[FADCA] Competition (formerly Emergency Operations)

[Tim Madden]

It boils down to competition.
Right now we are loosing, which should motivate us to compete by providing
better solutions.
I have attempted to sell amateur radio to young people, from teenagers to
"recent graduates" and new hires at my company.
This is very difficult to do, and I find myself at times making excuses for
our hobby.
Most recently, I have had this encounter with young people who are licensed
AROs!

The slow speed and narrow bandwidth issue just about kills the conversation.
What do you mean 1200 baud half duplex?  And the whole time I know about the
added overhead.

Yet these same people will use text messaging on cell phones where the small
display size and annoying use of a DTMF pad for text entry make the short
and sweet message a necessity.

Now we have to lug all that equipment out.  Radio, TNC, Laptop, batteries,
cables, antennas, etc.  And that is only one end of the link.

The next place we need to compete (improve) is on the equipment/user
interface end.
How about a USB/BlueTooth/IR/ firmware upgradeable TNC built into the radio.
Now that trendy wireless laptop or palmtop can complete the mission.

The second place to compete is with education.  You guys all talk your own
private language of Rose/FPAC/tbls/Cluster/APRS/digi .....  At my ham club
you would loose 95% of the audience and we own all this stuff.
Let's get Joe Ham out to a shelter or emergency field command post with more
than a handheld and spare battery.  Packet would have been much better than
the slow verbal repeating of messages.

The third place to compete is with hard infrastructure.  You guys (myself
included) have been working on this end of the problem for a long time.  I
don't see us getting anywhere.  The hard infrastructure took a real beating
over the last few months.  We lost 3 or 4 repeater antennas and the FPAC
stuff.  Usually this equipment is in locations that are difficult to access
and we are wearing out the few people that can or will work on it.  Which is
why I suggested the first and second areas of competition precede this one.

And when we do work on infrastructure, we need to address this issue of
every use for packet requiring it's own frequency.
This is driven by our slow throughput, valueless transmissions, and the lack
of traffic control we discussed earlier on this forum.  It is a spectrum
hog, and it prevents me from using all the resources of packet with one
radio. (at the same time).
Look at my cable modem.  I can make and take phone calls, watch 4 TV shows,
run 4 computers with different applications and web browsing sessions,
including video conferencing all at the same time.

Now let's have this encounter with a youngster in a new environment.
At home my computer is connected to the internet full time.  (which it is)
It supports a DXSpider Node that is connected to packet.  (which it does)
My home weather station is connected to the internet and to APRS.  (which it
could on a seperate channel)
I can filter internet email to my BBS and route email from packet the
internet.  (ChannelCount +)
I can do all of this from the radio in my Suburban, while tracking myself
and others on moving maps displayed on the drop down video screens.  Zoom
out and get the statewide weather map overlaid on the streets.  Zoom out
further and get Greyline map with MUFs.
Back that up with a mouse click on a DX Spot and my Mobile HF rig tunes in
the action.  I work 'em and get the eQSL notification on the monitor.

Now the only thing my mobile station lacks is 22 inch rims.  (It already has
nitrous)

Tim, KI4TG

-----Original Message-----
From: fadca-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:fadca-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Russell Oder
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 12:58 PM
To: Florida Amateur Digital Communication Association
Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: [FADCA] Re: Emergency Operations


We (Amateur Radio) have experienced that response from public safety and
elected officials ever since the installation of "two-way radios" in
publicly financed vehicles.  But, all over the country, Amateur Radio has
been used as a "back up" to those publicly funded systems when the
situations dictated the need for more and more flexible communication
resources.

If we don't have the systems in place before they are needed, we won't have
time to build them after they are needed.

In the past the level of commercial systems on trailers (COWS, etc.) were
very limited. Now all an agency has to do is pick up the phone (could be
satellite VOIP) and say "set up or tow or ten up within the next 12 hours".
All it takes is money.  I saw commercial systems come out of the wood work
during the storms we experienced. They were call the congressional members
and saying to them, we are here, send out the word.

Does this mean we need to fold our tents, load a camels and drive off into
the desert? No, what is means is that we need to improve our systems, use
the latest and a variety of systems to provide the kind of communications
disaster response agencies need.

Russ