[Laser] mechanical rotating shutter

[KY1K]

Bob, James and the group......

I just had some time to look at the URL's for this event, and was rather 
stunned to see the degree of sophistication and the the goals they have. 
They do some serious communications using mirrors and sunlight, and could 
very well be receptive to laser communications I think.

They have been challenged to establish communications between Mexico and 
Canada, for instance.

In poking around the website, I found they commonly work 50 miles, although 
these longer distance contacts require telescopes or binoculars to gather 
enough light, naked eye contacts are usually shorter.

I was not able to locate the path between Signal Butte and the Black Hills 
(mentioned below), the only 'Signal Butte' I can find is in Colorado, not 
Montana.

They might very well be interested in laser contacts, that would certainly 
remove the constraints of having the Sun at high elevations....they operate 
from 11 AM to 1 PM for this reason. It would probably add the complication 
of working in darkness, but this might be ok as they are the hiking and 
camping types anyway!

I wonder if the group is aware of Radio Mobile software, which can predict 
and quantify the quality of a radio path at any frequency between any 2 
points, can plot maps with each known peak being a 'unit', and they would 
know instantly whether a suspected long haul path is line of sight or not. 
Whether they are interested in laser or not, I think they should be using 
Radio Mobile software to establish line of sight links.

I'll poke around some more later this week when I have some quiet time 
here....but, this is a neat project! I hope hams in the area will volunteer 
to assist these Scouts with amateur liaison operators or with support in 
helping the individuals interested obtain their own licenses.

Art


  At 03:01 AM 7/15/2005, you wrote:
>Another 175 Mile path - Pioneering DX ?
>
>Just to the West of Miles City, Montana, USA there is a roadside
>marker with the following inscription:
>
>     The Tongue River
>
>     Captain Wm. Clark, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, camped
>     with his party on an island in the Yellowstone opposite the
>     mouth of the Tongue, July 29, 1806.  The Indian name for
>     the river is Lazeka.
>
>     Construction of Fort Keogh, named for one of Custer's Captains
>     killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in '76 was started
> >    in '77.  That knob off to the south is Signal Butte.  During 
> the        <
> >    Indian troubles the army used to flash sun mirror messages to       <
> >    a post in the Black Hills 175 miles away.  A cloudy day sure        <
> >    threw a lot of static into that pioneer wireless 
> system.                   <
>
>     Miles City, named after General Nelson A. Miles, started in
>     '77 as a shack and tent town with a population running largely
>     to prospectors and miners from the Black Hills, buffalo hunters,
>     traders, and gamblers.  She was wild for a while.  When the cattle
>     days of the '80s arrived many a Texas trail herd came through
>     here and the city soon acquired a national reputation as a
>     cattle and horse market which it has never relinquished.
>
>Setting up a long line-of-site these days is no trivial task.  Imagine
>the problems when it could take a couple of weeks of travel through
>hostile territory to inform the other end that you were ready to transmit!
>
>Unfortunately it was too hazy when I tried to check if that optical path
>was viable.
>
>Anyone out that way care to comment ?
>
>Bob, G3UJV.
>
>>
>
>
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