WL2KEMCOMMS

REFERENCES FOR WINLINK 2000 (WL2K) SYSTEM

E-Mail Over Ham Radio in Support of EMCOMMs

Last updated February 9, 2006

The following websites may be consulted for indicated specific information on the Winlink 2000 (WL2K) E-mail Over Ham Radio system.

REAL TIME STATUS OF WL2K INFRASTRUCTURE STATIONS

http://www.winlink.org/status/PMBOStatus.aspx

This is a real-time list of active PMBO stations. To the left you will find links to status maps which are GOOGLE EARTH REAL TIME MAPS for PMBOs, RMS, and Telpac nodes. Be sure and wait for the maps to be populated with sites.

MAIN WINLINK 2000 WEB SITE

www.winlink.org

. . . Winlink 2000 Utilizes enabling technologies and sound operating practices to provide a full-featured radio digital message transfer system, worldwide. . . . Comment: This is the primary winlink source with a lot of information. Of special interest is the EmergencyComm section

http://www.winlink.org/Emergency.htm

which contains several MS Power Point and other presentations, including one by N0IA. WL2K-related computer programs may be found in the DOWNLOADS section.

http://www.winlink.org/Client.htm

YAHOO GROUPS – E-mail groups where information about and help with WL2K may be exchanged.

LOADING_WL2K_USER_PROGRAMS

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LOADING_WL2K_USER_PROGRAMS/

 . . . This Yahoo group is for those who have not yet installed the programs for using E-mail
 over Ham Radio through the WL2K system. 
 There is no TNC, data terminal, or radio needed for this process. 
 When there is sufficient interest, this group may expand to details of wiring computer-TNCs-radios
 for using the software over the air. . . . 
  Comment . . . The first thing to do is go to the FILES section of this group and look 
  for E-Mail Assignments.  Start working on them in order.
   Do the assignments at your own pace.

AIRMAIL2000 USER GROUP

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/airmail2000/

. . . A general purpose list for things like: Beginner questions on setting up, tips on using and connecting to the WinLink2000 system, frequency updates, WinLink2000 station status and new station additions are all welcome on this list. Update notices to the AirMail2000 software as well as discussions of direct AirMail to AirMail connects are also welcome. . . . Comment: Over 300 members worldwide gather here to keep up to date with this user program, most of who use HF from boats, RVs, or other remote sites to access e-mail w/o an internet connection.

WL2KEMCOMMS

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wl2kemcomm/

. . . .Purpose of the group is to share ideas, uses, methods and procedures of utilizing Winlink 2000 for Disaster Recovery/Emergency Preparedness; and to include any other organization/agency that employs or is considering employing Winlink 2000 for this purpose. . . . Comment: Members of the WL2K Development Team (WL2K) and others with decades of digital and EMCOMMs experience hang out here fielding questions and concerns about overall implementation of EMCOMMs applications of WL2K. With over 1,000 members, the daily digest here often comes out more than two times a day with 25+ entries each! Virtually every ARRL section is represented here and there is much sharing of implementation problems and successes. Chances are answers for you first twenty questions may be found in the files or message archive sections!

WL2K REFERENCES NOW ON ARRL WEB SITE

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/winlink.html

. . . The Internet has become the e-mail medium of choice for most hams, but there is a sizeable group of amateurs who often travel beyond the reach of the Internet. This group includes hams at sea, travelers in recreational vehicles (RVs), missionaries, scientists and explorers. No doubt the day will come when wireless, affordable Internet e-mail access will be available from any point on the globe. Until that day arrives, however, Amateur Radio HF digital operators have a very capable substitute! . . . Comment: This section was just added to the ARRL web site early in December. Most of what is there is ‘old ‘news, (i.e. references to QST articles.) However this addition is indicative of the support the league is giving to applying WL2K to EMCOMMs.

bud Thompson N0IA

budt@cfl.rr.com