On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 23:10:14 GMT, **THE-RFI-EMI-GUY**
wrote:

SSB CB radios are pretty rare items in most circles, in fact the troops
trying to commandeer CB's might not be aware of the difference and will
try to use standard CB's and they won't work in the "net". Secondly, SSB
CB's have a clarifier control that has to be adjusted. This is easy
enough with voice, but with data, it is not as easy to do by "ear". You
will have to incorporate some sort of tuning scheme in your software.
You are better off with AM because of these limitations. Are you going
to have a field expedient handbook so that the troops can figure out
which mike wires are which? It is not that easy to figure out if you are

Thats funny! Actually CB radios are very diverse with their mic
wiring and switching schemes as in if not done correctly they will
not transmit _or_ recieve.

It's a bad idea and deserves to die an expedient death.

It would be far easier to mass produce a UHF FM radio based on
GMRS chipsets with a digital interface. Then give everyone
a box of them and a box of batteries.

Allison

unfamiliar with radio. Your idea of a software solution reminds me of
the BAYCOM TNC modems of the 80's. You might want to research those. You
should be able to get 3 to 5 times that rate in the consulting world by
the way.

wrote:

Brian 2W0BDW wrote:


wrote in message
egroups.com...


All,

I've got a brother who works for a consulting firm whose main customer
is Homeland Secrity.

What the feds want to do is to be able to communicate mil-spec digital
packets over low power links in the middle of a disaster-hit area
between squads of Guards deployed across a destroyed city.

They cannot assume that hams and ham equipment will be available, and
they do not want to carry heavy equipment into a city. They want to be
able to use equipment that they can readily commandeer from stores such
as Radio Shack.

That pretty much means CB radios. I have heard of hams working DX
using 5 watts of PSK on 10 meters using poor antennas, so that gives me
the idea that Guard units could form medium range mobile networks using
5 watts of PSK on 11 meters using wires dropped off bridges.

Eventually the hams that do get on the scene could set up a CB to HF
gateway so that the packets could make it out from the Guards to the
NGOs.

While I am more than willing to test this setup out for my brother on a
pair of CB radios, I told him I might need an STA from the FCC to
communicate data on CB channel 40. He tells me that in an emergency,
anyone can use any frequencies they want, any power, any mode. I told
him true, but that does not help me as an OEM getting fined for testing
out an emergency scenario in a nonemergency situation.

Suggestions?

The Eternal Squire



IMHO The feds have plenty of radio equipment with comms operators that could
be shipped to disaster hit area faster than your average guards unit could
adapt/setup a purloined unit.




Thank you all for your suggestions.

This is not a hoax. But I too find the need sufficiently implausible
that I feel a little bit queasy taking R&D fees for a cause like this
at $50 per hour. The only reason that I'm not mentioning the
consulting firm is that I could stand to get paid... and any money is
better than no money. And if I'm the king's coin then I ought to make
it work.

I agree, Truck stops are a very good idea for commandeering CB's, but
you only find those in the exurbs.. Yes, other commercial radio
services could and maybe even should be drafted into this. The squad
lead could then determine the tradeoffs based on the availability of
foraged equipment.

Allison, your idea of using the dummy loads to simulate fading over
distance is OUTSTANDING. I'll do it!

Using dummy loads as a demo, I could then get the consulting firm to
ask the FCC for an STA for field tests.

For my test rigs, I'm intending to plug in a laptop sound card I/O into
the SSB mic and headphone jacks. Therefore no type acceptance needed
because no mods.

My brother says ideally in the scenario, each squad leader should only
need to carry a mini-CDROM in his or her pocket. The squad lead could
then commandeer a laptop, an SSB CB radio, and then use an abandoned
automobile as an electric generator for the laptop and radio. Antenna
would be flung over a 3 story office building.

One of the reasons for this scenario is to lighten the overall squad
load and thereby increase the speed of response. That way each squad
could break into an abandoned store and then set up a first responder
posts.