IRLP and the internet

[dgeorge]

I am new to GMRS and have a question.  

 

It seems that most, if not all users are talking through repeaters linked to the internet.  Not very many transmitting directly through the air anymore it seems.  I am just wondering what would happen if for any reason the internet went down across a region, the U.S., or the world?  

 

Would Ham and GMRS be crippled?  What are the options if such a catastrophic event occurred.  I think a lot of people are depending on radio communications in such an emergency where cell service and/or the internet went down.

 

Just a hypothetical, but a good topic for discussion.

 

Thanks,

 

Don

  

[WRAK968]

Hi Don and great question.

Really it all depends on the type of repeater that is being accessed and is really only a problem directed at the Ham community. Normal repeaters with a link or node controller will simply continue doing its thing when it receives a signal, only it wont be able to transmit to other repeaters. Not crippling, as the system is still functional, however range will be greatly reduced to only that of the repeater in use. This is true for both normal analog and digital repeaters.

There is another form of repeater that has taken off in the amateur community and deals with digital communications. Many hams use a digital hotspot at their homes to communicate with other digital users and are essentially a very low power local repeater. These hotspots typically have little range, perhaps a block or two at best, and rely souly on an internet connection to relay any traffic it receives.

 

The good thing is that emergency communications groups in both radio community's have already planed for these sorts of events. Typically digital wont be used at all unless an area wide digital repeater has been set up. Likewise, when an incident arises it is expected that power and internet will be out and thus repeaters will be unable to link, even if they are running by back-up power.

Hope this answers your question
Mike
 

[GuySagi]

Plus, hams down on the longer wavelength bands (lower frequencies) routinely talk across the globe without Internet intervention.

[dgeorge]

Thanks for the response.  it's good to know that there are contingency plans in place for such an event.  

 

Also, I know that Hams have been communicating around the world for years before there was internet, so we likely won't be completely cut off in case of cell or internet failure.     

 

Kind regards,

[mbrun]

Hello Don.

 

I do not believe that ‘most, if not all users are talking through repeaters linked to the internet’. I believe that is a misconception.

I do not have any way to know what percentage are actually connected to the internet, but my best guess it is lower single digit percentage. There is both utility and novelty to linked repeaters. It has its place.

 

In the event of a national or regional emergency and telecommunications where interrupted then yes, linked repeaters would loose their ability to communicate with linked repeaters. Those repeaters however would still retain their utilitarian local communication capability which is huge. Also, in a grid-down scenario the local repeaters can still serve their purpose if the owner prepared for this eventuality. I would venture a guess (and that is all it is) that perhaps less than 10% of all are equipped for grid-down scenarios lasting more than 1/2 day.

 

Hams in general would not be crippled. Amateur radio operators have many means of communication available to them. If power and internet both went down, either locally or country wide, properly equipped hams can still communication locally, nationally and internationally. Yes, they may loose the ability to use what linked repeaters or reflectors that are accustomed to, but they can just switch to a different mode of amateur communications. Many can and do communicate radio to radio around the world regularly. Many can relay emails from one radio to another. Many practice sending, receiving and delivery of ‘radiograms’ daily. The more diverse the amateur is the more opportunities exist to them, and the more we will all rely on them in a time of crisis.

 

Regards,

 

I am new to GMRS and have a question.

 

It seems that most, if not all users are talking through repeaters linked to the internet. Not very many transmitting directly through the air anymore it seems. I am just wondering what would happen if for any reason the internet went down across a region, the U.S., or the world?

 

Would Ham and GMRS be crippled? What are the options if such a catastrophic event occurred. I think a lot of people are depending on radio communications in such an emergency where cell service and/or the internet went down.

 

Just a hypothetical, but a good topic for discussion.

 

Thanks,

 

Don

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

[EDK]

Don

 

Michael does a nice job answering your question. I use my radios in a portable mode, I put up an antenna or two on a pick nick table I set up my Ham radio (20 watt) and a 7 or 12 amp battery connect and am on the air. Many desasters are local/regional if repeaters did go down GMRS UHF and HAM VHF and UHF still have value in simplex and by relaying message traffic/ info by voice. I read that many county and state Emergency managers are adding GMRS operators in their planning. Will be using my GMRS for local and regional traffic as well.

 

Earl

[SUPERG900]

A lot depends on a network's backhaul design. If it uses the internet as in myGMRS and other Asterisk-based (voip) linked repeaters - an internet outage is going to bring linked networking down, although the repeater will still work locally.

 

Where I am at, some of the Ham repeater networks here use RF or microwave based backhaul link. They are not reliant on the internet. The only Achilles heel is the usual one all repeaters have, they run on battery backup when the power goes. If the power isn't back up before the battery drains....