ARC EmComm Winlink Technical Moderator #2 [email protected] via groups.io
Mon, Mar 8, 2:47 PM (10 days ago) to main
It’s time for another monthly Winlink Thursday session. Last time, we showed you how simple it is to attach a file like a spreadsheet to your outgoing Winlink message. By reducing the size of the spreadsheet and saving it as a CSV file, all of the important information was transmitted using a much smaller file than the original spreadsheet.
For this assignment, we would like you to include a picture with your Winlink Check-In form. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words. This can be a tremendous advantage when trying to convey information. It would be much easier to attach a photo of the damaged homes on a street than to try to describe how high the water has risen or how badly homes have been damaged. However, most pictures that we take with our smartphone cameras are too big to be sent via Winlink. You will recall that we are limited to a maximum message size of 120 KB including our attachments. Fortunately, WInlink software includes the ability to resize and/or crop images to allow us to be able to send pictures.
For this assignment, we are going to ask you to attach an image to your Winlink Check-In form. The check-in form allows our clearinghouse stations to record information about the stations reporting like their call sign, GPS coordinates, location, etc. In this exercise, we are using the field labeled “Initial On-Site Operators” to allow us to easily collect information about the gateways that our participants are using.
Because the Winlink Check-In form is a commonly used form, we are also going to show you how to save this form and its data as a favorite template that you can recall in future exercises with just one click.
The directions for this assignment and the image that you will be using are attached to this announcement, and can also be downloaded from our online archive by clicking here. We ask that you send your traffic to our division clearinghouse stations anytime on Thursday, March 11th.
When sending your message, we encourage you to CC yourself at your own personal email address to see how the resized image is received and seen by its recipients. This is also a good way for you to be sure that your message was received and forwarded by the WInlink servers. Be sure to use your personal internet email address as you cannot CC your own call sign when using Winlink.
Don’t forget that there is another WInlink Thursday in April as we continue planning and preparations for our nationwide exercise on May 8th, World Red Cross Day!
For more information about Winlink Thursdays or our nationwide spring exercise, visit the ARC-EmComm-Training.org website.
