Several ARES districts have joined forces to operate a linked cluster system along the Front Range. The objective of the clusters is to provide a message-handling infrastructure that is independent of any hard-wired commercial services such as the Internet.
For local emergencies, the linking will not be of great importance, and may even be temporarily disabled if necessary.
For wide spread emergencies, or situations where shelters or hospitals need to be in direct communication over a geographically dispersed area, the linking capabilities will be very important.
The cluster software was written specifically for DX spotting, and the message handling was added as a minor feature. For ARES work the message handling and network structure is the important part.
The network of clusters is an important means to route traffic without having too many stations on too few frequencies. It also mitigates the problem of geographically diverse stations connecting to the same cluster where the individual stations can hear the cluster but not each other. This causes retries and timeouts that are very frustrating as neither station realizes that an un-heard signal is colliding with them.
| Call | District | Location | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|
144.930 Secondary |
|||
These nodes are interconnected using a 70Cm backbone represented by the darker lines in figure 1 below. The small circles in figure 1 below represent individual users from the respective ARES districts. These connections are made on the primary or secondary frequencies of the clusters (usually 2 meters). Normally, individual users will not make connections on the backbone frequency unless net control directs you to do so.
The large circles (except for the Lookout Mtn circle) are the clusters, and the lines between the users and the clusters represent packet connections.
In general, individual users will connect with their district's cluster, but are welcome to connect anywhere they like. During an event or incident, users will be instructed by net control which node to connect at.
We will normally be using the cluster to send and receive messages. Using the linked clusters you do not need to know where, or even if, a person is logged on to send them a message. You simply address a message to their call, and the message will be routed to where they are logged on at or where they next log on to.
To make this feature work properly with the cluster software we are currently using, it is imperative that you log on with a proper FCC issued callsign. For BCARES, this means not using the tactical call feature.
Key s callsign and follow the prompts for subject and message body. When the message is complete, finish with /ex on a new line. A message sent this way will be available from any cluster that the recipient connects to. If already connected, a notice will be sent that there is mail waiting.
For WØIA users, simply key R, and the next message addressed to you will be sent to you. For all other cluster users, key LN to see new messages, then read them using the R nnn command where nnn is the message number (e.g. R 347 to read message number 347).
The following are some of the major commands that each user should understand. Please print a copy of your district's cluster help file to assure a complete list of those commands you will need.
Note: As you see, this portion has not been completed yet.