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The

Frorrtllnee:

H5MM

Developments

in

Amateur

Radio-Part

I

Inanutshell,

HSMM

amateurs

throwaway

the

little

indoorrubber-duckyantennas

thatcome

with

the

gearand

replacethem

with

outdoor

antennas.

By

JohnChampa,

*

K80C

L

I

nthepreviousissueofCQ

V

HF

wediscussedthebasicsofHSMMradio andhowtogetstarted.Whatisaham todowithallthishigh-speeddatacapa bility?Letusnowexamineafewofthe excitingnewapplicationsforHSMM radioinmoredetail.

If

youreadtheFall2003issueofCQ

VHF,

youalreadyknowthatHSMM standsforHighSpeedMulti-Mediaradio networking.Thatisamouthful,butnone theless,itisnotaspecificoperatingmode, butratheraradionetworkingdirection withinamateurradio.Commercialfolks oftencallthissortofradio

mobilecomputing.

Thecurrentdevelopmental emphasisisonadaptingtoamateurradio use.Theinexpensive,easy-to-use,com mercial,off-the-shelf(COTS)microwave spread-spectrumdigitalpacket-radiogear isreadilyavailablefrommostofficeand computersupplystores.

Th

isequipmentisknowninthecommercialmarketas wirelesslocalareanetwork(WLAN)or WiFigear.Inanutshell,HSMMamateurs throwawaythelittleindoorrubber-ducky antennasthatcomewiththegearand replacethemwithoutdoorantennas.They setthegearforoperationsontheprovid edchannels2through5andoperateinthe amateurradio2.4-GHzband.

History

Amateurradioresearchintospread spectrumwasstartedin1981bytheAm ateurRadioResearchandDevelopmentCorporation(AMRAD)andcontinuesto thisdaybyorganizationssuchasthe TucsonAreaPacketRadio(TAPR)

"ChairmanoftheARRLTechnologyTask ForceonHighSpeedMultimedia(HSMM) RadioNetworking;MoonW

olf

Spring,2491 ItsellRoad,Howell,MI48843-6458 e-mail:<k8ocl@arrl.net>

56.

CQVHF

•

Winter2004

groupandtheARRLHSMMWorking Group(http://www.arrl.org/hsmmJ).TheinitialprojectwasdescribedintheMay 1989issueof

QST

andwasreprintedin

TheARRLSpreadSpectrumSourcebook.

Currentamateurresearchintospread spectrumcanbefoundintheAMRAD andTAPRnewsletters.Also,itisonthe HSMMwebpagenotedabove.Athor oughexplanationregardinghowspread spectrumworkscanbefoundinthecur renteditionof

The

ARRL

Handbook.

Becauseoftheconsiderableresearch progressbeingmadeinthisareabyradio amateurs,thespread-spectrumportionof futureeditionsof

TheARRLHandbook

willberevisedconsiderably. HSMMradio,althoughdigital,isnot primarilyakeyboardradiocommunica tionmedium,asinconventionalHFand VHFpacketradio.Thethroughputdata ratesinHSMMaresignificantlyhigher, typically700-900kbpsorbetter,de pendingonthesignal-to-noiseratio. Thesedataratesareequalto12to16times fasterthantypicalinternetdial-upspeeds «56kbps).Atthesehighdataspeeds hamscanoperatetwo-wayfull-motion streamingvideoandaudiocalled

amateurdigitalvideo(ADV).

ADVisabouthalf theresolutionorqualityofaVHStape, butitisstillofsufficientqualityformany imagecommunicationpurposes. AlsousedinHSMMradioisvoiceover IP(VoIP),whichisthesametechnology currentlyusedtocarryvoicetrafficbe tweenlinkedFMrepeatersovertheinter net.Eveninteractivee-gametrafficispos sible.HSMMradioismultimediaradio. HSMMradionetworksarenotlike otherradionetworkswithwhichyoumay befamiliar.Althoughround-tabledis cussionsareconducted,mostoperations

of

theHSMMradiolocalareanetworks areautomatedorsemi-automatedlinks, muchlikethoseexperiencedusing iTCP/IPovertheinternet;thus,thenick nameofHam

+

Internet

=

Hinternet.Accordingly,manyHSMMstationsare ontheaircontinuouslyinanunattended modeofoperation.

Remote-Control

HSMM

Remote-controlHSMMhassome uniqueham

~

d

i o

networkapplications andoperationalpracticesthatdifferenti atetheHinternetfromnormalWi-Fihot spots,alsoknownaffectionatelyas InternetCafes(Starbucks®,etc.).You mayhavereadabouttheseinthepopular press.HSMMtechniquesareusedfor systemRC(remotecontrol)ofamateur radiostations.

Time

and

CostSharing

ofHam

Stations

Oneofamateurradi

o's

greatestchallenges,particularlyinhigh-density,res identialareas,isconstructingantennas, particularlyhightower-mountedHF antennas,whichworkwithoutinciting theentireneighborhood.Often,except forafewcontestweekendsoraband opening,thesehigh-profileamateursta tionsareidlemostofthetime.Theyrep resentasignificantinvestmentintime andresources,andtheburdencouldbe sharedeasily.Implementingaportaltoa remoteHFstationvia2.4GHziseasyto do.Mostcomputersnowcomewithbuilt inmultimediasupport.Mostamateur radiotransceiversarecapableofPCcon trol.Asyouwillfurtherseeinthispaper, addingthe2.4-GHznetworkingisrela tivelysimple.Theonlyspeedhumpsare gettingthesmall2.4-GHzantenna mountedoutdoors(indeed-restricted communities),butsuchantennasarerel ativelysmallwhencomparedtoafull-

Visit

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iveE-Games

Sharingsomehigh-speedinternetaccess(Cable,DSL,WISP,orinthecaseofanamateurradiocluborrepeatergroup,perhapsasharedT-1circuit)withanotheramateurisapopularapplicationfor

HSMM

radio.OverhalftheU.S.populationisrestrictedtoveryslowdial-upinternetconnections

«56

kbps)overaplainoldtelephoneservice(POTS)line.Gettingahigh speedinternetconnection,evenasharedone,feelslikeyouhavediscoveredanewuniverse!

Note:

If

youusean

HSMM

microwaveradiorepeater(a.k.a.anAP)tosharehigh-speedaccess

to

theinternet,

don't

forgetamateurradiocontentrestrictions---e.g.,nocommercialfor profitbusinesse-mails,etc.Don'tworryaboutpop-upads.Pop upads,althoughanuisance,arenomoreillegalthan,forexam ple,anamateurtelevision(ATV)stationtransmittinganoutdoor sceneandinadvertentlypickingupabillboardinthestation camera,oryourcarAM/FMbroadcastradiobeingheardinthe backgroundwhentalkingonthelocal Rvlrepeater.Suchback groundsourcesaremerelyincidentaltoyourtransmission.They arenottheprimarypurposeofyourcommunications,plusthey arenotintendedforrebroadcast

to

thepublic. DoyouhaveanoldorasparePCaround?Useitasaserver onyourarea

HSMM

radionetwork.Thenitispossibletodo thingssuchasplayinteractivegames.

com

pletewithsound effectsandfull-motionanimation(seetheNeilSablatzky,K8IT, size.three-element,20-metermonobandYagiona20-ft.hightower.Evenhigh-gain

,2.4-GHz-band

antennassuchastheComet®ModelX2427ratedat25dBi,ortheDiamond®AntennaModel

2400Yl9

ratedat19dBigain,aresmallandunobtrusive.Herearethedetailsonhowoneamateurradiooperator,DarwinThompson,K6USW,hasdoneitwiththeKenwoodTS-480SAT

IHX.

KenwoodrecentlyintroduceditsnewTS-480SAT/HXradio,whichcanbecontrolledovera

LAN

andtheinternet.Aftergettingtheradio,gototheKenwoodwebsiteanddownloadthetwoprogramsforthe

TS-480SAT/HX

(http://www.kenwood.netlindexKenwood.cfm?do=SupportFileCategory&FileCatID=3).TheARCP-480istheradio-controlsoftware.TheARHP-IOistheradiohostprogram.Followtheinstructionsincludedwiththesoftwaretomakethecablestointerfacetheradiotoyourcomputer.WithARHP-lOrunninginthecomputerattachedtothetransceiverandtheARCP-480runninginalaptopPCwithamicrophone/earphoneheadsetattached,youcancontroltheradioanduseVoIPonyour

HSMM

radiostationtotransmitandreceiveaudio,etc.

It

isassimpleasthat!ThissystemRCconceptcouldbeextendedtoothertypesofhigh-performanceamateurradiostations.Forexample,HSMMradiocanbeusedtolinkyourcurrentstationorhomeofficetoahigh-performanceamateurradioVHF/UHFstation,EMEstation,ATVstation,orOSCAR40satellitegroundstation.ThesetypesofhamstationshavelargeblocksofidletimeandareripefortheHSMMradiotime-sharingexperience.Thiscouldbedoneonatime-shareandcost-sharebasisbythelocalamateurradiocluborrepeatergroup.Thelinkwouldbebacktomembers'homes,whichdonotallow,orsimply

can't

afford,suchlarge,complex,andexpensiveoutsideantennaarrayswithassociatedhightower(s).

For

moredetailsonhowthisstationremotecontroliseasilydone,seethearticle"Remote-ControlHFOperationovertheInternet"(orHinternet,inthiscase),byBradWyatt,K6WR,onpages

47-

48oftheNovember2001issueof

QST.

www.cq-vhf.com

Winter2004•

CQVHF

•

57

AmateursComplete82-mileTwo-wayDSSSLinkon2.4GHz

Whilesomeofuscomplainofnotbeingabletocommuriicatefromroomtoroomwithourwirelesscardsinourcomputers,ARRLHSMMWorkingGroupChairman,andCQ

VHF

magazinefeaturewriterJohnChampa,

K80CL,

reportsthatARRLHighSpeedMultimedia(HSMM)WorkingGroupmemberKenCuddeback,NT7K,andhisstudentsatWeberStateUniversityinOgden,Utahrecentlycompletedtwo-waydirect-sequencespreadspectrum(DSSS)communicationon2.4GHzoveradistanceof82miles.TheWSUstu

dents-including

oneham,BrandonChecketts,KG4NZV,andseveralprospective

licensees-broke

thecurrentworldrecordofestablishingawirelesslinkon2.4GHzwithDSSS(usingIEEE802.11bWiFiprotocol).CuddebackreportedthathisstudentsusedPrimeStardisheswithunamplifiedCiscoAironet350cardsineachlaptop."WesetupaNetMeetingsessionandtransferreda2.5MBmp3filesuccessfully,"hesaid.TheCisco WiFicardsrunabout100mW.Portionsofthisreportcourtesythe

ARRL

Letter

onlineedition,December10,2003(http://www.arrl.org).

HSMMcolumnintheFall2003issueofCQ

VHF

forguidelinesonusinge-gamesontheairinamateurradio).Thiscanbelotsoffunandattractnewclubmembers.InthecommercialworldthesearecalledWLANParties.ForpurposesofHSMMradioresearch,playinge-gamesisanexcellentmethodoftestingthetruespeedofyourstation'sHinternetlink.

HSMMRadioinEmergencies

TheHSMMradiodrivingforceis'EmergencyCommunicationsSupport(RACES,ARES,etc.).WhyareEmCommorganizationssointerestedinHSMMradiocapabilities?1.Theyrealizethattheamountofdigitalradiotrafficon2.4GHzisincreasingandoperatingunderunlicensedPart15powerlimitationscannotovercomethis noise.2.Theyneedahigh-speedradionetworkthatcansimultaneouslyhandlevoice,video,anddatatrafficfortheiremergencycommunications.3.Thecostofacommercially(government)licensedhigh-speeddatanetworkismorethantheycancollectivelyaffordforuseonlyduringemergencyconditionsandexercises,whichmaybeconductedonlythreetofourtimesperyear.4.Theyalsoknowthattheycontinuouslyneedtoexerciseanyemergencycommunicationssystemandhavetrainedoperatorsforthesystemforittobedependable.5.AmateurradioHSMMoperationsunderamateurradioPart97regulationssolvetheproblemsoftheabovelimitingfactors.TheycanrnnmorepowerthanisallowedunderPart15unlicensedoperating,theyhavehigh-speedmultimediacapabilities,theyarecosteffective(amateurscandowith$50KwhatMotorolacandofor$250K),andtheycanbeexer-ciseddailyorweeklybytrainedvolunteerhamcommunicatorsdoingwhattheydonaturally.ImaginebeingatanemergencysceneandbeingabletosendlivevideoimagesofwhatishappeningbacktoeverybodyontheHSMMmicrowaveradionetworkusinginexpensivewebcams.ThevideocouldalsobesenttoanEmergencyOperationsCenter(EOC),whileatthesametimesubmittingawrittenreport(alonglistofsurvivors,etc.)andsimultaneouslytalkingtotheEOCusingVoIP.OftenallthatisneededisanoldorusedlaptopcomputerequippedwithawirelesslocalareanetworkenabledPCMemoryCardInternationalAssociation(PCMCIA)cardwithanexternalantennajack.InHSMMjargon,suchacardiscalledanRIC,meaningaradiointerfacecard.Connectany

ofthe

smallandinexpensive(about$20)digitalcameras,orasanalternative,someKodakandotherconsumer-gradedigitalcamerasusedforfamilysnapshotsalsohaveavideooutputport.ThenconnecttheRICtoashortYagiantenna.ExceptfortheRICandthelittleantenna,manyamateursmayalreadyhaveallthisgear!InarecentCQmagazinesurvey("WhatYouHaveToldUs,"

CQ,

September2003,p.40)8%oftherespondentsreportedalreadyusingsomekindofwirelessnetworking,sothereisalreadyagrowingunderstandingofthetechnologywithintheamateurranks.Therefore,itisnotdifficulttoputtogetheranEmCommteamandbringthemquicklyuptospeedwithHSMMradio(sorryforthepun

...

hi).Whileonthetopicofspeeds,herearesomeinterestingfindingsfromHSMMfieldexperiments.

DataRates:

802.11linksareessentiallyspreadspectrum(seetheSpreadSpectrumtopicinthechapteronModulationtypesinany

ARRLHandbook).

It

canprovidefastinternet-typespeedssim-ilartoacablemodemorDSL,evenovermanymiles,providedthatyouhavegoodantennasystems.Theactualspeedyouobtainonyourlinkwilldependinlargepartonthesignal-to-noise

(SIN)

ratio.Thebetterthesignallevelsonthelink,thehigherthespeed.TheHSMMWorkingGroupresearchhasfoundthatalthoughmanufacturersof802.11b(DSSSmodulation)equipmentclaimamaximumrawdatarate

ofll

mbps,and802.l1g(OFDMmodulation)hasaclaimedmaximumrawdatarateof54mbps,theactual"datathroughputissignificantlyless.Why?Onereasonyouhavealreadyreadabout:Asthesignal-to-noiseratiodeclines,especiallyoverthedistanceofmanymilesasexperiencedinthe

i

Hinternet,sodoesthedatarate.However,thereareotherfactors.

It

shouldbenotedthatbothapproachesareradio,sotheyareeithertransmittingorreceivingallthetime,butnotatthesametime.Theybothuseacollisionavoidance(CA)techniquethatresultsinhalf-duplexoperation.Beforetransmitting,itlistenstothechannelfirsttomake certainitisclear.Thatmeanstheactualmaximum

t h e o ~ e t i c a l

datathroughputisapproximatelyhalfthedatarate,or

·S.5

mbpsand27mbps,respectively.Inactualpractice,wehavefoundthatwithnetworkoverheadandotherfactorsincluded,therealdatathroughputwithmaximumsignal-to-noiseratioisapproximately3mbpsand15mbps,respectively.Withaweakersignal,datarateswilldecreaseevenfurther.Forexample,mymaximumdataratetomywirelessinternetserviceprovider(WISP),calledMediaNet®and4.5milesaway,using802

.lIb

isapproximately900kbps,morethan16timesfasterthanmyolddial-upISP.Nonetheless,ifmoredatathroughputisneededforEmComm,etc.,itshouldbepossibletodoublethosenumbers.Forexample,anARESamateurstationmightruntheHSMMlinkusingtwoaccesspoints(APs).Onedevicecouldoperateonchannel2usingahorizontallypolarizedantennaandtheotheronchannel5usingaverticallypolarizedantenna.Keeptheantennastenwavelengthsapart(thisisonlyabout40incheson2.4GHz).

It

iscertainlyworthatry.

HSMMRadioRelay

WhentryingtoextendthelengthofanHSMMlink,themostobviousmeanswouldappeartobetorunhigherpowerandplacetheantennasashighaspossi-

58.

CQVHF

•

Winter2004

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