ERAU Amateur Radio Students Support Prescott Rally

Prescott, AZ, September 29, 2011

ERAU Amateur Radio Club member Kevin Jordan hands an EagleTrack device to the Yavapai County Communications Officer, Lloyd Halgunseth

Students in the ERAU Eagle Amateur Radio Club are putting their technological expertise to the test. As a technology demonstration, they have designed and built a new style of tracking module dubbed the "EagleTrack." This GPS unit is designed to collect and report data on a vehicle's location, and to relay that data to a ham radio receiver. As a test of this technology, two EagleTrack devices will be used by authorities in conducting the Prescott Road Rally, which is being held on September 30th and October 1th. The two devices will be mounted to the lead and follow vehicles in the rally, which will in turn report the position of the front and back of the race.

Members of the Eagle Amateur Radio Club designed these units not only to function as raceway trackers, but as a possible resource in case of emergency. If a vehicle were to be damaged to such an extent that the driver was incapacitated, the EagleTrack unit could relay the position of the vehicle to emergency services. This project is a shining example of the ingenuity of the young engineering students at ERAU. Their excellence in innovative solutions and extraordinary ability make them extremely valuable as they head out of college and into the career world.