Winmor Software Virtual TNC for Winlink 2000 Ham Radio Email

[Hamsailor]

Winmor sound card virtual TNC for Winlink 2000 out on Beta testing.
Hi All,

Things have developed a bit on the Winlink 2000 Ham Radio email scene. Hopefully Winmor (a sound card vitual TNC) will soon be competition for Pactor 2 and 3 at a fraction of the cost.

And you can become a Beta tester of Winmor software for free too...



500 Hz

1600 Hz

CPU usage laptop #1, 1.5 Ghz, 1 Gb RAM, Windows XP on .Net 3.5

CPU usage laptop #2 (the XYL's....Shhh), also 1.5 Ghz, 1 Gb RAM, Windows XP on .Net 3.5 running less programs in the background.
The images above were created during Beta testing of RMS Express incorporating Winmor. Two laptops adjacent to each other, talking to each other through the internal soundcards and internal mikes and speakers. (Local loop.)
- I.e. no RF. The radios were shortcircuited out. Soundcard quality is key. This could be an inexpensive external thumb (USB) soundcard. A bad el cheapo internal soundcard (on older laptops), gives a bad constellation display, and can cause the still fragile software to crash. - My observation. Note the CPU usage for the 500 Hz bandwidth. There is NO significant increase in CPU usage for the 1600Hz bandwidth.

The Ham bands in the USA and Europe are buzzing with hams testing a new digital protocol, nl Winmor, (Soundcard virtual TNC) for the Winlink 2000 Amateur Radio messaging system. (Email via HF and VHF).
The Beta version software (RMS Express 0.3.10.0) is available for FREE on Yahoo Groups - Winmor. (You will need to sign in to your free Yahoo account.)
All testing results are also posted here between participating hams for each other's benefit.
Very fast throughput speeds have already been achieved.
There are also a growing number of 24/7 Winmor enabled RMS's in the USA, soon all over the world.
Please read all the supporting documentation and educate yourself on Winmor before posting something.....=)
No more expensive TNC needed ?

To download Winmor (called RMS Express):
Join the Yahoo Winmor Group for FREE.
Go to "Files" on the left.
Look for "RMS Express 0.3.10.0 Full Install.zip"
Also definitely read "RMS Express Install Instructions.doc"

It works well under Windows XP.
For Windows Vista you need to create your own download directory.
Sign in to your free Yahoo account (or create it), if you cannot open this direct link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WINMOR/files/

Have fun.
Bernard
ZS4BDK

[Hamsailor]

Here is what the email client (email page) looks like:

[Hamsailor]

2010/01/19 03:33K7EK-5 3569.5WINMOR 500 HzPublicCN87TB Current
2010/01/19 03:33K7EK-5 7081.1WINMOR 500 HzPublicCN87TB Current
2010/01/19 04:18KB1OOQ-5 3570.7WINMOR 500 HzPublicFN42FW Current
2010/01/19 04:18KB1OOQ-5 10130.7WINMOR 500 HzPublicFN42FW Current
2010/01/19 04:18KB1OOQ-5 14100.7WINMOR 500 HzPublicFN42FW Current
2010/01/19 04:19KN6KB-5 7083.0WINMOR 500 HzPublicEL98PF Current
2010/01/19 04:19KN6KB-5 10131.5WINMOR 500 HzPublicEL98PF Current
2010/01/19 03:57PD4U-5 7081.5WINMOR 500 HzPublicJO22XE Current
2010/01/19 04:26W1EO-5 7081.9WINMOR 500 HzPublicFN42IM Current
2010/01/19 04:19W5SEG-5 3584.5WINMOR 500 HzPublicEL19AN Current
2010/01/19 03:40W7BO-5 3571.5WINMOR 500 HzPublicCN85PV Current
2010/01/19 03:57PD4U-5 14113.5WINMOR 1600 HzPublicJO22XE Current
2010/01/18 19:33UA6DX-5 10145.5WINMOR 1600 HzPublicKN95NA 8 hours old
2010/01/19 00:56VA3LKI-5 3613.0WINMOR 1600 HzPublicFN04CR 3 hours old
2010/01/19 00:55VA3LKI-5 7092.0WINMOR 1600 HzPublicFN04CR 3 hours old
2010/01/19 00:56VA3LKI-5 14112.0WINMOR 1600 HzPublicFN04CR 3 hours old
2010/01/19 03:59VE1YZ-5 18103.5WINMOR 1600 HzPublicFN84BQ Current
2010/01/19 04:07VE5EOC-5 7085.0WINMOR 1600 HzPublicDO70QK Current
2010/01/19 04:17VK2HL-5 7049.0WINMOR 1600 HzPublicQF56PG Current
2010/01/19 03:35VK2JN-5 3631.3WINMOR 1600 HzPublicQF56OG Current
2010/01/18 21:21W5SMM-5 7111.0WINMOR 1600 HzPublicEL98QB 7 hours old

For the USB dial frequency, subtract 1.5 Khz

[SoonerSailor]

Don't forget you need a Ham license, at least General class in the USA, to use this system. Perhaps Sailmail will eventually support it.

[Christian Van H]

This sounds really exciting...I wish this post was in english! Are you actually using your laptop's soundcard, or an added USB soundcard?

[SoonerSailor]

If the sound card in your laptop is of high quality, it would work with Winmor with some caveats. The better solution is an outboard USB soundcard like the Signalink USB.

[Hamsailor]

I have been using the internal sound cards of my laptops, and they work just fine. You need to make audio cables to interface your laptop to your radio, though.
The Signalink external sound card and interface ($100), is recommended, but not really required.

See more about Winmor here:

WINMOR--A New HF Transmission Protocol for Winlink 2000 | Winlink 2000

[Hamsailor]

Hi All,

A discussion of the Beta testing of the Winmor sound card virtual TNC for the Winlink 2000 HF SSB radio email, can be followed here:

Throughput speeds of between Pactor 2 and Pactor 3 have been achieved.

The software price is at $39 now.

SARL Discussion Forums - Winmor (Virtual TNC) software out on Beta testing.

[Christian Van H]

Is there a link somewhere to an easy to understand, plain English description of how this all works and how to operate this software? Oh, and will my wife become a SSB widow?

[Hamsailor]

Well, try this Powerpoint presentation for the emergency communication world.
Hope it helps !

(Cut and paste into your browser.)

www.wb3w.net/WinlinkIntro_052006.ppt

[SoonerSailor]

The user interface to RMS Express is not super simple and assumes a fair amount of familiarity with HF radio. So far there is no built-in radio control, or propagation window to help you choose the right frequency or RMS station, or even a user manual, though the built-in help has most of the information you should need to set it up.

I suppose a more automatic interface will come in time, but at the moment you will pay a price for the money you save on hardware to use the WinMor en lieu of Pactor II/III.

[Hamsailor]

Here is a nother good description of the Winlink 2000 HF SSB email system.
Bear in mind this was written for the EMCOM (Emergency Communications world), but it is used on thousands of boats today.

Winmor virtual TNC software eliminates the need for the expensive HF modem or TNC.

http://emcommeast2009.s3.amazonaws.c...esentation.pdf

[Patrick_DeepPlaya]

Great Link!

[Hamsailor]

WINMOR Long distance radio email on Winlink 2000 WITHOUT Pactor.
Yesterday Dorval, PY2LIN, on his sailboat Luthier 60 NM south of Salvador on the Brazil east coast, sent two emails via the Winlink 2000 RMS, VE1YZ-5, near Halifax in Nova Scotia, using only his laptop and HF SSB radio. That is correct, NO Pactor TNC or modem was used.
This was done using $39 worth of Windows based software, called Winmor, and his laptop’s internal sound card. The distance between the two stations was more than 3600 NM on an amateur radio frequency of 18.102 KHz.
Dorval’s ham radio setup on Luthier consists of a Kenwood TS-480 radio and a 23 ft whip antenna on the back of the boat. The laptop was an ASUS netbook with internal sound card. (But any similar setup will work sufficiently). It is recommended that the Signalink external sound card be used for greater speed.
More and more of these Winmor-enabled Winlink 2000 RMS’s (gateways) are coming on line. Click on the following link to see an updated list, and then click on “Mode” to sort the Winmor channels on top. The frequencies are center frequency, and 1.5 KHz needs to be subtracted to get to the USB radio dial frequency.
http://www.winlink.org/RMSHFStatus
More information from Beta testers in the field can be seen here:
http://www.sarl.org.za/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4452
To learn more about Winmor and to download its present email client called RMS Express, click here:
http://www.winlink.org/WINMOR

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by Hamsailor

[B]Dorval’s ham radio setup on Luthier consists of a Kenwood TS-480 radio and a 23 ft whip antenna on the back of the boat.

I had never heard of this radio before this post...What a nice little unit! Built in antenna tuner and a whip antenna (if it's the 100 watt version. The 200 watt version doesn't have a tuner) for under $900 US. Good stuff!