INFO: Texas ARES Net (includes Winlink Digital Exercise Aug 1st)

STXARES
1

Texas ARES Net (includes Winlink Digital Exercise Aug 1st)

Texas ARES net meets every Monday 1930 local (CT) 3873.0 KHz LSB

Winlink Digital check in exercise August 1st, 2022

In addition to the voice net, for the August 1s Texas ARES net, we will be accepting digital Winlink check in using RF only with any of the Winlink modes (Pactor, VARA, VARA FM, packet) You may use any Winlink RMS Gateway accessed via RF means. (HF, VHF, UHF, Microwave)

Digital check ins will be accepted up to the start of the net at 1930 local on August 1st.

Send Winlink message to: wb5hjv (@winlink.org not required; callsign only)

Message body:
Your callsign, location, and grid square.
Digital mode used (Pactor, VARA, VARA FM or Packet)
Callsign of Winlink RMS gateway used
Frequency used

Please feel free to check in with both voice and digital.

Let’s give this a try and have some fun!

73,
Dave WB5HJV, Net Control Station, Texas ARES net
all replies to: wb5hjv(@)gmail.com or wb5hjv (Winlink)

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Any chance the Austin radio club’s website can be updated with some new Winlink information? The W3MRC-10 site described there has not been active in a long time. Some of us used to use W5TQ-10 on 145.730, but it apparently has been off the air for months. I have been using K5SOC-10 (145.070 MHz), which is located at the state operations center at DPS Headquarters on Lamar Blvd. at 2222. But it has been unreachable for the past two days (and I live less than a mile from the site).

I searched the Winlink.org site today and found KA5D-8 on 145.730. It’s a gateway that offers Winlink message service. I sent you a message using that one. Also, W5TSN-10 (145.610) is listed on the Winlink map for Austin, but it has not responded to my connection attempts.

Let me know if you know of some other ways to send Winlink messages in Austin via VHF or UHF radio. I’m still trying to learn this stuff.

73,
Si Dunn, K5JRN

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Si,

K5SOC-10 is the site I usually use for the TCARES WinLink Wednesday tests. Some weeks it works for me, some weeks I use Telnet to check in. It was down for me last week. I was able to connect with it on Monday and just now.

Do you know about the Texas WinLink status page at n5tw.epci.com/rmsstatus ? It shows uptimes for WinLink stations in TX, and lists who’s running VaraFM. It’s been a while since I’ve run through the list. The selection of Travis County stations is now thin. But you may be able to hit some of the stations in Williamson County.

Hope this helps,
Glenn
W5MTR

4

Correction - the link for RMS status is http://n5tw.ecpi.com/rmsstatus/

73,

Mark KI5MBP

Si,

5

Yes, I’m aware of the status list of stations, and I used it pretty thoroughly when trying to find options for avoiding Telnet. I have to use indoor antennas from my location. Williamson County or Oak Hill or others are out of my range from north central Austin. However, K5SOC-10 and KA5D-8 are both less than a mile from me, giving me easy options when they are up. But it would be nice if there were one or two more Winlink-capable repeaters for Austin.

6

I think the correct address is: http://n5tw.ecpi.com/rmsstatus/
gr
K5FX

7

To all,
Yes, that’s the correct address… But more on that link in a bit…

This Google Map is a little out of date but it shows all of the CATRAC Affiliated Hospitals and a few City, County, and the State EOC…
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1b5Z8BfQ28a1P20Kbku-EyJMzEgI&ll=30.370067011974694%2C-97.68001288979573&z=10

Most of these sites have Amateur Radio gear installed; 2 dual-band radios, antennas, a TNC, power supply, and an old PC…

In all, 30 plus sites in the 11 county CATRAC region… New hospitals are being added all the time… Like the new Dell Children’s North…

Most of the sites in Hays and Williamson Co have been upgraded with new laptops and have an internet connection so Winlink traffic to those sites gets ported to the internet… If the internet connection fails you have the option to use that site as a Digipeater… The Digipeaters can get you to a site that has internet or one of the HF stations that can reach the far corners of the planet…

Note the Digipeater column on the Texas RMS Packet/VARAFM Station Uptimes webpage… http://n5tw.ecpi.com/rmsstatus/
Also, note the email address for those sites should that site be activated… Print this info so you have it when the internet breaks…

I don’t know how to say this nicely… Note how the Hays and Williamson Co sites list hospitals and local hams, that’s because their ARES Winlink folks are very active… Before COVID they would visit the hospitals on the 3rd Friday and test operate the gear plus relay a ton of test messages from home…

CATRAC is sitting on dozens of new laptops… They were bought just before COVID so they are now a few years old but are ready to be installed…

Volunteers are needed to get the laptops, prep them to be installed, and work with the hospital staff to gain access to the gear and install the laptops…

Here is the hard part, the volunteers need to work with the staff to gain an internet connection for the laptop so it can act as a gateway to the worldwide Winlink network… It also lets the volunteers update the laptops, hopefully on a monthly basis when they test operate the voice and digital radios…

None of the hospitals let us on their main network… Most let us on their Wifi Guest network and of those some provide a CAT-5 wired connection so we don’t have WiFI timeout issues… Some of the Scott & Whites sites pay for a wired business class connection… All of those details have to be worked out between the ARES volunteers and the hospital staff…

Besides all of this gear; Scott & White hospitals have 3 VHF/UHF Jump Kits but no permanently installed antennas… CATRAC has 3 HF/VHF/UHF Jump Kits…

Your EC and/or DEC should be able to get more info to you or point you in the right direction should you want to volunteer to build a better Winlink network…

73 Dallas N4DDM

Whatever you do, don’t fall victim to “paralysis by analysis.” Go ahead and
buy/build one and start tinkering with it. This is a learn-by-doing hobby.

No politician or scholar assured your freedoms.
A Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, or Guardian did!

I think the correct address is: PacStat Uptime Data

[

PacStat Uptime Data

Uptime status for RMS stations in the ARES Texas region.
](http://n5tw.ecpi.com/rmsstatus/)

gr
K5FX