[MarinTeams] CERT Digital Workshop April 22, 2014

[Bill Smith]

Report: CERT Digital Workshop April 22, 2014

Much interest has been shown in a high-capacity radio-based digital
information network. Interest in this resource on the part of amateur
operators in the CERT Radio project has been active beginning in early 2009.
Experiments with early 900 MHz radio equipment have expanded to include use
of conventional wi-fi (wireless) resources in the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency
ranges.

While most WI-fi operation is unlicensed and limited to a nominal 100 meter
perimeter, Amateur Radio licenses permit operation using higher-power
components to achieve extended communication ranges in terms of tens of
kilometers. Using inexpensive antennas, wi-fi signals are easily
concentrated into relatively narrow beams so that signals can be efficiently
directed to desired areas. A grid can be easily constructed through a series
of nodes, which can be combined to establish local area network connectivity
over an extended area. Using inexpensive equipment, wi-fi hotspots can be
established in the proximity of operations centers. At a user's option,
computers, cell phones and similar equipment that are equipped with wi-fi
connectivity can access and utilize the network as a redundant
communications resource. An advantage of this system is the security offered
by isolating access, both physically and through the network.

As a demonstration of this capability, three computers and an Android phone
were combined in a demonstration of a wireless network. Two local wireless
hubs were connected together using a long-distance link. Internet was
provided by a wireless link to a wi-fi system already in place at the site
of the demonstration. Users of the computers and cell phone established
inter-connectivity (and access to the Internet) by simply clicking on the
hotspot ID and entering a password.

Several demonstration programs were then accessed over the Internet. In
addition, computer based ICS, HICS, MARS, and Red Cross forms were filled
out and sent between computers, and text from an example ICS-213 was sent
out to this email group.