CARESS Sat Trailer Update April 12, 2009

The Coquitlam Amateur Radio Club's new Satellite Communications trailer is nearing completion. The state of the art self aligning dish mechanism was installed today and tested. Next in will be various radios, a PMBO, antennas, wireless routers etc. The trailer is being prepared for use in providing the City of Coquitlam with backup emergency communications in the event of large scale disaster. This is a prototype which we hope will be come the standard for municipalities in the Lower Mainland.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Emergency Communications
• Ham Radio
• Amateur Radio
• Digital Communications
• WinLink
• Airmail
• VHF
• UHF

[pindrop]

Auto alignment isn't really the best unless you have a GPS unit. I assume you do? I am very interested...Az and El would be from magnetic or the gps?

[neilking2]

A GPS is integrated into the unit. Once the unit knows where it is, determining the path to the satellite is relatively simple. It initiates a search in the general direction it expects the sat to be and acquires, then tweaks the signal within a matter of few minutes.

[xiambax]

What sat do you use for uplink? Like inspace? Do you use a licensed sat?

[neilking2]

Currently we are using Galaxy 18 on Ku band. Its a commercial service and has provision for guarantees on bandwidth using a CIR - committed information rate.

[neilking2]

Thanks, I'll be updating this shortly to show the other capabilities that it is going to employ. Essentially it will be a comm hub capable of voice, data and VOIP phone services on frequencies from HF to microwave.

[va7dgp]

I'm sending this to my bosses. VA7DGP

[youidiot222]

Hah.. Nice music... feels like it should have been sunny and warm instead of the downpour.

[bcradiogeek]

Excellent video Neil! This is a real great thing to have as a mobile resource.