By Hans, n8pgr.
WinLink as we know it is about to change. The present system, although working very well and in use all over the globe, is based on older Windows technology and methods available at the time of original development.
We all know how everything has been changing in recent years. That holds true for our common hobby, the use of digital communication over amateur radio bands, the emergence of better radios and modems and most importantly the acceptance of the Internet as a global communications system in general.
The word Internet has caused a mixed reaction amongst many of the sysops word-wide. While most have quickly accepted its possibilities, there are still some old farmers amongst us who are trying to stop a land-slide. Let it be known to all that the authors of WinLink 2000 do not belong to the latter group. As a matter of fact, the new WinLink
system is taking full advantage of everything the Internet has to offer.Ham radio will never go away. Maybe the user-base is shifting, but the hobby is as busy and as lively as I have ever seen it. One thing that has been standing out in recent years is the use of Ham radio (particularly the digital sector of it) by mobile users. As technology has becoming more affordable, smaller in size and less power consuming I have witnessed an increased use of WinLink by what I call Nomads. Those are users with no fixed home base, such as vacationers, RVers, marine mobiles just to name a few.
WinLink has always been a dual-purpose MBO system supporting a variety of HF modes with links into regional Packet networks. HF use of the network is by far the most common method, mainly because of the long-distance communication links between users and network nodes.
The new design will still support everything the present generation is offering, with the exception of some older modulation methods like Amtor. What is really exiting about the new system is its virtuality and modularity. In WinLink 2000 it will be possible to run a given MBO disbursed on many different machines. You may run all control modules in your shack, while some or all TNC port controllers may operate miles away, on top of a mountain or any another location for as long as there is IP access.
In addition, there is a new backbone which didn't exist before. Again, the backbone is IP (you guessed it) which allows all participating WinLink MBOs to share part of the database (messages etc.) This allows any user to connect to any participating station in the world to send or retrieve his/her mail. The days when one needed to declare a home-BBS are over. How is that for starters?
Then of course is the controversial Internet E-Mail subject. Well, here is how we have addressed this challenge: Internet addressing methods are an integral part of the new WinLink 2000 addressing scheme. Users in the future will be able to send their mail to another ham as we do it today or to any E-mail address. In the same fashion information will flow from an E-mail account anywhere in the world to a WinLink Ham user.
So, where does the new project stand? Last fall ther