[HamWAN PSDR] HamWan - Vashon Node?

[John V. Cornelison]

As long as others are suggesting options, Vashon should also be considered. VashonBePrepared (.org) is local Citizen Corp Council and a very active coalition of about a dozen disaster preparedness groups. 

One of our partners, Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (King County Fire District 13) has a nice tower at their station 55 (www.vifr.org, 10020 SW Bank Road, Vashon 98070, 47°26'53.46"N, 122°27'45.98"W), that has battery & generator backup power & *might* have space available for a HamWan node. Station 55 is the main fire station for the island and is where Vashon's EOC (VashonEOC.org) is located. (We're planning a move and redesign of our EOC later this year.) There are an additional 4 fire stations that we'd love to have connections to, but they are less critical. (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.415221,-122.521961,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!6m1!1s1qs7w_XQAsk9v6hAdSJ4nBk9qj64)

An additional site that is also near the crest of the island is near another partner, Voice of Vashon (VoiceOfVashon.org, 47°25'7.53"N, 122°27'50.65"W).

There also a number of commercial broadcast stations on Vashon that might conceivably be approached for antenna space if interference wasn't a problem for us or them.

Vashon is connected to the mainland via three fiber optic lines (2 in the same conduit) and much of the island's internet service is on overhead lines that aren't very robust. We'd love to have additional secondary ways to connect to the world after an earthquake. We also have an active HAM club and a system of WinLink stations, but they are low bandwidth unfortunately.

If a site on Vashon makes sense to the HamWan community, we can provide limited funding and possibly ongoing volunteer help, depending on what would be helpful. I can set up a meeting or connect you to others here as needed.

- John
KE7KDQ
Deputy EOC Manager & Planning Section Chief, Vashon EOC 
Board Member, VashonBePrepared
206.567.0010 home
206.914.3050 cell