[ETS/PARC List] More Info: HF Link ALE Test

[E. Drew Moore]

-


 


HFIE-2014 Guidelines for US Amateur and
Government Stations Communicating with ALE on 5 MHz

About HFIE

High Frequency Interoperability Exercise (HFIE) is a readiness
exercise event to test radio stations and radio operator practice for HF
interoperability communications using Automatic Link Establishment 
(ALE). The
exercise prepares radio operators to more efficiently handle essential 
Emergency
Communications (EMCOMM) and respond to the needs of disaster relief.
Participating radio operators use this exercise to gain more experience 
in
setting up and operating stations, and to achieve technical proficiency 
in
communicating via HF radio using ALE. HFIE is a free and open 
semi-annual
exercise, coordinated by the HFLINK organization and the Global ALE High
Frequency Network (HFN). More information is available at:

http://hflink.com

http://hflink.net

 

HFIE-2014 Timeframe

HFIE-2014 Starts 2014 March 27 at 00:01 UTC and ends 2014 April 07 at
23:59 UTC.



Click here to
print or Download these guidelines as pdf

 

HFIE-2014 for US Amateur Radio Service and Federal Government
Stations

At
the request of FEMA, the FCC and NTIA have granted Special Temporary 
Authority
(STA) for US Amateur Radio Operators and US Federal Government stations 
to
communicate with each other for participation in the 12 days of 
HFIE-2014.
Informal guidelines are presented here for technical operations of HF 
radio
stations for participating US Amateur Radio Service and Government
entities.

 

Objectives

A
primary objective of the HFIE-2014 is to test HF two-way communication 
to meet
essential communication needs and to facilitate relief actions. Another
objective of HFIE-2014 is to test  the interoperability between
software-based ALE controllers using computer-interfaced HF radios (as 
commonly
implemented in the Amateur Radio community) with various types of
embedded-hardware ALE HF radios (commonly used by government and other
services). The exercise encourages and promotes a common denominator of 
standard
ALE techniques for maximum compatibility.



Interoperability Standards

Interoperability for communications in HFIE-2014 is facilitated by
the use of 2nd Generation
Automatic Link Establishment (2G ALE) as proscribed in the Federal 
Standard
FED-1045a or MIL STD 188-141b/c family of protocols and equipment 
standards. At
a minimum, ALE radio equipment used in the exercise should be capable of 
sending
and receiving ALE Individual Calls, ALE Sounding, and ALE Text messaging 
(AMD)
using the normal 2G ALE methods. The equipment may be normally set up 
for
automatic channel scanning, or manual operation may be selected for 
fixed
channel frequencies. Two shared channel frequencies will be used for 
HFIE-2014
out of the five channels approved for use by both Amateur and Federal 
Government
stations during the timeframe of this exercise. Channel information is 
provided
in Table 1.

 

Table 1. HFIE-2014 - HF Interoperability
Channels


HFIE-2014

ALE HF Interoperability Channels for US Amateur Radio and
       Federal Stations

 

Channel
       Designation

Channel
       Frequency

Type of
       Communication

Comments

Sounding

Gov

Sounding

Amateur

HFIE Primary

5357.0 kHz

USB

VOICE

or AMD
       Texting

Call using ALE and
       communicate on this channel.

Yes

Automatic

Manual or
       Non-Auto

NALE

HFIE Secondary

5371.5 kHz

USB

VOICE

or AMD
       Texting

Call using ALE and
       communicate on this channel if the other channel is busy, or to 
conduct
       extended testing.

Yes

Automatic

Manual or
       Non-Auto

NALE

Notes:

    1.  Channel Frequency is
         the carrier reference frequency for Upper Sideband suppressed 
carrier,
         commonly displayed on the front panel of the radio.


    2.  Emission type for
         ALE modem signal is 2K80J2D (or 2K00J2D).

    3.  The
         center-of-channel frequencies are 5358.5 and 5373 kHz. The USB 
offset is
         -1.5 kHz.


 

 

ALE Radio
Programming Information

Program your
controller to automatically allow and add any new ALE address it
receives.

If possible,
program the two channel frequencies in a separate ALE channel group, or 
as part
of your existing HFL NET group of channels.

You may program
the ALLCALL channel of this group to 5357.0 kHz USB, and you may set it 
to allow
sending ALLCALLS and receiving ALLCALLS.

Recommended
sounding interval is 60 minutes.

The recommended
scan rate is 2 channels per second.

Recommended ALE
call duration is 12 seconds minimum and 20 seconds maximum.

Use POLITE or
LBT (Listen Before Transmit) channel occupancy detection.

Linking
protection (LP) should not be used for HFIE-related communications. Use 
AL0
setting.



NET =
HFL

If you program
an additional ALE NET into your radio, the NET name is HFL. If you 
already have
the HFL NET programmed into your radio, you should add the 2 channels in 
Table
1, to your existing HFL NET. There is a total of 10 “members” of the HFL 
NET,
and your ALE Self Address should be programmed in the first slot. Other 
net
member ALE Addresses should be programmed in the other 9
slots:

KQ6XA, N2CKH,
KB3JAJ, KJ4AYT, KE6IYC, W6HIQ, WB6MZS, WB4AKK, KG6VBX.

 

Basic Operating Procedures

The following procedures are suggested guidelines for
establishing links and exchanging communications between US Amateur 
Radio
Service stations and US Federal Government stations operating in the 
exercise.
Operators should operate within the approved guidelines and rules 
applicable to
their own agency or organization, and radio service.

 

    * For the
   purpose of this exercise, please send and respond only to 
communications which
   are initiated by an ALE call or an ALE text message.


 

    * Transmit ALE
   Soundings on the channels to actively encourage communication with 
your
   station. See Table 1 for details on sounding methods.


 

    * When
   responding to an ALE Call, you may reply either by voice or by 
texting AMD
   message. If responding by voice:


1.    Respond to the ALE ADDRESS (call sign)
for a US station.

2.    Identify and announce the ALE call sign
of the station you are responding to.

3.    Announce your own station call sign
identification (or your ALE self address).

4.    Exchange a message by voice. See example
messages below. Use phonetics if necessary.

 

    * If responding
   to or initiating an ALE link to call a station, you may transmit a 
message
   containing the following information:


1.    The letters “HFIE” (this helps others
identify your messages as part of HFIE).

2.    Your call sign (call sign, designator, or
ALE self address).

3.    Your operator name (or an operator
designator you are using for this event).

4.    The abbreviation of your organization or
affiliation (Amateur default: HFLINK).

5.    The abbreviation of the state your
station is located in.

6.    Any other information you wish to convey,
such as a sequential message number, or other comments.

7.    Here are four examples of typical format
AMD text messages:

HFIE WGY9999 MARK NV FEMA ACTIVE
NEXT 2 HOURS

HFIE WX3XYZ MIKE DC HFLINK
CONTACT 123 CONFIRMED

HFIE WB8XZZ JOE OH HFLINK MESSAGE
RECEIVED OK

HFIE KQ6XA BONNIE CA
HFLINK

 

·        
When
your communication exchange with a station is complete, terminate the 
link using
the CLEAR
LINK command
or
END command of
your ALE.

 

How To
Determine Which Authorized US Stations May Communicate With Each
Other

For HFIE-2014, NTIA and FCC approved Special Temporary Authority
(STA) allowing US Amateur Radio stations and US Federal Government 
stations to
communicate with each other using ALE, on the authorized channel center
frequencies: 5332, 5348, 5358.5, 5373, 5405 kHz. But, this exercise will 
focus
activity mainly upon only 2 of these available channels, as indicated in 
Table 1
of this document.

 

US
Government stations can recognize call signs of US Amateur Radio 
stations by
identifying the characters of the call sign (ALE Address). For Amateur 
Radio,
the call sign is usually the same as the ALE address. US call signs 
generally
begin with one of the following characters: K, N, W, or AA through AL. A 
single
numeral is either in the 2nd or
3rd position.

 

US
Amateur Radio operators can recognize US Government call signs and ALE 
addresses
by the following guidelines. Government stations, for their ALE address, 
may use
their call sign or an agency-issued identifier. Non-military Government 
call
signs may be 3 or 4 letters followed by 1 to 5 digits. MARS (Military 
Auxiliary
Radio System) call signs are 3 letters followed by one digit followed by 
1 to 3
letters. US Coast Guard Auxiliary call signs may be “NF” or “NM” 
followed by 3
digits followed by 2 letters. Maritime shore stations are 3 letters. 
Ship
stations are 4 letters. Some US Government stations use an ALE address 
with the
segments of their call sign reversed – WGY900 could be 900WGY. Some 
government
stations use a three-character agency identifier followed by additional 
letters
or digits – e.g. WGY900 might use FEM900 (FEM indicating
FEMA).

 

Reporting Format and Methods

Reports may be
submitted in one of the following ways:

    1.  Posting of a
   communication exchange text via the ALE Comm Center chat room of the 
Global
   ALE High Frequency Network  at http://hflink.net


o   You may register at HFLINK.NET with your
call sign to show on the HF network map. Also please include your Grid 
Square
when registering. The map does not show or utilize exact coordinates, 
the Grid
Square is approximate.

    1.  An email
   report with a simple text log of communication exchanges and 
description of
   your station may be sent to hfie2014 at hflink.net


o   Please include a description of your ALE
hardware (manufacturer, model, and ALE firmware version) or ALE software 
product
name and version number.

o   Indicate what (if any) ALE
incompatibility or problem was experienced with which
stations.

    1.  Automatic
   logging to hflink.net via PCALE ALE controller and ALE^stat
   software.

    2.  Please use
   the following format in UTC time to report a communication
   exchange:


YOUR CALLSIGN

[OTHER CALLSIGN][03/27/2014][14:32][5.3 MHz][HFIE
MESSAGE OR COMMENTS]

 



Evaluation Criteria

After the end of the HFIE-2014, a database will be compiled
containing reports and comments from various stations and operators
participating in the exercise. HFLINK will facilitate an ongoing 
discussion via
internet forum to examine any issues or problems encountered, and to 
recommend
any necessary technical or operational improvements. A survey of 
participants
will be launched by HFLINK to evaluate the exercise based upon factors
recommended in the forum.





 




From: E. Drew Moore <mailto:drumor at optonline.net>


Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 9:24 AM


To: John Garmendi <mailto:gar3j at earthlink.net>


Subject: RE: HF Link ALE Test



 


Done.
Thanks.



On Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 08:38 AM,
John Garmendi wrote:







Drew,


 


Can you please share with RVRC . Some members may find this of
   interest.


 


73,


 


John N2DV


 


US Ham Operators and Government Test HF Radio
   Communications

 

Disaster
   Communications Compatibility Exercise Uses Automatic Link
   Establishment

 

Washington, DC, and San
   Francisco, CA – 27 March 2014 - US Amateur Radio operators (ham 
   operators) and Federal Government radio stations are engaged in a 
nationwide
   test of their capability to communicate with each other by shortwave 
radio, in
   case of an emergency or disaster. They are participating in a 12-day 
joint
   readiness exercise running from 27 March through 7 April, covering 
all areas
   of USA, using a digital High Frequency (HF) radio system known as 
Automatic
   Link Establishment (ALE). This High Frequency Interoperability 
Exercise 2014
   (HFIE-2014) runs concurrent with the federal National Exercise 
Program (NEP)
   2014.

 

ALE is a
   standardized digital signaling protocol used by each radio service, 
ham and
   government, to establish HF communications between their own 
stations. For the
   first time, the government regulatory agencies (FCC and NTIA) have 
authorized
   these stations to communicate with each other using ALE. HF radio 
enables long
   distance communication independent of terrestrial communications
   infrastructure, internet, or satellites.

 

To facilitate the
   communication testing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
secured
   temporary authority from the National Telecommunications and 
Information
   Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission 
(FCC). Federal
   Government radio stations and hams are allowed to communicate with 
each other
   using ALE during the exercise. Under existing rules, hams have 
secondary
   access to 5 HF radio channels on which Government stations are the 
primary
   users.

 

HF radios used by
   Federal Government stations have the ALE capability built into the 
hardware.
   Amateur Radio operators have implemented the same ALE protocols using 
their
   personal computers with ham radio equipment and software. The Special
   Temporary Authority allows for on-the-air testing of interoperability 
between
   the hardware and software-generated ALE implementations.

 

Participation in the
   interoperability exercise is open to all ALE-capable Federal 
Government radio
   stations and to all ALE-capable US Amateur Radio stations. While five 
channels
   are available if needed, the test plan calls for using only two of 
the
   channels in order to minimize impact on other stations not 
participating in
   the exercise. Specifics of the STA are as follows:

 

(1) Temporary
   modification of the authority granted at NTIA Manual section 
7.3.8(4), which
   authorizes Federal Government stations to communicate with stations 
in the
   Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, to allow communications with 
any
   Amateur Radio station utilizing Automatic Link Establishment, limited 
to the
   five channels in the 5 MHz band which are available to the Amateur 
Radio
   Service on a secondary basis, for the period March 27th through April 
7th
   2014.

 

(2) Concurrent waiver by
   the FCC of that part of FCC rule 97.111(a)(4) which limits 
communications with
   US Government stations to transmissions necessary to providing 
communications
   in RACES, limited to the five channels in the 5 MHz band which are 
available
   to the Amateur Radio Service on a secondary basis, for the period 
March 27th
   through April 7th 2014.

 

The HFIE-2014 is a
   semi-annual ham radio readiness exercise coordinated by the HFLINK
   organization http://hflink.com and the Global ALE High Frequency 
Network
   http://hflink.net

It is open to all
   ALE-capable ham radio stations. Technical and operational guidelines 
for ham
   and federal government stations are available at: 
http://hflink.net/hfie2014

 

National Exercise
   Program (NEP) 2014 is a complex emergency preparedness exercise with
   activities sponsored by government departments and agencies, designed 
to
   educate and prepare the whole community for complex, large-scale 
disasters and
   emergencies. As part of the National Preparedness Goal (NPG), it 
enables a
   collaborative, whole community approach to national preparedness that 
engages
   individuals, families, communities, the private and nonprofit 
sectors,
   faith-based organizations and all levels of government.

 

Media and Technical
   Contact: Bonnie Crystal, KQ6XA, HFIE-2014 Coordinator

Email: hfie2014 at hflink.net

Website: http://hflink.net