Canadian version of NOAA WX radio to shut down

[CG]

Saw this link on RR. Doesn't affect us directly but some here use those VHF stations to determine if DX conditions are decent.
Starting March 16, 2026, Weatheradio and Hello Weather services will be permanently disconnected
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/weatheradio.html

chris

 

[n1zyy]

On the plus side, I wonder if that means FRS and marine radios will stop being deceptively sold with "10 weather channels," the seven NWS ones and 3 Weatheradio ones.

On the negative side, I wonder if this portends an eventual similar fate here in the US at some point.

 

[W1KNE]

On the negative side, I wonder if this portends an eventual similar fate here in the US at some point.

I highly doubt it. In several states, NOAA is an integral part of the EAS system. Doing so would lose that link.

 

[n1zyy]

That's my hope as well. It just seems like there's a dwindling number of EAS equipment companies, a growing reliance on IPAWS, and more and more people relying on WEA alerts on their phones. I hope these continue to be seen as complementary technologies and not replacements. (Internet services do go offline, as do cell networks...)

 

[ScanBoston]

I highly doubt it. In several states, NOAA is an integral part of the EAS system. Doing so would lose that link.

I think EAS is in jeopardy here. With Sage leaving the marketplace radio really has no one to serve it. The DASDEC units are to complex and pricey for every radio station to have a single unit for each call sign. Unless a low cost software solution is found the whole thing is going to fall apart.

 

[n1zyy]

I think EAS is in jeopardy here. With Sage leaving the marketplace radio really has no one to serve it. The DASDEC units are to complex and pricey for every radio station to have a single unit for each call sign. Unless a low cost software solution is found the whole thing is going to fall apart.

My long list of projects awaiting a round tuit includes an old Sage ENDEC I bought at Nearfest for $10, and feeding it with an SDR from a few local NWS stations, as an overengineered home weather radio alert.

But there's no technical reason this can't be done cheaply and easily in software on a Raspberry Pi. There's existing open-source code for EAS, and IPAWS is built on an open standard that should be fairly easy to parse. I supposed you'd have to do the audio switching, but I presume the real hard part is getting it certified and made stable enough to run for years, and then trying to sell enough of them to make a business out of it.