Exercise Summary
Summary
An amateur radio exercise was conducted on March 23 (with early participation allowed from March 22) to exercise the capabilities of amateur radio operators (hams) to send structured email traffic over radio using the WinLInk Global Radio Email platform. The exercise was conducted from the W0EQU Radio Room located in the Omaha-Council Bluffs & SW Iowa Chapter headquarters, pictured at left.
Participation was invited from Amateur Radio Emergency Service organizations within the region as well as from amateurs with some Red Cross affiliation from across the country. Operators were invited to submit WinLink Check In forms via radio (if equipped) via the WinLink system to the W0EQU station. If the operator had the ability to use multiple radio paths (modes or frequency bands) to submit check-ins that was invited.
Results
We received 81 successful check-ins with the following characteristics
62 distinct amateur radio operators checked in at least once.
Check ins came from 14 different states, the most distant being Alaska
28 of the messages were originated over a VHF radio connection (relatively short range between the transmitting station and the Winlink Gateway station)
30 were originated over an HF radio connection (up to hundreds of miles from the transmitter to the Gateway)
20 were originated over the internet (not via radio)
ALL messages were received at W0EQU and all outgoing traffic sent over a VHF link to a local Gateway.
A map detailing all messages is available at Exercise Participant Map
Additional Activities
We also activated no-notice VHF FM voice networks on 3 of the local FM repeaters to evaluate the ability of the Red Cross station to act as net controller using those repeaters. The repeaters activated include the K0USA repeater in North Omaha, the W0WVV repeater in Bellevue, and the N0WKF repeater in Glenwood Iowa. Local operators checked in to all 3 of the nets.
A special test was conducted with Jerry Davis, KA4QVH in Cleveland, GA using VARA HF Peer-to-Peer. This mode allows passing WinLink traffic directly from 1 station to another over HF radio, with no internet anywhere in the picture. This would be used in the event of a widespread internet outage. We were successful passing messages directly to each other over a distance of 808 miles.