WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.819 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.819 --> 00:00:06.379 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:09.980 and more, visit them at a hamfest near you or 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:18.359 call 920 -435 -2973 or online at pl -259 .com. 00:00:50.990 --> 00:00:53.369 Good morning, everyone. It's time for HamTalk 00:00:53.369 --> 00:00:58.630 Live. It's episode number 105, using WinLink. 00:00:58.710 --> 00:01:02.250 Recorded live on Thursday, March 8th, 2018. I'm 00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:06.250 your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:10.849 in to this episode of HamTalk Live. Tonight, 00:01:10.950 --> 00:01:15.230 we're joined by Steve Waterman, K4CGX, and Phil 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:19.030 Sherrod, W4PHS. about Windlink and we'll take 00:01:19.030 --> 00:01:22.650 your calls live in just a few minutes. Last week 00:01:22.650 --> 00:01:27.349 on the show Andy Malusi KK4LRW was here to talk 00:01:27.349 --> 00:01:29.969 about the Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative 00:01:29.969 --> 00:01:32.810 and if you missed that you can always listen 00:01:32.810 --> 00:01:35.629 just go to HamTalkLive .com and you can listen 00:01:35.629 --> 00:01:39.849 to any of the past shows and if you have a podcast 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:44.120 player on your phone or your tablet or Online 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:47.239 you can go to any of those podcast outlets and 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:50.379 hear us as well on the podcast version We're 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:53.939 on Apple podcast stitcher. I heart podcasts Google 00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:57.420 play tune in SoundCloud and also over on YouTube 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:01.879 You can catch us there and a lot of other podcast 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.200 players as well So you can find us just about 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.780 anywhere So have your questions ready to go after 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:11.819 the interview. You'll be able to call us and 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:15.310 a little word of warning if we can't get... calls 00:02:15.310 --> 00:02:17.830 tonight, which I think we can, but we were having 00:02:17.830 --> 00:02:21.389 some Skype difficulties during our test a while 00:02:21.389 --> 00:02:25.449 ago, so we'll hope for the best here. The phone 00:02:25.449 --> 00:02:33.870 number is 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. 00:02:34.270 --> 00:02:37.849 You can definitely call us on Skype. We're HamTalk 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:41.310 Live on Skype. And, of course, you can send us 00:02:41.310 --> 00:02:46.080 a tweet. We're on Twitter. handle is at hamtalklives 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.379 we'll be checking that after we get through the 00:02:49.379 --> 00:02:52.659 interview part of the show and we'll look for 00:02:52.659 --> 00:02:56.840 you in one of those and again we hope the phone 00:02:56.840 --> 00:03:00.520 lines are are back in order but Skype is being 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:07.229 Skype again like it used to be so live radio 00:03:07.229 --> 00:03:10.349 at its best. So hopefully that'll work out. But 00:03:10.349 --> 00:03:12.490 I'll be back with Steve and Phil right after 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:15.930 this word from Tower Electronics right here on 00:03:15.930 --> 00:03:19.030 HamTalk Live. This episode of HamTalk Live is 00:03:19.030 --> 00:03:21.550 brought to you in part by Tower Electronics. 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:24.189 Tower Electronics has been the Ham's Dime Store 00:03:24.189 --> 00:03:27.569 since 1978. When you need connectors, mobile 00:03:27.569 --> 00:03:30.849 and handheld antennas, cables or adapters, visit 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:34.430 Scott or Jill at a HamFest near you. Or you can 00:03:34.430 --> 00:03:40.629 order online at PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:45.650 -2973. Stock up on those supplies like PL -259 00:03:45.650 --> 00:03:48.930 and end connectors, SMA adapters, audio cables, 00:03:49.189 --> 00:04:16.990 soldering supplies, mobile antennas, Who is the 00:04:16.990 --> 00:04:20.290 most dangerous person in the world? A ham with 00:04:20.290 --> 00:04:24.790 some wire, a potato gun, and an idea. Now, here's 00:04:24.790 --> 00:04:36.970 Neil Rapp with more HamTalk Live. Thanks again 00:04:36.970 --> 00:04:40.029 to Scott and Jill at Tower Electronics for sponsoring 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:42.649 the show tonight to help bring you HamTalk Live. 00:04:43.660 --> 00:04:47.579 They'll be in Toledo, Ohio at the AmFest there 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:50.800 on March 18th and April 6th and 7th. They'll 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:55.100 be in Belton, Texas. And on April 7th, they'll 00:04:55.100 --> 00:05:00.439 be in Staunton, Wisconsin as well. And you can 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:04.579 always reach them online at PL -259 .com and 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:12.459 by telephone at 920 -435 -2973. Well, our guest 00:05:12.459 --> 00:05:17.399 this evening our Steve Waterman K4 CJX from Nashville, 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:21.259 Tennessee. He's the WinLink 2000 network administrator 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:24.079 and part of the WinLink development team. Steve 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:27.980 has been a licensed TAM since 1955 and he operated 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:33.509 CW from 1955 until 1984. Uh, when he was introduced 00:05:33.509 --> 00:05:36.850 to digital communications and he's an auxiliary 00:05:36.850 --> 00:05:38.870 member of shares, the department of homeland 00:05:38.870 --> 00:05:42.490 securities, national cybersecurity and communication 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:46.029 integration center, national coordinating center 00:05:46.029 --> 00:05:50.209 for communication, shared resources, high frequency 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:52.629 radio program. But yeah, that's why you just 00:05:52.629 --> 00:05:56.629 call it shares. Um, and it serves on, uh, the 00:05:56.629 --> 00:05:59.589 data working group and acts as its wind link 00:05:59.589 --> 00:06:03.610 administrator. He's also on the FEMA Region 4 00:06:03.610 --> 00:06:06.990 Regional Communications Coordinating Working 00:06:06.990 --> 00:06:09.889 Group and serves as chairman for their OXCOM 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:12.889 Working Group. He's a member of the Tennessee 00:06:12.889 --> 00:06:15.670 Emergency Management Agency Communications Unit, 00:06:16.430 --> 00:06:19.870 the Tennessee Homeland Security District 5 Communications 00:06:19.870 --> 00:06:23.269 Committee, and the Williamson County EMA Reserve 00:06:23.269 --> 00:06:27.649 Program. Phil Sherrod, W4PHS, is from Brentwood, 00:06:27.829 --> 00:06:30.470 Tennessee, and that's just outside of Nashville. 00:06:30.829 --> 00:06:33.410 is one of the lead software developers for Windlink, 00:06:33.889 --> 00:06:37.189 specifically the user software. Phil earned his 00:06:37.189 --> 00:06:40.629 extra class license in 2009. He is an assistant 00:06:40.629 --> 00:06:43.930 emergency coordinator for Williamson County ARES 00:06:43.930 --> 00:06:47.009 and named communicator of the year for Navy Mars 00:06:47.009 --> 00:06:51.310 in 2014. Phil is an avid contester, DXer, and 00:06:51.310 --> 00:06:54.310 volunteer examiner. Phil has also developed extensive 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:57.970 training on MCOM, especially revolving around 00:06:57.970 --> 00:07:02.759 Windlink. Phil is also active in shares and I 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.939 won't read the whole acronym thing. But the Tennessee 00:07:06.939 --> 00:07:09.899 Emergency Management Agency Communications Unit 00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:13.920 and the Williamson County EMA Reserve Program. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:17.199 And you can find out more about WinLink at WinLink, 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:22.079 W -I -N -L -I -N -K dot org. So Steve and Phil, 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.980 welcome to HamTalk Live. Well, thank you. Thank 00:07:25.980 --> 00:07:29.029 you. Good to be here tonight. All right. Well, 00:07:29.149 --> 00:07:33.170 I had reached out to you all to be on the show 00:07:33.170 --> 00:07:39.509 and I honestly know very, very, very little about 00:07:39.509 --> 00:07:45.110 Windlink. And I know that right here in our community, 00:07:45.550 --> 00:07:50.949 we have a VHF node and some friends of mine said, 00:07:51.129 --> 00:07:54.189 yeah, well, you know, if you need to, you know, 00:07:54.269 --> 00:07:57.449 in a disaster to put a spreadsheet across, you 00:07:57.449 --> 00:08:00.670 know, and send it somewhere across town through 00:08:00.670 --> 00:08:04.610 this and you've got, you know, locations that 00:08:04.610 --> 00:08:07.170 you have closed or something, and you need that 00:08:07.170 --> 00:08:09.009 in a spreadsheet where it would take too much 00:08:09.009 --> 00:08:13.110 time to do it by voice, you can do it over WinLink. 00:08:13.370 --> 00:08:18.329 And so that's something that's being kind of 00:08:18.329 --> 00:08:23.970 experimented with in this area. So tell us exactly 00:08:23.970 --> 00:08:28.629 what WinLink is and how it works. I'll take the 00:08:28.629 --> 00:08:31.949 lead on that. Windlink is a worldwide system 00:08:31.949 --> 00:08:35.730 for sending email via radio. When I say worldwide, 00:08:36.070 --> 00:08:38.629 I'm using that term literally. I don't know of 00:08:38.629 --> 00:08:42.070 any place on the face of the earth where a person 00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:45.590 with an HF radio, a decent antenna, cannot send 00:08:45.590 --> 00:08:47.750 and receive email through the Windlink system. 00:08:48.190 --> 00:08:53.330 The email it sends is standard email. It is just 00:08:53.330 --> 00:08:57.529 like you'd use with Yahoo or Gmail. It's a text 00:08:57.529 --> 00:09:00.769 message and it can have attachments. The attachments 00:09:00.769 --> 00:09:03.629 could be pictures. They have to be small pictures. 00:09:03.809 --> 00:09:06.429 You can't send giant pictures. It could be spreadsheets. 00:09:06.450 --> 00:09:09.590 It could be Word documents, PDF files. So you 00:09:09.590 --> 00:09:12.190 can send multiple attachments. You can send text. 00:09:12.610 --> 00:09:16.169 You can also send HTML forms, which are nice, 00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:19.710 attractive -looking ways of sending information 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:23.389 like an ICS213 form. And when you send a message 00:09:23.389 --> 00:09:26.409 into the WinLink system, you can either send 00:09:26.409 --> 00:09:28.990 it, address it to another WinLink user, or you 00:09:28.990 --> 00:09:32.730 can address it to a standard internet email address 00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:35.769 like a Yahoo or Gmail account. If you do that, 00:09:36.049 --> 00:09:38.629 the message goes into the WinLink system and 00:09:38.629 --> 00:09:41.610 then the WinLink system after receiving it forwards 00:09:41.610 --> 00:09:45.350 it on through the internet to the ultimate recipient 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:49.110 who could be a Comcast user or someone else. 00:09:49.629 --> 00:09:53.470 And that person can reply from their non -WinLink 00:09:53.470 --> 00:09:56.509 system and it goes back to the WinLink system 00:09:56.509 --> 00:10:00.139 which then stores it in one of our common message 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:03.200 servers, which is our backbone system, until 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:06.039 the recipient connects to the system and then 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:09.820 retrieves their messages. It could work in a 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:11.960 jungle. It could work in the middle of the Atlantic 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:15.639 or Pacific Ocean. We have RMSs you can connect 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:19.600 to literally all over the world. It's been used 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:23.100 in virtually every incident where communication 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:25.559 was cut off for significant periods of time. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:29.200 Most recently, it was used extensively in Puerto 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.139 Rico after the hurricanes ravaged that area and 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:34.559 all the other communication was down. But it's 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:37.340 been used many times in other hurricane areas, 00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:39.639 particularly along the Carolinas and in Florida, 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:42.879 Katrina. It's been used in other incidents as 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:44.740 well. Certainly, when they had the earthquake 00:10:44.740 --> 00:10:47.240 in Haiti some years ago, it was used extensively 00:10:47.669 --> 00:10:50.970 to communicate from the island after that. So 00:10:50.970 --> 00:10:54.250 that's a big picture. It's a system for sending 00:10:54.250 --> 00:10:58.570 and receiving email via radio. Typically, it's 00:10:58.570 --> 00:11:01.490 used over HF radio, but it also can be done over 00:11:01.490 --> 00:11:07.549 UHF radio using packet formats rather than the 00:11:07.549 --> 00:11:15.429 HF protocols. OK. We do the VHF thing around 00:11:15.429 --> 00:11:20.980 here. That's something additional there. Now, 00:11:21.059 --> 00:11:25.840 if you're wanting to add WinLink to your toolbox 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:31.519 for MCOM, so say you want to set up a VHF system 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.379 for this, how do you go about setting that up 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:38.080 and then how would you use that in an emergency? 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:43.240 Sure. Well, there's a big difference, of course, 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:46.799 between VHF, UHF packet -based connections and 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.539 HF connections. Let me talk first about HF because 00:11:50.539 --> 00:11:53.820 that is the most common use of WinLake. And certainly, 00:11:54.340 --> 00:11:58.059 in disasters, you'd want to use HF because VHF, 00:11:58.139 --> 00:12:01.580 UHF, which is restricted to the local area, may 00:12:01.580 --> 00:12:03.860 not be functional if the local infrastructure 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:08.419 is down. So, for the HF side, there are multiple 00:12:08.419 --> 00:12:14.519 ways that you can connect and the speed depends 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:19.259 on your budget, just like buying a car. The deluxe 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:22.279 way, which is used by most agencies and it's 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:25.539 used exclusively as the only method by a shares 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:30.440 organization, is using a protocol called PACTOR, 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:33.860 that's spelled P -A -C -T -O -R. and it uses 00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:38.500 a very high -performance modem. Unfortunately, 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:41.059 it's also quite expensive for the individual 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:45.840 ham. It runs $1 ,500 to $1 ,800 for just the 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:47.759 modem, not your radio and computer, but just 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:51.220 the modem itself, in fact. That's a lot of money 00:12:51.220 --> 00:12:54.519 out of the pocket of an individual ham, but for 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:56.559 agencies that are used to spending $5 ,000 to 00:12:56.559 --> 00:13:01.429 $7 ,000 on... P -25 radios to go on the belt 00:13:01.429 --> 00:13:05.070 of a cop or fireman, it's very affordable. Now, 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:08.169 for an individual ham who doesn't have $1 ,500 00:13:08.169 --> 00:13:12.049 to $1 ,800 in their budget to buy a Paktor modem, 00:13:12.769 --> 00:13:16.049 you can do it using a sound card protocol. And 00:13:16.049 --> 00:13:19.049 the sound card protocols are just as reliable 00:13:19.049 --> 00:13:22.940 as Paktor. They do not have quite as good a signal 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:26.539 to noise ratio, and they are not as fast as Pactour 00:13:26.539 --> 00:13:29.539 in terms of sending large attachments. But for 00:13:29.539 --> 00:13:32.879 small messages, they work just very well. And 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:35.919 we have several different sound card protocols. 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:38.879 The most popular one currently is one called 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:42.200 WinMore, but there's a transition going on from 00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:46.549 WinMore to a new one. that's been developed called 00:13:46.549 --> 00:13:49.029 RDOP, A -R -D -O -P, and there's another one 00:13:49.029 --> 00:13:52.210 called VARA, V -A -R -A, that's coming along 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:54.509 as well. So you've got multiple choices in the 00:13:54.509 --> 00:13:57.730 sound card field. Now if you use a sound card 00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:01.590 protocol and you have a modern radio that has 00:14:01.590 --> 00:14:04.610 a sound card built into it, and I think most 00:14:04.610 --> 00:14:07.529 modern HF radios that are being produced today 00:14:07.529 --> 00:14:10.129 include a sound card in them, then you don't 00:14:10.129 --> 00:14:13.659 need any additional hardware at all. have the 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:17.559 computer send the sound digital signals to the 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:21.720 radio sound card, which then does the modulation 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.639 for the air. So you don't have to buy any hardware 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:27.360 at all. If you have an older radio that does 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:31.620 not have a built -in sound card, then the way 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:34.440 you go is you buy an external sound card box 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:37.639 called a signal link, S -I -G -N -A -L -I -N 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:42.059 -K, and it's a $100 box that connects between 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:47.159 your computer and the radio and does the sound 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:49.559 card function and sends the sound into the radio 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:52.539 for transmission. So that would be the way to 00:14:52.539 --> 00:14:55.820 do it on the HF side. Now on the VHF, UHF side, 00:14:57.019 --> 00:14:59.500 there are two choices there, either 1200 baud 00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:04.299 or 9600 baud. If you go 9600 baud, then you're 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:07.139 pretty much going to have to buy a hardware modem. 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:12.830 The most popular one is the Cantronics 9612 Plus, 00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:17.509 which is $300 to $400, probably closer to $400. 00:15:18.730 --> 00:15:21.529 But if you go $1 ,200 bought, then there are 00:15:21.529 --> 00:15:25.250 several much less expensive packet modems that 00:15:25.250 --> 00:15:28.049 are in the $100 range for $1 ,200 bought packet. 00:15:28.690 --> 00:15:32.190 So you've got the first decision is VHF, UHF, 00:15:32.250 --> 00:15:35.250 or HF, and then you've got your sub -choices 00:15:35.250 --> 00:15:41.960 under that. I might add that the packet is being 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:46.820 replaced in larger communities by a mesh network, 00:15:47.179 --> 00:15:51.559 which also works well with WinLink. Phil, you 00:15:51.559 --> 00:15:54.279 might want to elaborate on that for that last 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:59.980 mile communication. I'm sure a lot of your listeners 00:15:59.980 --> 00:16:04.840 have heard of mesh networks, which are becoming 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:08.179 quite popular in many ham communities and mesh 00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:13.480 networks use Wi -Fi signals, microwave, typically 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:18.580 in the 2 .4 or 5 gigahertz range to provide broadband 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:22.340 communication in a community. And the Windlake 00:16:22.340 --> 00:16:25.899 software, some of our software works very well 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:28.500 across mesh networks. In fact, we've designed 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:31.580 it to provide functionality specifically for 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:36.159 mesh networks. our RMS relay program works very 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:40.100 well as a post office server on mesh networks. 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.340 In addition to being a post office server of 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:45.899 messages sent through the mesh, it also acts 00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:51.460 as a pop. IMAP SMTP server so people can connect 00:16:51.460 --> 00:16:55.240 using standard email software like Outlook to 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:57.519 send and receive messages through there and into 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:01.360 the WinLink system. So as Steve said, we do integrate 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:05.500 with mesh networks as well. And which is basically 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:08.680 Wendley is it fits into many different categories 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:12.279 into mesh, into VHF, UHF packet and also into 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:16.359 the HF, which is used most widely and apparently 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:19.079 certainly the most important in terms of emergency 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:26.970 communication support. OK, now. Then what do 00:17:26.970 --> 00:17:29.769 you have to have as far as the software goes? 00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:31.829 You, you write the software. What, what do you 00:17:31.829 --> 00:17:35.450 have to have, uh, as far as that goes to get 00:17:35.450 --> 00:17:40.190 it? Well, the first good news is all of our software 00:17:40.190 --> 00:17:45.289 is free. Uh, we do a request and would appreciate 00:17:45.289 --> 00:17:49.069 a small donation from those who use it, but that 00:17:49.069 --> 00:17:51.990 is totally optional. Uh, you can use it forever. 00:17:52.509 --> 00:17:55.490 as much as you want without sending anybody whatsoever. 00:17:55.849 --> 00:17:58.289 So there's no cost to using the Windlink system. 00:17:58.650 --> 00:18:01.529 No cost for the software and no cost for sending 00:18:01.529 --> 00:18:04.789 or receiving messages wherever you may be. In 00:18:04.789 --> 00:18:08.750 terms of the software you need, for an end user 00:18:08.750 --> 00:18:12.589 who is connecting into the Windlink system and 00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:15.390 they're not running one of our radio message 00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:19.049 server sites, for an end user they just need 00:18:19.049 --> 00:18:21.890 one program and that is the Windlink Express. 00:18:22.009 --> 00:18:25.529 Windlink Express is a program that we produce, 00:18:25.710 --> 00:18:28.829 Windlink development team produces, that is an 00:18:28.829 --> 00:18:33.250 email client specifically for Windlink. It's 00:18:33.250 --> 00:18:35.769 a very rich feature program with lots of features, 00:18:35.890 --> 00:18:38.869 but it's also very simple to use. You can get 00:18:38.869 --> 00:18:42.369 started literally in a matter of minutes, and 00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:45.970 I have taken people who have never seen it before. 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:48.640 and had them using it effectively to send and 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:51.299 receive messages literally within less than 15 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:53.880 minutes. It's not hard at all. On the other hand, 00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:56.380 it has a lot of features deeper in it that you 00:18:56.380 --> 00:19:00.380 can grow into, picture editors and HTML forms 00:19:00.380 --> 00:19:03.099 and all sorts of things. So the answer to your 00:19:03.099 --> 00:19:05.259 question is you need the WinLink Express program. 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:09.019 OK, so you just download the program, do a little 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:12.599 configuration in that, and you're off and running. 00:19:14.170 --> 00:19:17.670 The program can be found on the wind link website. 00:19:18.650 --> 00:19:23.490 Um, it's very easy to find a lot of, uh, what 00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:26.710 we've talked about on that website. So anybody 00:19:26.710 --> 00:19:30.430 that has an interest, it hasn't had an interest 00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:34.490 before and wants to experiment could certainly 00:19:34.490 --> 00:19:37.349 download that software and have at it. It's pretty 00:19:37.349 --> 00:19:41.410 intuitive. Okay. Now, Steve, let's let's switch 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:44.990 over to you here for a minute. Um, You were telling 00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:48.970 me earlier about some opportunities to do this 00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:53.230 outside of ham radio and and we were Just mentioning 00:19:53.230 --> 00:19:56.069 some of that on shares and mesh and all kinds 00:19:56.069 --> 00:19:59.430 of different things that this kind of fits into 00:19:59.430 --> 00:20:04.930 and with some of the rules and regulations and 00:20:04.930 --> 00:20:08.809 that kind of thing sometimes outside the ham 00:20:08.809 --> 00:20:14.180 radio world might might avoid some issues. So 00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:16.519 why don't you talk a little bit about shares 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:22.279 and some of the dedicated frequencies that you've 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:26.859 got to do this without being in the amateur bands. 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:31.299 Okay, well first of all on the ham bands, Windlink 00:20:31.299 --> 00:20:35.579 is worldwide, but there is much more to Windlink 00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:41.019 because the hams have generated a lot of interest 00:20:41.259 --> 00:20:46.279 because of its success on the handbands during 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:51.400 tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, any kind of 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.259 mass casualty event where the local communication 00:20:54.259 --> 00:20:56.920 infrastructure is gone and you need to send a 00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:00.380 message that doesn't fare well over voice like 00:21:00.380 --> 00:21:05.619 an inoculation inventory or what have you. The 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.960 problem with the handbands is that the amateur 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:13.059 radio service Part 97 is a public service more 00:21:13.059 --> 00:21:16.460 than it is an emergency service. So it's good 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:19.380 for health and welfare. But there are a lot of 00:21:19.380 --> 00:21:23.480 regulations that don't allow it to serve the 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:27.680 agency as agencies wish to be served that use 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:30.950 volunteer communicators. including amateur radio 00:21:30.950 --> 00:21:35.029 operators. There's HIPAA information. There's 00:21:35.029 --> 00:21:37.589 no way to obscure data. There's a lot of people 00:21:37.589 --> 00:21:42.750 that cannot operate when a lot of non -government 00:21:42.750 --> 00:21:45.829 organizations that cannot operate when they're 00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:49.609 being paid. So there's a lot of restriction on 00:21:49.609 --> 00:21:52.630 the hand bands. There's no channelization, no 00:21:52.630 --> 00:21:55.349 guarantee there won't be interference. So having 00:21:55.349 --> 00:21:59.009 realized that, our government and other governments 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:08.900 both have made it possible for agencies to utilize 00:22:08.900 --> 00:22:14.700 amateur radio operators for the HF radio emergency 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:20.180 services. A typical EMA or emergency management 00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:25.059 agency or a typical communications employee in 00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:29.380 any organization is more concerned about public 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:32.119 safety, they're more concerned about fighting 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:36.140 with vendors, they're more concerned about politics, 00:22:36.539 --> 00:22:39.119 and the last thing they want to do is learn how 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:43.079 to and operate an HF radio station even though 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:47.180 they realize both voice and data may be necessary 00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:51.660 and belonging to so many organizations, they 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:55.220 hear about success stories constantly. So the 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:58.500 government, the Department of Homeland Security, 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:02.000 under what's called Title 32, which is domestic 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:05.759 support for civil authorities and critical infrastructure 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:09.220 partners like non -government organizations, 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:13.059 hospitals, what have you, they have provided 00:23:13.059 --> 00:23:18.119 a possibility for agencies And the agencies, 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:21.779 it's highly recommended that these agencies utilize 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:28.380 amateur radio operators to install and implement 00:23:28.380 --> 00:23:32.000 these systems and operate these systems. Obviously, 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:35.000 they want the amateur radio operator to be trained 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.480 and they want the amateur radio operator to leave 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:42.319 their badges and their club hats and what have 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:44.700 you to door and enter with their skill sets. 00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:49.599 So one of the main reasons Windlink was chosen 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:55.059 by NCC shares is because it has the ability not 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:58.619 only to operate as Phil described being a bridge 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:01.680 to the internet but it also has the capability 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.940 of operating completely without the internet. 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:08.819 So a radio message server that you would as an 00:24:08.819 --> 00:24:13.359 end user communicate into is no longer a conversion 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.680 process to take the radio signal and convert 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:21.920 it into TCP IP or in SMTP mail and send it somewhere 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:26.099 else to be sent out as an email message. The 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:30.420 radio message server becomes a node on a giant 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:34.519 HF mesh network. So the Department of Homeland 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:38.920 Security has provided some HF frequencies for 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:43.059 us, quite a few, from approximately 3 to 21 MHz, 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:47.900 and they're mainly exclusive channels that Windlink 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:51.880 operates on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unlike 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:55.880 amateur radio message servers in homes, these 00:24:55.880 --> 00:25:00.160 are mostly in hardened sites with a little bit 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:03.380 more stringent requirements and a little bit 00:25:03.380 --> 00:25:10.839 more consistency. So, that's how it works here. 00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:16.079 Of course, the Canadian military, the Australian 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:20.160 government, the Federation of Micronesia, the 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:24.160 UK, and other countries utilize non -amateur 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:30.720 international Red Cross. I can't pop them out 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:34.660 of my memory that quickly. uh, use both amateur 00:25:34.660 --> 00:25:39.519 and non -amateur, uh, services, um, utilizing 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:42.940 Windlink. So there are many aspects of Windlink 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:46.160 that, that the hobbyist, the amateur radio operator, 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:51.900 uh, really doesn't, uh, see, uh, and I hope that 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:54.680 answers your question. Yeah. Okay. Very good. 00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:57.660 Well, we need to, we need to get to break, but, 00:25:58.380 --> 00:26:01.849 uh, If you do it in just a real quick time, I 00:26:01.849 --> 00:26:06.670 do want to mention You know the support you mentioned 00:26:06.670 --> 00:26:12.210 that you do have a way to take donations to assist 00:26:12.210 --> 00:26:15.849 with the development and the servers so just 00:26:15.849 --> 00:26:20.849 real quick can we can we Kind of touch on that 00:26:20.849 --> 00:26:27.730 Right. Well you when you you wear a 501 c3 Charitable 00:26:27.730 --> 00:26:31.769 organization. That's what funds this That's why 00:26:31.769 --> 00:26:34.450 everybody gets things for nothing and the reason 00:26:34.450 --> 00:26:39.109 why what we? We have a little built -in What 00:26:39.109 --> 00:26:42.329 I call nag screen that pops up when you first 00:26:42.329 --> 00:26:46.369 use one link express and you can ignore it By 00:26:46.369 --> 00:26:48.849 taking it down and then it might pop up I don't 00:26:48.849 --> 00:26:51.329 know what three or four days later if you use 00:26:51.329 --> 00:26:54.740 it every single day it might pop up three or 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:57.740 four days later, and then you can ignore it again. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.000 There's a little pop -up screen that gives the 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:03.279 information in Windlick Express, the client program 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.380 of how to donate. There's also information on 00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:15.200 our website, and there's information on arfsi 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:22.880 .org, amateurradiosafetyfoundationinc .org. That 00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:27.619 our website leads to that has That information 00:27:27.619 --> 00:27:30.339 so there's two things there's a donation and 00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:34.200 there's registration, but they both One you get 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:39.680 a tax write -off for your Donation of any size 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:44.559 the other is a small amount that Is a registration 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:49.319 and it is not tax deductible the registration 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:51.880 you receive a little code, you put that code 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:56.059 inside the Winlink Express and then you never 00:27:56.059 --> 00:28:00.619 see the pop -up message again. Okay, very good. 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:03.740 Well, let's take a break here and we'll take 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:07.960 your questions. We've got some coming in already 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:12.839 on Twitter and on the website here. So we'll 00:28:12.839 --> 00:28:16.539 get to those and we'll be back right after this 00:28:16.539 --> 00:28:19.180 word from the National Voice of America Museum 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:22.200 of Broadcasting and Amateur Radio Newsline right 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:25.460 here on HamTalk Live. The National Voice of America 00:28:25.460 --> 00:28:28.319 Museum of Broadcasting, located in Westchester, 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:31.900 Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, is only two minutes 00:28:31.900 --> 00:28:36.019 off I -75. The museum is the former home of the 00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:39.500 Voice of America Bethany Relay Station. Tours 00:28:39.500 --> 00:28:42.059 are now available every Saturday and Sunday from 00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:45.500 1 to 4 p .m. Eastern Time. You can see the control 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:49.789 room. a 200 ,000 watt transmitter, and the most 00:28:49.789 --> 00:28:52.730 comprehensive collection of inventions by the 00:28:52.730 --> 00:28:56.829 iconic Powell -Crosley Jr. Also on display is 00:28:56.829 --> 00:29:00.650 a huge antique radio exhibit and R .L. Drake's 00:29:00.650 --> 00:29:03.650 personal collection of most every Drake amateur 00:29:03.650 --> 00:29:07.529 rig ever made. This is a unique opportunity to 00:29:07.529 --> 00:29:10.690 see amateur radio in action and have a chance 00:29:10.690 --> 00:29:16.250 to get on the air from WC8VOA. Admission is only 00:29:16.250 --> 00:29:20.009 $5 a person. The museum is located close to historic 00:29:20.009 --> 00:29:24.690 WLWAM and tons of shopping and restaurants. Take 00:29:24.690 --> 00:29:28.589 a trip to the VOA museum or visit us online at 00:29:28.589 --> 00:29:33.109 voamuseum .org. Nominations are now open for 00:29:33.109 --> 00:29:36.490 the amateur radio newsline, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF 00:29:36.490 --> 00:29:38.849 Young Ham of the Year Award. I'm Don Wilbanks, 00:29:38.950 --> 00:29:42.630 AE5DW. Since 1986, we've had the honor of celebrating 00:29:42.630 --> 00:29:44.630 the accomplishments of Youth and Ham radio when 00:29:44.630 --> 00:29:46.349 we want to know about your exceptional Young 00:29:46.349 --> 00:29:48.710 Ham. You'll find the rules and a nominating form 00:29:48.710 --> 00:29:52.009 by clicking the Y -H -O -T -Y tab on ARNewsline 00:29:52.009 --> 00:29:54.950 .org. Fill it out, send it in, and we'll see 00:29:54.950 --> 00:29:57.089 you and an amazing Young Ham at the Huntsville 00:29:57.089 --> 00:30:00.420 Alabama Ham Fest in August. Thanks and 73 from 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:46.460 Amateur Radio Newsline. HamTalk Live is on the 00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:49.200 air every Thursday night, 9 p .m. Eastern time, 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:51.759 right here at HamTalkLive .com. Be sure to check 00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:55.579 us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:57.779 it's time for your calls if you have a question 00:30:57.779 --> 00:31:01.880 for Steve and or Phil, give us a call at 812. 00:31:06.710 --> 00:31:09.710 If you're on Spreaker, you can type us a comment. 00:31:09.829 --> 00:31:14.049 We'll see that. And you can tweet us at HamTalk 00:31:14.049 --> 00:31:16.349 Live. And that's where we're picking up a lot 00:31:16.349 --> 00:31:21.049 of our traffic so far this evening. So first 00:31:21.049 --> 00:31:24.170 of all, we heard from Ron and he wants to know, 00:31:24.410 --> 00:31:28.609 are there... Are any of the modes when link uses 00:31:28.609 --> 00:31:32.750 including the new? Rdop and vera that you guys 00:31:32.750 --> 00:31:38.069 just mentioned decodable by third parties Also, 00:31:38.329 --> 00:31:41.630 are the users of these modes? Identifying in 00:31:41.630 --> 00:31:44.609 a form that the average person monitoring can 00:31:44.609 --> 00:31:47.750 decipher if the message content can't be decoded. 00:31:48.529 --> 00:31:54.029 Oh Okay Let me answer that the the the any mode 00:31:54.190 --> 00:31:56.970 whether it be Pactor, CW, or Packet, whatever, 00:31:57.349 --> 00:32:03.109 you have to have an intelligent recipient, sometimes 00:32:03.109 --> 00:32:05.289 a machine, sometimes it could be the human ear. 00:32:07.309 --> 00:32:12.950 Any of the modes that are on there, if you have 00:32:12.950 --> 00:32:16.210 the proper equipment, if you have a Pactor modem, 00:32:16.410 --> 00:32:22.859 you can copy Pactor. If you have a Vera, a modem 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:26.259 you can copy. Now the difference is between a 00:32:26.259 --> 00:32:29.420 broadcast mode and a data transfer mode is a 00:32:29.420 --> 00:32:33.579 broadcast mode does not have ARQ. It does not 00:32:33.579 --> 00:32:37.680 have packet by packet error correction. So as 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:41.119 a third party you can copy but you don't get 00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:44.099 the error correction. The other aspect of this 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:48.279 is that we use a publicly listed compression 00:32:48.539 --> 00:32:51.819 called B2F, which is on our website, winlink 00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:56.420 .org slash B2F. The code, the actual code, the 00:32:56.420 --> 00:33:00.940 compression code is on the website. For example, 00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:05.200 if you downloaded a file that was a text file, 00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:08.200 we can compress that 50 some percent. We can 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:11.400 compress a doc file 82 percent, but those are 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:16.680 public decompressions and compressions. That's 00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:19.359 what the FCC requires. In addition, there are 00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:22.079 two options for identification of a station. 00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:27.240 One is FEC, which the FCC asked us to provide 00:33:27.240 --> 00:33:31.980 to replace, but we still have it, the CW identification. 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:37.460 So after each transmission, there's an FEC, this 00:33:37.460 --> 00:33:41.880 is only on the handbands, there's an FEC identification 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:44.519 or there's a checkbox if you want to go back 00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:50.390 to the CW days. and you can use CWID. Does that 00:33:50.390 --> 00:33:53.769 answer those questions? Yeah. Phil, did you have 00:33:53.769 --> 00:33:58.529 anything on that? Well, literally, the source 00:33:58.529 --> 00:34:01.549 code for our compression and decompression can 00:34:01.549 --> 00:34:04.250 be downloaded from the windlink .org website. 00:34:04.869 --> 00:34:09.150 It's a public domain. The entire source of the 00:34:09.150 --> 00:34:15.300 RDoP program, the protocol for modulating and 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:18.059 demodulating and the fast four -year transform 00:34:18.059 --> 00:34:20.380 and all that is public domain. It can be downloaded 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:23.840 and examined. There are non -WinLink systems, 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:27.659 BPQ and some others. That send and receive WinLink 00:34:27.659 --> 00:34:31.820 messages that use this code So saw a person someone 00:34:31.820 --> 00:34:34.480 else other than the WinLink team can use their 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:37.679 what we make available to write their own programs 00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:41.039 for Sending and receiving or decrypting or not 00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:44.539 decrypting but a parsing messages that we send 00:34:44.539 --> 00:34:50.860 Okay, so we we didn't we do not allow any obscuring 00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:55.019 of data or encryption on the hand bands of course 00:34:55.309 --> 00:34:58.869 I have to make something very clear. It's the 00:34:58.869 --> 00:35:02.429 control operator. It's not Microsoft, it's not 00:35:02.429 --> 00:35:05.849 Yezu or Kenwood or the hardware vendor or the 00:35:05.849 --> 00:35:08.610 software vendors or any of the software providers 00:35:08.610 --> 00:35:11.269 that are the control operator of the station. 00:35:11.849 --> 00:35:14.190 The control operator of the station is responsible 00:35:14.190 --> 00:35:16.989 for what goes out on the handbands, I think, 00:35:17.090 --> 00:35:19.829 in just about every country that we operate. 00:35:20.110 --> 00:35:23.210 Um, and we don't control the control operator. 00:35:23.710 --> 00:35:27.670 We provide a system for them. So a good control 00:35:27.670 --> 00:35:32.230 operator follows the rules. Uh, a bad control 00:35:32.230 --> 00:35:34.929 operator sometimes doesn't, uh, we don't have 00:35:34.929 --> 00:35:37.809 control over that just like any other mode or 00:35:37.809 --> 00:35:40.349 any, or, you know, side ban or anything else. 00:35:41.429 --> 00:35:44.989 But people shouldn't expect to be able to just. 00:35:46.860 --> 00:35:49.500 Turn on their computer and turn on the radio 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:53.280 and and and just instantly do this There's going 00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:56.880 to be more to it than that. Oh, definitely This 00:35:56.880 --> 00:36:01.179 is not like PSK 31 because it does the messages 00:36:01.179 --> 00:36:04.139 are compressed and the compression while its 00:36:04.139 --> 00:36:08.039 public domain is similar to Zipping a file and 00:36:08.039 --> 00:36:09.940 so you can't just look at a zip file and figure 00:36:09.940 --> 00:36:12.579 what's in it without decompressing it and as 00:36:12.579 --> 00:36:15.670 Steve mentioned earlier The ARQ protocol which 00:36:15.670 --> 00:36:18.050 Winleak uses, which is similar to what the internet 00:36:18.050 --> 00:36:21.449 uses, involves sending packets and then receiving 00:36:21.449 --> 00:36:24.829 ACKs or NACs back and then possibly resending 00:36:24.829 --> 00:36:26.849 the packets. And the packets have forward air 00:36:26.849 --> 00:36:29.349 correction in them as well as the ACK and NAC 00:36:29.349 --> 00:36:33.230 retransmission. So while you could certainly 00:36:33.230 --> 00:36:37.750 do it, it's by no means a simple task, simply 00:36:37.750 --> 00:36:40.210 like turning on a computer and looking at PSK 00:36:40.210 --> 00:36:43.760 31 streaming down your screen. but you still 00:36:43.760 --> 00:36:49.360 have to have the software to decode PK32 or anything 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:53.800 else other than CW which you copy by air or sideband 00:36:53.800 --> 00:36:58.239 voice. Everything has a piece of equipment that 00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:01.860 converts it so the human being can understand 00:37:01.860 --> 00:37:06.679 it. Okay, well let's move on to some others. 00:37:06.679 --> 00:37:10.760 We got a tweet from James KH2SR That says wish 00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:14.340 we had an iPhone app for Winlink Well, actually 00:37:14.340 --> 00:37:17.619 there is we do we are working with someone in 00:37:17.619 --> 00:37:21.659 Florida who is Right now working on an iPhone 00:37:21.659 --> 00:37:26.619 app for Winlink. I don't have a status update 00:37:26.619 --> 00:37:30.679 on when it possibly product might come out of 00:37:30.679 --> 00:37:33.340 that, but there is someone actively engaged in 00:37:33.340 --> 00:37:38.639 developing that. Okay. So let's, uh, in the works, 00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:42.340 Paul says, uh, on the website here, ICS forms 00:37:42.340 --> 00:37:45.340 are universally used by all. Yeah. Okay. By all 00:37:45.340 --> 00:37:49.400 agencies. So, okay. All right. And let's see 00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:53.760 what else we've got. Uh, by the way, oh, yeah. 00:37:55.070 --> 00:38:00.050 We have ICS forms, medical forms, and many amateur 00:38:00.050 --> 00:38:04.329 radio forms, radiograms, all kinds of templates 00:38:04.329 --> 00:38:10.730 on Winlink Express that look beautiful because 00:38:10.730 --> 00:38:14.360 they are done through HTML. then a text file 00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:18.059 is sent, I believe, a small file is sent, and 00:38:18.059 --> 00:38:21.559 the receiving end has HTML, so they get the beautiful 00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:24.239 files that they can print out or send forward 00:38:24.239 --> 00:38:28.760 also. If you don't have a beautiful, if you don't 00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:31.539 have HTML on the receiving end, then it is a 00:38:31.539 --> 00:38:34.119 formatted text message that comes out. But we 00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:37.880 have templates for just about all the ICS forms 00:38:37.880 --> 00:38:41.199 and forms that our government and amateur services 00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:47.170 use. In one link express Very good, and we've 00:38:47.170 --> 00:38:53.230 got another one and that's from k6 FCC wants 00:38:53.230 --> 00:39:01.750 to know can Can you use when link on DMR? I? 00:39:01.909 --> 00:39:03.869 Guess the answer would be no. I'm not sure what 00:39:03.869 --> 00:39:06.909 what that exactly means, but I think the answer 00:39:06.909 --> 00:39:10.670 would be no Yeah, I don't think you'd have enough 00:39:10.860 --> 00:39:15.699 bandwidth and throughput to make it work through 00:39:15.699 --> 00:39:20.420 all of that, with all that going on, digital 00:39:20.420 --> 00:39:25.280 conversion already going on. So no expert on 00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:29.000 that, but that'd just be my guess here. While 00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:34.739 we're talking about bandwidth, I know that there's 00:39:34.739 --> 00:39:43.690 been some debate over You know the need for for 00:39:43.690 --> 00:39:49.610 bandwidth and specified channels on HF and and 00:39:49.610 --> 00:39:52.110 it sounds like the the shares thing is kind of 00:39:52.110 --> 00:39:56.090 the The answer to some of that that you've got 00:39:56.090 --> 00:40:02.090 some some dedicated yes for it. Yes part 97 .221 00:40:02.090 --> 00:40:08.389 Established some years ago a subband in 80 40 00:40:08.389 --> 00:40:14.739 20 15 meters That provided for automatic operation. 00:40:14.940 --> 00:40:18.679 It is very narrow when you look at packed or 00:40:18.679 --> 00:40:25.940 with a minus 30 DB a 2 .4 kilohertz signal and 00:40:25.940 --> 00:40:28.900 the total amount of space available on 40 meters 00:40:28.900 --> 00:40:34.320 is a 5 kilohertz space The SEC is looking very 00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:39.440 closely at the Growth of digital communication 00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:44.280 and the fact that there is no real space for 00:40:44.280 --> 00:40:48.960 higher speed Data transfer operation and I mean 00:40:48.960 --> 00:40:53.260 there's 15 kilohertz on the other bands 5 on 00:40:53.260 --> 00:40:59.380 40 meters so and none on the the work band so 00:40:59.380 --> 00:41:03.960 That is being looked at With the advent of these 00:41:03.960 --> 00:41:07.420 new protocols, not having to buy an expensive 00:41:07.420 --> 00:41:11.260 modem, coming out on sound cards that are already 00:41:11.260 --> 00:41:15.780 existing in radios that the manufacturers are 00:41:15.780 --> 00:41:19.840 providing, I think that just like a sideband 00:41:19.840 --> 00:41:24.599 did with AM, AM did with CW, it's going to force 00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:29.260 the issue. But yes, you're correct. Bandwidth 00:41:29.260 --> 00:41:32.840 is very limited. It's a very narrow spectrum 00:41:32.840 --> 00:41:35.440 and that's why the government has provided other 00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:40.079 options for Real -life emergency communication 00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:46.579 Yeah, and you know, there's there's I found out 00:41:46.579 --> 00:41:50.500 today there's there's a bit of a you know a debate 00:41:50.500 --> 00:41:53.280 over some of that with with causing, you know 00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:57.929 interference to other services and other modes 00:41:57.929 --> 00:42:01.349 and that kind of thing. And, you know, there's 00:42:01.349 --> 00:42:04.170 just only so much spectrum out there. That's 00:42:04.170 --> 00:42:06.730 right. That's exactly right. A lot of time, I 00:42:06.730 --> 00:42:09.889 mean, you've got to remember on 40 and 20 meters, 00:42:09.909 --> 00:42:13.550 you're not just tearing the FCC band, you're 00:42:13.550 --> 00:42:16.630 here, United States, you're hearing Canada, you're 00:42:16.630 --> 00:42:19.070 hearing Mexico, you're hearing Europe, and they 00:42:19.070 --> 00:42:22.469 don't have the restrictions that we do. They 00:42:22.469 --> 00:42:26.139 don't go bandwidth by mode. They go bandwidth 00:42:26.139 --> 00:42:30.599 they go band plan by bandwidth. So they they 00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:34.800 are in They're not exactly they don't follow 00:42:34.800 --> 00:42:37.800 the same restrictions that we do under the FCC 00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:41.079 ruling and You got to also remember that there's 00:42:41.079 --> 00:42:44.019 a lot of other Services out there besides wind 00:42:44.019 --> 00:42:47.699 link that utilize these protocols like HF link 00:42:47.699 --> 00:42:54.699 BPQ and on and on and and So when you hear something 00:42:54.699 --> 00:43:00.960 unless you know exactly what it is and If it's 00:43:00.960 --> 00:43:04.440 free in the United States and it's over 500 Hertz 00:43:04.440 --> 00:43:06.820 and it's not in the sub bands Then you've got 00:43:06.820 --> 00:43:08.960 a control operator that doesn't know the rules 00:43:10.259 --> 00:43:13.460 Okay. Well, we are out of time, unfortunately. 00:43:13.860 --> 00:43:18.639 I'm sure, as always, we could go on and on. But 00:43:18.639 --> 00:43:21.760 I want to thank you both for coming on and filling 00:43:21.760 --> 00:43:26.659 us in a little bit on this. And maybe that could 00:43:26.659 --> 00:43:28.619 be helpful. Maybe we can get some people over 00:43:28.619 --> 00:43:33.099 on shares and get going on some of this stuff. 00:43:33.199 --> 00:43:36.670 So thank you for coming on. Well, thank you very 00:43:36.670 --> 00:43:39.670 much and we appreciate it and the shares system 00:43:39.670 --> 00:43:44.110 is a giant system. It dwarfs what's on amateur 00:43:44.110 --> 00:43:49.170 radio and anybody interested in that might want 00:43:49.170 --> 00:43:55.179 to just Email me or I'm on the website as a Winnick 00:43:55.179 --> 00:43:57.659 administrator. I'm the one you email. Anybody 00:43:57.659 --> 00:44:00.980 interested in the SHARES system? SHARES does 00:44:00.980 --> 00:44:05.000 not solicit individual hams. SHARES solicits 00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:08.860 agencies. So it's good if you have a connection 00:44:08.860 --> 00:44:14.340 with your local agency, EMA. I'm going to have 00:44:14.340 --> 00:44:17.380 to cut you off. We're out of time. That's a wrap 00:44:17.380 --> 00:44:20.079 for this week and next week I invite you back 00:44:20.079 --> 00:44:22.860 Thursday night 9 p .m. Eastern Time. John Mills, 00:44:23.239 --> 00:44:26.900 KC9 BRX will be here to talk about local and 00:44:26.900 --> 00:44:30.199 state skywarn nets and for all of our upcoming 00:44:30.199 --> 00:44:33.599 guests just go to HamTalkLive .com. So for now 00:44:33.599 --> 00:44:38.639 this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG saying 7375 and may 00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:40.579 the good DX be yours.