Not satisfied with dominating the 3.8% of the HF ham frequencies set aside by the FCC for wideband unattended operations, Winlink, for the sole benefit of their less-than-1% of the US hams, is now pressuring the ARRL to take away frequencies used for contesting, Dxing, ragchewing, experimentation, and award-chasing, and make those additional frequencies available for Winlink to dominate with their unattended email robots.

     If you have ever had your CW or PSK31 QSO trampled by a Pactor station when you were already on the frequency, or you do not want this to happen to you in the future, then youMUST email Dave Sumner, CEO, at bandwidth@arrl.org and tell him the following without delay!

1. That you do NOT agree to give up any frequencies outside of the present FCC sub-bands for automatically controlled digital station operations, INCLUDING the Executive Committee's intention to increase the space on the 30 meter FCC sub-bands, where unattended wideband digital operations are already allowed (and already dominated by Winlink), by 33%, because 30m is already a SMALL band and a band that has to be SHARED with commercial services.
2. That you DO NOT BELIEVE that unattended or so-called "semi-automatic" Winlink operations will not dominate any frequencies they publish, SINCE THEY DO ALREADY, even though they claim to have "activity detection" already in the modems they use. That the claim of "activity detection" is a false promise in order to get the ARRL to petition the FCC to take away spectrum from everyone else for the increased convenience of the 5100 Winlink users, who mainly use ham radio as a way to get remote email access to the Internet, and not for communications.
3. That the HISTORICALLY HIGH LEVEL OF INTERFERENCE BY PACTOR STATIONS to everyone else has demonstrated time and time again that even the operator-controlled Winlink Pactor stations don't care if a frequency is busy (because they can easily take it away), in their passion to get their email from the Internet, so they MUST NOT BE ALLOWED to mix with hams trying to COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER!
4. That you do NOT agree that more space should be allocated to unattended phone-width DIGITAL operations because the phone bands are already overcrowded with hams trying to talk to each other, and any re-allocation to make more room for phone-width signals should only be used for analog or digital voice that will benefit 99% of the hams instead of the less-than-1% that Winlink represents.
5. That there is no spectrum that can be taken away from where CW and person-to-person digital communications like RTTY, PSK31 and MFSK16 are used for ragchewing, Dxing, and contesting.
6. That ham radio is a HOBBY, not a quasi-commercial email "service" as Winlink provides, and that ham radio, from the very beginning, has always been mainly about hams communicating with other hams, and not about being used for unattended email gateways to the Internet, mostly for a few sailors, because the FCC Maritime Radio Frequencies were set aside for that purpose and are underused.
7. That all unattended wideband digital operations, of any type, MUST be confined to the current sub-bands for automatically controlled digital stations, and not allowed to use any frequency they wish just in order to avoid having to wait a short time for a clear frequency in the sub-bands.

     Here is the Winlink bulletin that was posted on their servers:

     VERY IMPORTANT Update, March 23, 2005

     HELP US KEEP AND ENHANCE WINLINK 2000. PLEASE RESPOND BY APRIL 6!

     All,

     Recently, we asked that all Winlink users write to the ARRL to save our Winlink wideband (Pactor 3) operations on the 30 meter band. The ARRL had just recommended the deletion of such operations on that band for all US licensed Amateurs. Our users did respond to the request for opinions, and as a result, the ARRL Executive Committee has now rescinded their original recommendation to delete wideband digital operations on 30 meters.

     Once again, we are asking you to write to David Sumner at bandwidth@arrl.org, and request the following:

1. That bandwidth space be expanded for digital modes above 500 Hz, and that semi-automatic operations be allowed outside the current very restricted sub-bands. Semi-automatic operations are always initiated by human beings who are capable of listening before they transmit.
2. That because sophisticated signal detection is planned for the Winlink 2000 semi-automatic operations, the unattended receiving end of Winlink 2000 will have built-in protection from interference. It is already available in the modems we use. Even without it, most QRM is avoided by those initiating the connection listening carefully before they transmit. That you understand there are additional inexpensive, and soon to be readily available, technologies such as SCAMP now being beta tested for Winlink data transfer that already deploy signal detection.
3. That your use of Winlink 2000 wideband mode (Pactor 3) is valuable to you, and assists greatly with your personal safety and well-being (if it does).
4. That under the current band plan, digital operations are cluttered, without adequate space for normal operations. The addition of additional technologies, all crammed into the current limited space will make it impossible to use.
5. That the future of the Amateur Radio service is dependent on viable communications using enabling digial voice, image and data technologies, and it is important that STATIC REGULATIONS not restrict future development of these technologies as they change.

     PLEASE use your own words, and if there is something else you wish to add, please do.

     PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS REQUEST BY THE ARRL TO PROVIDE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND INFORMATION BY APRIL 6. IT IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESSFUL OPERATION OF WINLINK 2000, and other high bandwidth data transfer, voice and image digital modes. Responding to their request for your opinion will help keep Winlink 2000 alive. Not responding may end the very service we now provide.

     Please do not leave it to others. Respond to David Sumner, CEO, bandwidth@arrl.org. If you wish to also copy your ARRL Division Director, save a copy, and we will soon put out another message with the States and locations of each.

     Thanks,

     Steve, k4cjx

     **************End of Bulletin****************

     You are welcome to cut and paste whatever you wish from this posting, but PLEASE email Dave Sumner, CEO, at bandwidth@arrl.org, AND your Division Director, WITHOUT FAIL, and say you DO NOT AGREE with what Winlink is asking for.

     You need to do this URGENTLY, because if 5000 Winlink users send emails, the ARRL will only see 5000 votes in favor of Winlink expansion and will have no way to know that all those 5000 just came from Winlink users who have been told their email may be cut off unless they email in favor of Winlink. They will be identified only by their callsigns, just like everyone else.

     To stop this attempted takeover, EVERYONE ELSE needs to vote NOT to agree to the Winlink request, so ARRL does not get the wrong impression that the "majority" of hams want to sacrifice the frequencies they use for communicating, so that the less-than-1%, that are Winlink users, don't have to wait longer than 90 seconds to receive an email on HF or can't send picture attachments to the Internet.

     Please act today to help preserve amateur radio as a hobby, for the traditional purpose of communicating with other radio amateurs, and not as a radio gateway to the Internet for a special interest group.