Lesson 1 Recap
The Big Picture
Communication Range - How far from it's location can a survival community communicate? This is the most fundamental element of the entire communications concept.
VHF, UHF, and CB are reliable for local communication, usually about 20 miles with a good antenna.
HF is reliable for distances beyond those of local communication frequencies.
Types of Communication and Means of Communication
One of the most fundamental forms of communication is the "telegram" or "third party message." Much like the days of yore, when one used either postal mail or went to the local telegraph office to send a relatively short telegram which was hand delivered to the recipient.
Phone Call and Personal Conversation are easily implemented within a local area via VHF/UHF FM and Repeaters. This is voice one-on-one conversation. On HF, using AM or SSB, this is also easy within a region. For a settlement with the right equipment this is also possible and such stations could perform person-to-person voice services by connecting local FM links to their HF transceivers.
Email and Bulletin Boards are likewise easily implemented both locally and within a region. Email is no more than a Formal Message, without the format and length constraints, that is communicated using digital modes to a bulletin board where it's put into the recipient's "mail box", very much like email is handled on the internet.
The Purpose of Communication is almost infinite. Some general areas are:
Personal
Administrative
Emergency
Access to Information
News
General Reference
Education
Specialized Information
Encyclopedia
Other ...
Entertainment
The NET Concept
The conceptual structure of the Internet existed many decades, via Ham Radio, before the Internet was ever envisaged. For example, the passing of an email from one Internet Node to another until it eventually reaches the mail box of the addressee was implemented with Ham Radio when the only radio transmitter consisted of a machine that made sparks which generated "radio waves." The concept of the Internet Router is the concept of the Ham Radio NET. As with the Internet, the concept and implementation of Nets is key to a reliable and systematic method of moving information from one place to another.
Every Formal Net has a few things in common:
There is always a Net Control Station
The Net meets regularly at a specific time and frequency, whether once every day or once a week
The Net has a specific purpose
Passing Formal Message Traffic
Buying and selling equipment
Facilitating contact between stations
any number of other reasons
The central figure in a Formal Net is the Net Control Station. The responsibilities of the Net Control Station include:
Starting the Net at the proper time and on the proper frequency
Recognizing and recording the stations that "check in" to the net
Recording the number and destinations of any messages each station wishes to pass
Facilitating the communications between the station wishing to send a message and the station which is to receive the message (such a station will usually relay the message to yet another station on yet another Net).
Maintaining strict order among the stations on the Net
Closing the Net when all business is completed
Formal Nets can utilize any mode (CW, AM, FM, SSB, RTTY, and one form of AMTOR) which allow multiple stations to communicate with one another. Some modes, such as PACKET are designed such that only two stations can communicate at any point in time. For this reason such modes aren't used for this kind of Net.
Such modes as PACKET, however, are used extensively for passing Formal Message Traffic through sort of an automated always-in-session "Net" which I refer to as a Bulletin Board. A Ham Radio Bulletin Board is very much like you find at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tt-radio. At this URL you will find messages, information, and even some Ham Radio related software to download. A Ham Radio Bulletin Board is always available, provides your own individual "email" mailbox, the ability to upload and download files, threaded message boards, and a lot more. These days a large percentage of "Formal Message Traffic" is received and deposited for relay using the error free digital mode of PACKET on HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies.
There are also many informal Nets which meet at a specific time and frequency; but do not have a Net Control Station, and are formed mostly for a social purpose. Here station operators simply "chat" among themselves about any number of subjects that come up.
In addition to the ability to pass formal message traffic, we must likewise become proficient in "tactical" Net operations. Tactical Nets are specifically tailored for Emergency situations and communications. Many of the strict formal rules are replaced by a more flexible set of procedures.
