[QCWA] WinLink

[Jeffrey D Angus]

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a pile of older QST magazines
stacked up in the bathroom. Earlier this year I was reading about
WinLink and ARES etc. and thought, "I should give that a try."

Off to <http://www.winlink.org/> and downloaded the RMS
Express package. I installed it and couldn't get it to work. I
suppose I'm also not the only one that doesn't read all the
instructions first. ;-)

Last Saturday I had a friend suggest WinLink and ask if I had
it running. And I vaguely remembered "Oh yeah, that didn't
work."

So I had another go at it.
This time AFTER reading the instructions

Step 1. Install Microsoft .net Framework v4.0
Step 2. Install the propagation software as mentioned in the
instructions.
Step 3. Install RMS Express.

NOW it works. But as any new program, there's a bit of a
learning curve to get it working properly.

Step 4. Configure the com port to talk to the Icom transceiver.
Step 5. Tell the program to use the SignaLink USB sound card.
Step 6. Download the list of stations.

Pick one. In my case it was a station in Wisconsin. I sent email
to myself.

Check email and there it was, mail from WA6FWI at winlink.org

All things considered, I like it. And I like the idea of being able to
participate in activities that include it in their operations.

Jeff-1.0
wa6fwi