Emergency Communications by Phil Thompson VE3RD

Friday Afternoon 2022-09-27

The state of Florida is the most vulnerable state in the US for Hurricane Activity. As I write this article Hurricane Ian is over Cuba and heading for Florida. I am listening on DMR TGIF TG31665 to traffic coming from Florida and they are discussing the disruption of the local Florida State emergency communication system(SARnet) by a few individuals. SARnet is a network of microwave linked repeaters that is being used for state wide emergency communications as hurricane Ian approaches. The control operators have been forced to temporarily shut off several local repeaters due to disruptive action by a few. For a short period of time the complete network was tied up with an open mic. Many of the signals heard, were very week and extremely noisy.

This is unacceptable as an Emergency Communication Vehicle. There is an emerging system called Digital Mobile Radio(DMR) that now has the capability of providing a robust secure mode of operation, devoid of all such disruptions.

Back a few years ago we had a great network of DMR repeaters around the west end Lake Ontario, here in Ontario Canada, referred to as the XPR network. It was bombarded by a group of haters and the system was taken down. Back it those days, DMR was in its infancy, and we learned.

We now have a new DMR Server (TGIF) that is the most advanced server in the world. It has two main modes of operation, Secured or Unsecured. Each Talk Group can be operated as either Secured or UnSecured by its own Talkgroup Admin. UnSecured means that anyone can receive and talk on the Talkgroup. Secure mode can be turned on or off at the touch of a button by the Talkgroup(TG) control operator. The first level of security is that all operators must have registered with the system operators and received a 16 digit security code. The TG control operator can lock the TG to allow all users to receive but only secure users can transmit on the TG. The control operator can totally restrict all operations on the TG to secure transmissions. Should any registered users start harassment activities, the control operator can instantly ban or mute the offending individual as follows.

The greatest advantage of this system is that everyone that keys into the system is instantly identified and can be instantly locked out. There is no static as is heard on the FM systems and the audio is crystal clear. The advent of satellite internet makes this system a global player in the field of Emergency Communications.

Sample lines taken from a log file during a Friday night net.
——————– DMR 10-21 20:53:17 Net Control K4WZV Robert, Springhill, Florida, USA, 32.2 sec, 14031665, DMRGateway
DMR New Call 10-21 20:52:15 — VE1KEV Kevin, Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, Dur:9.1 Secs, PL:0%, TG:DMRGateway 14031665
DMR New Call 10-21 20:56:42 — VA6WV Jun, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Dur:5.5 Secs, PL:0%, TG:DMRGateway 14031665
DMR New Call 10-21 20:59:56 — VE7IGN Dave, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Dur:8.0 Secs, PL:0%, TG:DMRGateway 14031665

TGIF Talk Group 3023(Ontario) is bridged to DMR Plus and the DMR Marc system of repeaters which are linked across Canada. DMR Plus has TG 3023 bridged across to the Brandmeister series of repeaters, which are also linked across Canada.

TGIF Talk Group 3023 Control Panel (This is one of my Talkgroups)

There is a lock button on the top right of the control panel that will restrict the conversation to only those that have already connected. No new users will be allowed to connect to the Talk Group. One drawback is that this security is only available on the TGIF Server. Brandmeister has their own security system. 

The buttons Legacy Access, and Legacy TX  refer to unsecured access and are used to toggle secure access.

The status of connections to the Talkgroup are color coded as shown here. A legacy connection is unsecured

A click on the users call sign, in the ‘callsign’ column, provides the following information, such that every transmission into the server can be verified and instantly identified.

A click on the ACL button for one of the users indicated above provides the following controls to affect the individual users access.

There are some that say, we can’t use digital as it is subject to cell and internet outages. That was the case, but no longer. With the advent of the Starlink Internet system, DMR is no longer subject to terrestrial internet interference. If each EOC was equipped with a Starlink System, any Ham with a dmr radio and a hotspot could provide world wide secure communications, especially between EOC’s Any Ham in a zone that has not lost the local infrastructure can also still communicate with the EOC. Local repeaters would still be used for local communications to the local EOC.

Lets introduce a new concept called REDUNDANCY. No system is bullet proof. They all have some some sort of vulnerability. Why limit Emergency Communications to a single method, where the whole system can be brought to its knees with interference, either by man or nature. This was a real emergency lasting well over a week, not an exercise that spans a few hours.

DMR also provides the capability of multiple talk groups, such that everyone is not queuing up for time on the single channel, as is now used by a network of linked repeaters. Each EOC could have their own Talkgroup for local use and one assigned for State/Province/Country wide communications.

The existing emergency systems are currently locked into analog repeaters that anyone with a cheap analog radio can access and cause interference. This has been evident all day today with people keying up the repeaters in the Florida SARnet system. Some just keying their radios or asking for radio checks. Just one cheap $20.00 analog handheld radio can bring down the whole system, as been demonstrated on the SARnet already today. I am not advocating a full conversion to digital. The analog repeaters still provide a useful function I would suggest that DMR be implemented in parallel with the existing system, with a slow conversion over to digital, as more and more hams start to make use of the Starlink system, and the capabilities built into the DMR system become more universally accepted.

The advantages of DMR and its security and capabilities, will quickly make itself known, when both systems are compared side by side.

TGIF Server requires free registration to obtain a 16 digit security code.

The TGIF Network Admin will provide a free Talkgroup on request, and you become the Talkgroup Administrator to control the functions described above.

Sat 9:30 AM 2022-09-28

I have been listening to a live stream broadcast of the SARnet system and am very disappointed in the quality and activity heard, 90% of what I heard was noise, static and broken transmissions. None of which would be heard on a digital system. On several occasions I heard an undulating siren( not from an emergency vehicle)

Sample Audio Track (Live Stream SARnet)

The following link will bring up a list of recordings of our TGIF Friday night weekly net, illustrating the sound quality and complete control available on DMR.. Because this net often runs to two hours, the recording software was setup to ignore all silences

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WQzU3WgwwSBhg7r5B1qiQ-3nWK4HqnKx

Sample of DMR via Starlink (KW0Z )

What about other digital modes. A typical hotspot, either pi-star or openspot has the capability to join different modes into a DMR system. Fusion, NXDN, P25 radios can cross mode through a hotspot into a DMR Server, and talk to each other.

It has been said that DMR is not as secure as a fusion radio that has an id burned into a chip in the radio, whereas a DMR radio has a programmable id that can be cloned. The TGIF DMR Server requires registration and the user is supplied with a 16 digit security code, which is required to access a Talkgroup that is setup in secure mode. The Yaesu Wires-X digital system is proprietary and will not talk to other systems.

Another issue brought up was that they did not want to carry around two radios. I can understand that, and I sympathize. Almost all digital radios, DMR, NXDN, Fusion, P25 will do Analog FM at either 12.5kHz or 25kHz, so only one radio would be required.

Also, there is an app for an android smartphone, called ‘DroidStar’ that will connect into a Talkgroup on the TGIF Server in secure mode for both Transmitting(PTT) and Receiving.

Last but not least, what would all this cost (US Funds)

Basic System (Existing Internet Connection)

DMR Radio ———————————– $150
Jumbo Spot(Hotspot) ———————- $210

Satellite Internet (Starlink)
Hardware ————————————— $599

Monthly —————————————— $110

Compare this to the cost of all the Repeaters and Microwave links in the SARnet system. I understand this was funded with government funds.

Starlink is now available for Mobile and Portable use. There are also other systems available for satellite internet other than Starlink.

News Article 2022-10-15
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63266142

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Updated 2022-11-12 – Hurricane Nicole

The issues indicated above regarding SARnet were not apparent during the few times I tuned in. The live feed was clean and no disruptions were heard. A few stations were a little noisy, but not to the point of inhibiting communications. Overall I would say the SARnet system did what it was designed for.