I just returned from chartering in the British Virgin Islands and operating a portable Amateur Radio Station (Ham Radio) on board utilizing the Winlink 2000 system. Every day I would string up a 20 meter dipole antenna (about 32 feet long) from the masthead to the stearn pulpit fed with coax and no tuner. I attached a radio, TNC, and laptop and had no trouble connecting to several Winlink amateur radio stations and sending out e-mail with only 7 watts of output on SSB. The easiest station to connect with was in Bedford, MA but also connected to Halifax, NS and Melbourne, Fla. I had no grounds connected to anything except the radio which was connected thru a cigarette lighter plug on the boat. The only problem was in radio reception until I discovered the source of the noise (12 volt bunk fans on the boat). Since I had my radio setup at the Nav station and electrical panel, it was a simple matter to kill all the fans at one time from the panel.
For those that have an Amateur Radio license, I would highly recommend the Winlink 2000 system which provides free non business email service to users. REPLYs and returning messages are waiting at the Winlink stations to be automatically retrieved when you connect to them so it offers email both ways.
For those that are not licensed, I would recommend getting a license as the requirements are easier than ever to obtain the license.
In addition, I was able to work several state side Ham Radio operators while at sea using the low power station and simple wire antenna using the microphone on SSB.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
metreece@duke-energy.com
E-mail from Sea
Moderator: Jim Walsh
-
John R.
Winlink
Interesting........that antenna rig you set up is similar to recommended SSB emergency antenna rigs utilizing a piece of wire.
Where can a person read more info regarding the Winlink 2000?
Where can a person read more info regarding the Winlink 2000?
Max Treece wrote: I just returned from chartering in the British Virgin Islands and operating a portable Amateur Radio Station (Ham Radio) on board utilizing the Winlink 2000 system. Every day I would string up a 20 meter dipole antenna (about 32 feet long) from the masthead to the stearn pulpit fed with coax and no tuner. I attached a radio, TNC, and laptop and had no trouble connecting to several Winlink amateur radio stations and sending out e-mail with only 7 watts of output on SSB. The easiest station to connect with was in Bedford, MA but also connected to Halifax, NS and Melbourne, Fla. I had no grounds connected to anything except the radio which was connected thru a cigarette lighter plug on the boat. The only problem was in radio reception until I discovered the source of the noise (12 volt bunk fans on the boat). Since I had my radio setup at the Nav station and electrical panel, it was a simple matter to kill all the fans at one time from the panel.
For those that have an Amateur Radio license, I would highly recommend the Winlink 2000 system which provides free non business email service to users. REPLYs and returning messages are waiting at the Winlink stations to be automatically retrieved when you connect to them so it offers email both ways.
For those that are not licensed, I would recommend getting a license as the requirements are easier than ever to obtain the license.
In addition, I was able to work several state side Ham Radio operators while at sea using the low power station and simple wire antenna using the microphone on SSB.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
-
Larry DeMers
Re: Winlink
John,
Gotta be a licensed Ham..here is the URL for the site.
Larry DeMers
demers@sgi.com
Gotta be a licensed Ham..here is the URL for the site.
Larry DeMers
John R. wrote: Interesting........that antenna rig you set up is similar to recommended SSB emergency antenna rigs utilizing a piece of wire.
Where can a person read more info regarding the Winlink 2000?
Max Treece wrote: I just returned from chartering in the British Virgin Islands and operating a portable Amateur Radio Station (Ham Radio) on board utilizing the Winlink 2000 system. Every day I would string up a 20 meter dipole antenna (about 32 feet long) from the masthead to the stearn pulpit fed with coax and no tuner. I attached a radio, TNC, and laptop and had no trouble connecting to several Winlink amateur radio stations and sending out e-mail with only 7 watts of output on SSB. The easiest station to connect with was in Bedford, MA but also connected to Halifax, NS and Melbourne, Fla. I had no grounds connected to anything except the radio which was connected thru a cigarette lighter plug on the boat. The only problem was in radio reception until I discovered the source of the noise (12 volt bunk fans on the boat). Since I had my radio setup at the Nav station and electrical panel, it was a simple matter to kill all the fans at one time from the panel.
For those that have an Amateur Radio license, I would highly recommend the Winlink 2000 system which provides free non business email service to users. REPLYs and returning messages are waiting at the Winlink stations to be automatically retrieved when you connect to them so it offers email both ways.
For those that are not licensed, I would recommend getting a license as the requirements are easier than ever to obtain the license.
In addition, I was able to work several state side Ham Radio operators while at sea using the low power station and simple wire antenna using the microphone on SSB.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
demers@sgi.com
-
Max Treece
Re: Winlink
More information is at http://www.winlink.org
While at the site, try using the Station Locator on the left frame. Type in my Amateur Radio Callsign "WG4Z" (without quotes) and press the Display button. You will be able to see my station location as reported to the system. At the bottom of the page there is a place to click to see an aerial photo. While in the British Virgin Islands with my Boy Scout Troop, parents back home were able to see where we were as we moved from island to island.
Larry is correct as Winlink is only available for licensed operators only but as I said, it is pretty easy to get a license these days. Amateur radio opens up communications possibilities from anywhere in the world. There are other e-mail possibilities out there for commercial use but I don't think you will find one that is as heavily supported with over 31 voluntary stations around the world. Saillink is another one with about 11 stations available for connections.
Sail Magazine published an article on Winlink and other systems a couple of months ago.
It is my understanding that about 90% of all antenna installations of Amateur Radio Station antennas installed as a permanent antenna utilize an insulated section of the backstay with a tuner. Using the full dipole antenna cut for a particular band as I did was not good for a permanent installation as it would get in the way of sail handling under sail.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
metreece@duke-energy.com
While at the site, try using the Station Locator on the left frame. Type in my Amateur Radio Callsign "WG4Z" (without quotes) and press the Display button. You will be able to see my station location as reported to the system. At the bottom of the page there is a place to click to see an aerial photo. While in the British Virgin Islands with my Boy Scout Troop, parents back home were able to see where we were as we moved from island to island.
Larry is correct as Winlink is only available for licensed operators only but as I said, it is pretty easy to get a license these days. Amateur radio opens up communications possibilities from anywhere in the world. There are other e-mail possibilities out there for commercial use but I don't think you will find one that is as heavily supported with over 31 voluntary stations around the world. Saillink is another one with about 11 stations available for connections.
Sail Magazine published an article on Winlink and other systems a couple of months ago.
It is my understanding that about 90% of all antenna installations of Amateur Radio Station antennas installed as a permanent antenna utilize an insulated section of the backstay with a tuner. Using the full dipole antenna cut for a particular band as I did was not good for a permanent installation as it would get in the way of sail handling under sail.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
John R. wrote: Interesting........that antenna rig you set up is similar to recommended SSB emergency antenna rigs utilizing a piece of wire.
Where can a person read more info regarding the Winlink 2000?
Max Treece wrote: I just returned from chartering in the British Virgin Islands and operating a portable Amateur Radio Station (Ham Radio) on board utilizing the Winlink 2000 system. Every day I would string up a 20 meter dipole antenna (about 32 feet long) from the masthead to the stearn pulpit fed with coax and no tuner. I attached a radio, TNC, and laptop and had no trouble connecting to several Winlink amateur radio stations and sending out e-mail with only 7 watts of output on SSB. The easiest station to connect with was in Bedford, MA but also connected to Halifax, NS and Melbourne, Fla. I had no grounds connected to anything except the radio which was connected thru a cigarette lighter plug on the boat. The only problem was in radio reception until I discovered the source of the noise (12 volt bunk fans on the boat). Since I had my radio setup at the Nav station and electrical panel, it was a simple matter to kill all the fans at one time from the panel.
For those that have an Amateur Radio license, I would highly recommend the Winlink 2000 system which provides free non business email service to users. REPLYs and returning messages are waiting at the Winlink stations to be automatically retrieved when you connect to them so it offers email both ways.
For those that are not licensed, I would recommend getting a license as the requirements are easier than ever to obtain the license.
In addition, I was able to work several state side Ham Radio operators while at sea using the low power station and simple wire antenna using the microphone on SSB.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
metreece@duke-energy.com
-
Larry DeMers
Re: Winlink
Max,
That is a cool capability! Now folks can at least see where you are at in general, and that you are obviously still 'kickin'.
I have installed a couple Ham rigs in boats over the past 10 years or so, and all were insulated backstays. I suspect that the lack of any wires hanging around to catch on sails is the reason.
That said, I do use 2 different inverted V designs while at anchor (SWLing now). One is a G5RV (I think that's his call) dipole hoisted to the mast truck as an inverted V, with the ends led to the bow and stern pulpits. Not good for the full antenna, as it is too long, so I cut it back and use it on higher bands. I also have a single wire inverted V which was my original boat antenna for all freqs. This works well, although I noticed some directivity of course. On Superior, I can hear Calif. stations on 20 & 30 Meters, and Euro Dx if the atmospherics settle down some, and the wind has us heading the right way for the antennas broadside to pick up sigs from that direction..
Sure do notice the increased DX now compared to a few years ago, even though we are way past the solar flare maximum. Apparently the sun didn't read our assumptions!
Was a Ham for about 25 years, from age 12 on. But have been out of the hobby for a while now, and thinking about reenlisting since the test is a bit easier for those that don't use/like CW all that much.
Now the trouble is to find space to mount a transciever semi-permanently, and still be convenient to use.
Cheers,
Larry DeMers
demers@sgi.com
That is a cool capability! Now folks can at least see where you are at in general, and that you are obviously still 'kickin'.
I have installed a couple Ham rigs in boats over the past 10 years or so, and all were insulated backstays. I suspect that the lack of any wires hanging around to catch on sails is the reason.
That said, I do use 2 different inverted V designs while at anchor (SWLing now). One is a G5RV (I think that's his call) dipole hoisted to the mast truck as an inverted V, with the ends led to the bow and stern pulpits. Not good for the full antenna, as it is too long, so I cut it back and use it on higher bands. I also have a single wire inverted V which was my original boat antenna for all freqs. This works well, although I noticed some directivity of course. On Superior, I can hear Calif. stations on 20 & 30 Meters, and Euro Dx if the atmospherics settle down some, and the wind has us heading the right way for the antennas broadside to pick up sigs from that direction..
Sure do notice the increased DX now compared to a few years ago, even though we are way past the solar flare maximum. Apparently the sun didn't read our assumptions!
Was a Ham for about 25 years, from age 12 on. But have been out of the hobby for a while now, and thinking about reenlisting since the test is a bit easier for those that don't use/like CW all that much.
Now the trouble is to find space to mount a transciever semi-permanently, and still be convenient to use.
Cheers,
Larry DeMers
Max Treece wrote: More information is at http://www.winlink.org
While at the site, try using the Station Locator on the left frame. Type in my Amateur Radio Callsign "WG4Z" (without quotes) and press the Display button. You will be able to see my station location as reported to the system. At the bottom of the page there is a place to click to see an aerial photo. While in the British Virgin Islands with my Boy Scout Troop, parents back home were able to see where we were as we moved from island to island.
Larry is correct as Winlink is only available for licensed operators only but as I said, it is pretty easy to get a license these days. Amateur radio opens up communications possibilities from anywhere in the world. There are other e-mail possibilities out there for commercial use but I don't think you will find one that is as heavily supported with over 31 voluntary stations around the world. Saillink is another one with about 11 stations available for connections.
Sail Magazine published an article on Winlink and other systems a couple of months ago.
It is my understanding that about 90% of all antenna installations of Amateur Radio Station antennas installed as a permanent antenna utilize an insulated section of the backstay with a tuner. Using the full dipole antenna cut for a particular band as I did was not good for a permanent installation as it would get in the way of sail handling under sail.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
John R. wrote: Interesting........that antenna rig you set up is similar to recommended SSB emergency antenna rigs utilizing a piece of wire.
Where can a person read more info regarding the Winlink 2000?
Max Treece wrote: I just returned from chartering in the British Virgin Islands and operating a portable Amateur Radio Station (Ham Radio) on board utilizing the Winlink 2000 system. Every day I would string up a 20 meter dipole antenna (about 32 feet long) from the masthead to the stearn pulpit fed with coax and no tuner. I attached a radio, TNC, and laptop and had no trouble connecting to several Winlink amateur radio stations and sending out e-mail with only 7 watts of output on SSB. The easiest station to connect with was in Bedford, MA but also connected to Halifax, NS and Melbourne, Fla. I had no grounds connected to anything except the radio which was connected thru a cigarette lighter plug on the boat. The only problem was in radio reception until I discovered the source of the noise (12 volt bunk fans on the boat). Since I had my radio setup at the Nav station and electrical panel, it was a simple matter to kill all the fans at one time from the panel.
For those that have an Amateur Radio license, I would highly recommend the Winlink 2000 system which provides free non business email service to users. REPLYs and returning messages are waiting at the Winlink stations to be automatically retrieved when you connect to them so it offers email both ways.
For those that are not licensed, I would recommend getting a license as the requirements are easier than ever to obtain the license.
In addition, I was able to work several state side Ham Radio operators while at sea using the low power station and simple wire antenna using the microphone on SSB.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
demers@sgi.com
-
Max Treece
Re: Winlink
The inverted Vee should be less directional than a dipole. My dipole was mounted pretty much vertical so it was omnidirectional as best as I could tell. The problem with trying to do the inverted vee on the sailboat mast is that one really needs at least a 90 degree angle between the two legs of the antenna. Less than that, it starts to act like feedline. It might be OK for receive only antenna.
Another good feature of the Participating stations in the Winlink is that most publish the Solar Flare Index as part of their greeting upon connection. During the BVI trip it kept dropping well below 200 each day indicating that propagation was going down. Anything above 200 is an indication at skip will be good on HF bands.
Larry, transceivers are getting smaller every day. For example the Yaesu FT817 QRP rig is backpackable and covers all HF, VHF and UHF bands on all modes. A friend of mine on Kilimanjaro used one in Africa to connect and send out over 180 email messages to stations over 1800 miles away in S Africa and Bankock. It is smaller than most CB radios.
Code requirement now is only 5 WPM for all licenses for the HF bands. However, CW is still a favorite mode of mine
Max Treece WG4Z
Charlotte, NC
metreece@duke-energy.com
Another good feature of the Participating stations in the Winlink is that most publish the Solar Flare Index as part of their greeting upon connection. During the BVI trip it kept dropping well below 200 each day indicating that propagation was going down. Anything above 200 is an indication at skip will be good on HF bands.
Larry, transceivers are getting smaller every day. For example the Yaesu FT817 QRP rig is backpackable and covers all HF, VHF and UHF bands on all modes. A friend of mine on Kilimanjaro used one in Africa to connect and send out over 180 email messages to stations over 1800 miles away in S Africa and Bankock. It is smaller than most CB radios.
Code requirement now is only 5 WPM for all licenses for the HF bands. However, CW is still a favorite mode of mine
Max Treece WG4Z
Charlotte, NC
Larry DeMers wrote: Max,
That is a cool capability! Now folks can at least see where you are at in general, and that you are obviously still 'kickin'.
I have installed a couple Ham rigs in boats over the past 10 years or so, and all were insulated backstays. I suspect that the lack of any wires hanging around to catch on sails is the reason.
That said, I do use 2 different inverted V designs while at anchor (SWLing now). One is a G5RV (I think that's his call) dipole hoisted to the mast truck as an inverted V, with the ends led to the bow and stern pulpits. Not good for the full antenna, as it is too long, so I cut it back and use it on higher bands. I also have a single wire inverted V which was my original boat antenna for all freqs. This works well, although I noticed some directivity of course. On Superior, I can hear Calif. stations on 20 & 30 Meters, and Euro Dx if the atmospherics settle down some, and the wind has us heading the right way for the antennas broadside to pick up sigs from that direction..
Sure do notice the increased DX now compared to a few years ago, even though we are way past the solar flare maximum. Apparently the sun didn't read our assumptions!
Was a Ham for about 25 years, from age 12 on. But have been out of the hobby for a while now, and thinking about reenlisting since the test is a bit easier for those that don't use/like CW all that much.
Now the trouble is to find space to mount a transciever semi-permanently, and still be convenient to use.
Cheers,
Larry DeMers
Max Treece wrote: More information is at http://www.winlink.org
While at the site, try using the Station Locator on the left frame. Type in my Amateur Radio Callsign "WG4Z" (without quotes) and press the Display button. You will be able to see my station location as reported to the system. At the bottom of the page there is a place to click to see an aerial photo. While in the British Virgin Islands with my Boy Scout Troop, parents back home were able to see where we were as we moved from island to island.
Larry is correct as Winlink is only available for licensed operators only but as I said, it is pretty easy to get a license these days. Amateur radio opens up communications possibilities from anywhere in the world. There are other e-mail possibilities out there for commercial use but I don't think you will find one that is as heavily supported with over 31 voluntary stations around the world. Saillink is another one with about 11 stations available for connections.
Sail Magazine published an article on Winlink and other systems a couple of months ago.
It is my understanding that about 90% of all antenna installations of Amateur Radio Station antennas installed as a permanent antenna utilize an insulated section of the backstay with a tuner. Using the full dipole antenna cut for a particular band as I did was not good for a permanent installation as it would get in the way of sail handling under sail.
Max Treece WG4Z
CD 25
Charlotte, NC
John R. wrote: Interesting........that antenna rig you set up is similar to recommended SSB emergency antenna rigs utilizing a piece of wire.
Where can a person read more info regarding the Winlink 2000?
Max Treece wrote:John R. wrote:
metreece@duke-energy.com