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How to send email by ham radio

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How to send email by ham radio
License neededAn amateur license; in the US, Technician for VHF and UHF, General or higher for most HF
TimeAn evening to install and test over the internet; longer to set radio audio levels
Skill levelBeginner to intermediate
You will needA radio, a computer, and a sound-card interface, TNC or modem
The system
NetworkWinlink, with volunteer-run RMS gateway stations
Your addresscallsign@winlink.org
Radio modesPacket, VARA FM, VARA HF, ARDOP, Pactor
Practice without radioTelnet over the internet
Rules (US)
Business messagesNot allowed (§97.113)
EncryptionNot allowed to hide meaning (§97.113)

How to send email by ham radio takes a licensed amateur from installing the software to sending and receiving a first email over the air. The main system for it is Winlink, a worldwide network whose volunteer-run RMS (Radio Message Server) gateway stations answer calls by radio and pass the mail over the internet to central servers, and from there to other Winlink users or to ordinary email addresses. The Winlink article explains how the system works; this guide covers the practical steps. US rules are given first, and other countries have their own.

Before you start

  • Transmitting needs an amateur license. In the US, the FCC issues it.[1] A Technician license covers VHF and UHF gateways and data on 28.0 to 28.3 MHz;[2][3] on the other HF bands they have only small segments of 80, 40 and 15 meters, where they may send only Morse code, and no privileges at all on the rest,[2][4] so most HF gateways need a General license or higher. See How to get your first ham license and, outside the US, Amateur radio licensing around the world.
  • You need a radio, a computer and something to join them. For VHF and UHF this is an FM radio; for HF, a single-sideband HF transceiver. Software modes run through a sound-card interface or a radio with built-in USB audio; packet can also use a TNC (terminal node controller), and Pactor needs a hardware modem.
  • Keep an internet connection handy for setup and the first test.

Choose a client program

The client is the program where you write and read mail. The programs below are examples, not recommendations, with platforms and costs as Winlink and the authors list them.[5][6]

Program Author Platform Cost
Winlink Express Winlink Development Team Windows Free, with gentle reminder messages; an optional registration key ($24 as of November 2026) supports the system
Pat Martin Hebnes Pedersen, LA5NTA Linux, macOS, Windows; Winlink also lists Android Free, open source
Paclink-Unix Basil Gunn, N7NIX Linux, FreeBSD Free
AirMail Jim Corenman, KE6RK Windows Free

To run Winlink Express on a Mac or Linux computer, its makers suggest a virtual machine or dual boot.[7] Winlink's support page also lists RadioMail, a client for iOS.[8]

Choose a connection mode

Mode Bands Extra equipment Software cost
Packet VHF and UHF FM TNC, or a sound-card modem such as Dire Wolf Dire Wolf is free and open source[9]
VARA FM and VARA HF VHF and UHF FM; HF Sound-card interface; Windows Free to download and try; a paid license key unlocks full speed[10]
ARDOP HF Sound-card interface Free; included with Winlink Express
Pactor HF SCS hardware modem The modem must be bought
Telnet Internet only None Free

VARA's author sells license keys on his website; according to the Pat project, it is a Windows program that also runs on Linux under Wine, and registration unlocks its full speed.[11][10] Winlink Express includes an ARDOP modem, and the open-source ardopcf version, used with Pat, is released under the MIT license, though its author has stopped developing it.[7][12] Pactor's current SCS modem is the PXDragon DR-9400.[13] For mail within a region, packet or VARA FM through a local gateway is enough; the HF modes reach distant gateways.

Step by step

  1. Install the client. Download it from the Winlink or author's site, and install the forms updates it offers.
  2. Register your call sign. On first start, Winlink Express asks for your call sign, a password and a recovery email address; the account is created at your first connection to the Winlink servers.[14] Pat works differently: the first connection must be by Telnet, and the system sends a message containing your new password.[15] Your address becomes your call sign followed by @winlink.org.
  3. Test by Telnet. A Telnet session reaches the Winlink servers over the internet with no radio.[16] Send yourself a message, connect, then connect again to collect it.
  4. Connect the radio. Wire the interface, choose the radio's sound device in the modem software, and set the audio levels as described in the digital mode interface article.
  5. Find a gateway. Gateways wait to be called, and HF gateways send no beacons, so you call them.[16] Clients download channel lists of gateway frequencies, and Winlink's live status page shows which gateways are reporting normally.[17] Local clubs and emergency groups can often suggest nearby gateways.
  6. Send and receive. Write a message so it waits in the outbox, open a session of the chosen type, pick a gateway and start. The client sends your outgoing mail, collects anything waiting and disconnects. Mail from an internet address reaches you only if that address is on your accept list, which Winlink adds to when you write to someone, or if the sender puts //WL2K in the subject.[16]
  7. Try peer-to-peer. Winlink Express can exchange messages directly with another Winlink Express or AirMail station by radio, with no gateway or internet.[7] Arrange a test with a friend on a simplex frequency.
  8. Practice regularly. Send a message now and then so the station and your skills stay ready. Winlink's 2019 FAQ says accounts unused for 400 days are removed and that only radio or Telnet sessions keep them active.[16]
Write your Winlink password and recovery address on paper and keep them with your portable station. Reinstalling a client after a computer failure, in the field and without internet, is much harder without them.

What you may send

Winlink is not private: anyone with the right equipment can read the messages, and gateway operators monitor traffic.[16] US rules forbid communications in which the licensee or control operator has a financial interest, including messages on behalf of an employer, with narrow exceptions such as emergency drills, and messages encoded to hide their meaning.[18] Coded messages are allowed only in exceptions such as commands to a station in space.[19] Winlink's compression is a published format, not encryption.[16]

Mail to or from people without a license is third-party traffic. US stations may pass it abroad only where a third-party agreement exists or in emergencies, and automatically controlled stations may carry it only by RTTY or data.[20] In a message-forwarding system the station that originates a message is primarily accountable for it.[21] Other countries set their own rules, so check the national ones before operating.

Emergency use

Radio email suits emergency work because it delivers exact written messages. Winlink Express includes forms for emergency communications,[7] and Winlink has carried field situation reports during a FEMA exercise.[22] Some gateways belong to a hybrid network that forwards mail by radio when their internet link fails.[17] Local emergency communication groups, such as ARES in the US, can say whether and how they use it.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Amateur Radio Service, FCC.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 47 CFR 97.301, eCFR.
  3. ↑ 47 CFR 97.305, eCFR.
  4. ↑ 47 CFR 97.307, eCFR.
  5. ↑ Client Software, Winlink.
  6. ↑ Pat, Martin Hebnes Pedersen.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Winlink Express, Winlink.
  8. ↑ User Support and Help, Winlink.
  9. ↑ Dire Wolf, WB2OSZ, GitHub.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 VARA, Pat wiki, GitHub.
  11. ↑ VARA, EA5HVK.
  12. ↑ ardopcf, GitHub.
  13. ↑ SCS PACTOR, SCS.
  14. ↑ Winlink Express Installation and Configuration, Placer County ARES.
  15. ↑ The command line interface, Pat wiki, GitHub.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Frequently Asked Questions about Winlink 2000, Winlink, February 2019.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Live System Information, Winlink.
  18. ↑ 47 CFR 97.113, eCFR.
  19. ↑ 47 CFR 97.211, eCFR.
  20. ↑ 47 CFR 97.115, eCFR.
  21. ↑ 47 CFR 97.219, eCFR.
  22. ↑ Winlink Global Radio Email, Winlink.
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