On 4/12/2010 4:49 PM, J. Moen wrote:
I now think ARRL should allow QSOs via repeaters, as long as 1) they
are not powered by mains (generators, batteries etc. ok), and 2) they
involve only RF. So emergency-powered repeaters could use
non-mains-powered RF links to other emergency-powered repeaters.
The far more common scenario in a real emergency would be... put a
PORTABLE repeater on-air, properly frequency-coordinated, and prove that
it has maximum coverage for the HAAT of the site chosen via QSO's
through it.
"We need to be able to talk to Camp 2 on the other side of that ridgeline."
That's REAL emergency communications... :-)
A 4x4, a generator with three days worth of fuel at a minimum, and the
appropriate antenna mast, antennas, feedline, portable repeater, and
grounding/safety equipment to do it... even if you have to deploy it in
bad weather.
Extra points if your antenna system allows you to do it safely with only
one person, if you can run for more than 3 days self-sustained, and a
1000 point bonus if you can link it somewhere via Satellite IP or a
SatPhone.
(D-STAR won't be playing in THAT bonus points game any time soon.
Virtually any other common linking technology out there today, WILL
work, though. On Satellite IP, the latency is too high and analog audio
linking of D-STAR systems would trash the audio quality so badly it'd be
uncopyable.)
By the way, if you're wondering where the scenario came from... a local
group can do this... now. The gear includes a full communications
trailer with three operator positions, and virtually any mode or band
you'd like... all dependent on how many antennas you feel like hoisting
and securing to the trailer or via portable tower sections.
And if someone wants to really learn how to do it -- one of the best
"practice sessions" every year is going out and being a Rover in the
June ARRL VHF contest... you get to put it all up and take it all down
in every grid square... it's not FM typically, though... VHF and above
SSB out-performs FM by many many dB of usable signal.
(And if your local emergency communications folks haven't ever attempted
using SSB at VHF and above, they're missing out. A couple of FT-857s
and vertical antennas will often whallop the pants off of trying to
figure out a path for FM... you just have to go TRY it.)
Lots of ideas out there for REAL emergency communications aren't the
POPULAR ones you see at EVERY ham club's Field Day activities... :-)
Ever sent up a pair of hams in a single-engine aircraft as a
high-altitude relay, for example? Works real well... otherwise known as
the "Bladder of Steel" mission. How about sending a repeater aloft with
them? Can you rig up an appropriate antenna system for INSIDE the
aircraft that still works?
Get creative when thinking about real Emergency Comm. The radios are
the duct tape, the modes are the bailing wire... and the human still has
to decide what to build with them.
Nate WY0X
