Using Winlink To Send Offline Emails And Texts, An Important EmComm Tool
-by David Stanley, K6DAV
Emergency communications (EmComm) are one of the core functions of amateur radio. Indeed, ask the average person what comes to mind when they think of the term “ham radio,” and disaster communications will be one of the most common answers. There are lots of tools available to hams that assist in EmComm, including ARRL’s National Traffic System, The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) , and The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS). What you may not know, however, is that any ham has access to software that lets them send emails and text messages to anyone, ham or non-ham, when there is no access to internet or cell service. This can be a real lifesaver should you find yourself in need of communicating under dire conditions. Read on to learn how.
To get started, you’ll need to install two pieces of software, Winlink Express, available at downloads.winlink.org - /User Programs/ , and the VARA HF modem, downloads.winlink.org - /VARA Products/ download Winlink_Express_install_1-8-4-0.zip and VARA HF v4.9.0 setup.zip, and install them as you would any other program. Once you open Winlink Express, click on “add callsign” and fill in the information requested. Go back to the main Winlink window, choose Open session > Settings > Radio Setup. Select your rig, check “USB digital” and “Use Radio Internal Soundcard." Set your serial port and choose the baud speed that matches what your radio is using, and choose the PTT Port.
Next, open VARA, go to Settings > VARA Setup. Leave the default values in for the command, data and KISS prompts, and enter your callsign. If you choose to upgrade at some point to the paid version of VARA, you’ll put your registration code next to your callsign. Now open Settings > Soundcard, and choose your audio input and output sources. (Usually labelled as something like “USB audio CODEC”)
Now you’re ready for your first email!
Go back to Winlink Express > Message > New Message. Make sure “Send As” is set to Winlink Message and write your email. When you’re done, hit Post To Outbox in the upper left hand corner of the window. You’ll now see an entry next to Outbox in the main Winlink window. Make sure VARA HF Winlink is chosen next to Open Session then click on Open Session. In the window that appears, open Channel Selection. You’ll now see a list of stations where you can transmit your email to be transferred to the internet. Choose a station near the top, with high path reliability and quality estimates. Make sure your rig is set to USB.
You’re ready to send!
Hit Start, and your rig will attempt to contact the station you chose. If it fails, pick another station and try again. Upon connecting, Winlink will transmit all the messages in your Outbox as well as download any messages you may have received.
That’s it. You are now ready to use one of the most important tools in the EmComm arsenal.
The process for sending someone a text is almost identical, just send an email to winlinksms @ gmail. com with the recipient’s 10 digit phone number in the subject line. There is one important caveat. Due to anti-spam policies by wireless carriers, your recipient has to opt into receiving Winlink texts. The good news is that it’s a simple process, just go to aprs.wiki/ and enter a phone number. Be sure to coordinate this with your contacts before sending text messages.
One last note. I found there to be a world of difference between the performance of the free and paid versions of VERA. The free version’s speed is throttled, which made it hard for me to send any but the shortest messages before losing a connection. Once I upgraded to the paid version, ($75 one time fee) I was able to quickly send messages of any length. If you can afford it, it will make your experience much easier and Winlink much more useful.