NORCAL SKYWARN
© Landrum Technologies NorCalSkywarn (NorCalSkywarn) 2022
NorCal Skywarn Net
Information About Net
The NorCal Skywarn N6CSW Net takes place every Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM and is
open to all licensed radio operators who wish to participate. This net features check-ins of
Skywarn members, weather bulletins and a SKYWARN related discussion period. Visitors are
welcome and encouraged to participate the Net.
NorCal Skywarn operates on the K6IS EAST repeater system (in Folsom) and has an output
frequency of 145.190 MHz, a negative offset, and a PL tone of 162.2 Hz. That repeater is
linked full time to a 220 repeater with an output frequencies of 224.400 MHz, a negative
offset, and a PL tone of 162.2 Hz.
We are also available through the K6MVR, W6CX, and KA7AU repeaters and the EchoLink
*SKY_GATE* Conference Server which is connected to the Western Reflector - IRLP.
The K6MVR repeater is located at Mt.Vaca and has an output frequency of 147.000, with a
negative offset, and a PL tone of 136.5 - Bay Area
The W6CX repeater is located at Mt.Diablo and has an output frequency of 147.060, with a
positive offset, and a PL tone of 100 – Bay Area.
The KA7ZAU repeater is located at Mt.Peavine and has an output frequency of 146.895, a
negative offset, and PL tone of 100. - Reno Nevada Area
What is SKYWARN
SKYWARN® is a national network
of volunteer severe weather
spotters. The spotters are trained
by local National Weather Service
Forecast Offices on how to spot
severe thunderstorms,
tornadoes, hail and flooding. In
some parts of the country,
spotters also report snowfall and
ice accumulation.
Two-thirds of the NWS volunteers
are licensed amateur radio
operators. Amateur radio plays a
big role in the SKYWARN®
program. During severe weather,
amateur radio volunteers man a
radio station at the NWS office.
They talk to spotters in the
particular area that a storm is
hitting and request information
needed by the forecasters such
as hail size or rainfall
accumulation.
Large storms such as hurricanes
can knock out phone service.
Skywarn® Amateur radio
volunteers help the NWS when
there are communications
outages so that they can
continue to receive weather
reports and feed warnings and
other critical information out to
communities.
EchoLink
EchoLink is a computer-based Amateur Radio system
distributed free of charge that allows radio amateurs to
communicate with other amateur radio operators using
Voice over IP (VoIP) technology on the Internet. It was
designed by Jonathan Taylor, a radio amateur with call
sign K1RFD. EchoLink is available for Microsoft Windows, Android, and iOS. You will need to
provide proof you are Licensed Amateur Radio Operator before access to EchoLink is
granted. This is to ensure that only licensed Amateurs have access to the system, and to
ensure that each user is using a valid callsign that he or she is authorized to use. The
software is easy to install and use.
MORE INFO
K6IS Repeater System Information
The K6IS Repeater System is owned and operated by the
North Hills Radio Club. The repeater operations cost are
supported through club membership fees and donations.
If you are in the Sacramento region we encourage you to
consider becoming a member of North Hills Radio Club.
EAST – K6IS/R “East” repeater is located south of Folsom Lake on Carson Ridge at an
elevation of 828 feet. It operates on 2 meters at 145.190 MHz with a negative offset and a
162.20 Hz PL tone (CTCSS) and on 1.25 meters at 224.400 MHz, a negative offset and a
162.20 Hz PL tone (CTCSS). Transmissions on either frequency pair are repeated on both
radio bands. It is a friendly repeater, open to any licensed Ham operator in the coverage
area.
WEST – K6IS/R “West” repeater is located near Zamora, CA. It operates on 145.190 MHz (-)
with a 123.00 Hz PL tone. The squelch tail is set at 1 second. The West repeater has better
coverage into Placer County and portions of the El Dorado and Amador County foothills.
The K6IS-e repeater is assigned IRLP Node 7457 / Echolink Node 763307 both are an open
system, normally left in the “Ready to Connect” state. To make an IRLP connection It is
necessary to append a # key before keying the DTMF tones for the node you wish to connect
to, similarly you must append a # to the disconnect 73 command. A listing of the IRLP nodes
and their connection status can be found at http://status.irlp.net. If you are not familiar with
IRLP operating procedures, please read the IRLP Guidelines
http://www.irlp.net/guidelines.html BEFORE you use the system.
North Hills Radio Club
