Dave G -- Some answers:
1) Our local Corvette club uses Motorola UHF business class radios (Model: RDU2080d) for inter-car communications during our caravanning tours where the cars may be spread out over a couple of miles. High quality gear; works well; costs $210 a pop with group discount. Inside and between buildings, wouldn't VHF be better? 2) Of course I didn't suggest that all attendees need to be tuned in to the administrative messages. I don't know where you got the idea that I was suggesting that. However, many probably already have FRS gear and might be curious about what is going on if you divulge beforehand that FRS radios will be in use and channel information to them. 3) I guess the feasibility of the ham solution depends on whether the key players conducting the LFNW operations can be persuaded to obtain licenses and gear tout suite. 4) Regardless of the decision about use of ham radios for staff communications, I still think a presentation on software for radio purposes would be of interest to many attendees. 5) Have no idea why the circumflex (Webster: a mark ˆ, ⌢, or ˜ -- which one of these possibilities is it?) appears in your mail. It doesn't show up in my copies, such as this one. I suspect a character set issue, since I am using M$ Outlook, typically with HTML formatting, for sending mail and they all come back plain text. I will send this message in plain text, just the way it was received. Does that fix the issue? What clunky Linux app are you using for a mail client? :-) I also see that some Linux folk still cling to "bottom posting", which was the position espoused in an ancient RFC, whereas the virtually universal practice in lists to which I belong is to use "top posting". "Bottom posting", plain-text centric... I'm not complaining, just observing that one wonders why Linux has trouble inserting itself into mainstream computing usage. Well... Good discussion; I am learning some useful technical stuff. Thanks. As it turns out, we are planning to go on a huge Corvette caravan to Bowling Green, KY in August. The estimate is for 5K 'Vettes to converge on B/G, which is where the GM factory that makes them is located. I am trying to decide what communications gear to take to deal with all variants that will be encountered, and I suspect that I could end up with half a dozen radios to juggle, including a trunking receiver to keep tabs on Smokey of course. In any event, I will desperately need software assistance. By the way, the antennae used for CB mobile ops can vary hugely in length, including the use of "coils", apparently to create "virtual length", and the efficiency of these antennae appears to depend on good RF matching via SWR tuning, right? Ken Meyer [email protected] (206) 361-5057 1509 N 143rd Street Seattle, WA 98133 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 2:10 AM To: LinuxFest Northwest Discussion Subject: Re: [Fest-list] ham radios for event communication On Thu, 6 Feb 2014, Ken Meyer wrote: > Daves H and G: > > Thanks for the responses; it's always nice to know that one is not > spitting down a well :-) > > Now, H, you will note that I originally cited the usefulness of > publicizing ham radio and educating folks in the use of it, but get > real: very few of the attendees will know what that thing in your hand > is, and in fact, many will assume that it is an FRS box. > > As for range indoors, G, what about hand-held CB's? 4 watts max vs. > 0.5 watts max for FRS (and 5.0 watts for GMRS). > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service > > Also, as for practical utility, though the Technician Class ham > license is "easy" as tests go, it does require, oh, my SWAG is about > 20 hours to bone up and take the test, and then the radios tend to be > more expensive, I’d guess $100 – $200 and up for a decent one. > > If there is going to be a practical use to communicate between > volunteers, I would guess that at least half a dozen individuals would > have to be convinced and cranked up before April. > > To me, the resolution seems pretty obvious: give a talk on the > available software – could include software for setting up scanners as > well. Then you could “sneak in” a pitch for ham participation, maybe > even have a rig and talk to someone in the outside world. Strikes me > that you two have more than enough expertise to do a quality tag team event. A CB requires a much larger antenna to get decent performance. That's a big reason why FRS and GMRS radios operate in the UHF band rather than 11-meters. I do not recommend handheld CBs for use in event-managing. I'm not suggesting that EVERYONE in attendance use ham radios: just the people who are involved in running the event. The idea is to provide radio communication of the sort that is very desirable for an event like this. Now, here's the big question: is LinuxFest NW a non-profit thing? If so, ham radio can be used. If not, we'll need to rent some business-band radios or buy GMRS licenses for all radio users. Side question: why do posts from you have circumflexed 'A' and 'a' scattered about? -- David Griffith [email protected] _______________________________________________ Fest-list mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fest-list
