Imagine a county-wide emergency where every community response agency is activated. At dispatch and the County EOC, all types of traffic - from urgent to routine - comes in over public safety and amateur radio frequencies. On the amateur radio side, there are at least 13 City or Town EOC’s in this county, as well as a significant faith-based amateur radio organization. When things get rolling, the amount of voice traffic generated could quickly tie up the radio waves.
I once heard the comment that digital messages via amateur radio are the future of emergency communications. How would that help in our scenario? Urgent life safety messages between the EOC’s would continue over voice channels, while messages such as shelter status updates or damage assessments could be compiled via computer using standardized forms, which are then attached to an email and transmitted by amateur radio operators over separate frequencies.
When I joined ARES in 2021 I became familiar with Winlink, and I expect others in our group have experience with Winlink as well. Winlink is a global messaging system using a combination of software and radio equipment to send email. This can be accomplished on VHF (typically 2m) as well as HF. Many hams locally and across the country have established Winlink as a backup communication method.
Let’s review a couple of instances where Winlink has been a valuable tool when implemented in the field, starting with a Cache County example - the Bear 100 Race.
Amateur Radio support during the race is primarily for runner safety, although other communications are provided, too, including tracking times for each runner, runner support team coordination, supply requests, runner status inquiries, and traffic related to lost runners. In the past, all messages were communicated to net control via voice and as a consequence, the FM repeater in use for the event was tied up about 80 to 90 percent of the time. Net control took the data and recorded it into a database, manually one by one.
Around 2015 the group started using Winlink to communicate data, especially runner times. A BARC member wrote a program for compiling the data automatically into a CSV file that enters the times with the runner. Periodically, this file is compiled at each checkpoint and sent by Winlink to net control via e-mail using packet and Winmor. Sending a file takes 2 to 3 minutes whereas by voice it took hours for net control to receive and copy the information coming in from each checkpoint along the route. An immediate benefit was realized by freeing up the repeater for other event communications.
A side note: This event is a great opportunity for radio operators to work in emergency-like conditions. As the aid station locations are remote in the mountains, in order to stay on the air during their entire operational period it is necessary to develop reliable power solutions.
Winlink also has a history of success during emergency response. One example comes from the Texas Winter Freeze of 2021. Kevin McCoy, KF5FUZ, said the Red Cross formally requested an ARES activation in Texas to address the effects of the natural disaster, which included a lack of drinking water, power outages, fuel shortages, and frozen plumbing, among others.
When asked about the response, McCoy said, “We made a special effort to use Winlink email over radio to get reports of infrastructure problems and unmet needs [and to] communicate information about warming centers.” He continued, “I would say that Winlink operators attending local nets and passing on information was the most valuable contribution in this unusual and unprecedented disaster. We had literally hundreds of Winlink operators across Texas who were trained and ready.”
If you are not a Winlink user I encourage you to give it a try. “But, I don’t have the necessary equipment to connect to my radio”, you might say…
Luckily, Winlink includes a telnet connection feature allowing users to send forms and messages via the internet. As long as you have an amateur call sign and a windows based computer with an internet connection you can register an account and use the service. This will give you a chance to learn the system as you decide if you want to purchase a computer to radio interface.
For those net members who are interested, starting in October I would like to add a Winlink message check-in to the net. This will help us maintain proficiency in using this service before an emergency arises. Additional information about the Winlink net will be coming to you in the next few weeks.
In addition to posting the text of tonight's training topic to the blog, I will add a second post containing a link to instructional videos explaining how to set up and begin using Winlink. If a computer to radio interface interests you, I will also include some details in that post about the interface used at the Newton EOC - just one of the options available. The URL is nwcvnet.blogspot.com.
If you have additional questions as you review the two posts please let me know by text or email.