Today's Digital Amateur Radio EmComm personnel have a variety of tools at their disposal to use as communications tools. Winlink should become the gold standard in EmComm Email. The WL2K Network is a great system to pass traffic. Berks County ARES/RACES has adapted the WL2K Network as the standard for EmComm Email. Please install and use Airmail to use through the Berks County RMS Packet Stations.
Paclink is a new implementation of a streamlined radio e-mail client that interfaces with most popular e-mail client programs, like Microsoft Outlook Express and Mozilla Thunderbird. Paclink supports telnet, VHF/UHF packet radio, and HF Pactor radio connections to WL2K servers and the user interface is through any common e-mail client program.
EmComm Software etc.
Airmail may be used for HF Pactor, VHF/UHF Packet, and for telnet connections over any TCP/IP medium including the internet and high-speed radio media like D-Star and HSMM. Once connected to a WL2K station, message transfer is completely automatic. On the ham bands, Airmail can transfer messages automatically with any station supporting the BBS or F6FBB protocols, such as Winlink 2000, F6FBB, MSYS and other Airmail stations. When used with WL2K, Airmail also contains position reporting capabilities, and a propagation prediction program to determine which of the participating Winlink stations will work from anywhere on Earth.
RMS Packet (Radio Mail Server) is software intended for WL2K sysops. This software supports a VHF/UHF packet radio gateway station to the WL2K system. RMS Packet stations are part of the network of participating stations, and they provide full automated messaging capability to the wireless amateur user using AX.25 packet radio in combination with the WL2K Common Message Servers.
RMS HF (Radio Mail Server) (formerly RMS Pactor), with it's suite of administration programs, is software intended for WL2K sysops who operate High-Frequency stations. This software supports an HF Pactor radio gateway to the WL2K system. RMS HF stations are part of the controlled and frequency-coordinated global network of WL2K participating stations.
WINMOR, by Rick Muething KN6KB of the Winlink Development Team, is a new HF radio transmission protocol for the Winlink 2000 system. WINMOR was introduced at the 2008 ARRL / TAPR Digital Communications Conference in Chicago on September 26-28, 2008. Unlike PACTOR, only a simple computer soundcard-to-radio interface is required, and it will run as a "virtual TNC" with Paclink and RMS software. Also unlike PACTOR, it will be fully documented and without restrictions or license issues preventing anyone from using the protocol in other software. It will have at least three modes, ranging from 200 to 2000 Hertz in bandwidth, and will provide raw speeds ranging from 125 to at least 1875 bits per second.
WINMOR will NOT replace Pactor but be used in addition to Pactor. The RMS HF will be able to operate BOTH WINMOR and Pactor (1-3) but not simultaneous connections. While WINMOR may not equal P2 and P3 in total performance it will provide lower cost, higher performance and more robustness than P1. The primary applications will be for those lower usage Emcomm applications which have trouble justifying the high cost and low utilization of the P2 and P3 modem.
APRSLink provides a link between the Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) and the Winlink 2000 Radio e-mail system. APRSLink monitors all APRS traffic gated to the internet, worldwide, and watches for special commands that allow APRS users to:read short e-mail messages sent to their callsign@winlink.org account (only the base callsign, no SSID)
send short e-mail messages to any valid e-mail address or Winlink 2000 user
perform e-mail related maintenance
notification of pending Winlink e-mail via APRS message
query APRSLink for information of the closest Winlink RMS packet station
APRS can be used in EmComm many ways. For additional information click on the icon.
EchoLink® software allows licensed Amateur Radio stations to communicate with one another over the Internet, using voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology. The program allows worldwide connections to be made between stations, or from computer to station, greatly enhancing Amateur Radio's communications capabilities. There are more than 200,000 validated users worldwide — in 162 of the world's 193 nations — with about 4,000 online at any given time.
Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System Composing and sending emergency messages on NBEMS utilizes the same Outlook Express, Outlook, Windows Mail or Thunderbird email program used for Internet email, and is no more difficult than sending an email over the Internet. Messages just go over the radio instead, when the Internet or phone service is not reachable in an emergency. The WPA Section has adopted NBEMS for digital Ecomm. Visit their site for additional information at wpaNBEMS.org
Winmor "Virtual TNC"
Tesing being implemented with SignalLink USB Inerface
VOX Operation
Software tunes radio ~ 100ms
Rx 200hz off tunes to .1hz
Airmail- The Swiss Army Knife of Emcomm Email
Outpost Packet Radio Software Outpost is a Windows-based packet message client that lets you send and receive packet messages with almost any Amateur Radio Bulletin Board System (BBS), TNC Personal Mail Box or WL2K. Outpost was designed for the ARES/RACES packet user community. The thinking behind it was to create an intuitive, easy-to-use program that lets ARES/RACES organizations focus on the "message," not the "medium," as they pass packet traffic to and from an Operational Area BBS. In short, Outpost is a simple user interface that allows the user to not know all the TNC commands to pass traffic via packet radio plus the program supplies forms for NTS traffic.
WiFi is a great way to establish an Emcomm link when in suburban locations where WiFi is free and available. Please click on the WiFi Logo for additional information about WiFi and what products are available for Emcomm.
