Last weekend, the MS-150 bike ride took place. A lot of amateurs took part in support operations, and APRS was used extensively to track vehicles and show locations of rest stops, etc.
I asked a few participants how well the APRS infrastructure performed, and I got a mixed review. In some regards, an event like this simulates an EmComm situation where mobile stations need to be co-ordinated and information disseminated across wide areas.
The most positive remarks concerned the APRS-IS end of things such as the objects created to represent way stations. Some people used the -IS exclusively for their mobile tracking, taking advantage of cellular coverage. Since the route for the event was adjacent to I-35, cellular data coverage was fairly reliable.
On the RF side, there was some criticism regarding coverage or reliability. This surprised me somewhat, since our RF infrastructure had improved since last year. Aside from baseline coverage, the KF0KFL-1 TX gateway had been added. Also, the TX gateway/digi W0MHR-2 and the KC0KUR-10 TX gateway were in operation, where they weren't last year at this time. And, of course, the big AD0MI-1 digipeater in Askov was not in existence last year at this time.
However, the big RX-only gateway in Isle, W0KGW-10, was down. This gateway seems to be down more frequently, and for longer than in the past. As it stands at the moment, it's been down for three weeks. While having it in operation would have supported the Askov digipeater, it's direct coverage of I-35 has never been spectacular, so it's likely only a minor factor.
There were at least two mobile digipeaters: N0UK-9 and WG0A-2, but I'm not sure if they were in operation all of the time.
From what I gather, the most common blind spots were between Forest Lake and Wyoming, and between Rush City and Hinckley. The area around Moose Lake was also mentioned. It wasn't exactly a case of no coverage, but instead spotty, unreliable coverage in these areas.
Possible solutions
In correspondence with WG0A (Brent) he suggested a few more portable digipeaters could be used, and he thought he could provide those next time.
I know that there are plans for a TX gateway, sponsored by the Gopher Radio Club, to go on-air near Rush City at some point. I'd expect that to be in operation by next year's event. That has potential to supplement the RX-only WB0VGI-1 gateway near Harris.
But these efforts are, sadly, just working on the margins.
Much of the heavy lifting can be done by the Askov digipeater, but we would still need site-specific support in the known blind spots. Digipeaters are helpful for those in a particular area to see local traffic. But if they don't reach a gateway, that traffic isn't visible to the wider group co-ordinating things.
One option that seems to be overlooked is HF APRS. If there are concerns about "real" amateur radio, a couple of NVIS field HF stations could make use of the metro HF APRS gateway (or create a temporary new gateway) to move VHF traffic across a wide area. This sounds like an interesting and challenging project that old-school hams could tackle.
Otherwise, there are simpler VHF-based solutions. Assuming there is cellular data coverage in a place like, say, Hinckley, newer smart-phones can produce a wi-fi hotspot. A tablet (or laptop) running an APRS client (e.g. APRSIS32) could be connected to an HT to create a temporary I-Gate. A better solution would be for organizers to contact local hams in these blind spot areas to set up simple gateways using their home internet connection. Easier said than done, I know.
There may be a case to be made for those in local clubs to push the issue with their leadership. Leveraging the group resources, a portable gateway/digi could be put together very cheaply with hardware already in hand. An old laptop, a KPC-3 TNC, a tripod-mounted VHF antenna, and a spare HT are items that can be easily scrounged up and put into service for a couple of days. As I keep saying, something is always better than nothing.
Summary
We are fortunate to have an amateur community that is geared toward problem-solving and innovation. With a year to go, and the specific knowledge of the challenging areas, I'm confident that individual hams can come up with solutions. I'm less confident that clubs and EmComm organizations will see APRS coverage as a priority, however. This is unfortunate, because events like this are potential drills for emergency situations. Rather than relying on FM voice repeaters, all of the data can be efficiently collected and disseminated from one end of the route to the other by using APRS.
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