[aprssig] APRS => Winlink Messaging

[Bob Bruninga]

We need an author:

I was told that we cannot use APRS to send email to Winlink accounts from the APRS mobiles because winkink needs a special SUBJECT line.  Therefore, if I understand the problem correctly we cannot do this presently.  Here is what we need:

*** An engine (like the EMAIL engine) that monitors the APRS-IS for a trigger ADDRESS, lets say "WLK".  If anyone uses their radio to send an APRS message TO WLK then this happens:

1) The first word of the message is the CALLSIGN of the winlink addressee (example:  WB4APR, we are here and ready at 1430. ).

2) The WLK engine takes this APRS message and creates an EMAIL of the form:

TO:    WB4APR at winlink.org
FROM:  (your radio callsign)
SUBJ:  //WLNK (or whatever the special format is)
MESSAGE: we are here and ready at 1430.

*** Message originated from station (your call)
*** on the APRS system.  Location is now
*** at this link (**** LINK to APRS-IS map display)
*** To reply, reply to this message, though APRS
*** is a live message system only, and will not
*** be delivered unless station is currently active.

They way it was explained to me, is that the above EMAIL is not accepted by WINLINK system unless there is the special SUBJECT line (something like above) to help guard against spam.  So that is why we cannot currently send APRS messages to Winlink addresses because we do not have a subject line.

Notice that I did suggest that this "WLK" engine will accept REPLY messages and will inject them back into the APRS-IS!  This should be safe, since we have to assume that a callsign originator on WINLINK is a licensed ham and his communication is legitimate.

Again, I am not a WinLINK expert and I only heard about this issue second hand, so I could be mistaken, and maybe there is already a workaround for this issue..  If so, ignore me.

If not, then, this is the kind of gizmo we need to add to the APRS quiver so that we can be one step closer to the UNIVERSAL HAM RADIO TEXT MESSAGING initiative where  we can message ANY HAM, ANYWHERE, using ANY DEVICE, by callsign alone.  See Sept Issue of QST.

Bob, Wb4APR