Linking repeaters over the Internet is pretty cool, because it means you can easily talk to people all over the world from a handheld or mobile radio without having to deal with HF, even in places without cell coverage.

Of course, you can't rely on the Internet in a disaster, its origins as a network intended to survive nuclear attack notwithstanding. The Internet can't even survive a backhoe, a fishing boat, or someone fat-fingering a BGP config.

Fortunately, repeater linking projects pre-date the Internet, and hams are well aware that you can't rely on the Internet in an emergency. I ran across a bunch of interesting projects looking for information about non-internet-dependent linking projects, at least one of which, the Target Link System, was local to me:

http://www.kuggie.com/target/

There's also the Cactus Intertie System, which started in 1971 and is nationwide in the US, but they appear to be a lot more "closed" in their operations. You can't even get documentation without being a member:

www.cactus-intertie.org/

Do you know about any projects to link repeaters over long distances without relying on the Internet?

#HamRadio #IRLP #WinLink #CactusIntertie #Repeater #TargetLinkSystem #amateurradio