Jon, I'd seriously consider using low-band HF (NVIS) in addition to VHF. If one fails, the other will most likely fill-in-the-gaps of those spotty areas.
Whichever you decide to use in terms of software / mode I'd make sure that everyone is proficient in knowing how to use it; not only which keys to punch, but how to reload and reconfigure the software from a backup disc in case a 'bug' decides to pop-up in the field. Tony -K2MO ----- Original Message ----- From: "JonP" <jpere...@yahoo.com> To: <digitalradio@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2009 1:08 PM Subject: [digitalradio] Digital and EMCOMM > The purpose of this message is to ask for people's experience and thoughts > about which modes and methods of digital to use for specific EMCOMM scenarios. > > I'm in Fairfield County CT. Relatively small in size, relatively dense in > population. Hilly enough that VHF coverage in the northern half of the > county is spotty (even with the fixed repeaters currently in place) and in > general VHF is limited to about 20 miles radius throughout the county even > with a good base station and a reasonably tall antenna. > > We are told that the most likely scenario is that hams would be deployed to > shelters or other fixed locations where our primary responsibility will be > passing message traffic -- either formal NTS traffic or long list traffic > such as shelter logistics lists, shelter occupancy lists, etc. > > My question is what modes/methods/protocols to focus on when planning for > that kind of usage. Some of the scenarios we are considering are: > > 1. Long List shelter messages sent radio-to-radio direct on VHF FM (possibly > via a repeater). In this scenario, Winlink is not available. > > We've been experimenting with WinPack and it seems reasonably reliable over > short distances. However, it is somewhat slow, and it's not clear to me if > it does error checking or not. We've noticed some quirks where the receiving > station has to keep hitting enter to get the entire message (it receives two > or three lines at a time between hitting the enter key). Is there other > software or are there other modes of operation that people would recommend > for this purpose? > > 2. Long List shelter messages sent via WinLink. > > WinLink via radio is grass-growing slow, but seems to be the major focus of > most EMCOMM email planning. We can understand using it to reach internet > email if there is no internet service available in the disaster area. What > about within the disaster area if we have choice between radio-to-radio > direct (e.g., via WinPack) or going via WinLink. Which would you consider > the more desirable approach, or is there some other approach you would > recommend? > > 3. Formatted NTS messages. > > Sending NTS messages by voice is certainly doable, but the idea of sending > hundreds of such messages by voice doesn't sound like an efficient method of > communications (although it's there if nothing else is available). There are > any number of programs and macros that produce formatted NTS text output, so > what are people doing in terms of sending such messages digitally? Again, > send them via WinLink if available? Send them via WinPack? Send them via > something else? > > If anyone wants to respond to me off the group, you can select my name and > email address (instead of the group) when you reply to this message. > > Thanks. > > Jon > KB1QBZ > > message cross-posted on PacLinkMP group. > >
