Winlink Wednesday Alberta
Winlink Wednesday Alberta was originally started by Mike Muranetz VE6MM on Feb 15, 2020, in conjunction with his activities at Alberta Emergency Management Agency. Alex Code VA6MCP took over July 8, 2020, and now Bill Hicks VA6RQ took over Oct 6, 2021.
The purpose of the Winlink Wednesday net is two-fold.
First, it is intended to practice using Winlink to send e-mails. Emails in general is pretty easy and common-place today, but not necessarily sending forms using the templates provided in Winlink Express. By continuing to practice using the templates when checking in to the net, the process will be fresh in mind in the case where the operator may in a deployment situation where communication through Winlink e-mail is required.
Second, the intent is to send the check-ins via RF. This can be through a VHF Gateway, or HF gateway. By doing this, it will keep in mind how to configure your station as well as how the system is integrated. Again, this is to keep the skill-set sharp in the situation of a deployment.
Just a note, if you do not have the capabilities of sending Winlink e-mail via RF, you can still check in with a Telnet session. We will not turn away any check-ins regardless of how they come in.
Some examples of how Amateur radio has helped in a time of emergency Fort McMurray Fire & High River floods
Check-ins are any time on Wednesday. Using the “Winlink Check In” send an e-mail via Winlink to VA6RQ
Every Tuesday I will send out a question to help foster discussions.
- Launch Winlink Express.
- Select new message.
- Click on “Select Template” in the menu.
- Expand Standard Templates
- Expand GENERAL Forms
- Double Click on “Winlink Check In.txt”
Did you know you can also send emails via Winlink to cell phones?
|
Rogers Wireless
|
[10-digit phone number]@pcs.rogers.com
|
|
Fido
|
[10-digit phone number]@fido.ca
|
|
Telus
|
[10-digit phone number]@msg.telus.com
|
|
Bell Mobility
|
[10-digit phone number]@txt.bell.ca
|
|
Kudo Mobile
|
[10-digit phone number]@msg.koodomobile.com
|
|
MTS
|
[10-digit phone number]@text.mtsmobility.com
|
|
President’s Choice
|
[10-digit phone number]@txt.bell.ca
|
|
Sasktel
|
[10-digit phone number]@sms.sasktel.com
|
|
Solo
|
[10-digit phone number]@txt.bell.ca
|
|
Virgin
|
[10-digit phone number]@vmobile.ca
|
US – Email to SMS (text messaging)
|
AT&T
|
[10-digit phone number]@txt.att.net
|
|
Qwest
|
[10-digit phone number]@qwestmp.com
|
|
T-Mobile
|
[10-digit phone number]@tmomail.net
|
|
Verizon
|
[10-digit phone number]@vtext.com
|
|
Sprint
|
[10-digit phone number]@messaging.sprintpcs.com
|
|
Sprint
|
[10-digit phone number]@pm.sprint.com
|
|
Virgin Mobile
|
[10-digit phone number]@vmobl.com
|
|
Nextel
|
[10-digit phone number]@messaging.nextel.com
|
|
Alltel
|
[10-digit phone number]@message.alltel.com
|
|
Metro PCS
|
[10-digit phone number]@mymetropcs.com
|
|
Powertel
|
[10-digit phone number]@ptel.com
|
|
Suncom
|
[10-digit phone number]@tms.suncom.com¥j
|
|
t U.S. Cellular
|
[10-digit phone number]@email.uscc.net
|
|
Cingular
|
[10-digit phone number]@cingularme.com
|
Some interesting happenings on HF data. A fairly new mode out is VARA which is supported by Winlink Express and the Winlink System. VARA has to be downloaded from: https://rosmodem.wordpress.com/ The basic program is free but for fastyer speeds their is a charge to register.
I belong to a group that has been test VARA HF both P2P and via Winlink and even with the unregistered program the speed has been good , it is very robust and is probably equal to Pactor 2, with the high speed it may even equal P3 or P4. Unknown at this time.
I will be sending this out via the Winlink Wednesday group as well for folks to trial. If anyone is using VARA please comment.