Trail Comm for the Hearing Impaired

[1leglance]

So here (pun moment) is the deal...
In our Az group we have someone who is hearing impaired and so far she usually has a co-pilot with her to handle a family band radio so they know what is going on...

Well on fjcruiserforums.com we have been working on some kind of setup to allow her trail comm w/out anyone else in her rig and something that will work with anyone she runs with..

Here (another pun moment) is the goal...

Some way to allow comm between 2 or more rigs that works over a reasonable distance that would allow either/and pre-programed messages or free txt (voice regn software ruled out already).

Ideas so far....
Wifi- set up Carrie's rig with a laptop, wifi router and external antenna and use either a terminal program, java applet in a brower or custom software....the other rig/or rigs would just need a laptop and normal wifi (either built in or card)

Ham radio with aprs...setup Carrie with a kenwood D700
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1118
and she can give a kenwood d7 to someone else
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1332
these radios allow preprogrammed messages and free text, have huge range and lots of extra functions she can add later...gps, morse code in case of emerg and more

Now the reason I am posting is to see if anyone has any new ideas or better ways of doing either of these 2 ideas...I don't want to get locked into something before I tap into all the resources out there...

Give it your best boys and girls and thanks in advance

 

[Michael]

So here (pun moment) is the deal...
In our Az group we have someone who is hearing impaired and so far she usually has a co-pilot with her to handle a family band radio so they know what is going on...

Well on fjcruiserforums.com we have been working on some kind of setup to allow her trail comm w/out anyone else in her rig and something that will work with anyone she runs with..

Here (another pun moment) is the goal...

Some way to allow comm between 2 or more rigs that works over a reasonable distance that would allow either/and pre-programed messages or free txt (voice regn software ruled out already).

Ideas so far....
Wifi- set up Carrie's rig with a laptop, wifi router and external antenna and use either a terminal program, java applet in a brower or custom software....the other rig/or rigs would just need a laptop and normal wifi (either built in or card)

Ham radio with aprs...setup Carrie with a kenwood D700
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1118
and she can give a kenwood d7 to someone else
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1332
these radios allow preprogrammed messages and free text, have huge range and lots of extra functions she can add later...gps, morse code in case of emerg and more

Now the reason I am posting is to see if anyone has any new ideas or better ways of doing either of these 2 ideas...I don't want to get locked into something before I tap into all the resources out there...

Give it your best boys and girls and thanks in advance

The term "hearing impaired" can describe a broad range of hearing loss. If the loss is profound (total), then the path you're following is the best. If she has some hearing ability and wears hearing aids, then there may be other alternatives. I am hearing impaired and do a lot of offroading. As most of the CB chatter is unintelligible under the best of conditions, and most FRS radios have lousy speakers that seem about 1/4" in size, I've developed a workable system using a couple of techniques. First, I use a wireless hearing assist device (RF) connected to the ext. speaker jack on my Yaesu FT-8800 to transfer the audio output to my hearing aids. This is usually enough to understand what is going on. If it is really noisy, I find that using a good quality speaker mounted behind me also helps because of the typically better sound clarity associated with ham communications. The combination of the two works well. You do have to be careful with the occasional blast of static however :yikes: ...

Second, I combine my radios to take advantage of their capabilities. Most people in 4X4 groups still use CB or FRS. To monitor and respond on those bands, I tune one of the bands on my dual band radio to the group CB or FRS (sub-channel=0) channel. I receive the FRS/CB comm on my ham band radio (perfectly legal, clearer, and hooked to my wireless device) and then respond using the mic for the corresponding system. For FRS, it is the equivalent of using a wireless microphone One small drawback is that I hear all the comms on a FRS channel due to the lack of a "privacy code". I'm working on being able to use CTCSS to simulate sub-channels ... it should be possible, I just haven't pursued it. FRS channel clutter really isn't much of a problem out on the trails due to the low power/short range of FRS radios.

The technical details of the various wireless hearing assist systems available are more than can be posted here, but one example can be found at www.phonak.com.

By the way, some of these techniques can be helpful to just about anyone with a ham radio. I notice that a lot of people have a problem hearing FRS.

Hope this info isn't too late to give you some ideas!

 

[Lynn]

Seems like this T5SMS FRS radio from Motorola would be just the ticket:

It's a 'normal' FRS radio that also sends peer-to-peer text messaging.

 

[DaveInDenver]

One small drawback is that I hear all the comms on a FRS channel due to the lack of a "privacy code". I'm working on being able to use CTCSS to simulate sub-channels ... it should be possible, I just haven't pursued it.

The FRS privacy codes are just regular CTCSS tones. It's nothing special, although the actual frequency used for each radio setting varies by manufacturer. So code #1 on a Motorola isn't necessarily the same privacy code #1 on a Uniden or Cobra. But having a ham radio as the receiver you have the flexibility to just dial in whatever tone you want to break the squelch.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Ham radio with aprs...setup Carrie with a kenwood D700
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1118
and she can give a kenwood d7 to someone else
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1332
these radios allow preprogrammed messages and free text, have huge range and lots of extra functions she can add later...gps, morse code in case of emerg and more

I think you have a handle on things, but don't confuse APRS with digital radio, that's just one part of packet operation. You can hook up a terminal to your radio to send text messages and never deal with a GPS or APRS. Also some repeaters even have limited Internet access so you can get email. This is not a substitute for true WiFi, it's usually 1200 or 9600 baud and almost universally won't know how to resolve TCP/IP. But for exchanging text messages all you need is a TNC and terminal. Most people use a computer running a terminal, but it wouldn't be tough to hack a little keyboard and 4 line LCD display as a mini terminal, no computer needed.

 

[Ursidae69]

Informative thread, thanks.

 

[Michael]

The FRS privacy codes are just regular CTCSS tones. It's nothing special, although the actual frequency used for each radio setting varies by manufacturer. So code #1 on a Motorola isn't necessarily the same privacy code #1 on a Uniden or Cobra. But having a ham radio as the receiver you have the flexibility to just dial in whatever tone you want to break the squelch.

Very useful chart, thanks!