Washtenaw ARPSC weekly net in progress. This starts at 830p but really starts a few minutes early with a pre net check-in. #W8SRC is net control tonight.
My 2m antenna tonight is a Signal Stick on a mag mount on a metal patio chair. This was good enough to get into the #N8DUY repeater which I usually can't hit with just the HT antenna.
Simplex net followed, 7 station on frequency, net control has a weak location tonight so #KB8AY was relay. I could hear relay plus two other nearby stations.
Rain fade on the #N8DUY 145.15- weekday morning roundtable in Ann Arbor MI. A lot of sizzle on the signal, challenging conditions in general. The repeater has very good wide area coverage and people were getting in from the northern Detroit suburbs as usual.
Thanks to Jim #W8STX for running the net, and to the taxpayers of Washtenaw County for supporting emergency management; the N8DUY repeater is also used for the ARPSC public service corps net, SKYWARN, et al.
Reading the mail
Strong thunderstorms will be near...
Chelsea, Hudson, Onsted, and Addison around 500 PM EDT.
Manchester around 505 PM EDT.
Dexter around 510 PM EDT.
Clayton around 515 PM EDT.
Clinton and Whitmore Lake around 520 PM EDT.
Ann Arbor around 525 PM EDT.
Adrian and Tecumseh around 530 PM EDT.
Saline around 535 PM EDT.
via email from Washtenaw EOC:
The Washtenaw County Emergency Operations Center requests Skywarn Spotter activation for Severe Thunderstorm Watch #436 in effect until 10:00 PM. Wind gusts to 70 MPH, hail to 1.5" diameter, and an isolated tornado are possible.
currently "condition green" #SKYWARN net on #N8DUY 145.15- is running as of 1756 local time. Checkins welcomed. If you don't have a 2 meter radio, you can hear a feed with a 60 second delay at Broadcastify
weather is happening, a rare midnight callup of the Washtenaw County #skywarn net for 2025-05-16. condition green net, with tornado watch 258 until 0500 for SE Michigan.
tuned in to the #N8DUY repeater
at 0008 the word is that the county gets impacted in about 30 minutes (or 0040 or so). weather coming from the west.
Ham Radio Challenge Week 17 - find your closest repeater.
Closest is a semi-private low power AllStarLink node on UHF a few blocks away, two VHF repeaters (#W8RP and #W8UM) with active nets, and the odd UHF to 10 meter band repeater also #W8UM .
Line of sight if you are up high enough are a UHF and a VHF repeater on a county tower, the VHF (#N8DUY) can be heard in a 10-county area plus parts of Canada.
A good guide is from #W8SRC
https://www.kb6nu.com/the-kd8lwr-repeater-guide/
#hamchallenge
@hamchallenge HC17S
Up early so I should be able to make the 0800 #N8DUY weekday morning roundtable on 2 meters. 145.15- PL100 in Ann Arbor, the repeater has very wide coverage over SE Michigan.
The plan is to bicycle into town, then go up to the top of the parking structure that is next door to the coworking space I belong to, and operate from there.
Previously in parking structures on the air, my notes from 2014
Getting ready for the 0800 weekday morning roundtable net on #N8DUY 145.15- Ann Arbor. This repeater has wide area coverage all the way to Windsor Ontario, Detroit MI, Toledo OH, and points north and west.
Nothing special to report on local #VHF propagation at https://vhf.dxview.org but sunrise isn't for a few minutes and often DX participants are affected by sunrise or so it seems.
Ed W8EMV 
Ed W8EMV 
