Winlink Wednesday: Send Winlink over VHF with VARA FM + This Week’s Challenge

Last Wednesday we got Winlink Express running over the internet. This week we take the next step and send a message over the air. VARA FM is a sound-card modem that works with an ordinary VHF/UHF FM radio, and it’s much faster than old 1200-baud packet. Once this works, you can get email out from your shack to a local gateway even when the internet at your house is down.

Level: Intermediate | Time: About 45 minutes | Note: Menu names below match current VARA FM and Winlink Express as I understand them, but both get updated often, so a label or two may look a little different on your screen.

Prefer to watch? Here’s the video version of this how-to.

What You’ll Need

Winlink Express (already set up from last week) and VARA FM, both on a Windows computer. Both are downloaded from the Winlink site.
A VHF/UHF FM radio. Radios with built-in USB audio work, or use an interface like the Digirig Mobile or SignaLink USB with the right cable for your radio.
A VARA FM gateway you can reach from your house (we’ll find one in Step 4)

How your message gets from your keyboard to an inbox over the air.

Step 1: Install VARA FM and Point Winlink at It

Install VARA FM. In Winlink Express, choose VARA FM Winlink from the session drop-down and click Open Session. In the session window, open Settings > VARA TNC Setup. Make sure the path to the VARA FM program is correct and check the box to launch VARA FM automatically, then click Update. VARA FM should open alongside the session window.

Step 2: Set Up the Sound Card and PTT in VARA FM

Settings > SoundCard: set both Device Input and Device Output to your interface (it often shows up as “USB Audio CODEC” or “USB PnP Sound Device”). Don’t leave them on your computer’s speakers.
Settings > PTT: tell VARA how to key the radio. With a Digirig, choose COM, pick its COM port and select RTS. A SignaLink keys itself (VOX), and radios with built-in USB may use CAT instead. Follow your interface’s instructions here.
Settings > VARA Setup: leave the FM system on NARROW to start. WIDE needs a radio with a true 9600-baud data port.

On a radio with a data port, set the port for 1200 baud to match NARROW, and turn off the radio’s APRS if it has it.

Step 3: Clean Up Windows Audio

Windows loves to change sound settings behind your back. Open the Windows Sound control panel and check your interface on both the Playback and Recording tabs. Turn off audio enhancements and any automatic gain (AGC) on the recording side. Watch the input meter in the lower-left corner of VARA FM while you listen to a quiet frequency: it should be moving, but not pinned in the red.

Step 4: Find a Gateway

In the VARA FM Winlink session window, click Channel Selection. If the list is empty, click the button to update the table over the internet. Pick a nearby VARA FM gateway and double-click it. Winlink fills in the call sign and frequency. Set your radio to that frequency.

Step 5: Send a Message over RF

Write a test message to your own regular email and click Post to Outbox. Back in the session window, click Start. You’ll hear the radio key up and the tones go back and forth. When the session ends, check your email. If it arrived, you just sent email by radio.

VARA FM works without a license key, but it runs at a much slower speed until you register it. That’s fine for short test messages.

Gotchas

Too much transmit audio. Overdriving makes VARA slower, not faster. If connections are flaky, turn the transmit level down a bit.
Tone squelch left on. VARA has to hear the gateway. Turn off tone squelch on this frequency, and check your interface’s instructions for squelch. Many setups, including the SignaLink, want the radio’s squelch open.
Handhelds get hot. Long digital transmissions are hard on small radios. Use low power and keep messages short, without big attachments.

Last Week’s Challenge: Shout-Outs

Last week’s challenge was an FT8 contact on 10 meters. Nobody has posted a completion in the comments yet. If you made one, drop your call sign in the comments, and either way, give this week’s challenge a try!

This Week’s Challenge: Check Into a Local Net

Nets are the best way to get to know the hams around you, and they’re good practice for when it counts. This week, check into at least one net on a local repeater.

Where to find one: your club’s website or newsletter, or ask on the repeater.
How it works: listen for the net control station to ask for check-ins, then give your call sign clearly, phonetically if it helps. Net control will acknowledge you.
Need help programming the repeater? See Tuesday’s FT-991A post and Friday’s CHIRP post on the How-To page.

Done it? Post your call sign and which net you checked into in the comments. Everyone who completes the challenge gets a shout-out next Wednesday.

Your Turn

Did your first VARA FM message go through? Which gateway did you reach? Tell me in the comments, and if you got stuck somewhere, ask your question there too. I’ll help you sort it out.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This site supports local ham clubs.