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(Ultra Geeky warning): NOAA weather radio for GR area is about to move to new TX site

Discussion pertaining to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, and Michiana
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MWmetalhead
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(Ultra Geeky warning): NOAA weather radio for GR area is about to move to new TX site

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Mar 31, 2019 9:31 am

Is longstanding NOAA weather radio station KIG-63, which for decades has transmitted from atop the City of Kentwood water tower, about to be replaced?

Some station listings published by NOAA no longer mention KIG-63 (licensed to Grand Rapids) and instead mention a new station, WZ2560, licensed to Cannonsburg.

https://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/s ... ite=WZ2560

For a 1000 watt signal on the weather band, areal coverage does not look great. My guess is they'll be co-locating on a cell phone tower, using another water tower as the TX antenna mounting site, or an existing two-way radio tower.

This new site will almost assuredly have coverage issues in the SW corner of Kent County. Would be nice if Kent County weather warnings were added to the West Olive signal (which comes in well across much of the GR area).



statmanmi
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Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2018 12:07 am

Re: (Ultra Geeky warning): NOAA weather radio for GR area is about to move to new TX site

Post by statmanmi » Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:15 am

How best could someone tell if this transition happened?

The broadcast audio still cites as being from KIG-63, not yet WZ2560. I've listened recently 3 different ways:

-- Older radio with Weatherband
-- New RTL-SDR dongle (Which also has pulled in a few other weather radio signals, depending upon whether I've connected the rooftop TV antenna or used old-fashioned rabbit ears on the dining room table...fun times that have the rest of my family calling me a geek!)
-- TV WOTV subchannel 41-4, providing the Storm Team 8 radar loop as the video, and the NOAA Weather Radio as the audio.

Last evening the audio was dead--only static. I thought maybe that would herald the station ID being revised to the expected WZ2560. But it's back on tonight citing KIG-63. NOAA hasn't yet updated the noted outage for WZ2560 on their website:
https://www.weather.gov/nwr/outages

I haven't yet figured out if the FCC site has a search that yields weather radio information. I've gotten pretty good at looking up TV and FM information through various websites for their FCC filings--but still come up empty for this data.

Google found me one enthusiast's forum site that had a posting where someone noted in October 2019 that the broadcast is now from the noted new location, but they also realized the audio still cited KIG-63.


I'll further hone MWmetalhead's speculation regarding the tower: I'll bet that it's the State of Michigan's 500 footer with registered address of 2707 HONEY CREEK ROAD, N.E. CANNONSBURG, MI.

Cheers! ~~ Statmanmi
MWmetalhead wrote:
Sun Mar 31, 2019 9:31 am
Is longstanding NOAA weather radio station KIG-63, which for decades has transmitted from atop the City of Kentwood water tower, about to be replaced?

Some station listings published by NOAA no longer mention KIG-63 (licensed to Grand Rapids) and instead mention a new station, WZ2560, licensed to Cannonsburg.

https://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/s ... ite=WZ2560

For a 1000 watt signal on the weather band, areal coverage does not look great. My guess is they'll be co-locating on a cell phone tower, using another water tower as the TX antenna mounting site, or an existing two-way radio tower.

This new site will almost assuredly have coverage issues in the SW corner of Kent County. Would be nice if Kent County weather warnings were added to the West Olive signal (which comes in well across much of the GR area).



bugzapper
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 1:55 pm
Location: Hopkins, MI

Re: (Ultra Geeky warning): NOAA weather radio for GR area is about to move to new TX site

Post by bugzapper » Thu Apr 23, 2020 4:09 pm

From The KCR Weather Center..NOUS43 KGRR 231837
PNSGRR
MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-232000-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
236 PM EDT Thu Apr 23 2020

....Cannonsburg NOAA Weather Radio back on the Air...

NOAA Weather Radio Station KIG-63, broadcasting on 162.550 MHz from
Cannonsburg is back to normal operation.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: (Ultra Geeky warning): NOAA weather radio for GR area is about to move to new TX site

Post by MWmetalhead » Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:14 pm

Good find! So they *did* move to a different tower. I'll be darned. With the Oshtemo station moving farther north to Doster years ago, I suppose it only makes sense for the GR station to move north.



Jason Kragt
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:01 pm

Re: (Ultra Geeky warning): NOAA weather radio for GR area is about to move to new TX site

Post by Jason Kragt » Sun Apr 26, 2020 2:13 pm

We were perhaps a bit overserved here in the middle. 162.475 has always been the best signal here in Saugatuck--beating the closer 162.425. 162.550 is still receivable.



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