We have a good number of local hams working on mesh networking projects here in rural norcal, including exploring options for emergency use. I know of 5-7 locally and at least another 4-5 one small city over. There have been some recent test runs locally for distance and coverage.
One of the goals is to set up a pan tilt camera to remotely watch for wildfires, and we are seeking Ubiquiti gear for use on the project. We'd like to link it from inland to the coast which will take some doing but is probably possible. There's a really impressive mesh network project in Washington state, one I recall in Texas, etc...we are talking hilltops and mountaintops connecting whole communities.
Ham radio has served us well here during recent emergencies. After the recent 4-5 day power outage & wildfires, one of the county-coverage repeaters that didn't have backup power was set up with backup power.. Other than that even my non-ham friends were saying that listening to the ham radio frequencies was more helpful than listening to first responders via radio. Also, broadcast FM radio was really nice and there were hourly updates, calls with county officials, etc. Facebook was ridiculous because it has no idea that you are suddenly needing updates from your sheriff first, and everything else later. Cell data speeds were about ISDN level or maybe a tad faster. I accidentally made duplicate purchases on Amazon because I couldn't tell if my first purchase went through due to slow load times.
On ham frequencies we had people on hilltops directly watching and monitoring the fires, calling out what they were seeing long before the fires hit the news.
Anyway if you want to get into this, definitely get your ham license. Give yourself 2 weeks of study and dive in. Working with hams you'll find it much easier to get access to know-how, gear, people, etc. Even if you work independently somehow, the free education is worth it.
One of the goals is to set up a pan tilt camera to remotely watch for wildfires, and we are seeking Ubiquiti gear for use on the project. We'd like to link it from inland to the coast which will take some doing but is probably possible. There's a really impressive mesh network project in Washington state, one I recall in Texas, etc...we are talking hilltops and mountaintops connecting whole communities.
Ham radio has served us well here during recent emergencies. After the recent 4-5 day power outage & wildfires, one of the county-coverage repeaters that didn't have backup power was set up with backup power.. Other than that even my non-ham friends were saying that listening to the ham radio frequencies was more helpful than listening to first responders via radio. Also, broadcast FM radio was really nice and there were hourly updates, calls with county officials, etc. Facebook was ridiculous because it has no idea that you are suddenly needing updates from your sheriff first, and everything else later. Cell data speeds were about ISDN level or maybe a tad faster. I accidentally made duplicate purchases on Amazon because I couldn't tell if my first purchase went through due to slow load times.
On ham frequencies we had people on hilltops directly watching and monitoring the fires, calling out what they were seeing long before the fires hit the news.
Anyway if you want to get into this, definitely get your ham license. Give yourself 2 weeks of study and dive in. Working with hams you'll find it much easier to get access to know-how, gear, people, etc. Even if you work independently somehow, the free education is worth it.