Washington Emergency Responders First to use SpaceX’s Starlink Internet in the Field

 

 

Washington’s state military, which includes its emergency response division, began employing Starlink user terminals in early August to bring internet service to areas devastated by wildfires. User terminals are the small devices on the ground that connect to the satellites. The emergency division has seven Starlink user terminals, which it is deploying with early success.

The Starlink satellite internet network that SpaceX is developing has been used in the field by Washington state emergency responders in recent weeks, the first early application of the company’s service to be disclosed.

The full Starlink network is planned to have about 12,000 satellites flying in what is known as low Earth orbit, much closer to the surface than traditional broadband satellites. Hall, whose division has used other satellite broadband services, said “there’s really no comparison” between Starlink and traditional networks, where the satellites are farther away from the Earth in Geosynchronous or medium earth orbits.

(CNBC, 29 SEP 2020)

While StarLink isn't Ham Radio, it is an interesting new technology, and one that might integrate well with ARES/RACES.

 

Ham Radio Wireless Network Camera Detects Washington Wildfire

 

Nigel Vander Houwen, K7NVH, reported on September 8 that some HamWAN (https://hamwan.org/) users in the Puget Sound region of Washington, who were viewing the network's camera feeds, spotted a large brush fire.

"They reported it to the DNR [Department of Natural Resources], which thanked them for the first report they'd gotten on the fire, and they've sent a team to try and keep it small and under control," Vander Houwen said. "It's estimated currently at around 50 acres, southeast of Enumclaw, along Highway 410." The fire was not said to be threatening any homes. State Route 410 was reported closed between Enumclaw and Greenwater, and drivers heading to Mount Rainier National Park were advised to take another route.

A frame from video via a HamWAN camera of an air tanker dropping water on the fire.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ1X4VvRFWY)

HamWAN is a nonprofit organization developing best practices for high-speed amateur radio data networks. It runs the Puget Sound Data Ring. So far, HamWAN networks have been used for such applications as low-latency repeater linking (including DMR), real-time video feeds, APRS internet gateways (I-gates), providing redundant internet access to emergency operations centers, and more.

Amateur radio licensees in the HamWAN service area can connect directly to the network with a modest investment in equipment and no recurring costs. The HamWAN Puget Sound Data Ring has cells deployed at numerous wide-coverage sites, interconnected with 5 GHz radios. The HamWAN technical team has been installing remotely controllable cameras at HamWAN link sites, and one of these was used for the wildfire report.  (ARRL Newsletter, September 10, 2020)

ISS 437.800 MHz Cross Band FM Repeater Activated

 

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce that set up and installation of the first element of our next generation radio system was completed and amateur radio operations with it are now underway. This first element, dubbed the InterOperable Radio System (IORS), was installed in the International Space Station Columbus module. The IORS replaces the Ericsson radio system and packet module that were originally certified for spaceflight on July 26, 2000.

Initial operation of the new radio system is in FM cross band repeater mode using an uplink frequency of 145.990 MHz with an access tone [CTCSS] of 67 Hz and a downlink frequency of 437.800 MHz.