Rockwell Collins announces plans to offer nationwide disaster communications system via HF radio
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Rockwell Collins announces plans to offer nationwide disaster communications system via HF radio
With the service, UrgentLink customers will be able to communicate directly with each other, or they can communicate with others outside the HF system by contacting the Rockwell Collins operations center in Annapolis, Md.
“You can talk between UrgentLink radio customers, but you can also reach the outside world,” Chapman said. “You may want to use the HF radio to send us an e-mail at the Rockwell Collins center, and we can forward it to wherever you want—or you can send us text messages or call us, and have us patch you through. The operation center can also do things like make a broadcast.”
In 2012, 911 solutions provider Intrado announced an initiative to establish a commercial HF network that would provide disaster communications, but Intrado abandoned the concept and relinquished its rights to the maritime spectrum, Chapman said. The spectrum owner turned to Rockwell Collins, which has deployed and operated HF systems for the government and the military for years, he said.
“Essentially, they needed a company with the heft and breadth of experience in HF to do this right, so they sought us out and that’s what we’ve done,” Chapman said.
Last year, Rockwell Collins purchased ARINC—a company with a strong reputation as a provider of customer-facing HF gear—which positioned it well to pursue the UrgentLink initiative, given Rockwell Collins’ expertise in operating the backend equipment and software for HF systems, Chapman said.
“ARINC has such a strong brand name in some of the markets that we’re in that we’re still using the ARINC name as part of the product that we’re offering, but it’s a Rockwell Collins company offering,” he said.
Sounds great but Amateur
Sounds great but Amateur Radio has this for free and incorporates voice plus data and asset tracking. I fail to see the advantage except for the people making the money…
Too bad the spectrum they are
Too bad the spectrum they are using belongs to THE PEOPLE not Rockwell/Collins. They are going to charge a fee? Hopefully the fee is for the equipment rental because the spectrum belongs to us.
This is going to be for
This is going to be for people that dont want to study and go take a test for Ham radio,all though Ham have been providing this service as free for years now…….
Its the same as Motorola
Its the same as Motorola exploiting law enforcement by selling them re-packaged spectrum & promoting operating modes to those who know no better. Law enforcement falls for all of this pseudo-cryptic-special-radio crap from manufacturers who promote this stuff to ignorants who can’t see past mainstream ideas and concepts.
Ham Radio is FREE!!?? My XYL
Ham Radio is FREE!!?? My XYL has a *drastically* different opinion!! Like, the polar opposite of (ahem) “free”… Considering there are lows and highs, how much $$ has the *AVERAGE* Ham spent before he can key a mic on HF? I would bet the average for a ham station that is a reliable performer would be well north of a cell phone. The radio, power supply and antenna are just barely scratching the surface.
Then there’s station grounding (to NEC code?), UPS/Surge protection, perhaps a mast/tower may be needed, maybe a tuner is required in some situations… My point is – an Amateur Radio station is nowhere *near* free and can be outright bloody expensive for even the *AVERAGE* station. You might argue that one could build everything from scratch with parts salvaged from old TVs and radios, but folks who can do that (in the context of the Rockwell/Collins plan) are going to be as rare as hen’s teeth.
Seriously, the fee is *obviously* not for the spectrum. It’s for the gear, setup and maintenance.
Look at it this way — If the folks who will be operating this gear are *not* hams, what are the chances this will spark their interest in becoming one? I’d say better than if they weren’t exposed to the tech at all. I don’t see this as a bad thing at all. So, lighten-up, you hard-core Amateur curmudgeons! Instead of brainstorming for any possible way to object; why not brainstorm for the positives. Who knows, it might just break the rust loose in your attitude-engine and free you of your curmudgeon status!
I did not read anything about
I did not read anything about using the HAM bands, just HF. But yes HAM’s offer this service for free even using digital modes.
For all those saying hams
For all those saying hams offer this service already, you are dead wrong. Hams provide communications that can utilize some of the same HF freqs and propagation as this, but that is about where the similarity ends. In no way does it approach the capability they are proposing here. Why do all the hams seem so scared of this? Its not going to eliminate what we do, just augment it. Stop being so OLD fashioned….
There is no monthly fees to
There is no monthly fees to use Ham Radio on HF. I recently bought a ham radio at a yard sale for $40, I spent $5.00 in parts to repair it, I spent $10.00 on an antenna for it, now I talk across the oceans with it.