- December 16, 2025
Within moments of the National Weather Service’s announcement of storm warnings for Flagler County, nearly two dozen local hams, amateur radio operators licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, signed into the Skywarn Net of FECA, on one the Flagler Emergency Communications Association’s wide coverage repeaters.
The net was controlled by FECA member and Skywarn Coordinator Robert Creal and Bakup Net Control Merrill Musikar, FECA president.
These hams, who participate in practice drills each week to maintain a high state of readiness and reliability, were joined by emergency coordinators in neighboring counties throughout the storm.
Interference from the radio equipment of other services caused some of the hams to scramble to alternate frequencies, and when power outages became widespread, the units were automatically switched over to emergency power.
“The activation went very smoothly, and the few and far between glitches were handled with aplomb,” Musikar said.
FECA is preparing to hone its weather-observations skills in June, at the American Radio Relay League Field Day.
— Send community news to [email protected].
