NOAA Weather Internet Radio

 Welcome back to the blog. In today's entry, I am creating a project that further expands the reach of the NOAA Weather Radio system by utilizing the National Weather Service's free, tax-payer-funded API.

I was wrong

 So far I have been very wrong about 2026 severe weather-wise. Around northwest Missouri, it has been a VERY active and scary year. These past weeks alone just proves why.

RIP NOAA 18

 Today, we gather to mourn the loss of yet another milestone in my amateur radio adventures.

April 17th, 2025

Almost one year later, southwest Iowa was the target of another Tornado Emergency.

HamDashboard de VA3HDL

 Jason, KM4ACK, has done it again. He's shown another really cool ham thing on his YT page - a ham-friendly dashboard!

If you're looking for a way to have ALL your ham radio internet-linked things at your fingertips, look no further than VA3HDL's Ham Radio Dashboard. All you need is a web browser to get started.

A 1980s Rarity: Montgomery Ward's GEN856A VHF/UHF scanner

I remember one time when I was young where we had to take shelter during a tornado warning. As a Midwesterner, you get used to stuff like this. When we were huddled in the basement waiting for the storm to pass, I remember my dad having a black box in his hand, with a grey top and two antennas sticking out from it. It looked like an old walkie-talkie, but in fact, this box would end up changing my life forever.

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! A weather update, that is...

 Ever since I was little, weather has fascinated me, between snowstorms and tornadoes. I've had my fair share, and with the recent 3-day outbreak in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, that fascination has reignited in my soul. In fact, one of the reasons I became a ham was to help out if the weather ever took a turn for the worse.