PVEC/VSUN

PVEC

Pioneer Valley Emergency Collaborative

The Pioneer Valley Emergency Collaborative is a group of like-minded individuals who want to contribute their skills to the greater good in the event of a widespread emergency in the Pioneer Valley.

Our Network of Routers

The PVEC operates a variety of Router locations to help keep our members in touch. Below is a list of Routers currently in operation, more will be coming online in the future.

  • Whately Center Router Station - WCRS
  • Haskins Mountain Router Station - HMRS
  • Mount Toby Router Station - MTRS
  • Provin Mountain Router Station - PMRS

Our Routers are set up as solar powered stand alone units with high gain antennas. MTRS operates at an altitude of 1300ft ASL with a 8dBi omnidirectional antenna. These locations help us bring coverage to the Pioneer Valley and we plan on bringing more online in the future.

VSUN

Valley Sun Up Net

What is the Valley Sun Up Net?

The Valley Sun Up Net is a set of three daily transmissions originating from our Greenfield node over Channel 0 LongFast at sunrise:

1/3 This is the Valley Sun Up Net

2/3 The VSUN is a daily roll call starting around sunrise. Any and all nodes are welcome to check in, test the network, report observations or just say hello.

3/3 The VSUN is a part of the Pioneer Valley Emergency Collaborative. pvmesh.org/bot/ Send a DM to R2-D2 bot to set a password and see all the messages in the last 24 hours or join PVEC.

How to participate in the VSUN

Stations participate in the VSUN in various ways. Stations may report how many of the three messages were received, or the current temperature. Sometimes stations will report that they did not receive anything. It’s also totally fine to just say hi or whatever you want to say. Some stations check in soon after the VSUN goes out, while others may wait several hours. Except during grid failures, the window for checking in is open until the Greenfield node starts a new VSUN on the following day. During grid-down scenarios, the VSUN will end at noon each day.

The VSUN is for local non-MQTT traffic only. Ted B will respond to all check ins which are received via radio to any of his nodes. If you do not get a response, it is possible your transmission was not received or he hasn’t had time to respond yet. All participating stations are encouraged to greet each other as well. Hearing back from another person is far more reliable than the built-in acknowledgments in the app.

Why do we do the VSUN?

If for no other reason, participating gives people an excuse to use their Meshtastic equipment. Daily usage helps to ensure that batteries are kept charged and firmware is up to date. It also helps people realize the limitations of the network. Sometimes messages just get dropped.

Additionally, the VSUN is used to test propagation around the Pioneer Valley and make decisions about router performance or where there might be gaps in coverage. Your participation helps!

VSUN and Wilderness Protocol during crisis

In the event of widespread crisis, whether manmade or natural, it may make sense to power down nodes to save battery. In that case, the Wilderness Protocol is encouraged. Wilderness Protocol means to power on your communications devices for at least the first five minutes of certain hours of the day:

  • 7:00-7:05 a.m.
  • 10:00-10:05 a.m.
  • 13:00-13:05 p.m.
  • 16:00-16:05 p.m.
  • 19:00-1905 p.m.
  • 22:00-22:05

To avoid interfering with a call for help, the first four minutes of each of the hours listed is reserved for urgent emergency communications. When two nodes transmit at the same time, their signals may both arrive at the same receiving node at the same time, resulting in neither being copied or retransmitted. Beginning at five minutes after the hour, stations may begin with non-urgent reports. Please consider repeating these reports during the next VSUN, for those who may have missed them. Also, please let other stations know that you copied their message. Even when the grid is not offline, any major disturbance or state of emergency would be a good time practice these protocols.

Interested in joining the PVEC?

Follow the link below to gain access to our PV Open channel and PVEC activities.

https://forms.gle/v631UJ5yyqjmMPhR8

Network Contacts

Node: PVEC Mobile - Ted ~TBM~
Email: [email protected]

Node: Ed iPhone ~EdH~

Node: PVEC Mobile - Jesse ~JHM~
Email: [email protected]
Telegram: @SmokedMonkee

You may also contact us through the Contact page on pvmesh.org