I am extremely pleased to report that our very own Ms. Emily Bishop, WE4MB, AUX4EB, and SYSOP of HF RMS AAB4TN, (and more) was selected to receive the ARRL's Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award in recognition of her outstanding service to Amateur Radio as a young ham (The minutes of the July 2010 ARRL Board meeting have now been posted at http://www.arrl.org/board-meetings see minute 26).

Congratulations, Emily!

Steve, K4CJX, AAA9AC
For the Winlink Development Team

Last week I sailed from Bermuda to Newport aboard a 40ft Swan and had the opportunity to try the WINMOR soundcard protocol for real throughout the crossing. We departed Bermuda on June 29th and arrived in Newport on July 5th. During the six days we were able to connect with several RMS stations reliably and at all times of the day. In fact, once at sea, there was never an occasion when a solid connection was not possible. Stations KN6KB-5, N1DL-5, W3QA-5 and KB1OOQ-5 were almost always available with W3QA-5 being the workhorse on 30m. Connections on 40m, 30m and 20m were always reliable with throughput of a few hundred b/s. 4PSK and 8PSK were usual and on occasion even 16PSK. We sent emails to family, friends and hams every day during the voyage for a total of 51 emails sent and 38 received, including 4 grib files downloaded for weather information. There was not a single email transfer terminated through loss of signal or poor signal strength.

The rig was simple. Just an Icom IC-7000 mobile with an LDG IT-100 autotuner, a Rigblaster P&P interface, a $5 USB soundcard and a Dell laptop. The antenna was the backstay and the only limitation was the unavailability of 80m (KB1OOQ-5 in the evenings) since the tuner would not match at the lower frequency.

Although the boat was equipped with an Iridium sat phone we did not have the software set up for email via satellite. The phone was essentially for emergency use and was used only once to make a routine voice call. All crew aboard were appreciative of the safety and security of having HF email on board, to say nothing of the fun. As new RMS stations proliferate and the sun spot cycle picks up I have no doubt WINMOR will become an important mode for global data communications.

I would like to thank the entire Winlink Development Team for their patient dedication and for making such a fine contribution to the ham radio, sailing and emcomm communities.

Thanks,

Cliff
KC1PO

[Posted with permission from the author.--Ed.]

The Amateur Radio Safety Foundation and the Winlink Development Team seek a few special hams who can commit to providing a reliable public service. Join the network as a Winlink WINMOR sysop, and operate an HF WINMOR Radio Mail Server station.

We need well-located operators who can commit to installing, operating and maintaining high-quality HF WINMOR server stations. Your station should use a 100-watt HF transceiver capable of automatic control, a well-engineered resonant antenna or antenna system with automatic tuning, an effective ground system and reliable back-up power. WINMOR radio mail server stations also require a dedicated late-model Windows computer with an uninterruptable power supply, a quality soundcard interface, and a permanent, reliable internet connection.

We ask HF RMS sysops to commit to keeping their stations listening on-air 24/7/365. This is the goal, not always achieved but nevertheless a solid commitment and something to strive for. The WDT tries to strike a responsible balance between using our precious HF bandwidth carefully by using a minimum of very reliable HF network stations and still provide user radio e-mail access--worldwide, in all conditions. We suggest that operators interested in experimenting, EmComm stations interested in training, or those interested in operating a station part-time look into joining the WL2K network as a VHF/UHF RMS Packet station instead.

Contact Steve Waterman, K4CJX, for detailed information, to request RMS WINMOR server software and to be authorized as a network station.

Operating a WL2K network station is immensely rewarding. You will get sincere thanks and praise for what you do from HF users. Look into it! There is no better way to easily give back to the amateur radio, EmComm, and seafaring communities.

All-User Message, June 25, 2010

After over 13 years of continual service, Gary Burrows, Amateur HF RMS WD8DHF, must close his HF RMS. Gary and his wife have been traveling extensively, and soon leave for another extended stay in New Zealand.

We all will be sorry to see Gary shut the HF RMS down, but we are also grateful for his years of great service to those who have used his station. Thank you, Gary, for all you have done for the Winlink 2000 radio e-mail system.

Steve, K4CJX
For the Winlink Development Team

RMS Express Version 1.0.0.0

RMS Express is a Winlink 2000 (WL2K) radio email client that is very easy to install, maintain and operate. The best yet! It is intended to be used in applications that need to support only a single user and call sign but it may be used to access one or two preset tactical addresses or alternate callsigns. RMS Express includes support for the new sound card mode WINMOR, as well as support for HF Pactor, VHF/UHF packet and direct telnet to WL2K CMS servers using a wide selection of TNCs and multimode controllers.

For more information and downloads, click here for the user software page. For more on the new WINMOR soundcard protocol, click here for the WINMOR page.

This does NOT affect users of Airmail user software. It also does not affect RMS Packet or RMS Pactor gateway software (our RMS station operators).

In all Winlink-produced client programs (Paclink and RMS Express) that support both WINMOR and Pactor 3, radio control shall connect direct from the computer to the radio. Radio control THROUGH the SCS modem will no longer be supported.

Why is this being done? Most importantly, one cannot control the radio when using WINMOR and other possible future protocols if the radio control is connected through an SCS modem. Thus, for multi-mode operations and future development, the option is being eliminated.

What do you do if you now control your radio through the SCS via a control cable from the modem to the radio? Currently, there is a provision for direct connect, which will require either another USB port, or USB-to-serial interface, depending on the radio used.

1. Here is my choice for a USB-to-serial adaptor for radios requiring a serial
interface:

TRENDnet USB-to-Serial Adaptor at about $17.00
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1131250

2. Here are two options from about $4.00 to $22.00 for those who must convert from RS-232 serial to a CI-V (TTL) interface:

http://valley-ent.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_descr...

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Programming-CI-V-interface-cable-for-ICOM-Radio-...

If not all of the above text shows up as a hyperlink, then cut and paste until it does.

Thanks much,

Steve, k4cjx, aaa9ac
For the Winlink development team

The official numbers show the trend. The WINMOR soundcard HF protocol has not emerged from Beta testing, yet traffic statistics for April show that Pactor I and II use has dropped dramatically while WINMOR use takes up the slack. Nothing beats PIII, and it continues to be the most popular mode for serious long-range communicators using Winlink 2000.

• HF Traffic
  Pactor I Connections 9
  Pactor II Connections 4,226
  Pactor III Connections 32,772
  WINMOR 500 Connections 5,421
  WINMOR 1600 Connections 7,803
  Total Connections 50,231
  Total HF Messages Received 34,424
  Total HF Messages Sent 43,244

The new user client software, RMS Express, in which the WINMOR protocol is embedded, is being adopted quickly for regular use, even though it also has not made it out of Beta test. It also supports Pactor III, packet and online telnet connections.

Packet radio, mostly local EmComm training traffic, makes up about 10% of the total Winlink 2000 traffic.

• Packet Traffic
  Total Messages Received 5,925
  Total Messages Sent 7,260

The APRS system finds utility as a way to send email in a pinch.

• APRS Traffic
  Total Messages Received 0
  Total Messages Sent 62

And Webmail, which is supposed to be a convenience for radio email users to access their Winlink email when away from their radio station, has done an about face, and is now used more to send than to receive messages. We suspect some EmComm users are forgetting that reliance on the convenience of the internet can degrade one's ability to perform using their radio stations when needed during an emergency!

• WebMail Traffic
  Total Messages Received 914
  Total Messages Sent 3,413

The total message traffic always seems to hover around 100,000 messages per month.

• Total System Message Traffic 95,242

7520 registered WL2K users created all the above traffic during April. There are 13,699 current registered users in the USA, and 5500 outside the USA. There are 3611 MARS/agency users of the system as well.

For an up-to-the-minute snapshot of WL2K system traffic, see the system traffic report page.