TO: Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
 TO: Emergency Management Agencies via Internet and Radio
FROM: Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the California
Governor's Office of Emergency Services

The Future of Amateur Radio? - 3/3

 EMC143
 DATE: 08/03/98

(Continuation of article in "NetControl" by Ray Grimes, titled
"The Leading Edge") "While it might be possible to perform
surgery on a commercial FAX machine to accomplish these
requirements (if you could obtained detailed diagrams and private
labeled ID information) it would appear to be simpler to
implement a laptop PC computer with a FAX program, a compact
gray-scale scanner or video pickup device, and a compact portable
printer at the receiving end, attached to another laptop
computer. This information could be sent as relatively low speed
FSK or AM video, using audible tone frequencies. The FCC Rules do
not specifically limit radio facsimile Amateur Radio
transmissions to any particular mode or format, other than the
usual station identification requirements.

Compact computer video photographic converters such as the Snappy
or Polaroid PhotoPad could be used to capture video and process
and store it, using EasyPhoto or most any other video graphic
program as a medium. A close-up lens on a CCD camera with a light
box would make a nice document reader, offering very acceptable
resolution. Most of this hardware and software already exists. It
would mainly require someone taking these components and
producing a FAX application radio system.

Another facet of the radio facsimile system described might
include a secondary application where sample video frames of
action could be imported into a Web page for all to view. This
would be an excellent method of offering semi real-time video of
running teams (and their replacements) in thee Baker/Las Vegas
Relay Race, which could be viewed by anyone, anywhere, with a
computer and Internet access. A multipurpose, low-speed, visual
communications system might be developed that is capable of
transmission over most any band and medium, with little or no
error.

I hope others find this video FAX mode as interesting and
potentially useful as I do for emergency information
transmission."

End of quoted article from June, 1997 NetControl, Orange County
RACES newsletter. Article by Ray Grimes, W6RYS, originally titled
"The Leading Edge". Thanks to Ray for permission to use this
material.