A teammate came up with the idea to contact LARU (www.laru.lu). These guys specialised in emergency Radio communication and they have a wide knowledge in the topic. What followed were a few meetings where we discussed a possible solution.
The complex set of requirements demands a hybrid solution for the data transfer (GPS coordinates) and Vocal transmission. So LARU proposed the following solution:
- APRS protocol for GPS coordinates
- DMR for vocal
Having the protocols defined for sending and receiving the data, we following solution was proposed to transfer the data to all peers. The initial idea was the following:
In the first phase we would deploy an antenna in an elevated position (EPA) which will cover most of the terrain. A communication is established between the command post (CP) and the Antenna (EPA). The people working in the field (WRK) should not be have additional heavy equipment with them. For this reason the boats (BOT) will act as repeaters.
The WRK act in pairs. One will have the handle the radio, the other will be equipped with the TinyTrack. The indicated setup ensures that area is always fully covered.
In a more advanced setup, the boats would have a small server which would temporary store the data if the communication with the EPA would get lost.
Time to setup: 1 hour
Equipment needed:
- EPA
o APRS Repeater
o DMR Repeater - CP
o APRS Repeater
o DMR Repeater
o DMR mobile device (voice communication) - BOT
o Navigation Tool with APRS
o DMR mobile device (voice communication)
o Relais antenna - WRK
o TinyTrack
o DMR mobile device (voice communication)
Now that we discussed how the communication is established, let’s see what we can display the data.
Next up: Tracking software