Two-way radio control for AA members
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THE world's first direct 24-hour two-way VHF car radio link between a motoring organization and its individual members on the road—the A.A. Linkline Service—has been introduced by the Automobile Association.
Under the service AA members in and around London and Birmingham and travelling M1 can keep continuous two-way contact with AA operations rooms. The service enables members to radio direct for breakdown assistance instead of searching for a telephone.
They can pass urgent messages to and receive messages from anyone, anywhere: make hotel, restaurant, car hire and similar reservations while en route: receive warnings of traffic jams, road works and accidents likely to delay them ; and obtain road weather reports, routing advice, touring information— even the correct time.
Linkline is particularly useful to busy executives and professional people. A Midlands industrialist, for example, who commutes frequently between Coventry and London to attend important meetings, can keep in constant touch with his office. A doctor on the road can be summoned immediately by his surgery should an emergency arise.
Special transmitter
Special remote control transmitters have been installed by the AA between London and Birmingham to cover the M1 and adjoining roads. Parts of M5 and M6 are also within Linkline range.
The area around London served by Linkline extends to Epsom in the south, Wrotham in the east, Enfield in the north and Beaconsfield and Windsor in the west. Wolverhampton, Worcester, Warwick and Northampton form the rough boundary of the Midlands coverage.
Later it is hoped to extend Linkline over the whole of the 62,000 square miles of Britain covered by the AA radio network.
The radio set is mounted in the car boot, occupying little space, and is connected with a microphone and loudspeaker positioned on or under the dashboard. A small roof aerial is the only other piece of equipment.
Subscribers have their own individual call sign for identification and for strictly private messages a code can be used.
To save an AA member time and trouble when asking for messages to be passed on by telephone, such personal information as the member agrees will be held in Linkline operations rooms. Thus a subscriber asking for a message to be conveyed to his office will not even have to give the telephone number—it will be on file, together with his secretary's name and extension.
Linkline rental of £180 a year includes all equipment and initial installation costs, set hire, licence fees, servicing, all radio calls, and certain emergency telephone calls connected with a breakdown or accident.
This week the AA told CM: "Among our first Linkline users were owners of RollsRoyces—and Minis".