The response system is part of the US Army MARS radio system, as well as a designated STAR Unit in the National Communications System's SHARES (SHAred RESources) program and an asset of the Delaware Communication Corps. Our hope is to get it (and our team) accredited as a Type II Communications Unit (NIMS Resource Typing) and become an EMAC asset for our State and Region.
This is the second generation unit being built by myself and other hams and Army MARS members. The first unit is described here. The links below will document the design and construction of the new unit. Major improvements will include the addition of a Ku-band satellite system (Motosat F2 0.98-meter antenna with an iDirect 3100 modem, Motosat D3 controller and a 4-watt BUC), an Asterisk Voice-over-IP switch with 1 T-1 (D4 or PRI) trunks, 48 FXS and 24 FXO ports, and the ability to support a remote command post (up to 200 ft distant) with an integrated voice/data/video network.
Command Post Support Capacity
DESIGN DOCUMENT (pdf) (last update 4 May 08)
MCU VideoNet (pdf) (Design in progress - 8 April 08) - 70 cm ATV system with 1.2 GHz "remote pickup unit"; integrated with IP-based DVR and network
MCU TTP (Tactics, Techniques and Procedures) (last update 14 March 08 - under active development)
MCU Briefing (last update 21 April 08)
MCU Team Training Plan (in preparation)
PROGRESS PHOTOGRAPHS and ASSORTED MUSINGS
The original vehicle pictures taken by the dealer.
11-13 December. Gutting the vehicle, reinforcing walls and floor, vinyl flooring (Cove Construction). We added 1/2" plywood to the walls and a thin wood layment for the vinyl floor. Removed some really ugly electrical work and covered over all of the old outlet boxes, leaving just the wall switch for the lights in place for future use.
19 December. The interior is almost finished - all that remains is the repair of the exterior door. Ready to start electrical work! Their is no coving at the floor level - I plan to install multiple raceways at floor level for voice/data (bottom) and power (top).
26 December. Not much physical work for the past week, but a massive amount of design. And I am about to order the racks for the equipment (driver-side) from Middle Atlantic Products. They make sexy racks. :-)
I am using the ERK-series, 20" depth for all but the servers - I will be safe and use a Compaq rack for them. The ERK-2040 is nice for this application - short enough to fit through the door with too much grunting and straining, shallow enough to hold the network components without a lot of wasted space. Every inch of width and depth is less aisle room for chairs and getting around...
And lots of "stuff" is starting to arrive. Servers and UPS's and NMO mounts and wire and ... Some stuff got held up by the Christmas rush, but it will be here sooner than the racks anyway.
27 December. Another major update to the AC electrical system. I switched to a manual transfer switch (Blue Sea Systems) and a poly-phase digital metering system (Conzerv). Major reduction in cost and complexity, not to mention size. Racks R01 and R02 will be replaced with a short rack for the Astron power supplies and a small work surface with room for the printers. The electrical system is getting simple enough for me to do ... :-)
30 December. The MCU is now street-legal (as of Thursday)- I went to Delaware Motor Vehicle and did the title transfer and tagging. It only took about 30 minutes - Delaware DMV has their act together and the people were very nice. Sometimes it pays to live in a small state.
Justin Kates and I worked on the MCU roof's antenna layout yesterday. The interior design has changed a bit as I abandoned the idea of using Centracom racks for the operator's positions - they simply are too heavy (and costly) to ship. I decided to use standard single-pedestal steel desks with overhead radio racks. Updated the design document once again... The Motosat installer is supposed to come up next Wednesday to install the Ku-band system.
Here is a rough sketch of the curbside of the MCU showing the four operator positions and the IT Support position with the double-width (two 9"-wide, 23"-long mounting tracks for radios and/or control heads in each one!) Havis-Shields radio mounts, LCDs (19") and overhead 19" shallow (15") cabinet racks (R16-R22) for mounting the larger radios, etc. Rack R01 has been replaced with a smaller (18x18x8") wall-mounted steel cabinet for the transfer switch (GEN-Off-SHORE), digital metering and UPS monitoring and control. Rack R02 is now a counter-height rack containing the two 60A Astron power supplies, isolators, 100 A breakers and Group 8-D AGM marine battery. I think that it looks rather tidy. I will probably place a small storage cabinet above R11 once I get some field meaurements (for manuals!).
Look for another update later this afternoon as I finish (hopefully) the radio console positions' design. This involves actually spec'ing the mounts in each Havis-Shields console and the overhead racks, making certain of the required console depth, and nailing down the DC power requirements.
04 January 07 - The installer for the Ku-Band satellite Internet equipment (Motosat/iDirect) came yesterday installed my system in less than 6 hours! (If you are looking for a great Motosat installed in the MD-DC-DE area, give William Scaletta a shout at scaletta at techprosusa dot com - he does good work).
20 January 07 - I have a hallway full of equipment awaiting installation. I am waiting for our electricians to get my shoreline connection installed out on the loading dock so that I can get some heat! (it finally turned cold here in Delaware).
27 January 07 - We had a work party of Army MARS members today to begin assembly of three of the MCU's electronics racks. We had a good time - good company, some elbow grease and then lunch out. Tomorrow, I will begin fabricating some of the patch panels - drill presses come in handy...
10 Feb 07 - Another good work party (AAA3DE, AAT3OT, AAR3DB, AAR3DA and AAT3BF). We assembled the five 4 ft desks for the dispatch and support consoles, along with the AC breaker panel. Too cold to work outside, though. Ordered more parts for the 900 MHz link and the remaining entry panels. The major electrical parts are here, time to call the electrician r help!
5 March 07 - Building out racks!
19 March 07 - Still building racks. Updated interoperability info in design document after beginning the frequency coordination process with the help of the State of Delaware's frequency coordinator, Richard Reynolds. Once all this stuff hits the FCC database it will probably spawn all sorts of conspiracy theories. :-)
11 April 07 - The electricians are scheduled to start the AC wiring in a few days.
22 Apr 07 - New pictures courtesy of Justin (KB3JUV/AAT3OT). We (Amos AUX3AE, Justin and I) stripped the radios and most of the DC power system from the old comm trailer.
2008
14 Mar 08 - Wow, I haven't updated the site for a while. We had a work party today (Justin AAT3OT, Frank AAT3PR, John AAT3KG and myself). Woodworking for the console area is substantially complete. This weekend, I hope to complete the DC power plant and install the various systems behind the consoles (DC power, grounding, LAN and telephone wiring). Weather permitting, I hope to paint the new overhead shelving we built today.
I have purchased a new 25 KW diesel generator trailer - well, new to me anyway. Hope to pick it up in the next week or two m the current owner in Ohio. It is a surplus Army trailer with a 4-cylinder White "Hercules" diesel engine (a smaller version of the engines in the old Army 2-1/2 ton trucks) and a Kato generator (120/208V 3-phase). My plan includes mounting an old Army AB-1339 15-meter crankup mast for antennas and four 1000-watt metal halide floodlights onto the trailer. The trailer's pintle hitch and air brakes should be compatible with the towing outfit already on the Ford F600 truck.
Pictures to follow.
AB-1339 Mast:
20 March - Completed the construction of the four rooftop antenna supports. Here they are out on the loading dock at work, along with a picture of the equipment in the hallway awaiting installation.
23 March. Justin AAT3OT, Frank AAT3PR and I worked on console grounding, positioning and mounting of radio racks and LCD panels.
5 April. Bob Bashford, Jim Campbell and I completed the overhead fluorescent lighting in the MCU this morning. This afternoon I plan to work on the 12-volt DC control panel.
21 April. DC power plant is hot and ready for branch circuit wiring once new radio consoles arrive. Began assembly of video distribution system and NTSC video repeater (70cm/23cm) system.
26-27 April. Justin, Frank, Dave and I worked some long hours. Progress pictures posted (three flatbed carts of equipment installed).
4 May. Busy week. Frank, Justin and I have been assembling radio mounts, shelves, rack mounts... It is starting to look like a commo truck.
9 May 08. Frank and I assembled the 23 cm video link equipment and installed a fax machine in the MCU.
11 May 08. Frank (AAT3PR) and I began mounting radio stacks, telephones and gamma radiation alarms.