Ham log #2 - Winlink Express screenshots and settings

Ki7QFV Winlink Express and Radio Email

A helpful ham mentor/Elmer (N6NBN) taught me how to send and receive winlink email (think SLOW email over radio).  Pretty cool stuff! Remember that you can't use it for business purposes (the same ham radio rules apply, and the email is regularly monitored).  Adding winlink to my toolkit required adding some additional hardware to my little to-go bag:

a) a USB printer cable
b) a Signalink or TNC-x device  (I bought both but I could have just used the Signalink)
c) A custom cable to go from the TNC-x or Signalink to my radio
d) A portable and *durable* laptop (toughbook in this case) with Winlink and Soundmodem installed

I then customized the little jumpers inside the signalink box for my specific radio, with the handy little wire jumpers provided in the signalink package.   It ended up looking like this:

I then stepped through a fairly long configuration process put together by W6CDD here: http://n4ser.org/2016/soundcard-winlink-2-uz7ho-replaces-agwpe/.  Here's a snapshot of my winlink packet settings:

And here's a shot of my soundmodem settings once the signalink was attached.  The signalink MUST be attached before you'll see the USB Codec option.

 

I tested the whole configuration with internet access and the telnet option; but once configuration was complete,  I selected packet winlink and a nearby channel from the list,  and proceeded to test sending via radio!

Winlink could be VERY helpful in many situations - and one of the only ways you can communicate with non-Hams with your ham radio.  You can send to any internet email address, including the more obscure ones - so as an example, you could email a phone (example: #######@txt.att.net) etc.  Be aware that internet users can reply to your email, but may have problems sending directly to you without a //WL2K in the subject line.  

The next challenge was to make the signalink/winlink/soundmodem combination work on my Mac Laptop (because sometimes I have the Mac and not the PC with me).  That turned out to be more complicated, and I documented the process here:  https://wiki.psrg.org/wiki/Winlink-Mac:_Internet_Email_over_Radio_on_a_Mac

I'm looking forward to taking this to the next level, when I can send winlink over long distances with a HF radio after I get my general license.

------- stop here for regular Winlink------

[Epilogue - I got my general, and was able to make the mac work on an HF radio!  Here are the settings to *instead* connect the mac via a serial/usb to a Pactor modem via an Icom marine radio - which is functionally the same as it would be from a PC.]