Gentlemen,

As the title says- you are needed in Virginia's capitol in January, with you expertise and comms gear.

Bonus if you have bands licensed to you that you may encrypt.

Are any of you planning to attend the VCDL lobby day? We need some special favors.

B

Is encryption legal on MURS? Also, it is legal for hams as long as the keys are publicly available.

I’ll be there!

I'll have 2m / 440 at least.

I might could have chirp and a notebook and cables to set up repeater & simplex freqs for visiting hams.

Who is bringing the time machine?

am I a bad ham for having to google VCDL lobby day

I don’t know what the considerations are - nor am I asking on a public forum.

Some suggestions which may be a bit more accessible for everyone in the group.

Zello is a sort of “two way radio” app anyone can put on their smartphone. Rooms can be created by anyone and locked down with a password, by invite only, etc.  popularized during Hurricane Harvey and used extensively by the various civ rescue orgs.

Signal is a text messaging app that is end to end encrypted and considered the standard for secure coms on your smartphone. Even the app developer cannot decrypt the messages.  Started as text but does have voice group chat functionality.

Neither of course helps if you’re trying to keep devices off cellular networks all together.

Might be a good time to use that DCS feature or a PL tone on a simplex freq., that's as close to encryption (which is to say, none) as I would go on the ham bands. APRS enabled HTs could be useful.

Best of luck to you(us). VA is seeing what push-back looks like.

I'm an ArfHam and my house is in Virginia. I'm on a detail to Texas right now but I may take some vacation and go back home for Lobby Day.

I've got a boatload of Baofeng units at the ready with most of them having decent antennas. I also have "go racks" of radios, duffle bags full of antennas, portable and solar power, and multiple laptops if we want to do digital (which would be the same as encrypting since not very many folks know about JS8Call, for example). Note that I also have multiple Raspberry Pis that could be pressed into service if needed.

There is also an existing Arfham Zello channel that gets used fairly regularly.

Whatcha got in mind?

Not a bad ham. Now that you've looked it up, you're no longer an ignorant gun owner. Win-Win!


Lobby Day has been one of the most effective things VCDL has done over the years. It gets people talking directly, face-to-face, with legislators. It's easy to pass laws that impact nameless, faceless citizens. When they have a name, a face, and are talking to you about how what they propose will impact a real person, it's hard to ignore that.

I have a nationwide itinerant part 90 license that would be good for DMR and narrowband FM.
Encryption would be permissible on DMR, with some small caveats about FCC identification.
I have some ideas on that front if my license ends up being used.

I can also post up a full how-to guide on how to apply for a part 90 license.
I can also provide free support to anyone looking to purchase and configure radios for their new license, with an eye towards supporting private, encrypted communications.

Strictly speaking, anyone applying now will not be approved until at least February, maybe March - but the FCC allows operation without approval under some conditions, which we would meet based on this ( part (c), itinerant below 470MHz is what's relevant):
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/90.159

The radios I'd suggest people purchase would be TYT MD-UV380s - roughly $100 on Amazon right now, part 90 certified, and excellent on DMR and FM for Ham and business uses. I also have some custom software tools to support them that're still in development which I can crank on if there's interest.

Bottom line:
An itinerant part 90 application requires no frequency coordination, supports encryption, is good for 10 years, can be shared with others under 90.179, and has a one-time fee of $170.
I am able to share my license, but would love to help get more people licensed and help spread that knowledge.

With what can I help?

I'd be very interested in your howto guide on the itinerant license.

Here's a Cliff's notes - a motivated person will probably be able to muddle their way through the application with the hints here.

* I will get a first draft up tomorrow (Edit: didn't make it home in time today) of a proper guide through the form itself, and refine it as the week goes on.
* I'll also post a redacted version of my license for reference
* and a reference codeplug for MD-UV380 series radios that supports encryption (not that hard, but if you follow this guide, it will have all the frequencies you need already).
* Later, I can post a guide on how to run your own DMR reflector, and how to connect your DMR hotspot to your reflector (or to mine), so we can legally play with encryption on ARFDMR and our shiny new part 90 frequencies away from all the nasty amateur networks.

Note that the application, when approved, is public, and the control points are intended to be an actual physical address - e.g. your business location, or like me, your house. PO boxes will probably get returned for a control point listing usage, but give it a shot anyway.

Here's some unstructured notes that I will use as a basic outline tomorrow.
Note that I'm not a lawyer, I'm just telling you what I did and how I got my licenses.
I largely just read Part 90, which could almost be called straightforward - just make sure you read the definitions first, eh?

Step 1: Applicant needs to register for an FRN.
Hams will already have one, feel free to use the same FRN to apply for Part 90, IG license.

Definition and context for "itinerant":Click To View Spoiler

Most questions on the form are pretty straightforward,
following is a cheat sheet for the non-obvious parts.

Itinerant frequencies (In the standard VHF/UHF handheld range) in the US,
suitable for <30W mobile use, taken from the 90.35 business pool by finding the frequencies listed as "itinerant":
(In MHz)
[
 151.505,
 151.5125,
 151.625,
 151.7,
 151.76,
 154.5275,
 158.4,
 158.4075,
 451.8,
 451.8125,
 456.8,
 456.8125,
 464.5,
 464.55,
 469.5,
 469.55
]

Station type "MOI" ("Mobile, Itinerant"),
Location "Itinerant, nationwide",
one antenna for that location.
All frequencies, etc get associated with that location and antenna listing.

Emission types 7K60FXW for DMR, 11K2F3E for narrowband FM, 11K2F3D for AFSK.
7k60 means 7.60 khz bandwidth, 11k2 means 11.2 khz, etc. The last three letters provide a hint as to the mode.
In theory, you'd build your emission designators for each frequency by consulting the CFR, but in practice, the hard work has been done for you.
If you're using the radios I listed, stick with listing 7k60FXW and 11K2F3E for each frequency. It'll be a lot of clicking as it is.

List "Control point" as a valid mailing or business address for you.
Regular joe people like me, people with trade names,
and sole proprietors file as an individual; otherwise choose LLC, corp, etc as applicable to your business.

Eligibility is under 90.35, key words here are "private internal communications".
If you want to operate in Hawaii, Alaska, and the territories,
FCC will ask you to reconsider whether you actually need it -
put down something like "90.35" and "Itinerant business communications. Applicant will use license for private internal communications during field operations nationwide, including US territories, Hawaii, and Alaska" or something similar.

Handheld radios are typically 5-8 Watts maximum output. Consult your specific radios you will use for guidance.
Number of units is the number of simultaneously operating radios -
I put in 64 units, because I am an optimist at heart.
Fill out ERP the same as "output power" which will be whatever your radio is listed as doing.

Mobile radios, like the ones sold to be mounted to a car, have higher powers,
and one or two of the frequencies listed are not valid for over 30W, if my memory serves.
I can double check that if anyone wants more than the assumed 5W.

If that looks like a lot, I'll have a more friendly guide this week, so stay tuned.

Edit

Edit

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Let's try and keep this simple, guys.

Some of us are appliance operators.

Edit

I seriously doubt the powers that be are going to try and jam or interfere with what will probably be a ham net of sorts...ESPECIALLY one that is going to try and keep the peace.

It's likely they are unaware that we will even be doing this.

I think we can do well to keep this simple but that's just my opinion.

The mission here is to do the job required.

@RockHard13F

Another source in your area are the ham radio clubs.

MOST (but by no means all) Amateur radio clubs members are conservatives.

I was at a meeting last night and the subject of VA, gun control, etc came up last night and I heard a number of people say they supported VA.

Now a club per se is not likely to take a stand on ANY political  issue but the members as individuals sure the hell will.

Here's a few places to look.

https://botw.org/top/Recreation/Radio/Amateur/Organizations/Clubs/North_America/United_States/Virginia/

https://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Ham_Radio/Clubs/North_America/USA/Virginia/

http://www.arrl.org/clubs/search/page:3/Location.zip:20171/model:Group

edit

Lots of clubs support things like marathons, bike races, etc. in the big cities. I know the Chesapeake club does. One of the Richmond clubs is the host for FrostFest in February at the fair grounds.

I'd still be more inclined to have an ArfHam group there supporting the effort. We can coordinate and plan for more specifically what we need rather than have a club bring what they have.

I may be there, and could at least take an HT.

It may also be worthwhile to take a few SDRs and pick several bands of interest to record to a hard drive for later review (ETA: It is wise to assume others are doing the same).

Agreed, and to whoever is ultimately trying to manage this rally, someone should come up with a basis of expectation and purpose for their comms usage.  If you just ask a bunch of random hams from around the country to show up with random gear and think they're going to immediately somehow mesh with not only each other, but possibly also a bunch of unlicensed persons with baofengs or whatever, you're going to have mayhem.

Someone needs to write down what they want or expect from a comms plan, and then someone knowledgeable about comms should take that and translate it into an organized plan of action.  Do you just need a handful of radio operators positioned around the area to simply relay information from across the area to organizers like many ham clubs do for marathons, etc?  Or are you looking for a complex comm plan between different groups, integration with possible unlicensed users, or something more covert since you mention encryption?

Just a recommendation to hash something out in advance and have a plan before the event for what it is you wish to accomplish and/or be prepared for.

I think he pretty much covered it, fellas.

Ideally, encrypted simplex two way radio coms.  Managed in such a way that anyone in the group can use a radio, without needing to pass a test or apply for a license.

Just a thought. I met a couple of ArfHams at Dayton because they were wearing their ArfHam patch. I wouldn't have a problem handing out my radios to guys with their patch. It's so esoteric, nobody but insiders know what the patch represents. I once had a guy asking if I was in the Army Signal Corps and a PRNG person asking if it was a unit patch. Perhaps we should also have a verbal challenge/response using arfcom-isms.

Challenge: “Sir, do you happen to have the time?”
Response: “As a matter of fact, it’s FO Time!”

Get both.

all the more reason to use Gotenna Mesh.

I thought we were printer mechanics?

There is an arfham patch?

agreed

Yes, there is an Arfham patch but the ar15.com store is undergoing renovation.

I have several extras if folks need me to loan you one.

Here's what they look like installed on the hat I had down in Puerto Rico:

There's lots of "blockage" in the area that the rally will be in. However, if they truly are ad-hoc mesh units, they should still be able to pass traffic.

Do they have a method for a "group/conference call" kind of thing? Seems like we'd have to set something like that up to really be able to use them.

ETA: Ignore last. Evidently the unit is just made to send text messages and GPS coordinates. That's OK as that is what a lot of folks use all the time anyway. I'd still like to get voice comms, though. I may have found a way to do voice comms via distributed Pi nodes with mesh networking and Asterisk or OpenPBX. Have more research to do, though.

Anything over WiFi is going to be a tough nut unless you have fixed directional antennas. All urban areas are just completely saturated with 2.4 and 5.8 ghz signals. Even in the suburbs. Low power devices with rubber duck antennas in an RF hostile environment, plus with a bunch of people around them? Forget it.

Can you be a bit more specific?

Encryption is not allowed in ham radios but there are ways to prevent a regular Joe Blo with a scanner to listen to your comms. Digital voice mods, like D-Star, can be used 100% legally.

As mentioned in one of the replies, look into using ZELLO app. It's 100% free. Zello works like a 2-way radio on a smartphone and you can set a password or "invitation only" access to the channel. No ham license is required but you'll need to be within a mobile phone coverage area. It will probably even work if calls don't go through due to the network being overloaded. This is what Cajun Navy used during the hurricane relief efforts.
BTW, We've been using an "Arfcom Ham Radio" channel on Zello. It works great and doesn't cost anything. It's a good place to talk about radios, guns etc. You can snap a picture and share it with others immediately. Location (GPS) sharing can also be done easily. The app uses very little bandwidth (data). It can be installed on any smartphone.

Of course, ham radios will work even if all wireless networks go down or shut down on purpose, like it happened after the Boston marathon events, a few years ago. It's probably best to either use a local ham repeater or place several mobile based cross-band repeaters in the area.

While technically not HAM, as I understand it, you can license bands which can be encrypted, correct?

If something happens beyond needing comms for a regular large outdoor event, the cell network will go down, probably even a regional internet outage. I think we need comms that will work offline. Anyone have access to a keyloader?

I think the commo folks need to be involved in the organization and planning with the other groups that will be attending. Also, I think anything more firm needs to be brought off a public site or offline altogether.

In the Hong Kong protests, in areas where the interweb was shut down, protesters used the Firechat mesh network app to communicate.

The also tried to use Bridgefy, which is a Bluetooth based mesh, but I've read multiple articles that said the Bluetooth range just didn't cut the mustard.

!  I had forgotten about this.  It's a great option, but does require a certain density of people (for signal transfer) to be effective, though.

I concur. Though I'll probably have my phones in a faraday bag the whole event.

There is. It's in the store.

I'm sure anyone can get a business license and use encryption on a business band. You'll have to pay for it. It's not my area of expertise. I believe several guys on this board, deal with business band radios. Perhaps they can give you more detailed information.
Whatever you do, keep it simple and practical. I'd gravitate towards using a smartphone app, since just about everyone has a smartphone and knows how to use it. Ham radio can be a backup, limited to just several members who are a part of the event.

I'll be there , native virginian and used to work across the river from the capital building. Funny this thread is here I've been thinking about starting a post on the vcdl and other fb pages asking where freq wise will the hams be monitoring and any plans for a standard frs or gmrs channel.

Btw , arfcom already has a standard simplex freq for open comms theres isnt a reason we could use that.

@RockHard13F a SOI or CEOI is needed if things go forward. It does allow secure comms over red/unsecured nets and should include such things as authentication, passwords, challenge/response, number/letter transcription and the ability to change daily. I'm not a Signal guy, just a former user.

A method used by OPFOR at the CTCs (or they used to ) is a matrix of commonly used words in a grid with changeable daily row and column designators. This allows rapid plain text comms while retaining situational COMSEC.

"I'm goin' to H7 for the V3!" could be "I'm goin' to Virginia for the Big Boogaloo!" or "I'm goin' to 57th St. for the medics!" Depending on the matrix.

Also I'm sure you remember getting a checkpoint map overlay before going into a CTC. @FREEFALLE7 may also have ideas along with the other .mil members.

Going old school will work for the frs/ baofeng crowd that aren't encrypted.  Security will be an issue to keep the SOI safe and compromised.

I'm now having flashbacks to a SOI dummy corded and rolling in my cargo pocket...

FYI. The 3DR Solo uses 2.4Ghz wifi for its control link. Flying in an urban area trying to use wifi is a crapshoot. Some places have numerous wifi routers/access points and if you fly so close to them that they overpower your signal, your drone comes back. On the other hand, as hams, we have the ability to use an amp. So, the same Solo that could only go 500ft. without going lost link was able to go 3100ft. before it ran out of range. With a better amp, it could have gone well over a mile.

My point is, if it's necessary, you COULD, in theory set up a wifi hotspot that could cover most of the entire rally area (although that line-of-sight thing will come into play). You could set up an Arfcom SSID and if the cell network went TU, you could switch over to the Arfcom hotspot. Not sure how useful it would be but there's no reason technically why you couldn't. But, if you set up your phone to use its wifi as part of a mesh, I don't think you could use it to connect to an access point at the same time (requires the chipset to be set to a different operating mode) but I could be wrong about that.

Trying to get it running on my phone and it says cant register or login.  Null error.  Anyone know more about it?

Also let's break down radio nets hams will be hams but as we trickle down communication we should pick an open MURS frequency for the masses to listen to

And even a step down from there plan for FRS frequently to be used too

Forgive me for asking (I was set to take my basic test a few years ago, but life got in the way!), but I have a Yaesu VX-7R and ear-bud I was thinking of bringing along on the 20th.

Would that work to keep me/my friends in-the-loop - should things get prickly?

Sorry! It's as though you guys are speaking Greek!