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As one example, satellites won't help in situations such as marathons. The problem with marathons is the number of devices that are trying to access a limited s
by wglb 2y ago
As one example, satellites won't help in situations such as marathons. The problem with marathons is the number of devices that are trying to access a limited spectrum. A satellite station will have bandwidth limitations as well, as its most likely use is through WiFi.
The example in the QRPer article above indicates a different limitation. He did have a satellite dish for internet access, but there was no way to distribute that signal over multiple mile radius, which is what he did with both FM simplex and at some point with 2 meter repeaters. For such communication to work, all parties would need a dish.
He invited neighbors to come over to use his internet service so they could make wifi calls to family.
His daughters and wife staffed the FM channels, keeping the local net alive.
- jvanderbot 2y agoTo be clear, HAM as backup for cell works because so few people use it. If it were insanely popular, HAM would be ironically less useful as a backup.
- FloatArtifact 2y agoThat doesn't make any sense unless you're trying to say if it was more popular than cell phones, then it wouldn't be a backup.
- techjamie 2y agoHam frequencies aren't run as a free for all where everyone is trying to contest the frequencies. During communications, there is typically a person who controls the frequency, designating who should talk at any given time and keep things orderly. The same applies for emergency comms.