...is a network of amateur radio and authorized government stations that provide worldwide radio email using radio pathways where the internet is not present. The system is built, operated and administered entirely by licensed "Ham" volunteers. It supports email with attachments, position reporting, weather and information bulletins, and is well-known for its role in interoperable emergency and disaster relief communications. It is capable of operating completely without the internet--automatically--using smart-network radio relays. Licensed Winlink operators/stations use both amateur radio and government radio frequencies worldwide. Support for the system is provided by the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation, Inc., a US 501(c)(3) non-profit, public-benefit entity. Winlink Global Radio Email®️ is a US registered trademark of the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation, Inc.
...are created with a client program. You can not create one here.
We require
A valid amateur radio license, or
a license or authorization from a participating government service or agency.
GMRS, LMR, ship station, other marine or general radiotelephone licenses DO NOT qualify.
How To Get an Account
Download, install and configure any client software. We suggest Winlink Express. After you install, study the program's help about configuration and use.
If using Winlink Express:
With an internet connection, fill out the form presented on first startup. Be sure to include a password and password recovery address. Click 'Update'. Winlink Express makes the process easy. Your account is created!
If you use a different program than Winlink Express:
Follow the program's instructions to configure it for your callsign and use. Connect with the system (sending a message via Telnet is okay) to begin creating your account. Do not use a password on your first connection. Your account's radio email address is YOURCALL@winlink.org. A message containing your password will be posted by the system to your account. Retrieve it with a second connection. After retrieving your password, secure login will now be enforced by the CMS, so be sure to set your password in your client program before your next connection try!
To recover your password and log into your account on this site:
At any time, use the recovery form [My Account] to have a password re-sent to your account or password recovery address. Retrieve it using the appropriate program.
Use your callsign as your username, and password to log in here. You can change your password once you're logged in.
Click the 'edit' tab on your account page here, then edit your account settings and set a password recovery address!Click 'Save' at the bottom of the account info form.
Winlink accounts stay alive only with client program use via radio or telnet connections only; Webmail and other accesses don't count!. Accounts off-air for 400 days are automatically purged. Use it or lose it!
On Monday morning, October 29, the tall ship HMS Bounty was in the embrace of Hurricane Sandy 90 miles off Hatteras, NC and taking on water. Doug Faunt, N6TQS, survivor and ship's electrician, told the ARRL that the Bounty crew tried various methods to call for help, including a satellite phone, “... we got nothing when tried calling out on HF. We tried calling the Maritime Mobile Net, but nothing was out there. We had Winlink on the ship that we used for e-mail and accessing the Internet to post to blogs and to Facebook, and we finally found an e-mail address for the Coast Guard. As a last-ditch effort, we used Winlink to e-mail the Coast Guard for help. Within an hour, we heard a C-130 plane, and later, a helicopter overhead.” According to Faunt, it was Captain Robin Walbridge, KD4OHZ, as master of the ship, who sent out the distress messages.
The US Coast Guard has suspended its search for Robin Walbridge, 63, the missing captain of the replica tall ship.
The messages have been removed from the Winlink system and turned over to US Coast Guard authorities for their investigation.
Faunt posted this message to a ham RTTY group about two weeks after the rescue.
UPDATE: The Winlink messages leading to the rescue have been made available for viewing by the public, along with the final USCG report, on the USCG web site.
The dramatic Coast Guard rescue of 14 crew from liferafts can be seen in the video below.
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The mission of Boat Watch is to maintain a worldwide network of resources to aid mariners that are missing or overdue; have a boat stolen; or to whom urgent messages need to be relayed. Winlink Global Radio Email is proud to be a partner of BoatWatch.org since 1999.
Current Watches
See Boatwarch.org for a current listing of lost or overdue vessels.
Interested in monitoring Winlink RF activity for FCC rules compliance? Welcome! Please go to this page.
Open Message Viewer
All messages passing through licensed US amateur radio stations by radio are freely accessible by other licensed amateurs right here. Help the US amateur radio community police itself. Search and view, and please report a message if you spot a violation. US Amateur Radio Message Viewer
Get Winlink Express
The only client program with everything Winlink offers. Easy to set up, learn and use. Fully supported. Actively updated. Free Download
Winlink Was There...
Lives and property saved, damage mitigated and training, training, training: Why Winlink volunteers do what they do. Here is a sampling of events and incidents in which the system was significantly involved.
