Amateur/Ham Radio in RIFTS... Viable Communications Option?

[Brayon]

Granted there is a wealth of information in all of the RIFTS books, but one thing I've noticed is a lack of Global Communications that really should be there in the form of Amateur/HAM Radio. Even today, HAM Radio Operators, CB Operators, Broadcaster Networks, all fill the Airwaves, in addition to Satellite & WiFi enabled Radio that is starting to become popular. It's even a way that the Space Stations could of been in communications with ground dwellers all this time as well. In several books, it discusses personal communications for adventuring parties, encrypted communications, CS communications, but nothing about Amateur Radio. So, would it be something that is Viable in 109 P.A.?

How did the Coalition know that Triax failed to launch spacecraft, & satellites in Europe?

Japan has a city straight from the Golden Age, that would have full communications capabilities. New Navy with it's arsenal of US Tech. They should be able to communicate with each other.

News was sent from England to US via Radio in WW2, so its possible for Continental communications as well.

Or, does the Ley Lines & Magic mess with Radio Frequencies that would be used in Amateur/Ham radio operations?

[FatherMorpheus]

I've always thought that HAM Radio (or something similar) was basically the means that everyone used to communicate back and forth on Rifts Earth.

Without getting overly complex, most of the armor has a radio of some sort, there are lots of inexpensive hand units and even a few long range units. While there wouldn't be any organized repeaters or the like it would still be a very viable option for long range communication.

Though, with the coming of Rifts and Ley Lines it might be more limited than current day. Though, without a larger enough antenna and enough wattage you still should be able to blast through that type of interference.

[Tinker Dragoon]

Granted there is a wealth of information in all of the RIFTS books, but one thing I've noticed is a lack of Global Communications that really should be there in the form of Amateur/HAM Radio. Even today, HAM Radio Operators, CB Operators, Broadcaster Networks, all fill the Airwaves, in addition to Satellite & WiFi enabled Radio that is starting to become popular. It's even a way that the Space Stations could of been in communications with ground dwellers all this time as well.

While all of this is true, it is also true that ham radio is an esoteric discipline practiced and evangelized by a relative minority of technically savvy and civic-minded individuals. It may be premature to call it a dying art, but there is definitely a widespread lack of awareness about the hobby, and I think it unlikely that there would be very many hams on Rifts Earth. Some, yes, but not many.

Additionally, without a centralized regulatory authority, the airwaves are open to anyone and everyone, and there is little to prevent various nations from squatting on their favorite frequencies.

That said, I have seen references to shortwave broadcasting here and there in the books (e.g. RGMG, p. 328; Revised SB1, p. 28), so I don't think there are any technical obstacles here (other than the odd ley line storm), and anyone with Radio: Basic should have the requisite knowledge.

While there wouldn't be any organized repeaters or the like it would still be a very viable option for long range communication.

I could see large nations like the CS and NGR maintaining a few repeaters to extend their communications capabilities, although these likely would be reserved for military use, and not the general public (although this really just means that there is a market for enterprising techies who can hack access tones).

[Brayon]

Father & Tinker, thank you both. I also, think that Radio Communication would be more prevalent than what is stated. Also, totally forgot that Radio: Basic, would include HAM Radio operation as well. So, pretty much, any Soldier, Merc, Adventurer, & Robot Pilot could, in theory, do Amateur Radio if they had the equipment.

That said, I have seen references to shortwave broadcasting here and there in the books (e.g. RGMG, p. 328; Revised SB1, p. 28), so I don't think there are any technical obstacles here (other than the odd ley line storm), and anyone with Radio: Basic should have the requisite knowledge.

Thanks for those examples! I will have to look them up now, & the Ley Line storms/Magic in general is what I was wondering if there would be any interference from. Thanks again!

[ShadowLogan]

Something else to consider is that some factions may engage in jamming techniques for a variety of reasons:
-prevent cultural "contamination" (getting cummy with undesirables)
-control over the flow of "information" in various forms (news of the past/present) to the public

[FatherMorpheus]

Granted there is a wealth of information in all of the RIFTS books, but one thing I've noticed is a lack of Global Communications that really should be there in the form of Amateur/HAM Radio. Even today, HAM Radio Operators, CB Operators, Broadcaster Networks, all fill the Airwaves, in addition to Satellite & WiFi enabled Radio that is starting to become popular. It's even a way that the Space Stations could of been in communications with ground dwellers all this time as well.

While all of this is true, it is also true that ham radio is an esoteric discipline practiced and evangelized by a relative minority of technically savvy and civic-minded individuals. It may be premature to call it a dying art, but there is definitely a widespread lack of awareness about the hobby, and I think it unlikely that there would be very many hams on Rifts Earth. Some, yes, but not many.

Additionally, without a centralized regulatory authority, the airwaves are open to anyone and everyone, and there is little to prevent various nations from squatting on their favorite frequencies.

That said, I have seen references to shortwave broadcasting here and there in the books (e.g. RGMG, p. 328; Revised SB1, p. 28), so I don't think there are any technical obstacles here (other than the odd ley line storm), and anyone with Radio: Basic should have the requisite knowledge.

While there wouldn't be any organized repeaters or the like it would still be a very viable option for long range communication.

I could see large nations like the CS and NGR maintaining a few repeaters to extend their communications capabilities, although these likely would be reserved for military use, and not the general public (although this really just means that there is a market for enterprising techies who can hack access tones).

I was thinking about your comments a bit. I think the HAM culture that we have today might change a bit as our communications advance over the next hundred or so years. As things start to break down (coming of Rifts) it would be interesting to see how the HAM culture would expand as quickly as equipment would be available. Right now we already have hand held equipment which can cover most of the bands, what if the FCC stopped caring because of the break of the world. All of a sudden no one would care about what band/frequency/wattage you were using.

Of course, this is just a pondering. If you dig too deep technically, it falls apart. If you keep it high level and in the theme of Rifts, the HAM, CB, etc world might have become the standard means of communication.

I agree that some nations would setup communications networks, and as someone said others might setup scrambler/blocking equipment as well. So really this all comes down to how does a GM set this up for their own world and sticking to it.

[Nightmask]

The main thing working against HAM radio type behavior is the simple problem that unlike in our times sending out radio signals like that tells criminal sorts right where you are to hunt down, rob and/or kill. The setting in many ways (particularly for those who run it as if it were Chaos Earth and not centuries later complete with nation and city-state rebuilding having occurred) has selective pressures against people just chatting up people with random radio signals like they do today.

[Tinker Dragoon]

I was thinking about your comments a bit. I think the HAM culture that we have today might change a bit as our communications advance over the next hundred or so years. As things start to break down (coming of Rifts) it would be interesting to see how the HAM culture would expand as quickly as equipment would be available. Right now we already have hand held equipment which can cover most of the bands, what if the FCC stopped caring because of the break of the world. All of a sudden no one would care about what band/frequency/wattage you were using.

After my previous post I was reminded of the fact that Operators have maintained a secret society of sorts that has kept the engineering disciplines alive through the centuries, passing the knowledge down from one generation to the next, and it occurs to me that there could just as easily be a tradition of radio enthusiasts either among Operators or as an entirely separate group (a "Radio Cult?"). Perhaps this is why they are called Operators in the first place?

[FatherMorpheus]

I was thinking about your comments a bit. I think the HAM culture that we have today might change a bit as our communications advance over the next hundred or so years. As things start to break down (coming of Rifts) it would be interesting to see how the HAM culture would expand as quickly as equipment would be available. Right now we already have hand held equipment which can cover most of the bands, what if the FCC stopped caring because of the break of the world. All of a sudden no one would care about what band/frequency/wattage you were using.

After my previous post I was reminded of the fact that Operators have maintained a secret society of sorts that has kept the engineering disciplines alive through the centuries, passing the knowledge down from one generation to the next, and it occurs to me that there could just as easily be a tradition of radio enthusiasts either among Operators or as an entirely separate group (a "Radio Cult?"). Perhaps this is why they are called Operators in the first place?

That might be a great plot hook idea. A secret group which maintained not only knowledge of engineering but also of Radios and how to use them. Great way to communicate back and forth all of the tech ideas they have in their possession. You can do IP over HAM these days, you could broadcast information all over the world keeping a secret brotherhood of knowledge.

That would be a really fun back story idea!

[eliakon]

I was thinking about your comments a bit. I think the HAM culture that we have today might change a bit as our communications advance over the next hundred or so years. As things start to break down (coming of Rifts) it would be interesting to see how the HAM culture would expand as quickly as equipment would be available. Right now we already have hand held equipment which can cover most of the bands, what if the FCC stopped caring because of the break of the world. All of a sudden no one would care about what band/frequency/wattage you were using.

After my previous post I was reminded of the fact that Operators have maintained a secret society of sorts that has kept the engineering disciplines alive through the centuries, passing the knowledge down from one generation to the next, and it occurs to me that there could just as easily be a tradition of radio enthusiasts either among Operators or as an entirely separate group (a "Radio Cult?"). Perhaps this is why they are called Operators in the first place?

This is now my headcanon....
I can see it. Senior operators have 'handles', part of technocans 'cant' is simplified frequencies and cryptography protocols. Teams that investigate 'unsanctioned' radios......
*mind spins in ideas*

[Library Ogre]

I've also found myself wondering about Skips and their role in connecting the world. Being able to pick up broadcasts from Australia would certainly make some waves in North America.

[Brayon]

I noticed a RIFTER article in #42 that talked about Radio Communication for the Coalition. It's listed as Optional Material, but has an Interesting solution for Radio Repeaters using unmanned Armored Blimps with Communication Equipment mounted on it.

EDIT: Page 48 specifically talks about them, as Sub-Orbital Satellite Drones.

[Library Ogre]

I had a thought for something similar, many moons ago. Since the CS radios can reach about 5 miles (IIRC), putting a repeater at 3 miles up gives you a much wider effective range, while being out of range of most non-missiles (there's a way to figure out your "sweet spot" in coverage v. altitude, but I can't be arsed to work it out).

If you used deployable drones like this, you can get around some of the problems caused by lack of land lines.