MESO's McWAR
(Multi-community Wide Area Resource)

McWAR, the Multi-community Wide Area Resource, is a customized and converted 1991 Dodge Ram ambulance. In operational mode, it is fully equipped with a roof-mounted 18" x-band radar, NWS Radio, a satellite link to The Weather Channel, a 100W VHF radio, a 65W UHF radio, HAM radio, CB radio, cell phones, 1200W auxiliary batteries, GPS tracking, a PA System, a complete electronic weather instrument package, an array of lightning detectors and software, storm tracking and NEXRAD radar software, a color printer, a camcorder, video capture hardware, a television set, six 15" monitors, six mid-tower computers, and two laptop computers.

McWAR was built by John L. Bender, and is funded entirely by the members of MESO. When McWAR isn't chasing storms, it makes special appearances at schools, and is used by an Illinois Skywarn chapter as a command center for deploying storm spotters.

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