NOAA likely to discontinue shortwave weather fax transmissions

[ChrisSmolinski]

This just appeared on their website, the window for comments has closed.

Please remember to keep all comments on-topic and NON-POLITICAL. This is your first and only warning 

https://www.weather.gov/media/notification/pdf_2026/pns26-48_commentsHF__RadioFax_Broadcast.pdf

You can always voice your disappointment with the discontinuation by emailing them, even though the deadline has passed. Also maybe mention you just found out about this now, and their outreach efforts to gauge interest in the fax transmissions was insufficient? Be polite of course!

Their email address is: [email protected]

[skeezix]

Hm... sure Internet is fine, if its available. But its nice to have a backup for when the Internet is unavailable, plus radiofax has no subscription costs, unlike shipborne Internet.

Much like LORAN-C was a good alternative for GPS. Still wish they'd get eLORAN going so we have two independent systems. GPS is easily jammed, as we repeatedly see.

I hope they leave NAVTEX alone.

[NQC]

Hey All,

Like it or not,the times they are a changin'.

The big  stations  from the old days  (NMF Boston ,etc) are gradually being chipped away . I suppose it is a budget decision vs how many folks are   actually  using  the service.

 FWIW :Many years ago ,I installed an Alden WEFAX unit w/ HF receiver at the Blue Hill Weather Observatory where I worked. It was VERY slow and required  fresh moist paper  cartridges .If they sat too long and dried out , they were no good. It was also quite slow and subject at times  to propagation degrading on the image . But WAY cool at the time ( pre internet) and a great addition to the Observatory's capabilities.

I would THINK that MODERN ship board WEFAX receivers  don't use paper prints as the only option for viewing (maybe like a NAVTEX  receiver ) .Not sure though.

IF HF WEFAX is eventually taken off the air , I also hope that NAVTEX and the MIGHTY  NMN (etc) voice weather info is left alone.

de NQC

[Dr. Amp]

I don't think they've been maintaining the wefax system for a while anyway.

First, I haven't heard any transmissions from New Orleans in probably at least a year, then the last few days I've been occasionally hearing a transmission on their frequency that sounds like the cadence of wefax, but with a loud multi-tone signal on top of it, almost as if the "start" signal continues throughout the picture.

Second, I wanted to get some pictures from Boston with the nor'easter going on. Signals are good, but the content only fills up half the width of the frame. (It's not a bad setting on my end -- the entire line is received, it only has content in the first half of it.) And then, I got a satellite picture that was smashed to black-and-white instead of being grayscale.

[Dude111]

I dont like how the NOAA radio has gotton....

So much garbage,JUST GIVE THE BLASTED WEATHER LIKE YOU USED TO!

Now it tells you "Less than 1/10" an inch of rain" for example -- Who cares how much!!

I like it when it was a HUMAN BEING doing the weather on those Noaa stations!!

[BoomboxDX]

I dont like how the NOAA radio has gotton....

So much garbage,JUST GIVE THE BLASTED WEATHER LIKE YOU USED TO!

Now it tells you "Less than 1/10" an inch of rain" for example -- Who cares how much!!

I like it when it was a HUMAN BEING doing the weather on those Noaa stations!!

I think the more extensive weather forecasts (and weather reports) on NOAA are good for keeping the service around.

They're more interesting to listen to, more informative, and usually the forecast appears at least within a minute or two.

I also think the more recent voices have been an improvement over the automated ones they used in the 2000s.