My fellow professional communicators! Lend me your ears (or your eyes in this case)!<\/p>\n
I hope all is well with you and you are getting ready for some good family time as we bring in Christmas and the New Year.\u00a0 I wanted to share a few thoughts with you about some emerging technologies you might want to consider adding to your toolbox of emergency communications tools.\u00a0 Remember, I am not suggesting this is, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the way\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, rather these technologies are, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a way\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00a0 If they work for you, great.\u00a0 If not, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great too!<\/p>\n
First up is Ham Shack Hotline https:\/\/hamshackhotline.com\/<\/a> .\u00a0 I was directed to this group by Alex K4BAN and Richard N4LRD and I got hooked.\u00a0 Now please don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t light the torches and sharpen the pitch forks just yet.\u00a0 This is an internet IP Phone system that is exclusive to licensed hams and does not have the ability to make or receive phone calls to or from a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).\u00a0 Some phones will allow you to add a PSTN to it, but the current Ham Shack Hotline network does not support this.\u00a0 It does allow extension to extension calling (phone to phone).\u00a0 One cool feature the system does support is a Bridge, or a conference call between extensions.\u00a0 The possibilities are pretty vast, but one possibility would be to have a Bridge for SC EMCOMM where you can dial in, and then mute your phone until you have something to say.\u00a0 In some respects, it could become an IP Net.\u00a0 Hamshack Hotline is very young, but for the price, it packs a lot of bang for the buck.\u00a0 You buy the phone and there is currently no fee for access to the Hamshack Hotline Network.\u00a0 By the way, there are phones in the SEOC, the Alternate SEOC, and the SCHEART Trailer.<\/p>\n Last, I want to talk about JS8Call http:\/\/js8call.com\/<\/a>.\u00a0 JS8Call has become my new tool in my toolbox.\u00a0 It is a sound card mode with a capability set perfect for EMCOMM.\u00a0 There are several great YouTube videos out there about JS8Call, so I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go into deep details about it here.\u00a0 I do want to mention a couple of really cool features I like.\u00a0 The first is the ability to send messages without the other station being on the air.\u00a0 For example, I can draft a short message for KD4JQJ and save it to my computer.\u00a0 If I leave my station online, Roger can send a message to @ALLCALL to see if anybody has any messages.\u00a0 My computer will automatically respond to Roger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s request informing him I am holding a message for him and then he can choose to request the message from me or wait until later.\u00a0 You can create Groups to connect with, well, a Group of individuals.\u00a0 As an example, I created the Group, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153@AUXCSC\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00a0 If you send a message to @AUXCSC, JS8Call will alert all stations currently on the air of the message.\u00a0 You can also relay messages through other stations to a station you may not be able to communicate with directly.\u00a0 Download JS8Call and give it a try.\u00a0 While you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re playing with it, send me a message (KN4SWB).\u00a0 Check out KM4ACK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s YouTube channel where he goes into detail on JS8Call and other EMCOMM modes.<\/p>\n That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about all for this article.\u00a0 This article wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t meant to be an instruction booklet for you on these two modes, rather I hope they peak your interest and get you looking at more options, or tools for your toolbox.\u00a0 Explore new modes and options to evaluate if they will work for you or not.\u00a0 By the way, Winter Field Day is fast approaching and is a great time to hone some real EMCOMM skills.\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one thing to roast in June, but if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re like me, cold weather is miserable and uncomfortable.\u00a0 Sounds like fun!\u00a0 Also, I would be remiss if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remind you to take a look at the South Carolina ARES\/RACES Tactical Communications Plan.\u00a0 Slide on over to https:\/\/ares-sc.org\/?p=1425<\/a> and take\u00a0 look to make sure you have a good foundation of how South Carolina plans to operate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Take care and keep expanding your toolbox.<\/p>\n 73\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/p>\n Matthew- KN4SWB<\/p>\n 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