Repeater Design Considerations

Analog - Traditional

D-Star
- Icom
- One of the first digital systems for hams
All Star
- All Star Network
DMR
- Motorola
- Commercial protocol adopted for hams so not that feature rich, requires code plugs not easy to program
Fusion
- Yaesu
- Most recent protocol

Note: KH6JPL BillyG possess only academic knowledge of these modes therefore take my inputs with a grain of salt, or perhaps a whole bag? .

While digital radio provides an ease of connectivity between geographical locations, world wide, with the ability to handle data traffic, using forward error correction protocols, as well as doing digital voice transmission that minimizes the influences of noise, it is a little more complex to use during emergencies.

I recommend hybrid networks that include the best of all worlds.
Analog radios are easy use, with minimal training. Basically grab a radio and run with it.
Digital radios require programming, and I’m not sure how volatile they are to bumps and drops.
- Will they require reprogramming?
- Will there be personnel readily available to assist?
- In case of frequency change needed because a ham is being deployed to an area that is in a different band/frequency, will these be easy to do.

I must admit I’m not well versed on this subject and I’ll need help here but I do know that digital repeaters normally home into a server somewhere in the world via the internet.
- While the internet is connected all is well, what will happen when turn off the internet at various locations? What will be the survivability of the ham radio network?

Spectrum internet comes to Hawaii in two separate paths, Oahu and Hawai’i.
Do we know that if our digital repeaters depend on a mainland server for connectivity and the Oahu link to the mainland is severed, the whole state will share the Hawaii connection to the mainland? Or will our state be segmented until Oahu is restored.
Does our local internet service provide for class of service priorities as do cellular services that give priority to government and emergency services?
- Spectrum tells me no, everyone will sucking through the same straw.
- Then we’ll need to calculate the worst case of available bandwidth that will be available to support digital ham radios.
I’ll be checking with the other broadband internet providers to see if the service is better than that Spectrum. I.e., AT&T, Verizon, etc.

During Hurricane Iniki we found that the JPL repeater equipped with a interface to the telephone network was a great asset

- Robin Liu AH6CP connected then Convenor Waihee to the mayor Yukiniki (?) to discuss the pending Hurricane
- Kauai EOC was able to call St Francis Hospital to arrange fit the transport of 50 dialysis patients to Oahu for treatment.
It is my goal to have the JPL repeater equipped with this capability.