HFRC fully compliant ALE/calm network

HFRC is the only HF provider to members of the public which has a fully functional ALE/calm network plus best base/channel functionality for non-ALE/calm transcievers.

With HF radio systems, knowing which is the best channel or frequency to use is difficult for many users. With HF networks the best base/channel combination is difficult to resolve and necessitates the user to beacon or channel test each base and channel to find the best combination. Codan has developed the Codan Automated Link Management (CALM) to resolve this problem.

CALM is a new and very advanced feature of the NGT and Envoy in which the transceiver performs the channel selection operation automatically. With CALM, the process of making a call is as easy as pressing one button. The handset in most ways looks and operates like a mobile phone.

FED–STD–1045 ALE has been used to find the best frequency to use when sending a call. There were limitations in that this needed many transmissions from the mobile radio which took network time to send a transmission on each channel and to each base.

Codan Automated Link Management (CALM) provides a dramatic improvement over conventional ALE systems as It provides all of the benefits of FED–STD–1045 ALE including:
(1) Creates multiple time–stamped entries for each channel/link in the LQA database
(2) Reduces the number of sounding calls
(3) Provides a self–managing network

With the introduction of CALM, it is no longer necessary to reconfigure each radio with information about a new transceiver.

Once the new station goes on air with a sounding call, all stations in the network automatically add it to their database. The CALM network is able to upgrade itself, which significantly reduces the network administrator’s workload. This is all done by the transceiver autonomously.

The new station also begins to build its link quality database of each station in the network.

With CALM on the HFRC network, you can make calls including selcall, status, message, radio to SMS mobile phone, priority, phone and GPS calls as ALE calls. One press of the button and your jobs done.

Because signal propagation conditions vary at different times of the day and night, CALM records the time at which a sounding was taken and, with the information received, builds up a profile of the most suitable channels to use at different times. This means that when you make a call at 3pm your transceiver selects a channel based on information received at the same time of day rather than information that could be out of date. It also means that CALM is ready to go the moment your transceiver is switched on.

The HFRC smartNetwork continually monitors all LQA transmissions, selcall, status, message, radio to SMS mobile phone, priority, phone and GPS calls and the smartServer responds using the best base relying on the ALE/calm within the base to select the best channel. This ensures the best possible base and channel is used to send messages to the mobile NGT and Envoy radios.

For those without ALE/calm the HFRC network monitors traffic and update messages originating from your mobile. This information is used to select the best base and channel to send messages to your mobile. Whilst this is not as good as ALE/calm it still gives mobiles the best opportunity to receive messages from the HFRC bases.

Many other groups say ALE/calm does not work. Nifty from our tech support group responded by saying "when I was a young fella, I used to shovel horse manure from the stables".

Ask a HFRC member or reach out to the HFRC technical support group. The president is also a sound source to seek information.

ALE calm source information from: https://www.mobilecomms.com.au/codan-features/61-codan-automated-link-ma...