Submitted by Denny Johnson (K5DCC)
The Orion Push-to-Talk app is a powerful
communication tool that allows users to easily connect
with others over a variety of networks, including Wi-Fi, cellular data, and radio frequencies. While the app is popular among a wide range of users, it has garnered particular attention from the ham radio community, who see it as a way to bridge the gap between traditional radio communication and modern technology.
One area where the Orion app has the potential to be particularly useful is in local SKYWARN programs. SKYWARN is a volunteer program that trains individuals to be weather spotters, providing real-time reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. While SKYWARN has long relied on ham radio as a means of communication, many young people today are not familiar with the hobby and may be hesitant to get involved.
The Orion app can help to overcome this barrier by providing a familiar, user-friendly interface that young people are comfortable. By allowing SKYWARN volunteers to communicate over their smartphones or tablets, the app can make it easier for them to participate in the program and stay connected with other spotters in real-time along with their locations on a map. This can be particularly important during severe weather events,
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when quick and accurate location-centric communications can be a matter of life and death.
Moreover, the Orion app can help to introduce young people to the world of ham radio, which has a long and storied history in the United States. By showing them how radio communication can be used to serve their communities and keep people safe, the app may inspire them to explore the hobby further and consider getting licensed as ham radio operators themselves and joining the TLARC.
Overall, the Orion Push-to-Talk app represents an exciting opportunity for SKYWARN programs to engage with young people and bring them into the ham radio hobby. By embracing new technology and finding ways to connect with the next generation, SKYWARN can continue to play a vital role in keeping communities safe and promoting the value of amateur radio communication.
Use this link: https://orion.app.link/XsyYs6Tr7xb to join the Tri-Lakes Amateur Radio Club Group on the Orion platform and help us get ready for the upcoming weather season.
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SKYWARN is a critical program initiated by the National Weather Service (NWS) to receive reports of severe weather for the purpose of advising the public about impending danger due to severe thunderstorms, tornadoes or floods. Statewide, the SKYWARN network is composed of thousands of amateur radio operators, volunteer and professional emergency responders (sheriffs, medical technicians, firefighters, etc.) and other organized groups that maintain coordinated communications.
The Weather Surveillance Radar 1988-Doppler (WSR-88D) is an excellent tool to monitor the atmosphere and its phenomena. In particular, the various base and derived data allows the meteorologist to make educated decisions on storm development and severity. These data sets, however, do not allow verification of a storm's intensity and the NWS must rely on trained SKYWARN storm spotters to verify the presence of a severe storm and provide reports on its magnitude.
