address our local amateur radio equipped spotters. We have some news on our current situation for running weather nets.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Late last year, our long-time host WLW radio underwent a major renovation and downsizing of their footprint. Unfortunately, in the new facility, there was no longer room for the WARN net control point. We would like to thank WLW and Clear Channel/iHeart Media for the many years they hosted our operation free of charge. We made many friends among their staff and all of our personnel enjoyed being there during our severe weather operations. It was a high energy, lively place to be. We certainly understand the realities of business and why it was no longer possible to continue hosting us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We removed our equipment from the old net control point with the intention of finding a new facility. That has taken longer than we anticipated. We need a specific type of arrangement that has 24-hour access, emergency power, ability to set up our equipment and antennas, Internet access, central location and so on. And, oh yeah, the rent must be free for our all-volunteer operation. I know. We’re not asking much!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So, for now, until we find that perfect arrangement, our net control operators are running nets from home, for the most part. That means they do not have as many resources as before. Being able to monitor multiple amateur radio repeaters on different frequencies is problematic, so many times we are confined to our main frequency of 146.88MHz. That will reduce our radio coverage some. It also means that we do not have a team in the same room working together. If more than one operator is covering an event, they are in their respective locations, making coordination a little more difficult.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We hope to get a more formal net control point soon or eventually. We were through it a couple of times before, once when the old NWS office at the airport closed, and again when WLW moved from Mt. Adams to Kenwood. We hope everyone understands and we appreciate you working with us during this transition.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Mike Nie<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#2F5496'>Michael Nie – W8VMX<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#2F5496'>Trustee and Net Control Operator<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#2F5496'>Weather Amateur Radio network<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>Email: <u><span style='color:#0563C1'><a href="mailto:mnie@warn.org">mnie@warn.org</a></span></u><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>