• High Speed Multi Media (HSMM)  - there are some cards showing up that will work in the 70cm (420 – 440MHz portion) band.   Get some of these cards into operation and the will be ideal for long-haul last mile applications.

• Emergency Power Systems (EPS) – definitely need to work on this and develop some low-cost lightweight power units that can be easily and quickly deployed.

• Portable Asterisk Communication Servers (PACS) – a completely portable Asterisk PBX / RF Gateway that has its own power system as well as wired and wireless network connectivity.  Would be ideal to have SATCOM capabilities in the PACS, cost of SATCOM is prohibitive though. Unless someone knows of a lowcost VoIP capable solution via SAT.  Any ideas?

• Text to Voice (IMSMS2V) – Continue to work on applications that will allow for smooth transition from text messaging to voice and voice to test messaging.   Also find ways for IMSMS2V to work over the Intranet in the event that the Internet goes dark.

• Communications Restoration Services (CoReS) – Development of a commercial service that can provide communication restoration support after emergency incidents as well as other technical services to enhance readienss at all times.

Also need to create some new training opportunities that will encourage participation and most of all readiness for any hazard.   There’s a lot that can be done, yet the main challenge always comes down to funding it appears.  May a solution to this challenge be discovered and the above listed technology advancements and services be implemented.  

ALWAYS BE READY.

Then there are those that ask the question when will you have the system online? And the answer remains it all depends on when funding is available.  Yes, it seems that the majority of the development and implementation questions always end up having a financial solution to them.   At some point there will be more people involved that can lighten the load for everyone.  Until then we will have to do the best that we can and work on coming up with some creative new funding ideas too.

There may be some showing up shortly, hopefully the support that is needed will be present so we can once again work on building networks and systems that are indeed state of the art in technology.

There is a lot being planned, so be sure to check out the links and the pages, as well as the RSS Feed.  The technology adventure continues …

DARN defined as “to mend by weaving thread across a gap” that is what is being done.   Those that want to see flexibility will go with the DARN approach, as a improvement while there will be others that find it to be just annoyance.   DARN definitely fits the new Digital Analog Radio Networks.

Sometimes logic can indeed be simple (send in most potentially linkable exchange).

Some may remember the days of 1200 baud packet that was quite popular in the 1990s. This technology is now present in APRS, with even a hint of low-speed data showing up within the VHF and UHF bands via D-STAR enabled radios as well as telemetry.

For those that have radios such as the Icom ID-1 it is possible to have 100kbps data from the Internet available in your vehicle. In order to do this a base station with a ID-1 or a D-STAR 1.2GHz data repeater is required.

Most of us have some form of a wireless network in our home or business that operates via the 802.11 standards. Did you know that this same equipment can be used in Amateur Radio with higher RF power and higher gain antennas? Within Amateur Radio this technology is known as High Speed Multi Media or HSMM. The primary bands for HSMM are 2400, 3300 and 5800 MHz. The 902 MHz band can also be used for high speed data. One of the key advantages to HSMM is in its nature of being able to take a off-the-shelf wireless network adapter and access point add a higher gain antenna to them, and for longer range RF amplifiers can be added under FCC Part 97 rules.

Imagine having access to high speed video, IP-phone and Data Connectivity in your vehicle,or during special events and emergency incidents being able to provide data, video and voice to the agencies served. As well as providing last mile coverage into a disaster area.

Did we mention telephone service? With the development of Internet telephone services as well as telephone servers such as Asterisk which provide flexible interoperability between PSTN, Internet Phone and Radio dial tone can be presented along with the last mile capabilities of High Speed Multi Media create a resource that can be highly beneficial to the community and the nation.

What is next in the Digital Frontiers? As it was in the 1800s with the migration West the same is occurring with the digital migration. With networks such as Asterisk the migration is made easier as analog and digital technology is made one. On the Internet you can find more information about Asterisk and HSMM at http://www.asteriskradio.net.