getting a weather forecast when camping or off-grid

see also:

• bushwalking in Australia
• navigation management for hikers
• radio basics
• portable weather stations for campers

• for most of us who are going on short camping trips we can get the weather forecast before we set out while we still have internet access and examples in Australia are here:
  • Melbourne weather
  • smartphone apps such as:
    • Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) - includes radar imagery
    • WillyWeather
    • local emergency and fire warning apps
• but for those going off-grid for a longer period or when the internet goes down such as extreme weather events (strong winds, floods or bushfires knocking out the local electricity grid) or a rarely an extreme solar storm it is nice to have other options

• these require a satellite communicator device and a paid subscription before you go off-grid
• see remote communication for campers and hikers

• you need a SW or VHF radio capable of accessing the correct frequency - see radio basics
• in America, one usually would rely upon the NOAA weather radio or WeatherRadio Canada
  • these are usually in the 161-164MHz ranges (VHF)
• in Australia:
  • see http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/marine-weather-hf-radio.shtml
  • frequencies depend on time of day and whether east or west Australia and are in the range 2MHz to 21MHz (SW)

• for this you will need:
  • shortwave radio capable of accessing the correct frequency - see radio basics
  • knowledge of the weatherfax broadcast frequency and parameter to select in the software
    • in Australia:
      • http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/marine-weather-hf-radio.shtml
        • fax schedules
        • fax frequencies depend on time of day and whether east or west Australia and are in the range 2MHz to 21MHz and the Index of co-operation is 576
  • a computer with audio cable from radio
  • software to decode the audio radio signal into a visual weather chart fax and the knowledge of how to use it
    • FLDIGI
      • see tutorial
  • to place the weatherfax onto a map for better visualisation:
    • use Open CPN with the WeatherFax plugin installed
      • see tutorial

• for marine use in Australia:
  • see http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/marine-radio-sat.shtml
  • if going more than 25 miles off shore, you will need HF transceiver radio as well as an ACMA approved 25W marine VHF transceiver radio plus satellite phone
  • most coastal radio stations provide regular local weather forecasts on VHF radio, with instructions and broadcast times announced regularly on Channel 16 or 67.
  • VHF Channel 16 frequency is 156.8 MHz. It is the international calling and distress frequency for marine VHF radio communications, channel 67 is 156.375 and is the supplementary channel for channel 16.