I was referring to Winlink2000. The 6M 'failure' was an attempt to say the flare was 'really bad' and somehow also impaired low band TV and the 47.42MHz, the Red Cross VHF channel.
You've hit on a number of solutions and a number of problems. That's what these sorts of exercise are good for. This was a solar flare but it could have been an 'out of atmosphere nuke EMP blast'. In that exercise, North Korea fires a nuke towards Seattle and detonates it before it could be intercepted. While there would be no radiation or blast damage, the EMP could be devastating to the region. Impacted are not just the city but ships at sea, Aircraft, etc. Amateur radio has one very useful feature. We can think and experiment more easily than others. We do it for fun. We can think up situations and solutions. We can build systems to handle expected threats and we can have and idea what to do if something unusual happens. When we do this, we shouldn't limit our thinking to just radio. We have a deep wealth of technical knowledge that can be tapped when needed. Many Amateur Ops are still getting their disaster training or haven't had any yet. Those people tend to see everything as one big terrorist attack and can't dissect the problem and see its component parts. Once they get some training, they tend to see the error of their ways. (If not, that Radio Rambo is gently sidelined.) Then you have just the usual volunteer inertia. We know it would be great to have many Telpac Nodes, Packet networks, and linked repeaters all with hardened emergency power, etc. But it takes money and time and in many areas the number of truly active volunteers is limited. Just look at how few have SCS PactorIII modems. Even on packet, someone or some club has to fund these networks. In many places its nearly a full time job just to keep the club repeater and remotes on-line. This is the real problem that needs our immediate attention. Charlie Crizer , KF4MNE Cell 202-210-6346 [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Winlink2000/Airmail Disaster Services - Communications (Northern VA) Disaster Action Team Lead (Fairfax County South) American Red Cross of the National Capital Area -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of KV9U Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 13:39 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Re: The Internet is Unreliable for Amateur RadioService Emergency Communications Charlie, I am assuming you really mean Winlink 2000 which is completely different than the older Winlink system that was strictly an RF only system that did not use the internet? Your hypothetical scenario is a very real possibility and has happened to us on occasion with our traffic nets being taken out by a solar flare. Since the leadership in our Section has decided to move digital to Winlink 2000 in the mistaken belief that this the "only" approved digital network supported by ARRL, VHF packet is no longer a useful option for very long distances here. There is almost no interest in HF digital either. Partly because very few hams even care to operate modes other than CW and SSB, and partly because of the trend toward Technician class hams with no HF operating priveleges. Why would you consider a solar storm as shutting out 6 meter SSB and for that matter any other line of sight modes? It seems to me that 6 meter SSB (and higher) could be a useful method of sending point to point messages, particularly if you had an ARQ mode. If you could operate HF digital, then you would still have ground wave. In fact, a recent proposal by ARRL has resulted in an STA for operation on 500 KHz here in the U.S. This band, although very noisy, also has superior ground wave abilities. Antennas are a difficult issue, but shortened verticals would seem to be the right approach to avoid NVIS operations which could be rendered inoperative during a serious enough solar CME. While I agree you need to have more than one tool in the toolbox, we must not accept that every tool is equal. Some are more vulnearble than others to interruptions. 73, Rick, KV9U Charles Crizer wrote: >We are a backup service mostly but we could play a larger roll. That is up >to the localities involved. > >Internet usage in amateur circles, such as Winlink is valid as long as it >works. Any technology is viable as long as it works. We shouldn't condemn >something just because it 'might' not work sometimes. Sure a voice link may >be faster and easier but the served agency may prefer a digital solution for >archival purposes. If that is was they want we should see if we can build >it. > >But I'll pose this problem. A sever solar storm that completely shuts out HF >- 6M SSB. Nails the power grid across the country and knocks out or degrades >commercial satellite use. > >Within 6 hours we start loosing cell sites and within 12-72 hours central >offices start dropping out if not already knocked offline. Some secondary >damage to bridges knock out major fiber links between cities. > >Now what? > >We'll have to adjust our methods to the situation. Some areas may have a >Packet network that can handle traffic hundreds of miles. Some don't and >will put it together. Others will use PSK31, Pactor, or CW. (Or any mode >that can punch through. I don't know if PSK31 would or not.) > >Do we really want to limit what we can do because it sometimes might not >work sometimes? Of course not, lets keep putting things into our tool box. > > >Charlie Crizer, KF4MNE >Fairfax County (Alexandria) Virginia, US >QTH: 38-47.96N / 77-05.17W - FM18kt >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >[EMAIL PROTECTED] - Winlink2000/Airmail > > > > Need a Digital mode QSO? Connect to Telnet://cluster.dynalias.org Other areas of interest: The MixW Reflector : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup/ DigiPol: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipol (band plan policy discussion) Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Need a Digital mode QSO? Connect to Telnet://cluster.dynalias.org Other areas of interest: The MixW Reflector : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup/ DigiPol: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipol (band plan policy discussion) Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalradio/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalradio/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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