Pasco - okay. I couldn't figure out where that Skywarn repeater was. I was
also picking up ham groups (ARES and RACES I guess) from all over, but
mainly listened to the local Polk guys who were very well organized and did
a great job keeping coms going between the shelters and the Red Cross and
the Polk EOC.

Glad you made it through the storm okay. I was fortunate in Lakeland - just
a bunch of debris in the yard from all the trees. We didn't even lose
power, though about half of Polk lost power last night. The Lake Wales area
took a real beating and there are some hurtin folks over there now. But
nothing like Punta Gorda and Arcadia.

Florida is a real paradise, except for the violent weather and lightning.
And alligators. Venomous snakes too. And sharks and disease-bearing
mosquitoes and cockroaches and walking catfish. And droughts and floods,
sometimes overlapping. And wildfires. And skin cancer. But it's a great
place to live!!

Greg

From: "ScanMan"
Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 20:56:39 GMT
Subject: Hurricane Watch Net Activation

Yeah I was monitoring SkyWarn on that Pasco rptr too - good info there. I
made all the right decisions this time, all based on what I was hearing on
the scanners and HF rigs - NOT the local media. If I had listened to Bay
News 9 and took their suggestion, I would have been in the middle of it
all - possibly parked on I-4 or something, evacuating directly into
Charley's path like thousands of others. I understand Bay News 9 and the
other local stations here are being bombarded with angry calls now. After
the last few hurricanes I have basically ignored their advice and only
watched their radar images and relied upon local communications and HF/VHF
nets for updated and reliable info. Paid off big time this time


"Greg" wrote in message
...
I heard the bogus report on a local Skywarn net at 146.640 and heard it
retracted later. The Tampa Bay area dodged a big one tonight, and Polk
County, where I live, fared pretty well - lots of downed power lines and
some trees blown over, along with the usual toppled mobile homes, but not
bad at all for a cat. 4 hurricane.

From: "ScanMan"
Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 22:24:59 GMT
Subject: Hurricane Watch Net Activation

Yup heard all that (hoax) on 14325 - also a shelter w/1200 people
'coming
apart'. What a thing to say on the radio, sheesh - so far we are looking
good here, dodged a major bullet. Just some rain, and now waiting for
outter
bands - nothing what we were expecting. Post more later...


"dxAce" wrote in message
...




Greg wrote:

From: "ScanMan"
Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 16:12:10 GMT
Subject: Hurricane Watch Net Activation

Update - Charlie looks to be taking a slight turn to the NE,
making
landfall just south of me (Pinellas county), now in Manatee
county. This is
good for us, diminishing the storm surge threat a bit. We will
still deal
with hurricane force winds, but I live right on the intracoastal
waterway
and the surge is what I am worried about the most. I've seen the
power of
water before and it is not to be taken lightly. We have decided
to ride it
out here now - keep you posted if I can - weather permitting


(snip)

Looks like it's headed for my home in Lakeland once it moves
inland. It's
going to be a long night.

They did mention on the net that it has the possibility of
maintaining hurricane
force winds all across Florida to Daytona as it passes through.

One fellow on the net is reporting winds of 100 MPH at his QTH and he
is on
emergency power.

He has a 200 lb. doghouse outside that is being moved around by the
winds.

Per the net the EOC in Hardee County has collapsed, possibly a fire
and
also the
possibility of folks being trapped inside. They've lost comms.

Apparently this report of the collapse of the EOC is a hoax.



Sounds nasty down there.



Ouch!



Stay safe.

dxAce