The whole thing started around 6 PM when the National Weather Service issued the first severe thunderstorm warning for our county. I was monitoring the local repeater like we're supposed to do during weather events, and within an hour things escalated to a tornado watch. Our ARES net control station came on the air and started coordinating reports from storm spotters across the county.
When the Power Went Out
About 7:30 PM, we lost power. Just like that - one minute I'm listening to weather reports on my base station, and the next minute I'm sitting in complete darkness. This is where my first big lesson learned kicked in: my backup power situation was not nearly as good as I thought it was.
I had a small 12V sealed lead acid battery that I thought would be plenty. Wrong. The FT-891 draws about 20 amps on transmit, and that little 18 amp-hour battery lasted maybe 45 minutes of actual emergency net operation. I was transmitting position reports and storm observations, but I had to keep it really brief to conserve power.
Luckily, I remembered I had a 12V power supply in my car, so I ran an extension cord out to the driveway and powered my radio from the cigarette lighter. Not exactly elegant, but it worked. Made a mental note to invest in a proper deep cycle battery and maybe look into solar charging options.
Learning the Weather Net Protocol
Being new to emergency communications, I wasn't entirely sure about the proper protocol for weather nets. Our net control did a good job explaining things, but it was definitely different from the casual ragchewing I was used to on HF.
The key things I picked up were keeping transmissions short and to the point, using your location clearly, and only reporting what you actually observe - not what you think might be happening. When I saw what looked like a funnel cloud forming about two miles south of my QTH, I reported it as "possible funnel cloud development" rather than calling it a tornado. Good thing too, because it turned out to be just a low-hanging cloud formation.
One thing that really impressed me was how organized everything was. Net control kept a log of all spotters checking in, assigned specific areas for people to monitor, and maintained regular contact with the National Weather Service office. It felt like being part of something important, which I guess it really was.
Equipment Challenges
My antenna setup held up okay during the storm, but I definitely need to do some work there too. I've got a simple dipole for 40 and 80 meters up about 25 feet, and it performed fine. But for VHF/UHF emergency work, my little 2-meter vertical on the roof seemed pretty marginal. When the winds picked up, I started getting reports that my signal was weak and fluttery.
I think the coax connections need some serious weatherproofing attention. I used electrical tape when I installed everything last year, and apparently that's not cutting it. Going to invest in some proper coax seal and maybe upgrade to better quality connectors.
The handheld radio I keep in my go-bag worked great though. Having that as a backup when I was dealing with power issues for the base station was clutch. Battery life on receive was excellent - lasted the entire four-hour weather event with plenty of juice left over.
Communication with Family
One unexpected challenge was keeping my family informed about what was happening while also participating in the weather net. My wife kept asking questions about the storm, and I was trying to monitor both the repeater and NOAA weather radio at the same time. In hindsight, I should have set up a separate scanner for weather radio monitoring and used my handheld to stay in touch with the emergency net.
We talked afterward about developing a better family communication plan for severe weather. She needs to understand that when I'm operating in an emergency capacity, I might not be immediately available to answer questions. But I also need to make sure she has access to weather information independently.
What I'm Doing Differently
Based on this experience, I've got a whole list of improvements to make. First priority is definitely backup power - looking at a 100 amp-hour AGM battery and a proper charging system. I've been reading about LiFePO4 batteries too, but they're pretty pricey for a good setup.
Second is antenna improvements. Planning to put up a proper dual-band base antenna for VHF/UHF, probably a Diamond X-50 or similar. The height advantage should help with coverage during emergency operations.
I'm also going to start participating in more training exercises. Our ARES group does monthly drills, but I've only made it to one so far. After experiencing a real event, I can see how much more comfortable I'd be with regular practice.
Final Thoughts
Despite all the things that didn't go perfectly, I'm really glad I was able to contribute something useful during the storm. The weather net handled reports from about fifteen spotters across the county, and several of the observations helped the National Weather Service issue more targeted warnings for specific areas.
The storm ended up producing some minor wind damage and heavy rain, but no confirmed tornadoes in our immediate area. The funnel cloud I thought I saw never developed into anything serious. But knowing that our amateur radio network was there providing real-time ground truth to the professionals felt pretty rewarding.
Looking forward to the next weather event now - hopefully with better backup power and more experience under my belt.
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