Winlink 2000 Email As A QRP Buddy

Playing around with QRP is lots of fun and sometimes very challenging. But, it usually takes two to tango. You need somebody on the other end of the link to hear you and respond. Usually, we expect that to be a warm-blooded human being. If you have the itch to play radio with QRP and nobody is around, well, you're stuck.

There is another way....

Recently, I acquired an account on Winlink's Global Email System and can now connect to servers around the world and the country to send email via HF radio. It occurred to me that I am connecting to a computer that is, for the most part, impartial in it's judgement of my signal quality. If it doesn't like it, it won't answer. If it is too weak, it will not hesitate to dump me and move on to paying customers.

I use RMS Express as the client software for Winlink. It works well for my purposes. Within that software is a database that shows the available remote stations that you can connect if you have a Winlink Email account. The database shows the distance to the station as well as the expected propagation characteristics.

The table below shows some of my results using QRP power levels:

Station Date/Time	FREQ KHz	Distance (km)	Power Watts	km/watt miles/watt	Rate Bytes/Min
VE3ONN 10/19/2012 0405Z	7088	1988	1	1988 1235	38
KJ5YN 10/18/2012 0222Z	7094.5	1850	1	1850 1150	52
W0ECM	14092	1477	1	1477	131
KN6KB	7081.5	3155	5	631	134
KD4NUE	7079.5	2908	5	582	480
KE7XO	3585.5	567	1	567	328
VE3ONN	7088	1988	5	398	110
K5AEA	7098.5	1693	5	339	90
W0ECM	7082	1477	5	295	108

These results are not record breaking but I am just getting started.

RigBlaster - RMS Express Problem (SOLVED)

This is a post to West Mountain Radio describing a problem with RMS Express and the RigBlaster PRO. The West Mountain Radio folks provided a quick answer. The image and explanation is posted at the end of this article.

PROBLEM:
When sending to a remote station using RMS Express (WinLink/Winmor), the software appears to be using audio picked up by the rig's microphone rather than audio delivered into the RigBlaster's LINE IN from the computer's LINE OUT.

While this is functional, it requires that the microphone be placed close to the station speakers so that it can hear what is being generated for an output.

I am pretty sure this is not the way it is designed.

Now, when using RTTY, PSK31, or other modes with MixW Version 2.2, all is fine, i.e., the RigBlaster feeds computer audio directly to the rig rather than through the microphone.

SETUP:
a. ICOM 756PRO
b. RigBlaster PRO configured to take RCV AUDIO from the mic connector using jumpers on P1 (irrelevant but listed for the sake of completeness).
c. Computer Windows 7 using internal sound card.

OPINION:
I assume that RigBlaster has a relay or switch internally to switch rig input audio away from microphone audio over to computer audio. Works fine with MixW but it seems that the command to cause this to happen is, somehow, not being issued by RMS Express.

SOLUTION:

The West Mountain Radio folks provided a quick solution. The basic answer was:

The Pro does indeed mute the microphone during PTT cycles, however, if you are using PTT by CAT the RIGblaster has no way of knowing that PTT has happened.... make sure that RMS Express is set to perform hardware PTT on the serial port using RTS (not via CAT). You can tell when you have it correctly configured as the red "ptt" LED will light on the RIGblaster.
From: Shoto, K7TMG, West Mountain Radio Technical Support

After some fussing around and a couple of more emails, he provided the screenshot that shows how RMS Express must be set up. Simple, sweet, and it worked. Thanks to K7TMG and the West Mountain Radio folks for a quick solution.

73, Jim Harvey, W7YV
Oct 15, 2012

Low Cost Access to Winlink 2000 Global Email System

This short article reports on implementing the capability to connect to the WinLink 2000 Global Email System⁽¹⁾ using HF radio and an inexpensive sound card interface.

GOAL:

Implement the capability to connect to the WinLink 2000 Global Email System⁽¹⁾ using HF radio and an inexpensive sound card interface and equipment already on hand.

EQUIPMENT:

1. ICOM 756 PRO HF Transceiver (on hand)
2. Horizontal Loop Antenna, 268 ft perimeter, up 30 feet (on hand)
3. West Mountain Radio RIGBlaster PRO⁽²⁾ (on hand, MSRP: $299.95)
4. RMS Express Winlink 2000 (WL2K) radio email client.
5. MixW⁽³⁾ multi-mode software for PSK31 testing (free)

DISCUSSION:

From the time I had the idea to implement the capability to the time I sent my first message was a little less than a day. First, I had to find my RIGBlaster and all the cables. That was the hardest part. Then, I had to review the RIGBlaster documentation to relearn what I had forgotten. It has been idle for over three years -- the last time I did any PSK31 work.

The second challenge was to get RIGBlaster to work again with PSK31 on Windows 7 and, as well, to make sure all the cables were connected properly. My bad eyesight limits my ability to do that, sometimes.

I used MixW as a testbed for the PSK31. My first contact was to N7ZYS in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Once I had proved I could use PSK31 with the RIGBlaster, I moved on to downloading and installing RMS Express and obtaining a Winlink Email account. In order to get a Winlink account, you must connect using an  Email client, in my case, the RMS Express Winlink 2000 (WL2K) radio email client. In other words, you cannot simply register for a Winlink Email account online - the request has to come via radio.

Fortunately, the instructions for doing this are plainly covered on Winlink's site(4). The instructions lead you down the primrose path to the RMS Express download site. These links are found on Winlink's FTP site that is listed in the Getting Started document.

Now, I am not the sharpest tool in the drawer but I was able to follow the instructions and get RMS Express running. Within that software, a list of available Winlink stations is provided. My first choice, not really knowing what I was doing, was KE7XO, a station in Las Vegas, NV. I chose the station, made sure my rig was tuned, and pushed the Start button. My radio squawked and, lo and behold, the Saints be praised, I got a squawk back and had a connection.

The rest is history. I forget the exact steps that were requested of me to setup the account. From "Start" to disconnect and verification of an email back through my primary email account was about 10 minutes.

Way cool!

CONCLUSION:

While PSK31, RTTY, and other digital modes are fun, they don't interest me that much as I do not do contests and have little interest in chasing DX or rag chewing. I am active on CW nets and like to handle Radiograms over the ARRL National Traffic System. Now, I can do that digitally.

Having a Winlink Email account and the ability to send Email via radio makes it possible for me to do that when out in the sticks somewhere camping or, perhaps, when the infrastructure in my local area has collapsed and I need to get messages out.

With regard to hardware, I used what I had on hand  Other solutions are possible at higher and lower prices. If money were no object, I would prefer to have a dedicated TNC (Terminal Node Controller) rather than using the soundcard in my computer.

That said, my goals were met in that I was able to get active with Winlink Email in less than a day using equipment I already had on hand.

REFERENCES:

1. Winlink 2000 Global Email System
2. West Mountain Radio RIGBlaster PRO
3. MixW Multi-Mode Software
4. http://www.winlink.org/GetStarted