The San Diego ARES have put together a series of short videos to help those new to Winlink navigate Winlink Express software. Topics include installation, configuration, ICS forms and more.
You can find the playlist for this Youtube series here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-7mirT-kjfs84FQzLr-qv066Kl94rtYM
Updated Friday March 27, 2020
Canceled WCARES and related events
Due to concerns over the potential risk of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) infection spread by group gatherings, our EC, Ed Hudgens, WB4RHQ has made the decision to cancel the March 21st monthly meeting.
Self-isolation is currently considered a best-practice for reducing the risk of infection and may be key in slowing the virus so as not to overwhelm our medical infrastructure.
This may be a good time to stay in touch with each other using our local repeater system. If anyone becomes ill and needs groceries or other items dropped off at your doorstep, please reach out. We’re all in this together.
Please also note that the informal weekly Chew & Chat has been canceled until further notice and that the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel Hamvention for 2020.
Sources of information:
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has established the COVID-19 Unified Command Hub to streamline coordination across the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Tennessee Department of Health and Tennessee Department of Military. This page provides information, maps and resources about the coronavirus response in Tennessee, symptoms and recommendations:
https://www.tn.gov/unifiedcommand.html
Williamson Co. COVID-19 Related Closures, Resources & Procedures:
https://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/1876/Covid-19-County-Closures-Procedures
Williamson Co. Office of Public Safety status:
http://www.williamsonready.org/266/Coronavirus-Disease
Tennessee Department of Health information related to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) can be found here:
https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html
See the CDC for more information on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19):
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
and steps to prevent illness, to protect yourself and others:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention.html
A reminder that today, Saturday, March 7th at 1PM, county sirens will be tested. All members are asked to sign up to monitor and report on this test. Please refer to the WCARES Notes e-mail you received last week:
Please consider participating in the monthly county siren test <...> at 1 pm on the 7th. The County EMA has requested our assistance as they restart the county siren tests. These tests will be conducted every month on the 1st Saturday at 1:00 pm.
and refer to the link in that e-mail to sign up to participate, even if you had signed up previously.
Mar 4, 2020 – As a part of the new Plant The Seed initiative by the Delta Division of the ARRL to get ARRL publications in libraries, the Williamson County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (WCARES) donated and presented an ARRL Library Book Set to Sheila Taylor KI4IBX and Sharon Reily of the main branch of the Williamson County Public Library system in Franklin, TN.
Ed Hudgens WB4RHQ, Emergency Coordinator for Williamson County and Jeff Standifer WB5WAJ presented the set of books.
This set will replace the over ten year old well-used set currently in their system. Included are the 24th edition of the Antenna Book, the 4th edition of the FCC Rules, the 2020 Handbook, the 12th edition of the Operating Manual, the 3rd edition of the RFI Book, the 2nd edition of Understanding Basic Electronics, and copies of the current edition of the Technician, General, and Extra Class License Manuals.
The WCARES Technician and General license classes for 2020 wrapped up over the weekend.
Thank-you to all of the students and teachers who took part.
The next Nashville VE Team exam session is March 14th (on our calendar here.)
See http://www.NashvilleVETeam.org/ for more information.
You can also search for exam sessions in your area here: http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session
See you in 2021!
Dave, KI4PSR gave the Technical talk at the February Monthly Meeting with the first in a series of presentations on antenna tuners.
In this first installment Dave covered the basics of antenna tuners and dispelled some myths (a tuner does not improve the radiation efficieny of the antenna.) An overview of reactance concepts, reactive matching and an introduction to L-network tuner configurations were next followed up with a brief demonstration.
Dave says this presentation was inspired by the work of Davide, IZ2UUF
https://www.iz2uuf.net/wp/index.php/2019/03/22/how-does-a-tuner-tune/
and provided a link to one of IZ2UUF’s youtube videos on tuner losses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmVMQbXmaHA .
Dave’s presentation is here:
https://wcares.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KI4PSR_HOW_DOES_AN_ANTENNA_TUNER_WORK.pdf
along with pictures of his demonstration setup:
 |
 |
WCARES EC Ed Hudgens, WB4RHQ gave the ARES Presentation at February’s Monthly Meeting.
The Tennessee Section of the ARRL is one of 71 sections in the United States and is part of the Delta Division which also includes Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Ed gave an overview of the ARRL Divisions and Sections, the Delta Division and spoke about Division and Section nets, how the Sections coordinate during emergency events.
Ed announced a new division initiative to promote amateur radio through local libraries. Outreach to Williamson County libraries will include donations of ARRL book packages such as handbooks, license manuals and related materials and offers to host meetings about amateur radio and WCARES.
Ed’s Delta Division presentation includes more information (PDF)
Ed also talked about a recent presentation he gave at a meeting of the Cumberland Plateau Amateur Radio Club, CPARC. Dudley Pitts, KM4IYQ, past member of WCARES is now the CPARC club president. Ed spoke about WCARES and the Williamson Co. EMA, how the ARRL sees ARES evolving and some of the initiatives Ed has started during his tenure as WCARES Emergency Coordinator (EC).
At the January Monthly Meeting, Jeff Standifer, WB5WAJ (WCARES EC Jan 2016 – Dec 2017) gave a presentation on ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and how it applies to WCARES.
Jeff’s presentation included an overview of ARES along with some discussion about how WCARES is organized and what training WCARES members should be completing.
Cliff, N4CCB recorded a video of the presentation. You can find this and a copy of the presentation at the links below:
As those of you who attended the recent WCARES Monthly Meeting heard, WCARES members Steve K4CJX and Phil W4PHS received the Military Department of Tennessee Adjutant General’s Distinguished Patriot Medal for their “distinguished patriotic service”.
WCARES EC Ed Hudgens, WB4RHQ congratulates Steve and Phil.
From the ARRL news link: http://www.arrl.org/news/winlink-development-team-members-awarded-tennessee-military-department-patriot-medals:
Steve Waterman, K4CJX, was awarded “for his distinguished patriotic service as the Winlink Network Administrator,” citing his “vision, hard work, and dedication to emergency communication [that] contributed significantly to the disaster readiness and communications interoperability of the emergency responders across the United States and the world.”
Phil Sherrod, W4PHS, was awarded the medal “for his distinguished patriotic service as the lead developer for Winlink,” with “technical skill, hard work, and dedication to emergency communication [that] contributed significantly to the disaster readiness and communications interoperability of the emergency responders across the United States and the world.”
Jeff, WB5WAJ was looking into uses for his TinyTrak4 and came across this article by N3LUD describing how to use it with Winlink Express. Jeff has successfully used this setup for Packet Winlink with his Yaesu 7800 and says “The install is very straight forward. The radio has a 6 pin data jack. The cable connects to the radio and then to the TinyTrak4. This cable can be bought from Byonics. Then there is a USB cable from the TinyTrak4 to the computer.”
http://n3lud.blogspot.com/2013/10/tinytrak-4-and-winlink-rms-express.html
It is also worth noting that you don’t need a radio with a dedicated data port and can often make the connections to the mic and speaker/headphone jacks of a basic mobile radio or HT. Make your own cable using the information in your radio’s user or service manual or purchase one from a company like Byonics: cable selection chart.
For an overview of Packet, VA3ROM has a presentation on VHF Packet which covers scenarios, equipment and examples such as Winlink:
http://www.va3rom.com/docs/VHF Packet Radio.pdf
Winlink is an important capability for WCARES members so if you don’t yet have a Winlink Packet solution, try this out.
You must be logged in to post a comment.