[Ham-80211] Emergency Wireless Internet

[kd4e]

Geoff Armstrong VA7CWD wrote:
> A group of us from a couple clubs here in the Vancouver, Canada area have
> created a group called British Columbia Wireless Amateur Radio Network (
> BCWARN ). So far we have setup a permanent 6.5KM link between our mountain
> top university hub and one of our EOC's. We have also done a number of test
> paths from the hub to a number of distant locations including an island
> 70KM+ hopefully this will be the site for our wi-lan repeater. We will be
> adding many permanent locations to the network as time rolls on.
> We are using Wi-LAN VINE tower mountable 2.4 ghz 11MB 200mW radios. See here
> for info on the radio and technology:


Can someone familiar the regulatory details state with
certainty if there are any differences between Canada
and the USA that would prevent copying their BC model?

In another current discussion it does occur to me that
one of the roadblocks to greater Ham use of modern
technologies is antiquated FCC regs that prevent the
development of effective digital technologies on the
HF bands -- other than costly proprietary solutions
most Hams cannot afford.

As for the suggestion that the "militia" is an answer,
that is incorrect, the "official" answer is RACES and
the unofficial answer is ARES and together they would
be more effective with better leadership.

The DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance Teams) are part
of Homeland Secirity via the NDMS (National Disaster
Medical System) and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management
Agency).

More about the DMAT's and other crisis-emergency response
agencies may be found in links I have placed here:
http://bibleseven.com/em.html

DMAT's used to use a mixture of Ham and Federal gear but
now are required to use *only* Federal gear -- for reasons
of interoperability and security.

The larger challenge for the purposes of disaster and
emergency response communications are:

1.  Quick Deployment
2.  Effective
3.  Reliable
4.  Interoperable

Motorola and other commercial vendors have been promising
that for decades yet every disaster proves their solutions
are like Microsoft Windows, unreliable and vulnerable
when stressed.

A larger solution needs to consider the variety of mixtures
of agencies and organizations, their needs, theie resources,
and where each crisis-emergency communications resource
fits, fits well, and fits flexibly.

Amateur Radio will eventually be displaced unless our role
is more intentionally designed into the crisis-emergency
communications solution.

Amateur Radio is also challenged because of the average age
of Hams available to deploy, elderly, and the restrictions
on many of us who cannot deploy due to work and family
responsibilities.

FL3-DMAT members become Federal employees when deployed
and their jobs are protected by law, not so Hams, this
makes it very difficult for ARES or RACES to provide the
guarantee of manpower and materials that Federal and
State EM folks increasingly want.

Lots more than anyone probably wanted to read but there
it is as I see it.


-- 
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Thanks! & 73, doc kd4e

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============\ #   http://bibleseven.com/kd4e.html
      KD4E     =========================================
West Central Florida

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