[chirp_users] Open stock config-Noaa Weather

[Jim Unroe]

On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 1:23 PM, Todd Bloomingdale
<tbloomingdale at gmail.com> wrote:
> Chirp developers.
>
> Seems I have found a minor bug in trying to open the stock config for the US
> NOAA Weather  frequencies. Tried opening the stock config to import and I
> get a error and also the listed weather frequencies have some frequencies
> listed that are not part of the NOAA system. Also the alpha tags are messed
> up. Just wanted to let the developers know. Included is a saved .csv of the
> weather frequencies that I pulled up and also a debug file.
>
> Todd Bloomingdale-KC9LOX
>
> Tomah, WI
>

Todd,

I have no issues opening the "NOAA Weather Alert.csv" stock config.

I know this stock config was recently reworked (by "recently" I mean
in the last year or so). I just did some quick research to validate
the frequencies and alpha tags and the following is what I found.

>From wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_radio)

<quote>
The "official" NOAA WX numbering scheme does not increase in frequency
order because the weather channels were created gradually over the
years. 162.55 MHz was at first the only frequency (so was thus WX1),
then 162.4 (WX2) and 162.475 (WX3) were added later to prevent RF
interference. The others mainly came into use in the 1990s in
less-populated rural, areas and as fill-in broadcast translators
relaying an existing station or sending a separate, more localized
broadcast into remote or mountainous areas, or those areas with
reception trouble.
</quote>

The following is from the NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARINE PRODUCTS VIA
NOAA WEATHER RADIO page
(http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/wxradio.htm)

<quote>
NOAA Weather Radio Frequencies
162.400 MHz   (WX2)
162.425 MHz   (WX4)
162.450 MHz   (WX5)
162.475 MHz   (WX3)
162.500 MHz   (WX6)
162.525 MHz   (WX7)
162.550 MHz   (WX1)
Channel numbers, e.g. (WX1, WX2) etc. have no special significance but
are often designated this way in consumer equipment. Other channel
numbering schemes are also prevalent.
</quote>

And also from the same page

<quote>
Many NOAA Weather Radio receivers are also programmed for three
additional frequencies; 161.650 MHz (marine VHF Ch 21B), 161.775 MHz
(marine VHF Ch 83B) and 163.275 MHz.
</quote>

So according to the above, the stock config looks fine to me.

Jim KC9HI