©2009 HFLINK Global ALE High Frequency Network for Emergency Communications presented by: Bonnie Crystal, VR2 / KQ6XA in the Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference GAREC-2009 Tokyo, Japan “Emergency Communications across Borders”

©2009 HFLINK  International amateur radio network of HF operators using ALE  Primary purpose:  “To provide a standard interoperable HF platform for International Emergency / Disaster Relief Communications”  Continuous service since founding in June 2007  Open net: Any ham operator may use it at any time for normal amateur purposes when there is no emergency traffic What is the Global ALE High Frequency Network? (HFN)

©2009 HFLINK What makes HF emergency communication viable? “ For HF emergency communication to be taken seriously, it must be able to make the call or send a message without prior notice, at any time of the day or night. ” – Bonnie Crystal KQ6XA, HFN International ALE Coordinator Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference at GAREC-2007 in Huntsville, AL, USA

©2009 HFLINK How is HFN different from traditional HF nets?  Higher reliability… Available at any time of day or night  No “Net Control Stations”… Open instant access for any operator.  No Schedules… ALE has made schedules obsolete  Scans HF metres every 10 seconds for calls  Stations maintain net contact 24-7 via hourly station ID signals  Provides callsign direct selective calling or group calling  Enables calling for Text QSO or SSB Voice QSO  Provides HF text service  Maintains real-time activity log on the HFLINK.NET web server HFLINK.NET  Provides Emergency Alarm System  Uses a global standard low cost digital system

©2009 HFLINK What is ALE?

©2009 HFLINK ALE is “Automatic Link Establishment” 1.HF digital selective calling system 2.Scans HF frequencies for calls 3.The international standard for initiating and maintaining HF communications. 4.Developed into a flexible “Ham Friendly” automatic, semi-automatic, or manual system, avoiding problems commonly associated with other automatic digital systems.

©2009 HFLINK ALE Signal is Efficient  Weak signal communications good for QRP, portable, or mobile  Bit rate and symbol rate is optimum for scanning and signaling  Short transmission time (10-20 seconds) is good for fast frequency sharing

©2009 HFLINK ALE Narrowband Signal  Narrowband Signal ~2kHz is compatible with SSB and digital modes  Emission type F1B, F1D, (or J3D) is legal for hams in all countries  Selective calling (SELCALL) feature of ALE in the SSB bands  Digital texting feature of ALE in the Data / RTTY bands

©2009 HFLINK ALE: The HF Global Standard  Non-Proprietary Standard, open for all users and manufacturers  Recognised in “ITU Recommendation ITU-R F for Adaptive Radio Systems for Frequencies Below About 30 MHz”  Originally developed as government standards “FED STD 1045 and MIL-STD A” and then adopted by many organisations  Amateur Radio Standard: Ham Friendly ALE adapted by HFN  Recognised as the HF Industry Standard, most major HF radio manufacturers are now producing embedded ALE transceivers  See “ITU Handbook: Frequency-adaptive communication systems and networks in the MF/HF bands”

©2009 HFLINK ALE Standard Technical Details Based on common global standards Non-Proprietary. FED-1045 or MIL-STD A (also see ITU-R F ) Bandwidth~2kHz FSK Emission TypeNarrowband F1B, F1D, (or J3D) 8FSK - single tone shifted between 8 frequencies (FSK same as RTTY) Audio Shift Frequencies750Hz to 2500Hz (250Hz tone spacing) Symbol Rate (baud)125 Symbols Per Second Speed (raw bit rate)Basic 375 Bits Per Second Decode sensitivity- 4dB SNR Compatible withAmateur SSB Transceivers with no special ALC requirements

©2009 HFLINK One operator can be ready for communication constantly on 10 bands and many nets using ALE with HFN

©2009 HFLINK IARU Region 1 HFN Pilot Station Coverage Map  IARU Region 1: Europe, MiddleEast, Africa  , Reporting, and Emergency Alarm System

©2009 HFLINK IARU Region 2 HFN Pilot Station Coverage Map  IARU Region 2: North America, South America  , Reporting, and Emergency Alarm System

©2009 HFLINK IARU Region 3 HFN Pilot Station Coverage Map  IARU Region 3: Asia, Pacific, Australia  , Reporting, and Emergency Alarm System

©2009 HFLINK HFN Primary DATA Frequencies Direct Calling Text, Emergency Region 2&3 Region 1 Region 2 Global kHz USB IARU Regions

©2009 HFLINK ALE HF Ham Band Scanning Cycle 80m 40m 30m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m Each HF ham band is scanned on receive, every 8 seconds, constantly.

©2009 HFLINK HFN Network Activity Log on HFLINK.NET  Stations report: Time, Frequency, Callsigns, Messages, Signal Quality  Messages may be text or Emergency Alarms

©2009 HFLINK HFN Emergency Alarm Keywords KEYWORD ALARM TYPE AND DISPLAY MAYDAY Urgent Distress Call HFN911 Urgent Emergency Call HFN112 Urgent Emergency Call HFN999 Urgent Emergency Call HFNMEDICAL Priority Medical Comms Request HFNRELIEF Priority Disaster Relief Comms Request HFNEMCOMM Priority Emcomm Support Request HFNPHONE Priority Emcomm Phone Patch Request HFNSET Routine Simulated Emergency Test HFNTEST HFN Alarm System Test: No Emergency (*NOTE) *Other keywords may be added as needed

©2009 HFLINK HFN Emergency Alarm System HFLINK.NET  Alarms on received keywords from any station  Relays the alarm to all operators in the network

©2009 HFLINK ALE Hardware and Software  Most hams use free software (PCALE or MultiPSK) on a PC computer with an HF amateur radio SSB transceiver.  Same computer interface as PSK31 and other Digi modes  Hams also use commercial grade HF radios with built-in ALE... a computer is not needed with these “embedded ALE” radios.  Embedded ALE radios are available from many manufacturers, including: Mobat, Harris, Codan, R&S, Icom, Kenwood, etc.  Base antennas: Multiband or broadband, dipoles and verticals  Mobiles: Vertical whips with ATU antenna tuners

©2009 HFLINK Typical Ham Radio ALE Station  ALE station: low cost of entry  Common PC computer  PCALE software  Normal SSB ham transceiver  Multi-band antenna or ATU

©2009 HFLINK Embedded ALE Transceivers

©2009 HFLINK Sending a text message in the Global HF Network using an embedded ALE Transceiver 1. Enter message 2. Enter callsign 3. Send 4. Receive verification

©2009 HFLINK Global ALE SSB Voice Emergency / Disaster Relief Frequencies kHz USB

©2009 HFLINK Map of Typical Locations of HFN Users  Map shows user trends over timeframe for HFN network server logs.  Network users tend to be typically within the HFN Pilot Stations service coverage areas for regional HF propagation, in all the IARU regions.  With additional stations in all IARU regions and countries, the network can expand to cover the world with 90% service

©2009 HFLINK Global ALE High Frequency Network for Emergency Communications presented in Tokyo to the GAREC-2009 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference by Bonnie Crystal, VR2 / KQ6XA “Emergency Communications across Borders” More information: Amateur Radio ALE HF Network: HFLINK.NETAmateur Radio ALE HF Network: HFLINK.NET ALE Automatic Link Establishment: HFLINK.COM

©2009 HFLINK Questions & Answers