The Utah Amateur Radio Club, serving the greater Salt Lake City area is meeting this Thurs at 7:00 for new members an 7:30 for the general meeting.
UARC web page:
http://www.xmission.com/~uarc/
Disclaimer:
I am not a member of the AARL, or UARC. I do not represent them. I also do not represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This message is not an endorsement of any of the above organizations. It is for your information only.
Integrated Asterisk VoIP & Amateur Radio
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russellhltn
- Community Administrator
- Posts: 34505
- Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
- Location: U.S.
Let's see if this helps:
CB
Pro: No license, cheap equipment
Cons: 27MHz isn't always a good band to use. Expected to be congested. I've never seen a viable emergency plan that uses CB, but there's nothing wrong with it in a area where the users are known and use it regularly (such as a remote small community.)
FRS:
Pro: No license, cheap equipment. Can talk to GMRS on some channels.
Cons: Low power, limited range. Usable for short range (on-site) communications.
GMRS:
Pro: Cheap equipment. Higher power, longer range then FRS. Can talk with FRS users.
Cons: License $85/family. Questionable usability due to easy access by the general public, although I'm not sure this has been proven out in actual events.
Amateur Radio:
Pros: Reasonably priced equipment. High power. Multiple bands available to deal with local conditions. Multiple modes available. Used by other emergency groups.
Cons: Each individual user must study and pass a test to get a license. Two tests if you want access to the longer range frequency bands.
Business Radio:
Pros: License applies to group. Reasonable power/range.
Cons: Range may not cover a stake without a repeater. Equipment is costly. Frequencies may require a license. Equipment is more likely to sit idle (no regular use unless the church runs a monthly net) and may not be functional when needed. Lack of use would also create problems for operators due to lack of training.
Repeaters: (All services)
Repeaters are privately owned, even if open for public use and may already be spoken for in an emergency. Anyone wanting to use one in an emergency should have a written agreement with the owner to assure access. Also, repeaters are "infrastructure" much like cell towers and may be damaged or loose power. The site's ability to withstand expected disasters must be carefully evaluated. Not just ability to operate immediately after but the ability to re-fuel and be operational for the duration of the disaster.
Other: As touched on one needs to make sure equipment is operational by regular use and testing. Operators also need to be trained in proper operation and net control. In a simplex radio system (no repeater) not everyone can hear everyone else. There must be a level of radio discipline to prevent users from jamming up each other.
Rant: Something to be careful of is if local leaders get a "go it alone" mentality. A careful reading of church's PR suggests that outside of "helping hands" (which is usually organized several days later for clean-up) most of what the Church does is done in conjunction with another groups, such as the Red Cross. If local leaders fail to develop a relationship with other groups, they might find themselves as spectators in the next event when they can't get past roadblocks because they are unknown to the local authorities. An excellent start is to send someone as spectator to the next VOAID (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters) meeting. The church has relationships with other organizations nationally, it would be a good idea to develop those relationships locally as well.
CB
Pro: No license, cheap equipment
Cons: 27MHz isn't always a good band to use. Expected to be congested. I've never seen a viable emergency plan that uses CB, but there's nothing wrong with it in a area where the users are known and use it regularly (such as a remote small community.)
FRS:
Pro: No license, cheap equipment. Can talk to GMRS on some channels.
Cons: Low power, limited range. Usable for short range (on-site) communications.
GMRS:
Pro: Cheap equipment. Higher power, longer range then FRS. Can talk with FRS users.
Cons: License $85/family. Questionable usability due to easy access by the general public, although I'm not sure this has been proven out in actual events.
Amateur Radio:
Pros: Reasonably priced equipment. High power. Multiple bands available to deal with local conditions. Multiple modes available. Used by other emergency groups.
Cons: Each individual user must study and pass a test to get a license. Two tests if you want access to the longer range frequency bands.
Business Radio:
Pros: License applies to group. Reasonable power/range.
Cons: Range may not cover a stake without a repeater. Equipment is costly. Frequencies may require a license. Equipment is more likely to sit idle (no regular use unless the church runs a monthly net) and may not be functional when needed. Lack of use would also create problems for operators due to lack of training.
Repeaters: (All services)
Repeaters are privately owned, even if open for public use and may already be spoken for in an emergency. Anyone wanting to use one in an emergency should have a written agreement with the owner to assure access. Also, repeaters are "infrastructure" much like cell towers and may be damaged or loose power. The site's ability to withstand expected disasters must be carefully evaluated. Not just ability to operate immediately after but the ability to re-fuel and be operational for the duration of the disaster.
Other: As touched on one needs to make sure equipment is operational by regular use and testing. Operators also need to be trained in proper operation and net control. In a simplex radio system (no repeater) not everyone can hear everyone else. There must be a level of radio discipline to prevent users from jamming up each other.
Rant: Something to be careful of is if local leaders get a "go it alone" mentality. A careful reading of church's PR suggests that outside of "helping hands" (which is usually organized several days later for clean-up) most of what the Church does is done in conjunction with another groups, such as the Red Cross. If local leaders fail to develop a relationship with other groups, they might find themselves as spectators in the next event when they can't get past roadblocks because they are unknown to the local authorities. An excellent start is to send someone as spectator to the next VOAID (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters) meeting. The church has relationships with other organizations nationally, it would be a good idea to develop those relationships locally as well.
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The_Earl
- Member
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:12 am
QST VOIP and Ham article
http://www.arrl.org/qst/2003/02/VoIP.pdf
The above article details the current state of the art with VOIP and HAM. None of these systems use SIP, or another Asterisk compatible VOIP protocol, but they do solve some problems that SIP would introduce.
The article appeared in QST, an AARL publication. It was written by Steve Ford, WB8IMY.
Thanks
Barrie
The above article details the current state of the art with VOIP and HAM. None of these systems use SIP, or another Asterisk compatible VOIP protocol, but they do solve some problems that SIP would introduce.
The article appeared in QST, an AARL publication. It was written by Steve Ford, WB8IMY.
Thanks
Barrie
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kfindlay
- New Member
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 9:41 am
- Location: Utah Native in Madison Alabama Over 25 Years
How useful would this kit be in a disaster area?
Lets take this idea into a real disaster area, the gulf coast after Katrina. We had two jump teams from our stake (The Huntsville Alabama Stake of Zion) that arrived within hours after the storm had passed through. There was no power, no phone, no internet, no cell phones, no running water, no street signs, big tree limbs covering the roads, you get the picture. The skies were very overcast so sat phones were marginal especially since the people who had them had not used them in so long the could not remember how.
During these few days before local communications were restored to some level the church spearhead units arrived at the Gulfport Stake center. Generators and fuel was plentiful, but thanks to amateur radio HF and 2M orders to the Slidel LA Storehouse were passed on quickly. There is a point during disasters when everything else has failed and amateur radio keeps communications open until the phones come back on.
The kit would be nice if all of the connecting technologies were available and functional. What we have been working is the PSK31 mode in HF Radio, can be used to send text messages through amateur radio when all other systems have gone down. Amateur radio has some neat digital technologies, like D-Star, Wires and Echolink, if supporting infrastructure is functional. Echolink is actually a VOIP system that links amateur radio repeaters all over the world using the internet. We have checkins to our North Alabama net from member hams all over the country using echolink. We have an active ERS HF net every Saturday Morning on 75 and 40 meters.
To really be ready for emergencies it would not be a bad Idea to have a Ham License, since you will find no way to have access to so much RF bandwidth, and the new ham licenses do no require a morse code test. PSK31 is taking ham radio by storm as a digital mode that takes less bandwidth than morse code.
APRS is good, so is having a gps to find your way around cities that have no street signs and debris all over the roads.
To truely be useful, this kit would need to operate when all connecting infrastructure is unavailable.
During these few days before local communications were restored to some level the church spearhead units arrived at the Gulfport Stake center. Generators and fuel was plentiful, but thanks to amateur radio HF and 2M orders to the Slidel LA Storehouse were passed on quickly. There is a point during disasters when everything else has failed and amateur radio keeps communications open until the phones come back on.
The kit would be nice if all of the connecting technologies were available and functional. What we have been working is the PSK31 mode in HF Radio, can be used to send text messages through amateur radio when all other systems have gone down. Amateur radio has some neat digital technologies, like D-Star, Wires and Echolink, if supporting infrastructure is functional. Echolink is actually a VOIP system that links amateur radio repeaters all over the world using the internet. We have checkins to our North Alabama net from member hams all over the country using echolink. We have an active ERS HF net every Saturday Morning on 75 and 40 meters.
To really be ready for emergencies it would not be a bad Idea to have a Ham License, since you will find no way to have access to so much RF bandwidth, and the new ham licenses do no require a morse code test. PSK31 is taking ham radio by storm as a digital mode that takes less bandwidth than morse code.
APRS is good, so is having a gps to find your way around cities that have no street signs and debris all over the roads.
To truely be useful, this kit would need to operate when all connecting infrastructure is unavailable.
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The_Earl
- Member
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:12 am
My update
Some new info I have found:
Asterisk Repeater plugin:
http://www.zapatatelephony.org/app_rpt.html
Uses linux ham interface:
http://svxlink.sourceforge.net/
A bit of a hack, but in fact, VOIP, Asterisk and HAM Radio.SvxLink also can talk Echolink, and IRLP (through EchoIRLP) and a few other VOIP protocols.
It turns out that the Corp. of the Presiding Bishopric has a GMRS license. This is a bit strange, since commercial entities grandfathered into GMRS are being pushed to license true commercial bands. It may be that this is specifically an emergency communication license. That said, GMRS licensing in Utah is a joke, so maybe nobody has complained.
And, i got my license. You can call me KE7NZC.
In talking to a lot of friends, coworkers and family, they had no idea how simple the test(s) are, or how to get licensed. I think I may have pushed a few of them in that direction.
Asterisk Repeater plugin:
http://www.zapatatelephony.org/app_rpt.html
Uses linux ham interface:
http://svxlink.sourceforge.net/
A bit of a hack, but in fact, VOIP, Asterisk and HAM Radio.SvxLink also can talk Echolink, and IRLP (through EchoIRLP) and a few other VOIP protocols.
It turns out that the Corp. of the Presiding Bishopric has a GMRS license. This is a bit strange, since commercial entities grandfathered into GMRS are being pushed to license true commercial bands. It may be that this is specifically an emergency communication license. That said, GMRS licensing in Utah is a joke, so maybe nobody has complained.
And, i got my license. You can call me KE7NZC.
In talking to a lot of friends, coworkers and family, they had no idea how simple the test(s) are, or how to get licensed. I think I may have pushed a few of them in that direction.
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SquireJohn-p40
- New Member
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:46 pm
- Location: South Jordan, UT
- Contact:
D-Star and Asterisk
Utah D-Star Users
http://groups.google.com/group/utah-d-star-users
I will be presenting a pretty complete review of D-Star at the Utah Amateur Radio Club (probably the September 6th meeting) and at Oquirrh Lake Radio Club (Daybreak - South Jordan, UT, maybe Aug. 11th). If you want to learn about this new technology.
It is particularly powerful for emergency communications. It provides a combination of voice, data, and GPS tracking simultaneously, along with a callsign routed system for connecting resources radio-to-radio regardless of geography (if both are in range of a repeater with a gateway) -- this is not like IRLP or Echolink... if I want to talk to KU7LDS, I don't need to know which repeater he is near, which band he is on, or what city he is in -- I just tell the radio/gateway I want to talk to him and it finds him.
The gateway software will soon have an Open Source version to replace Icom's product. (Watch http://opendstar.org) Once it is available a number of new functions and applications can be added. One that I would like to see is a marriage of D-Star and telephony using Asterisk ... at that point if you have your radio off, you could receive a call via telephone/cell from a D-Star radio, based on your callsign, and a call to a telephone number (using DIDs) could ring multiple telephone numbers plus alert you on your D-Star radio. A piece of hardware needs to be built that contains the AMBE2020 chip, to be attached to a gateway/asterisk computer, then the rest is just a matter of software.
Asterisk can also act as an autodialer to deliver a message to a list of phone numbers, a quick way to get the word out in an emergency (if the phones are up) -- add this D-Star capability and callouts can happen very rapidly.
John - K7VE
http://k7ve.ampr.org
sip:100@trixbox.hays.org
http://groups.google.com/group/utah-d-star-users
I will be presenting a pretty complete review of D-Star at the Utah Amateur Radio Club (probably the September 6th meeting) and at Oquirrh Lake Radio Club (Daybreak - South Jordan, UT, maybe Aug. 11th). If you want to learn about this new technology.
It is particularly powerful for emergency communications. It provides a combination of voice, data, and GPS tracking simultaneously, along with a callsign routed system for connecting resources radio-to-radio regardless of geography (if both are in range of a repeater with a gateway) -- this is not like IRLP or Echolink... if I want to talk to KU7LDS, I don't need to know which repeater he is near, which band he is on, or what city he is in -- I just tell the radio/gateway I want to talk to him and it finds him.
The gateway software will soon have an Open Source version to replace Icom's product. (Watch http://opendstar.org) Once it is available a number of new functions and applications can be added. One that I would like to see is a marriage of D-Star and telephony using Asterisk ... at that point if you have your radio off, you could receive a call via telephone/cell from a D-Star radio, based on your callsign, and a call to a telephone number (using DIDs) could ring multiple telephone numbers plus alert you on your D-Star radio. A piece of hardware needs to be built that contains the AMBE2020 chip, to be attached to a gateway/asterisk computer, then the rest is just a matter of software.
Asterisk can also act as an autodialer to deliver a message to a list of phone numbers, a quick way to get the word out in an emergency (if the phones are up) -- add this D-Star capability and callouts can happen very rapidly.
John - K7VE
http://k7ve.ampr.org
sip:100@trixbox.hays.org
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The_Earl
- Member
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:12 am
WOW!
I will be at the UARC meeting. This is INCREDIBLE. I have a long-winded, nasty post, unrelated to this forum that INCREDIBLE does not begin to describe. I might find a place and send you a link.SquireJohn wrote: I will be presenting a pretty complete review of D-Star at the Utah Amateur Radio Club (probably the September 6th meeting) and at Oquirrh Lake Radio Club (Daybreak - South Jordan, UT, maybe Aug. 11th). If you want to learn about this new technology.
You will find my request to join the Utah D-STAR group, but my Extra call came, so I am now AD7PE.
I am afraid I may have to buy a new radio. And an ICOM at that, but this is the COOLEST thing I have seen since I have looked into HAM.
Thanks
Anyone that posts their SIP info to a public forum is SERIOUS about VOIP
Barrie
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russellhltn
- Community Administrator
- Posts: 34505
- Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
- Location: U.S.
Welllll, Speaking for myself, I see D-Star as a big step forward, but I'm not sure but what it will become the next "Betamax". (For those of you who don't remember, Betamax was the first affordable VCR - but when VHS came out they clobbered Betamax with marketing.) So far, no one else is jumping on the bandwagon and the radios aren't cheap.
I talked to Kenwood at Dayton and they had no interest in it. The guy in charge I talked to said the buzz word today is "interoperability". There's no interoperability between D-Star and Public Service stuff. So I don't know where that leaves hams. Maybe waiting for the first generation APCO 25 stuff to turn up in the surplus market.
My main interest in D-Star is the high speed data. Still expensive and only seems to be for point-to-point, not a wide area network.
I really wish there was a clearer direction in the market. At least to get one other major radio manufacturer to start producing D-Star.
I talked to Kenwood at Dayton and they had no interest in it. The guy in charge I talked to said the buzz word today is "interoperability". There's no interoperability between D-Star and Public Service stuff. So I don't know where that leaves hams. Maybe waiting for the first generation APCO 25 stuff to turn up in the surplus market.
My main interest in D-Star is the high speed data. Still expensive and only seems to be for point-to-point, not a wide area network.
I really wish there was a clearer direction in the market. At least to get one other major radio manufacturer to start producing D-Star.
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The_Earl
- Member
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:12 am
D-Star future
I am not sold on the idea of a proprietary digital format. I am not sold on the idea of a single manufacturer spec for digital.
That said, it seems that D-Star has a few answers for that. D-Star appears to be an open protocol. This might allow home-brew and novel implementations that are not tied to a vendor.
And your Kenwood rep was mis-informed:
http://hamradio.netfreehost.com/hamradio-ftopic82.html
That said, come to the Utah D-Star group and we can chat there. I don't think there is much relevance to this forum to get into a discussion about it.
Anyway
That said, it seems that D-Star has a few answers for that. D-Star appears to be an open protocol. This might allow home-brew and novel implementations that are not tied to a vendor.
And your Kenwood rep was mis-informed:
http://hamradio.netfreehost.com/hamradio-ftopic82.html
That said, come to the Utah D-Star group and we can chat there. I don't think there is much relevance to this forum to get into a discussion about it.
Anyway
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russellhltn
- Community Administrator
- Posts: 34505
- Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
- Location: U.S.