Chris
NES Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2005
- Messages
- 13,407
- Likes
- 8,247
Hi guys.
As most/many/all of you know, I'm very involved with the operations of the annual Pan-Mass Challenge.
We've done a recent review of communication needs and are looking to replace everything we've been using if something better exists. First off, we can't get everyone a ham ticket, or shadow everyone with a ham operator, so all the wonderful infrastructure that exists for that service isn't going to work. For ultimate public safety, we have one of those homeland security funded mobile command posts assigned to us for the weekend, so getting quick contact with police, fire and medical isn't an issue. Its the comms related with the ride itself that is being looked at.
We need 2 basic systems:
1) Local communication
For local communications, we need portable radios/headsets capable of covering an honest 1 mile radius in a suburban setting both inside and outside buildings. We have five major sites. Sturbridge, Wellesley, and Bourne are all large campus/resort settings with multiple operations spread all over and need to be able to contact each other. The leaders in each of these areas will practically live on the radio, so comfort and ease of use is important. I'd love to use a lower power radio with a repeater in these locations.
Provincetown is another animal. We have multiple sites with many people covering most of the town. Currently, we place a repeater in the monument tower which seems to do the trick, so I'd like to keep that setup.
The radios need to be able to hold a day's worth of power (yes, I know it matters what the duty cycle is) or be able to be rapidly recharged so that fresh radios/batteries can be rotated as needed. I'd like if the radios can be setup to utilize both simplex as well as repeater operation. (and temporary repeater installation would be possible at all sites) A main calling channel and several 'private' channels to take critical operations to are needed. FRS and GMRS don't seem to be the right services. FRS for a sheer lack of range and GMRS for the limited channels (although it does allow repeaters) and odd licensing which doesn't seem to allow 'company' licenses..
I'm sure that there is some kind of commercial product out there and some kind of FCC license that can be had to service this kind of need, but I'm not sure what the options are or what kind of costs are involved. In the past, we've rented Motorola radios and batteries, but their condition is usually "well worn" to "worn out". The ride is looking to invest in their own equipment.
I am not concerned with people listening as we already have protocols to avoid any names over the air. I'm more concerned with all day use and reliability.
2) Mobile Communication.
We cover roads from Sturbridge to Wellesley, to Bourne, to Provincetown. Our base of operations at Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne (on the canal) and must be able to reliably communicate with any unit anywhere in the state. Our vehicles are rentals, personal, or loaners, so we can't install anything permanent. A Mag mount antenna attached to a simple mobile plugged into the lighter socket is perfectly acceptable.
In the past we used a trunked radio, but as the ride grew, you had different sections on different frequencies which really made it hard to find the vehicle you wanted. More recently we had NExtel donate phones and service, but this has two faults. 1) it's person to person, so anyone not on the conversation could not hear what was going on. Yes, they can set up 'groups', but due to technical issues the groups could not be larger than 6. Last year I had 50 phones and had to be really careful who got them because demand was far higher than that.
Multiple channels would be ideal, but not necessary as everyone has a cell phone that can be used for more critical communications.
The trick here isn't the equipment, but how to get the range needed with reliability. Most of our ride tries to stay off the beaten path to avoid being a traffic hazard. (for some reason, 5,000 bicycles and your average Saturday and Sunday traffic don't seem to get along all the time - go figure)
So, if anyone has any suggestions regarding either of these two radio services, please share.
As most/many/all of you know, I'm very involved with the operations of the annual Pan-Mass Challenge.
We've done a recent review of communication needs and are looking to replace everything we've been using if something better exists. First off, we can't get everyone a ham ticket, or shadow everyone with a ham operator, so all the wonderful infrastructure that exists for that service isn't going to work. For ultimate public safety, we have one of those homeland security funded mobile command posts assigned to us for the weekend, so getting quick contact with police, fire and medical isn't an issue. Its the comms related with the ride itself that is being looked at.
We need 2 basic systems:
1) Local communication
For local communications, we need portable radios/headsets capable of covering an honest 1 mile radius in a suburban setting both inside and outside buildings. We have five major sites. Sturbridge, Wellesley, and Bourne are all large campus/resort settings with multiple operations spread all over and need to be able to contact each other. The leaders in each of these areas will practically live on the radio, so comfort and ease of use is important. I'd love to use a lower power radio with a repeater in these locations.
Provincetown is another animal. We have multiple sites with many people covering most of the town. Currently, we place a repeater in the monument tower which seems to do the trick, so I'd like to keep that setup.
The radios need to be able to hold a day's worth of power (yes, I know it matters what the duty cycle is) or be able to be rapidly recharged so that fresh radios/batteries can be rotated as needed. I'd like if the radios can be setup to utilize both simplex as well as repeater operation. (and temporary repeater installation would be possible at all sites) A main calling channel and several 'private' channels to take critical operations to are needed. FRS and GMRS don't seem to be the right services. FRS for a sheer lack of range and GMRS for the limited channels (although it does allow repeaters) and odd licensing which doesn't seem to allow 'company' licenses..
I'm sure that there is some kind of commercial product out there and some kind of FCC license that can be had to service this kind of need, but I'm not sure what the options are or what kind of costs are involved. In the past, we've rented Motorola radios and batteries, but their condition is usually "well worn" to "worn out". The ride is looking to invest in their own equipment.
I am not concerned with people listening as we already have protocols to avoid any names over the air. I'm more concerned with all day use and reliability.
2) Mobile Communication.
We cover roads from Sturbridge to Wellesley, to Bourne, to Provincetown. Our base of operations at Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne (on the canal) and must be able to reliably communicate with any unit anywhere in the state. Our vehicles are rentals, personal, or loaners, so we can't install anything permanent. A Mag mount antenna attached to a simple mobile plugged into the lighter socket is perfectly acceptable.
In the past we used a trunked radio, but as the ride grew, you had different sections on different frequencies which really made it hard to find the vehicle you wanted. More recently we had NExtel donate phones and service, but this has two faults. 1) it's person to person, so anyone not on the conversation could not hear what was going on. Yes, they can set up 'groups', but due to technical issues the groups could not be larger than 6. Last year I had 50 phones and had to be really careful who got them because demand was far higher than that.
Multiple channels would be ideal, but not necessary as everyone has a cell phone that can be used for more critical communications.
The trick here isn't the equipment, but how to get the range needed with reliability. Most of our ride tries to stay off the beaten path to avoid being a traffic hazard. (for some reason, 5,000 bicycles and your average Saturday and Sunday traffic don't seem to get along all the time - go figure)
So, if anyone has any suggestions regarding either of these two radio services, please share.