Winlink Global Radio Email

FEMA Multi-regional Exercise, July 9, 2025

w3qa — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 13:48:02 +0000

FEMA sponsored a multi-regional exercise on July 9. The scenario was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake centered on Memphis, TN (the New Madrid fault). Steve K4CJX, prepared the instructions for the exercise and arranged for them to be widely distributed. Field Situation Reports were submitted by participants via Winlink. During the event, we received a total of 1,119 reports. This is a map showing locations of submitted reports. In an EOC or command post, mousing over a similar graphic will drill down and display the particulars of each situation report, which lifeline services are impacted, how, when, and more.

The Winlink Team

Tags:

Exercise

FEMA

Situation Reports

VARA Products Now Downloadable Here

w3qa — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 02:21:31 +0000

VARA Products, including VARA HF, VARA FM, VARA Chat, VARA Sat, and VARA Terminal, are now hosted on the Winlink Servers for distribution. You can visit the downloads site at https://downloads.winlink.org. Click on the link to VARA Products once there. We hope you find this a convenient and quick way to obtain these program files. The files are maintained by Jose Nieto Ros, the VARA author, and they remain third-party products and are not managed by the Winlink Team.

73,
The Winlink Team

Pactor 4 Becomes Legal January 8

w3qa — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 02:28:42 +0000

January 7, 2024 -- Happy New Year!

RMS Gateway Sysops within the USA and it's Territories are urged to configure Pactor 4 if you are equipped to do so. At midnight in your US timezone, Monday, January 8 the FCC rule change removing digital mode symbol rate limits on amateur radio HF bands becomes effective. Pactor 4 becomes a legal mode in the USA.

--Winlink Development Team

US Symbol Rate Rule Change and Pactor 4 Use

w3qa — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:48:54 +0000

December 7, 2023--Today the final report and order of the FCC removing the symbol rate limits on amateur HF bands was published in the Federal Register.
Read it here.

Within the US and it's territories, the transmission of Pactor 4 signals on the bands becomes legal on January
8, 2024, 30 days after today's publication date. Network administrators will continue to spot violators on the Winlink system until January 8. Please observe the rules and don't jump the gun.

--The Winlink Team

FRO Sweden and Winlink

w3qa — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:15:58 +0000

Some members of FRO in Sweden have begun to use Winlink to be able to assist our local County Administrative Boards in case of disasters that make other communication means impossible, but also for communication between groups assisting in various tasks during crisis. FRO can be translated as the Voluntary Radio Organization. FRO is one of 18 voluntary organizations in Sweden that play an important role to recruit and train members for the Swedish Armed Forces as well as for civilian authorities.
See https://www.fro.se

We began using Winlink about three years ago in 2020. We have since established two RMS stations and have made a lot of field and other exercises. We handle all traffic in a Winlink Hybrid Network, to be operable in case of internet loss. Our main traffic mode is Radio Only, but we have also trained personnel to use Peer-to-Peer.

We are using non-amateur callsigns and frequencies as permitted by The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority in the same way as SHARES.

As a complement and to direct orders to subgroups we are also using VarAC Broadcast as a convenient means to alert participants of pending WL-messages for pickup, intelligence info, situational awareness, and reports to and from all groups.

The RMS stations can be addressed both via HF and VHF/FM. For VarAC we can also use either HF or VHF. For VHF we have digipeaters to increase range.

We will continue to perform traffic exercises to increase the readiness of the RMS stations and to increase the knowledge of operators, so that we are prepared to assist authorities when there is a need.

Torbjorn Toreson, FRO SWEDEN

Tags:

FRO

SWEDEN

ShakeOut 2023 Results

w3qa — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 20:02:32 +0000

See current data Maps and WaveTalkers LIVE Special Event Video Stream

Watch WaveTalkers recorded live special event as the data rolled in:

The Great ShakeOut

K4CJX — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 22:59:50 +0000

Download Step-by-Step Exercise Instructions

On Exercise Day (10/19/23) See LIVE Worldwide Data Dashboard and WaveTalkers LIVE Special Event Video

What is ShakeOut?
The Great ShakeOut is the world's largest earthquake drill. It is held annually on the third Thursday of October, and millions of people participate all over the world. In 2022 over 45.6 million people registered their participation. The goal of the ShakeOut is to teach people how to protect themselves during an earthquake.

This year, the exercise scenario calls for a moderate earthquake to occur in your local area at 1019 (AM) on 10/19/23. That's 1019 on 10-19.

Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills across the U.S. are coordinated by the Southern California Earthquake Center in partnership with ECA, CUSEC, state and national emergency management partners, with support from FEMA, NEHRP, NSF, and USGS.

The ShakeOut drill is simple. At the designated time (or whenever works for you or your organization), participants practice self-protective actions such as "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" or “Lock, Cover, and Hold On” if they use a wheelchair. You may want to register your group for the Great ShakeOut. Registrants will receive a certificate of participation from the ShakeOut organization.

How can Radio Operators participate in ShakeOut?

The US Geological Survey (USGS) and Winlink are collaborating to provide "Did you feel it?" (DYFI) earthquake intensity reports via Winlink. SHARES and Amateur Radio Operators are therefore invited to send an EXERCISE Winlink "Did you feel it?" (DYFI) message to the USGS during Shakeout!
In real events Winlink DYFI ground truths contribute to USGS earthquake intensity assessments and event response products, like PAGER. The PAGER system provides fatality and economic loss impact estimates following significant earthquakes worldwide and is used by governments, agencies, NGOs, private companies and citizens.

Here's how:

1. Send Winlink DYFI (“Did-you-feel-it?”) Exercise reports with your group. We encourage you to send reports with Modified Mercalli Intensity V (5) or greater. See below for example reports.

Step-by-Step Exercise Instructions
Winlink USGS DYFI Exercise Instructions (Downloadable)

2. Conduct local radio nets or functional radio exercises to test your group’s preparedness.

The ShakeOut is also an opportunity to learn more about earthquake preparedness. Participants can learn about the different types of earthquakes, how to create an earthquake safety plan, and how to make their homes and businesses more earthquake-resistant.

The Great ShakeOut is a great way to get ready for an earthquake. Many preparedness lessons from the Great ShakeOut also apply to floods, fires, landslides and other disasters. It is also a chance to connect with your community and learn how to help others in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.

Official ShakeOut FAQ: Great Shakeout Frequently Asked Questions

Winlink DYFI Exercise FAQ

Q: My group does not live in earthquake country. May we participate?
A: Yes! USGS welcomes Winlink exercise traffic from all parts of the world.

Q: My group is international. May we participate?
A: Yes! USGS welcomes international Winlink exercise traffic.

Q: Shakeout time is 10:19AM. Which timezone is that?
A: All times are local time.

Q: I won't be able to send my DYFI until I return from work. May I send my traffic later in the day?
A: Yes! Make sure that you are entering the date and time correctly on the Winlink USGS DYFI form (see Step-by-step Instructions) and send your Winlink DYFI Exercise report when you can.

Q: Would peer-to-peer (P2P) and radio-only (RO) Winlink messages be received by USGS?
A: No. USGS requests that you send your DYFI messages to the official USGS email address the form adds.
That means you must use an RMS (Winlink gateway) by radio or Telnet (i.e. the internet) for your DYFI report to be received. USGS does not monitor P2P nor RO.

Q: We are planning an exercise in addition to DYFI. Is that okay?
A: Yes! Shakeout is a great time to test your local and regional radio plans and operations.

Q: We are planning a ShakeOut exercise before/after the official ShakeOut date. Is that okay?
A: Yes! You may report your own exercise earthquake event with Winlink DYFI Exercise form submissions. Make sure that your group is aligned on your selected Exercise ID, Date and Time in the Winlink USGS DYFI form . You may customize those.

Q: What is the main goal?
A: Have fun! Shakeout is a great opportunity to learn about disaster preparedness and how volunteer radio operators can help. It is an excellent opportunity to test your radio and group disaster response capabilities.

RadioMail for iOS

w3qa — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 19:08:24 +0000

We are excited to announce the release of RadioMail, a new client app for the iPhone by Island Magic Co. of Kaua'i, Hawaii. With RadioMail, you can easily send and receive Winlink emails via telnet or pair with modems to exchange emails over the air.

To use RadioMail with your radio, you will need to connect an external TNC interface. You can do this through WiFi or Bluetooth, using a VARA modem or KISS packet modem. Radio control can be setup through rigctld if necessary. Note that RadioMail requires a running version of the VARA modem on a separate computer. For packet mode, the Mobilinkd and Dire Wolf packet modems are supported.

The built-in station directory automatically retrieves available station details and organizes them by proximity based on your current location. You can also add custom stations for peer-to-peer connections (outbound only). The favorites list is where you manage the preferred stations you want to connect to. Favorites stations can quickly be selected by modes and bands when you’re ready to initiate a connection.

The app makes it easy to share images and files. You can access your phone's camera directly, or attach photos from your photo library. RadioMail automatically optimizes images to reduce the transmission time. When you receive an attachment, you can preview it and add annotations if you like. You can also save attachments to local folders or iCloud, or share them via other apps.

RadioMail can also check for new emails in the background at regular intervals, and notify you when a new message comes in. This way, you won't miss important emails even when you're not actively using the app. Additionally, you can use the phone's internal GPS to automatically provide an accurate location for position reports, which are posted to the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) network.

To learn more visit RadioMail or download the app from the App Store. You can also refer to the web site https://radiomail.app/ for a description of features. See a comparison of all Winlink client programs.

Play HAMWORD

w3qa — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 19:27:10 +0000

Mark Kleine, N5HZR, has created a Winlink-based game that mimics the popular five-letter word guessing game, Wordle. This game allows hams to practice their Winlink skills while having fun guessing an unknown five-letter word.

Give it a try! See this page for more information.

New Pre-Releases of Paclink-Open-Source

w3qa — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 16:22:34 +0000

Paclink-Open-Source is an open project of the Winlink Development Team intended to modernize common Winlink code and prepare for future ports to non-Windows platforms. Your participation in testing and development is invited! Join the team!

These pre-releases are intended to gauge current status of the project and determine what needs to be fixed.

The latest release can be downloaded from
https://github.com/ARSFI/paclink-open-source/releases/

If you are interested in participating in development, please contact Moneer Salem, [email protected]">[email protected], or Lee Inman at [email protected]">[email protected], or use the links on the GitHub repository page at https://github.com/ARSFI/paclink-open-source.

--The Winlink Development Team