so ive been trying to get Winlink going for a few weeks now and honestly its more complicated than i expected. i got Winlink Express installed and i can connect via Telnet just fine which is great but thats basically just using the internet right, so whats the point for emergency comms if the internet is down

what i really want to do is connect via RF to an actual RMS gateway. theres one listed in my area on the winlink.org map, looks like its about 22 miles away on 145.010. im running a Yaesu FT-991A into a decent vertical outside so i should have the power to hit it. my question is about the setup on my end - i have a Signalink USB and ive been reading that i need to configure it for packet or VARA FM, and i dont really understand the difference or which one i should be using

also once i get a connection working, how does the message handling actually work? like does it sync automatically or do i have to manually trigger sends and receives every time? i guess im also wondering if theres a way to monitor what messages are queued without opening the full client. been lurking here for a while and figured id finally just ask

yeah the Telnet thing trips a lot of people up at first, youre right that its basically just using the internet dressed up to look like radio. good for testing your message templates and getting familiar with the interface but yeah useless when the grid goes down

for RF on VHF you have two real options - traditional packet (AX.25 at 1200 baud) or VARA FM. the old packet stuff works fine and theres tons of TNCs that support it, but VARA FM is dramatically faster if the gateway supports it. most newer gateways do. the thing with Signalink is it doesnt do hardware packet, its a soundcard interface, so youre doing soundcard-based packet or VARA FM through software. VARA FM is free to use in the basic mode but the registered version is way faster. i'd honestly just start with VARA FM if the gateway near you supports it, check the winlink.org map and look at the gateway details it'll show supported modes

as for message handling - you open a session, it syncs both directions automatically, then the session closes. you dont have to babysit it. the client queues outbound messages and grabs any inbound ones waiting on the CMS. not really a way to check the queue without the client open that im aware of, at least not easily

one thing i'll add that nobody told me when i was setting this up - make sure your audio levels are actually correct on the Signalink before you try to hit a live gateway. i spent like two weeks thinking my setup was broken and it turned out i had the TX pot cranked too high and i was just splattering all over the place. the gateway was probably seeing garbage. get the levels right with a dummy load first and watch the ALC on your radio, you want minimal ALC deflection with VARA FM especially

also 22 miles on VHF should be totally doable with a vertical and 50 watts, assuming no major terrain in the way. the FT-991A is a solid radio for this