Electronic – How to send one bit one mile with one battery

batteriesRFwireless

This summer I will be attending a large music festival for the second year. I will be going with other people this time, and I'd like to be able to communicate with the other people wirelessly in some way. Cell phones are out, because even if you could get reception your phone dies quickly trying to fight with the other 50K+ cell phones in the square mile that the festival takes up. Walkie talkies are difficult too- because there are so many people, nearly every channel is occupied.

I'm always open to reasonable commercial solutions but when faced with a problem like this my first thought is, what could I build? I've got basic requirements:

  • A bitrate of >0b/s. Yes, that says bits per second. 0.1b/s would satisfy this requirement.

  • A working distance of about 1km / 0.5 miles. I'm willing to compromise here for…

  • Pocket-sized and battery-powered. Obviously not easy but this rules some tech out immediately.

I can use one bit to indicate "meet at the designated spot". I can use four bits if we just sync up our maps with a legend. So, I don't need practically any bandwidth at all, which might drastically simplify some designs. Also, I'd be willing to get any licenses I needed to work on this, but I am not currently knowledgeable about RF communication. I do have a strong basic electronics and programming background, though, so any ideas would be helpful.

I guess my basic question is: is there a wireless tech available that meets the bulleted requirements and would not have the problem of being completely oversaturated by having 100K people in one square mile?

Best Answer

Amateur radio is perfect for that. Hand-held radios can reach several miles. You can use voice or morse if necessary. There is rarely any congestion, there may even be some repeaters. The initial test is pretty easy to pass as long as you get the manual.

Radios: http://www.aesham.com/ham-radios-handheld/?p=catalog&mode=catalog&parent=274&pg=1&CatalogSetSortBy=price

Study Guides: http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-license-manual