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

[Bart Kus]

> 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.
>

We had a really good presence last year with 2 tables, a banner, 3 
bodies staffing the tables, demo modems + dishes on display, and a full 
cell site setup on a 10ft tower section in the middle.  We were also 
closer to the doors.

It was a lot of work, and we didn't have the bodies to pull it off this 
year.  I'm not sure it would have made any large difference - many of 
the faces were the same as last year.  Very few people who I did try to 
talk to about HamWAN were interested.  I'm shifting marketing strategy 
here right now.

> When I exhibited at Puyallup several years ago, I was demonstrating my 
> own (free) D-Star radio and not selling anything.

You have a free d-star radio?  What? :)  URLs!

>
> 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).
>

Yup, totally agree that's how you do a good booth.  We do have portable 
demo gear as well.  Little 21dBi dishes with modems dangling off em.

> 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).
>

Wanna throw a better web site presentation together in this regard? I 
can hook you up with editor access.

> 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.
>

These are all good ideas.  Again, want to make them happen?

> 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.

Triple-homed for the win!  What kind of speeds do you get on the 
Frontier?  I heard they really rolled back since it was FiOS.

--Bart

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