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April 29, 2026 – May 3, 2026
On April 29 through May 3 we will be conducting a D14SW Winlink Exercise. You will need a working VHF and/or UHF Winlink system (Packet or VARA or both) to participate. If you need to install Winlink or work on fixing up your Winlink installation, now is the time to do it. If you need help, please reach out to Wes Clavey, W5WMC, Wayne Johnson, K5OB, or Chris Luppens, KG5BBF, and one of us will get you started. Wes can be contacted at westley.clavey@gmail.com
To begin the exercise on Wed., April 29, Open Winlink and use the Channel Selector to identify all the gateways (VHF/UHF) for the modes you will be using within 35 miles of your station and make a list, recording the Gateway ID, the mode, the distance, the bearing, and the band. All this information comes from the Channel Selection function in Winlink. Keep this list - - we will need it in a future step. In my case, for example, there are 12 UHF or VHF VARA gateways that I will attempt to reach.
For for each gateway in your list:
- Format a Winlink message with the Subject line: “DRILL - [Your Call] Gateway Connection” and which contains a single line in the message text: Your call, the Gateway ID, Mode, Band, Distance, and Direction. Example: W5WMC, N5TRS-11, VARA, UHF, 15 Miles, 75 Deg
- Address the Winlink message to W5WMC-1 and CC: your own email address to confirm it was sent.
- Make a direct connection to that gateway using VHF or UHF Do Not Use A Digipeater.
- If you are unable to reach that gateway, make note of it on your list and move on to the next gateway
Repeat these steps for each gateway and mode combination you are attempting on your list.
After you have completed trying the gateways on the list, make 1 final Winlink message addressed to W5WMC-1 with the Subject line: “DRILL - [Your Call] Failed Connections” that has as the message text the list of the gateways and attributes you attempted but were unable to connect with. It would also be useful to list your station: Power, Antenna Type, Antenna Height. You can use any mode or connection type, including Telnet, to send this final list.
I will use the normal training slot on April 29 to review these instructions and to answer any questions you may have.
You may take as long as you need from the end of the weekly net on Wednesday, April 29, to 2359 LT Sunday May 3. You can try the gateways more than once over the test time. This is not a race but is an attempt to assess which of our members with Winlink capabilities can reach which gateways via a direct connection - - which is a question I have been asked by D14 leaders. We plan to conduct a variation on this exercise later in the year during one of our other exercise slots.
I will compile the data from all the participants' responses and messages and determine if there is meaningful information to be gleaned from the combination of Station-Gateway pairs that were successful and provide a report here on our D14SW groups.io page.