PASS Net Overview
The amateur radio station at WFO GRB (WX9GRB) will activate at the request of the metrological staff. We do not activate for every thunderstorm, nor do we always activate during the overnight hours when spotter group participation may be minimal. We will usually activate for Severe Thunderstorm / Tornado Watch boxes. The best way to determine if there is a PASS Net in progress is to monitor the repeaters we use, and if we are not present, please call the WFO GRB and make your reports via the Spotter Hotline. That phone number is available by attending training classes provided free of charge by the NWS.
PASS is only able to accept reports for the WFO GRB's County Warning Area (CWA). If your report is for Milwaukee (MKX), Marquette (MQT), LaCrosse (ARX), Minneapolis (MPX), or Duluth (DLH), please click on the links provided, and submit the report there. PASS does not have a direct relationship with weather programs in those areas, as we concentrate on our CWA. We might not have time to pick up the phone and call them due to weather action in our area.
PASS operates with a two-net structure as shown below.
As you can see, there are four major components to a weather net. Let's look at each one in detail.
Green Bay Weather WX9GRB |
Green Bay Weather WX9GRB operates on the coordination net on the repeater systems listed below. This net is restricted to Relay / Liaison stations, and on the rare exception, the mobile spotter who cannot reach a local net. All other spotting traffic should be kept on the local nets. |
|---|---|
| Net Control Station | The Net Control Station (NCS) is the leader / coordinator of the local net. The NCS should not communicate directly with WX9GRB, as that is the Liaison station's responsibility. The NCS has significant responsibility to the local net, primarily the safety of the local spotters, and local storm conditions often prevent one person attempting to assume multiple roles. The NCS station should also not be deployed in the field -- they should be at a base station with backup power available. The safety of the local spotter group is the NCS's primary responsibility. |
| Relay / Liaison Stations | The Relay Stations have a very important role in a weather net -- they communicate information from WX9GRB to field spotters, and they also provide field reports to WX9GRB. Relay stations need to know about our criteria. Relay stations should not be spotters, and they should have base antennas so that they can interact with both nets with signal loss. They should also have backup power in the event commercial power is lost. Relay stations need to remain on a PASS frequency once checked into a PASS Net. There are times that WX9GRB needs to reach a local net with information that cannot wait. The relay station must have two radios and two antennas to properly function in this capacity. When a Relay station calls us, they should use their county, along with a one-word description of the type of traffic, such as "Winnebago County, Funnel Cloud". |
| Local Spotters | Local Spotters are members of the community actively storm spotting. They interact with their NCS stations, and study weather materials to keep themselves safe and informed during weather events. |
PASS Nets are restricted to Liaison (Relay) Stations working with local spotter nets. A PASS Net will only accept traffic from a spotter if a local net is not available, or if that spotter cannot communicate with a local net due to a communications hardship. A web page devoted to local nets may be found here.
PASS Nets may be found on the following repeater systems in NE / NC Wisconsin:
A graphical coverage map may be found here. The map is calibrated for a home-like installation transmitting to the repeater.
Primary |
Secondary |
|
|---|---|---|
| North East | 145.11 PL 107.2 Wabeno |
145.47 PL 114.8 Suring |
| East | 147.27 PL 107.2 Green Bay 444.775 PL 107.2 Green Bay (IRLP 4475) 146.76 PL 100.0 Chilton |
442.800 Simplex PL 173.8 (IRLP 4772 backup to the IRLP 4475 node) 147.075 PL 107.2 (third IRLP Backup) |
| West | 444.30 PL 114.8 (IRLP 4380 Wausau) 146.64 PL 114.8 (IRLP 4618 Merill) |
443.75 PL 71.9 (old link) 146.82 PL 114.8 (IRLP 4709 Wausau) |
Wausau / Merill / Rhinelander / Antigo Areas -- 444.30 PL 114.8 is IRLP Node 4380, and it will link to Green Bay during formal activations. 146.64 PL 114.8 is IRLP 4618 in Merill, and it will link to Green Bay during formal activations. Backup is the 443.75 PL 71.9 link to Wabeno's 145.11 repeater.
Wabeno / Antigo / Crivitz Area -- 145.11 PL 107.2 This repeater is linked to the 147.27 repeater in Green Bay, and serves NE Wisconsin well. If this repeater has trouble, we can switch to the 145.47 PL 114.8 repeater in Suring. People in Oconto, Marinette, Shawano, Forest, and Florence should contact us here.
Green Bay / Clintonville / Kewaunee / Door Area -- 147.27 PL 107.2 and 444.775 PL 107.2 The 147.2727 covers Brown and Outagamie counties well, and the UHF machine covers Oconto, Brown, Kewaunee, Door, Outagamie, Calumet, and Manitowoc. If there is trouble, try the 146.76 PL 100.0 repeater, or the Wabeno 145.11 PL 107.2 machine. Please note that the western counties will communicate with us through the 444.775 repeater via IRLP.
Waushara / Fox Cities Area -- 146.76 PL 100.0 or 444.775 PL 107.2 This repeater near Chilton covers the Fox Cities well. If this repeater has troubles, please try the Green Bay 147.27 PL 107.2 repeater, or the 444.775 PL 107.2 machine. People in Brown, Kewaunee, Calumet, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Winnebago, and Waushera should look here.
Note that these repeaters are restricted to PASS Liaison (Relay) Stations participating from local nets. General amateurs are welcome to listen to these nets. DO NOT crossband these repeaters into another repeater system. If you elect to listen to our nets, please ensure that your PTT is secured so that you do not accidentally key up while driving around.