Buck Rogers K4ABT Handbook page 12

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS:
Keyboard to keyboard Packet communications is where
Packet radio excels. Packet has proven many times over
its usefulness as an emergency communications medium.
The use of Packet radio as a sky-warn or weather-watch
tool has become a standard operating proceedure.
In areas where earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes,
storms, flood and other natural disasters have occurred,
Packet radio has been used to relay information, requests
for food, medicines, and help from the destressed area to
the proper authorities.
In a disaster area a voice repeater may be lost due to high
winds, flood, or other causes, an emergency Packet node
or station can be setup at a moments notice. Emergency
and disaster communications
immediately.
In some regions of the country, dedicated Packet
networks are in use specifically for this purpose. One
such network is the Southeastern Emergency Digital
Association Networks (SEDAN) that reaches from
Washington DC well into south Florida. Much of the
SEDAN covers the eastern coast of the United States and
inland as far as Alabama and Mississippi. This network
is made up of over 200 nodes and provides continuity
into all the major cities where the Red Cross emergency
operations centers are located.
When disaster relief and medical teams call for supplies
of a specific type or category and where the spelling of a
medical title is important, the printed (Packet text) word
will prevail over the spoken word. With the error-free
nature of the AX.25 Packet protocol, the message is clear
and concise.
PACKET BBS OPERATIONS:
Many cities have a PACKET Bulletin Board System
(BBS) included on their Packet local area network
(LAN). Amateurs can check into the BBS's and read
messages from other Packet users on almost any topic.
BBS's are networked together over the Packet network to
allow messages to reach a broader user base than your
local BBS users. Private messages may also be sent to
other Packet operators, either locally or who use other
BBSs.
; Packet Radio "The Basics"
Section 1
can be enabled
A Packet Primer for the new Packeteer
Most BBS's have the latest Amateur radio news bulletins
and propagation bulletins posted. Many BBS's have a
file section containing various text files full of
information on amateur radio in general.
DX PACKET SPOTTING NETWORKS:
The use of Packet radio for DX spotting has become a
tool that enables the serious DXer to make DX contacts
almost as easy as "shooting fish in a barrel."
operators connect to the local DX Packet node for the
latest reports on DX. Often a user will "spot" some hot
DX and distribute the DX report real time throughout the
DX spotting network.
FILE TRANSFER (ASCII, TEXT, & BINARY) :
Using special like BUXTERM, MULTICOM, PACPRO,
YAPP and many others, amateurs can pass any binary
files to other amateurs. This may also be accomplished
using TCP/IP (NOS) communications, and other
specialized protocols.
PACKET PICTURE TRANSFER:
To add more fun to our Packet Radio hobby, we can send
and receive high resolution, color pictures via Packet
Radio. The method of transfer in many programs allow
the pictures to be transferred and while they are being
received, they are displayed on the screen in 256 or more
colors. At the same time the picture is being saved to
disk for future viewing or sending to another station.
When exchanging high resolution Packet pictures with
other Packet stations, both stations must be using the
same software (terminal program).
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS:
The amateur radio satellites contain microcomputers that
provide special information to amateurs. Some satellites
contain TV cameras that allow users to download images
of the earth and the stars. Others provide store and
forward Packet mailboxes that enable message transfers
over vast distances. Some satellites use AX.25, some use
special Packet protocols developed for satellite
communications. Transmissions are both AX.25 Packet
using FM transceivers, and others use Single Sideband.
HF
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