Automatic Link Establishment - Operator Skill

Operator Skill

Due to the vagaries of ionospheric communications, HF radio as used by large governmental organizations in the mid-20th century was traditionally the domain of highly skilled and trained radio operators. One of the new characteristics that embedded microprocessors and computers brought to HF radio via ALE, was alleviation of the need for the radio operator to constantly monitor and change the radio frequency manually to compensate for ionospheric conditions or interference. For the average user of ALE, after learning how to work the basic functions of the HF transceiver, it became similar to operating a cellular mobile phone. For more advanced functions and programming of ALE controllers and networks, it became similar to the use of menu-enabled consumer equipment or the optional features typically encountered in software. In a professional or military organization, this does not eliminate the need for skilled and trained communicators to coordinate the per-unit authorized frequency lists and node addresses - it merely allows the deployment of relatively unskilled technicians as "field communicators" and end-users of the existing coordinated architecture.