January 2023

DEC Bulletin

I hope everyone reading this had Happy Holidays and I hope your 2023 New Year will be prosperous. I hope Santa left the new radio or accessary under your Christmas tree.

Winlink 2000 users:

The SPAM control for the Winlink 2000 system is the Whitelist. I have been running a Packet station 24/7 since 2007 and have yet to receive any spam through the system. Any message from the Internet must have a sender “from” address or domain name listed in the recipient's whitelist. Otherwise, the message is rejected.

How does an address get added to my whitelist?

1. Each message you send from your Winlink account to a recipient at an Internet email address will be automatically recorded in your Whitelist.

2. You may send a special message to the SYSTEM, giving it instructions for changes to your whitelist.

3. You may manipulate your individual whitelist via your WEBMAIL account.

To keep the Whitelist current and not drop any names you must send them an email within 400 days.

ARES:

If you are interested in becoming a member of ARES® you may contact me at the email address shown below.

1. Will you register your qualifications and communications equipment for use in public service during a communications emergency?

2. Can you work in a controlled environment?

3. Do you have a desire to contribute to your community?

4. Can you function as a team member?

Check the https://www.hamradioelpaso.com/emergency-coordination website to find the certifications needed to become an ARES® member.

Other News:

For those who use the Linksys WRT54 series routers for the Broadband Hamnet (BBHN). The BBHN Development Team has stopped supporting the firmware for these routers as of April 30, 2015. The firmware for these routers have grown to the point where the router is out of memory. The OpenWRT software which is what the firmware is based upon also is no longer supported. Most MESH users are migrating to the ARDEN (https://www.arednmesh.org/) firmware. This is not to say we can no longer use the WRT54 series routers with the AREDN firmware. All that needs be done is to change the SSID to AREDN. This will allow the WRT54 series routers run under the AREDN firmware but with some restrictions. The WRT54 series routers are being replaced with the Ubiquiti, TP Link, Mikrotik, GL.iNET and Meraki products. Check the Software Platform Matrix page on the AREDN website for the supported models.

NOTE: The terms ARES® and Amateur Radio Emergency Service® is both registered trademarks of the American Radio Relay League, Inc. and are used by permission.

Questions and comments about the content of this article are always welcome. Send an email to the address shown below.

Lew Maxwell, KB5HPT

Amateur Radio Emergency Coordinator

DEC, District 6, WTX Section

TX RACES: DRO 08A

Email: kb5hpt@arrl.net