[HamWAN PSDR] HamWAN use cases [was: hamwan.net DDNS]

[Dean Gibson AE7Q]

On 2014-03-31 11:59, Tom Hayward wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 31, 2014 at 11:56 AM, Bill Vodall <wa7nwp at gmail.com> wrote:
>> These were general discussions on repeaters where folks wanted to replace their home Internet access -- out with Comcast and in with HamWAN....
> Well, I'm glad they haven't shown up here yet. Those types of users don't really bring any value to HamWAN (nor would the majority of what they want to do be legal).
>
> Tom KD7LXL

No kidding!  Which brings me to the subject of this message, and my 
previously-"promised" message on HamWAN evangelization (now that my 
taxes are done!).

First of all, after discussing HamWAN with Scott Honaker in the first 
two months of this year, I went to the Puyallup "Mike & Key" show for 
the explicit purpose of checking out HamWAN. *It wasn't easy*;  after 
walking both floors,  I returned to the show management table and asked 
for the HamWAN table location. After locating the table, I was surprised 
to a bunch of used stuff for sale (just like all the other tables), a 
few flyers, and a "funny looking" radio.  Of course, having seen the 
radio that Scott had, I knew what to expect, but for someone just 
roaming the aisles, it was easy to miss what was there, even if someone 
had an interest in data radios.

When I exhibited at Puyallup several years ago, I was demonstrating my 
own (free) D-Star radio and not selling anything.  This got me a whole 
table to myself for (I think) $15 in the "non-profit/club" area, with 
plenty of room.  Second, I had a physical radio demonstration set up.  
It didn't do much, but it was something to attract passers-by.

If you are going to interest people in HamWAN, you've got to have a 
better physical "presentation" of equipment.  You're aiming at a 
narrow-enough audience (those interested in digital data) as it is; 
you've got to have something attracts interest, and as a result, gets 
the message out that high-speed data is possible for a $200 investment.  
Don't try to sell anything;  simply say that the web site describes how 
to find the equipment.  Have setup and working equipment there (see 
below for my interest in portable demo equipment).

Second, have *pictures* on the HamWAN web site of the radio/modem, and 
*especially* the antennas (with dimensions). No one likes to click on a 
bunch of manufacturer links to get a first impression of what a setup 
would look like.  Even now I don't know (because I haven't taken the 
time to drill down through the various links and compare them) what 
alternative antennas are available.  That's even since I have some 
interest in buying two more radios and setting them up for portable 
demos, with antennas that are of manageable size for portable demos 
(diameter about one foot).  One can always explain that best results are 
with a bigger antenna (a concept not unknown to amateur radio).

Third, and perhaps the most important, develop some "use cases" and 
document them to generate interest.  As Tom pointed out above, 
replacement of one's general-purpose ISP is not a *use* case. Emergency 
communications, with clearly-described capabilities (both now and in the 
future), would be useful.  The ability to communicate with a local DEM 
is a plus.  Nowhere in the flyer does it mention that the SnoCo DEM is a 
major node.  That information is *very helpful*, even if one is not 
interested in the SnoCo DEM, because it shows that a local EOC has 
bought into the concept with *funding and an established node*.  This 
implies that it is less likely for HamWAN to disappear if the leaders 
lose interest (like has happened in Connecticut to another part of the 
44.x.x.x network). No one wants to be an orphan;  document who is 
involved.  List on the web site who (with their permission) has a 
working setup. *Post pictures of working sites (nodes and users)!*  I 
know the list is small now, but amateurs like to talk to other amateurs 
who have taken the plunge.  In this regard, push reading the mailing 
list archives.

-- Dean

ps: Monday at 5pm my next-door neighbor removed some tree roots near our 
common boundary, and cut through my Frontier fiber-optic cable. At first 
I thought, you have HamWAN.  Then, I realized that almost everything I 
do over the Internet (except browsing) uses SSL: eMail, filing my IRS 
tax return, updating my server database with live D-Star usage data.  A 
quick drive to the local Comcast office, and I had high-speed Internet 
($40/mo) access by 7pm.  Yesterday Frontier laid a temporary replacement 
fiber cable above ground (that should get buried within two weeks), and 
I have normal fiber optic service again.  So, I now have three gateways 
to the Internet (four, if I can ever connect to the K7LWH D-Star DD 
node).  Yes, I'm keeping the Comcast link.









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