GhostNet 1.5, page 6

6 GhostNet Concept Establishing a truly global communications plan is difficult, simply due to the physics of ionospheric propa- gation. There is no one plan that will allow the globe to communicate at the exact same time; various factors such as time of day, frequency, and scheduling conflicts make this a challenge. Even if a solution can be agreed upon, scheduling conflicts would add in another layer of complexity. Therefore, multiple networks are required. We can get by with two main concepts for communication: Local comms nets, and long-range links with other continents or major population centers. This way, a person can get their gear set up for local infor- mation exchange during one comm window, and if so desired can switch their gear and data modes to make contact with extremely long range regions, when band conditions allow for the highest chance of success. GhostNet Provides Two Main Paths of Info Exchange 40m Networks For more local communications throughout a region, set up on a schedule that is most convenient for people within that region Scheduled weekly every Thursday night at times con- venient for those working standard business hours. Data Bridges A variety of networks using bands, times, antenna configs, and data modes best for making long range contacts. Scheduled weekly, every Saturday with time windows to allow for multiple DX contacts. Most users will likely find great utility in local communications throughout a region. For instance, if an incident were to occur within North America, most people in that region would likely tune in to JS8Call on 40m to obtain more information. This is easy to do with a wide variety of equipment, and can be done even in a comparatively small location. Using a local 40m network, comms can be reliably established even in the worst of times, using minimal gear, and very little power. However, the gear, space, power, and experience needed to make that same network functional around the world is quite a challenge. Different antenna arrangements, and an extensive knowledge of band conditions is usually required to make reliable links with contacts at extremely long ranges. The average radio operator can easily make contact throughout Europe, but making a contact at any time of day from Sweden to Australia is another story entirely. Band conditions alone require very specific parameters to be met to ensure the highest chance of success. Therefore, we need to establish specific times of day, freqs, and antenna configs to make these long range comms reliable. Though seemingly complex, the plan is quite simple. Need to check in to a local net, or see what’s going on throughout your region? Pick up this guide and flip to the card for your local area. Fire up whatever HF transceiver you have (or even just a receiver) and tune in. Need to send an email around the world? Flip the card over, find the link you want to make, wait until the appropriate Data Bridge comm window opens up, and give it your best shot. This also allows for more complicated relay stations to be set up in the future. For instance, a person in the US might be able to briefly make limited contact with Australia on 80m, but contact might be sketchy or difficult to maintain. To send a full email, they might have to relay longer messages through stations in Africa or the Mediterranean. This comm plan allows for the network to grow and eventually make that a reliable option. Leaving Room for Automatic Link Establishment Ideally, ALE technology would make the concept of Data Bridges irrelevant. Even with enough power, reliable contact can be made at will without waiting for a comm window. These Data Brides are made with the portable operator in mind who might have to rearrange his/her antenna to make long range contacts. With ALE, there is no guesswork to determine which band or time of day is most appropriate for a data link, as the software computes this automatically. This is why ALE is the gold standard for military communications links around the world. However, among radio amateurs, ALE is still in its infancy. Ion2G is the front-runner software package intended to encourage more ALE-based comms in the ham radio world, but the antenna and transceiver requirements make ALE cost prohibitive for most radio operators. However, since ALE is the future, we can still allow for an ALE comm window. ALE is not magic, it simply chooses the best frequency to make a link between two points. At the moment, Ion2G in particular can only really be used for simple text messages, or voice calls. Sending emails must still be done using traditional Winlink P2P methods. This means that ALE can remove the guesswork when it comes to frequency choice, but the time of day must still be chosen by the operator*, and using different data modes (like RTTY) still requires manual decision making by the radio operator. One must remember that cutting-edge technology (in the ham world anyway), is perhaps not the most reliable in a serious emergency. Therefore, we can allow for the use of Ion2G by creating a specific time window for its use, but we also want to allow for other more manually selected networks to function using the equipment that most people already have. *Ion2G is best used by leaving the software to run 24/7. However, this is not the best option for most radio operators as 1- it ties up resources, and 2- the clicking of relays in the radio 24/7 is not appealing to most people. Various work-arounds exist to make Ion2G a viable persistent system, but as this software is still in development trusting it with one’s life is not advised unless a highly reliable backup solution is also in place...like a Data Bridge.