[tyconnell]

If this is in the wrong place, mods please move...

I'm interested in knowing if there is a way to push data over the airwaves from an aircraft. Transmission can be intermittent. My understanding is APRS is "not HAM radio's mobile computing."

3G networks look promising, but I'm unsure of the current / future coverage.

Anyone have any other interesting bits?

 

[Loboflyer]

Depends on what you want to use it for.

If you want telemetry for flight testing, that means specific area of coverage and defined data, mostly in the uplink direction. With the right antennas, there's plenty of COTS ISM band radios (900 MHz or 2.4 GHz) that would cover your needs for moderate expense ($$$ vs $$$$). I've used Maxstream radios with lots of success for ground based communication, and would expect aircraft performance to be even better. The trade-off is bit rate.

APRS isn't ham's mobile internet service, but many things can be accomplished through the link such as tracking. The spirit of amateur radio is building your own gear and advancing the hobby. If you want it for 100% personal reasons, while you might be able to fit it within the FCC rules, it goes against the spirit of amateur radio. Don't expect your communications to be private.

More exotic connections would be, say, via INMARSAT, IRIDIUM or other commercial satellite data providers for 2-way data connectivity anywhere. There are turnkey solutions for datalinks via satellite, but, that gets pricey quickly.

To get range out in the boonies, you'd any of the following:

1. A big infrastructure and little transmit power-- Think Cellular (3G, WIMAX, or whatever).
2. A ton of transmit power or a good directional antenna and a few ground stations -- very localized.
3. A moderate amount of transmit power and a few more ground stations (APRS, etc).
4. A satellite connection -- pricey.