On Mon, Mar 27, 2017 at 10:41 PM, Daniel Luechtefeld < daniel.luechtefeld@gmail.com> wrote:
Speaking personally, it's the lack of detailed, concrete use cases that are discouraging me from spending my own time and money for a pilot. We could build it, but what would we use it for?
EmComm use cases will depend on the needs of your served agency. What role do you serve for them now? Which of these processes do you think can be improved? What needs are currently unmet? What needs would be unmet if x component in the system were to fail (i.e., fiber to the island)? I volunteer with Pierce County Search and Rescue, so I can answer some of these questions in that context. Search management has largely moved from paper maps and highlighters to computer mapping and document generation. Some software can be served locally, but this is impossible with services like Google Earth (an invaluable resource to the search manager). We have also increasingly been using APRS to track teams, which benefits greatly from data sharing via APRS-IS (our autonomous APRS receiver cannot hear everything). These are the needs of my served agency. To meet these needs, we've subscribed to Verizon hotspot service for our command vehicle. This works great most of the time, and the government plan has reasonably priced unlimited data. But it doesn't work everywhere. And when it doesn't work, there's no way to "ham" our way into creating Verizon service. There is an area we train in frequently that does not have Verizon service. It is tucked in a valley where cell signals don't reach, and there's really no business case for Verizon to expand there. When we are in this area, we still want to use internet mapping data, share data with APRS-IS, and remain in contact with the county DEM duty officer in case we are needed elsewhere. I did some line-of-sight mapping (caltopo.com's viewshed feature is great for this) and found that from a ridge above this valley, you can see the HamWAN Baldi site! The ridge is also accessible by road. I drove up there and set up my portable HamWAN client <http://hamwan.org/index/2013-07-28%2014.04.10.jpg>. Then, I used a second nearly identical setup to relay the signal into the valley and configured the routing on these modems so that the HamWAN network was shared. Back in the valley, I set our command vehicle to associate with the relay station. Now we had ~10 Mbps access to internet mapping resources, HamWAN's on-network APRS-IS systems, and the VoIP app on my phone could receive calls from DEM. EOC operations are undoubtedly different. Rob has been doing some work with the Snohomish County EOC and nearby hospitals. I believe he has installed an autonomous VoIP phone network via HamWAN. He has also experimented with Sahana disaster management software <https://sahanafoundation.org/>. Not being involved with EOC operations, I can't really paint this into a use case. Maybe Rob can fill in. HamWAN is all about sharing data between computers and other network devices like VoIP phones and cameras. Answer my questions from the beginning of this message and think about how computers could be used at an EOC. If they have any need to share or access data outside of the building, I think you'll find your use case for HamWAN. Tom