Winlink Procedures for Subnet Controllers: Difference between revisions

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# Use Winlink to create a new message.  The reason we’re not asking you to put the replies from the teams in the reply section of a Winlink ICS 213 in this case is that Winlink Express doesn’t allow you to fill in the reply section unless you previously received the ICS 213 by Winlink.  In this case you received the original message by voice.
# Use Winlink to create a new message.  The reason we’re not asking you to put the replies from the teams in the reply section of a Winlink ICS 213 in this case is that Winlink Express doesn’t allow you to fill in the reply section unless you previously received the ICS 213 by Winlink.  In this case you received the original message by voice.
# If the reply is to a message that came from the EOC, put the appropriate tactical address or W7EOC in the To field of the Winlink message. (You can leave the Subject field blank because the next step will fill it in automatically.)
# If the reply is to a message that came from the EOC, put W7ECC in the To field of the Winlink message. (You can leave the Subject field blank because the next step will fill it in automatically.)
# Then select the ICS 213 template.  See Checklists for Winlink Tasks for details.  
# Then select the ICS 213 template.  See Checklists for Winlink Tasks for details.  '''Note:''' Avoid having more than one Winlink template open at once. If you need to open another one, be sure and Save or Submit the first one before opening another.
## In the To field of the 213, put the person that sent the original message.  
## In the To field of the 213, put the person that sent the original message.
## In the From field put your Simplex Region name followed by the word “Region”.  
## In the From field put your Simplex Region name followed by the word “Region”.  
## In the Subject field of the 213 template, Put the word “Reply” followed by the subject of the original message.  
## In the Subject field of the 213 template, Put the word “Reply” followed by the subject of the original message.  
## In the Message body of the 213, put the name of the team providing the reply followed by a colon and the reply.  If you receive multiple replies to the same message in rapid succession, add each to the message body field of the same ICS 213, labeling each with the corresponding team name.  Otherwise, submit the message and post it to your Outbox.  
## In the Message body of the 213, put the name of the team providing the reply followed by a colon and the reply.  If you receive multiple replies to the same message in rapid succession, add each to the message body field of the same ICS 213, labeling each with the corresponding team name.  Otherwise, submit the message and post it to your Outbox.
## When you are ready to transmit the replies in your Outbox to the EOC, see [[Winlink Procedures for Subnet Controllers#Transmitting and Receiving Traffic Using a Gateway|Transmitting and Receiving Traffic Using a Gateway]].  


Note: Avoid having more than one Winlink template at once. If you open another one, be sure and Save or Submit the first one before opening another.
=== Addressing Winlink Messages ===
 
Winlink messages can be addressed to and from FCC call signs as long as the person associated with that call sign has registered with Winlink.org. Winlink also allows the From and To fields of messages to contact tactical addresses as long as these addresses are registered in advance.  
# When you are ready to transmit the replies in your Outbox to the EOC, see Transmitting and Receiving Traffic Using a Gateway.


=== Addressing Winlink Messages ===
==== From Field ====
Winlink messages can be addressed to FCC call signs as long as the person associated with that call sign has registered with Winlink.org. For NET exercises, I recommend that you use tactical addresses instead.  Tactical addresses have several advantages as they can be associated with particular functions like ICS roles at the EOC and regional subnets. When you start a new message, Winlink Express will automatically fill in your Winlink address in the From field.  Notice, that next to your call sign is a down arrow head.  If you click on it, Winlink will list any tactical addresses that you have enabled.  If you click on a tactical address it will replace your FCC call sign in the From field.
In this case, we're talking about the From field of the Winlink message, which will typically be different than the From field of of an ICS Form 213 being sent by Winlink. The From field of the Winlink message should indicate which station is sending the message by Winlink while the From field in an ICS Form 212 indicates the person who originated the Form 21e (or equivalent NET Form 8).


==== Tactical Addresses for ICS Roles at the EOC ====
For NET exercises we recommend that you use tactical addresses for the From field instead instead of your FCC call sign  Using a tactical addresses instead of your FCC has several advantages. In particular, they can be associated with the name of regional subnets. Using a regional tactical address as your From address will help assure that replies are directed to the subnet controller for the region on duty when replies to that message after a shift change.  
During an actual disaster or a major exercise, Portland Emergency Coordination Center’s situation room will be staffed by a wide variety of people serving in various Incident Command System roles like Safety Officer and Planning Section Chief.  The EOC will also have shift changes where the person serving in a particular role will leave and someone else will take their place. We can use Winlink tactical addresses in the From field of Winlink messages (not the From field of the ICS 213) to provide a way of tracking which role originated the message so when replies come back from NET teams they can be grouped using these addresses and routed to the right desk in the EOC situation room.  Here are the tactical addresses we have established so far:


* Message Center: PDXEOCMSGC-1
When you start a new message, Winlink Express will automatically fill in your Winlink address in the From field. Notice, that next to your call sign is a down arrowhead.  If you click on it, Winlink will list any tactical addresses that you have enabled.  If you click on a tactical address it will replace your FCC call sign in the From field. 
* Planning Section Chief: PDXEOCPLAN-1
* Logistics Section Chief: PDXEOCLOG-1
* Safety Officer: PDXEOCSFTY-1


Note: When the EOC radio room uses one of these addresses in the From field of a Winlink message, when you use Winlink to reply to the message the tactical address will automatically be placed in the To field of your reply.  
==== To Field ====
Messages intended for the Portland Emergency Operations Center should be addressed to W7ECC regardless of the name in the To field of the ICS 213 or or other form associated with the message.  Staff at the EOC will route the message to the appropriate person based on the To field of any ICS form being used.


==== Tactical Addresses for Regional Subnet Control Operators. ====
==== Tactical Addresses for Regional Subnet Control Operators. ====
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* Westside: PDXNETWE-1
* Westside: PDXNETWE-1


=== Enabling and Disabling a Tactical Address ===
For more on Tactical Addresses including how to set them up using Winlink Express see [[Using Winlink Tactical Addresses]]
To receive messages addressed to the tactical address for your region you will need to enable that address.  Before you enable the address you will need to set it up on your copy of Winlink Express. To do so, use the steps described in Using Winlink Tactical Addresses.  Assuming the address is set up, you can enable it by returning to the Winlink Express Setup dialog, selecting the address, selecting "Edit Entry", and check "Enabled", them "Save", then "Update'.


At the end of an exercise or deployment or when a shift change means that someone else will be taking over your role as subnet controller, you should disable the tactical address for your region.  To do so use the Winlink Express Setup dialog to select the tactical address, select “Edit Entry” and uncheck “Enabled”; then select “Save” and select "Update."
=== Preparing Your Traffic ===
 
If you have Emergency or Priority messages, prepare these messages by creating Winlink messages using the ICS 213 template.  Alternative: Transcribe Emergency messages onto a NET Form 8 rather than entering it into a Winlink ICS 213 template.  
=== Preparing Your Traffic and Notifying EOC ===
If you have Emergency or Priority messages, prepare these messages by creating Winlink messages using the ICS 213 template.  


Note: If the message you are transcribing does not have approval information, put “...” in the corresponding fields of the Winlink Form so it allows you to submit it.  
Note: If the message you are transcribing does not have approval information, put “...” in the corresponding fields of the Winlink Form so it allows you to submit it.  
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* Update the From field by clicking on the the "V" shape next to your FCC call sign and selecting your region's tactical address. If no tactical address is shown, see the section above regarding enabling a tactical address.  
* Update the From field by clicking on the the "V" shape next to your FCC call sign and selecting your region's tactical address. If no tactical address is shown, see the section above regarding enabling a tactical address.  
* Update the To field of the Winlink with one of the EOC tactical addresses.  When in doubt use PDXEOCMSGC-1.
* Set To field of the Winlink message to W7ECC.


If you have Emergency messages you should post them to your Winlink Outbox and then contact Tactical Net on MC-8 informing it of these messages before taking Priority messages. Tactical Net may
=== Contacting EOC When You Have Emergency Traffic ===
If you have Emergency Traffic, contact Tactical Net on MC-8 informing it about these messages before transcribing Priority messages. Tactical Net may


* take your Emergency messages by voice;
* take your Emergency messages by voice;
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If you have previously posted Emergency messages in your Outbox that have not yet been transmitted and you have just transcribed a new Priority message, it is best not to put it directly in your Outbox as you shouldn’t tie up the gateway transmitting messages of two or more precedence levels. Instead of posting the lower precedence message directly to your Outbox, click on Save in Drafts. You can move the messages in your Draft folder to your Outbox after you have transmitted your higher priority messages. Alternatively, you can copy messages in your Draft folder to personal folders named “Priority”, “HealthWelfare” and “Routine” and later copy messages of a particular precedence to your Outbox.
If you have previously posted Emergency messages in your Outbox that have not yet been transmitted and you have just transcribed a new Priority message, it is best not to put it directly in your Outbox as you shouldn’t tie up the gateway transmitting messages of two or more precedence levels. Instead of posting the lower precedence message directly to your Outbox, click on Save in Drafts. You can move the messages in your Draft folder to your Outbox after you have transmitted your higher priority messages. Alternatively, you can copy messages in your Draft folder to personal folders named “Priority”, “HealthWelfare” and “Routine” and later copy messages of a particular precedence to your Outbox.


If you have Priority messages and you have already handled any Emergency messages, you should post your Priority messages to your Winlink Outbox or copy any Priority messages you have previously saved in other folders to your Outbox and then follow the instructions in Transmitting and Receiving Traffic Using a Gateway.
If you have Priority messages and you have already handled any Emergency messages, you should post your Priority messages to your Winlink Outbox or copy any Priority messages you have previously saved in other folders to your Outbox and then follow the instructions in ''Transmitting and Receiving Traffic Using a Gateway'' below.


If you have Health & Welfare or Routine messages you can prepare them in the same way as described above, but do not put them in your Winlink Outbox until EOC has told you that it is taking messages at those precedence. Instead select “Save in Drafts” and wait until it is time to transmit them to move them to your Outbox.
If you have Health & Welfare or Routine messages you can prepare them in the same way as described above, but do not put them in your Winlink Outbox until EOC has told you that it is taking messages at those precedence. Instead select “Save in Drafts” and wait until it is time to transmit them to move them to your Outbox.
=== Preparing Traffic for Another Regional Subnet ===
If a Team ARO has a net Form 8 that is intended for another team, consider its precedence.
* If it is an Emergency Message you should transcribe it on a NET Form 8 or and ICS 213 and then contact the regional subnet for the team for which the message is intended. As you will probably not know which subnet that team has checked into you should contact Tactical Net on MC-8 and request the regional subnet associated with the team.
* If the message is a Priority message, you should transcribe the message into a Winlink ICS Form 213 as described above.  Then contact Tactical Net to obtain the regional subnet associated with the destination of the message.  Then use the table of Regional Tactical Addresses above to address the Winlink message.


=== Transmitting and Receiving Traffic Using a Gateway ===
=== Transmitting and Receiving Traffic Using a Gateway ===
After listening to the gateway frequency until it appears to no longer be busy, open and start a Packet Winlink or VARA FM Winlink session. If the exercise instructions indicate that a pair of experimental gateways have been set up at Portland Emergency Coordination Center, use one of the following gateways. Otherwise choose any gateway after asking Winlink Express to update its table of gateways.  See “Steps for Updating a Table of Available Gateways” in Checklists for Winlink Tasks.
After listening to the gateway frequency until it appears to no longer be busy, open and start a Packet Winlink or Vara FM Winlink session. If the exercise instructions indicate that a pair of experimental gateways have been set up at Portland Emergency Coordination Center, use one of the following gateways. Otherwise choose any gateway after asking Winlink Express to update its table of gateways.  See “Steps for Updating a Table of Available Gateways” in Checklists for Winlink Tasks.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|Function
|Function
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|Experimental Packet Gateway
|Experimental Packet Gateway
|KI7QIB-12
|KI7QIB-12
|145.010 (use VFO mode or channel 488 in the MCARES 2023 Standard Template)
|145.030
|-
|-
|Experimental VARA Gateway
|Experimental Vara Gateway
|KI7QIB-12
|KI7QIB-12
|145.010 (use VFO mode or channel 488 in the MCARES 2023 Standard Template)
|145.030
|}
|}
When you access a gateway you may receive a warning message "The server you are connected to does not currently have an Internet connection.  Do you want to connect to this server?" This will occur if there is an Internet outage or we are simulating one.  Please confirm that you want to proceed.
When you access a gateway you may receive a warning message "The server you are connected to does not currently have an Internet connection.  Do you want to connect to this server?" This will occur if there is an Internet outage or we are simulating one. Click "Connect to this server" to continue. Depending on your windows settings, it's possible that this pop-up window will covered by other windows and you'll have minimize the other windows to see it.  Here's a screenshot showing the pop-up.
 
[[Image:GatewayNoInternetWarning.png||500px]]


Try once or twice to send your message and then stop using the gateway regardless of whether you succeeded so they can be allocated to another subnet control operator.
Try once or twice to send your message and then stop using the gateway regardless of whether you succeeded so they can be allocated to another subnet control operator.


==== What To Do If the EOC Gateway Appears To Be Unavailable. ====
If you don’t succeed in using one of the experimental gateways, try these alternatives and log which alternative you end up using:  
If you don’t succeed in using one of the experimental gateways, try these alternatives and log which alternative you end up using:  


# Contact Tactical Net and request voice transmission if you have messages with a precedence Emergency.
# Contact Tactical Net and request voice transmission if you have messages with a precedence of Emergency.
# Use another gateway if you are relatively certain that the gateways can access the Internet to exchange mail with the Common Message Servers.  
# Use another gateway if you are relatively certain that the gateways can access the Internet to exchange mail with the Common Message Servers.  
# If you have Internet access, use Telnet Winlink.
# If you have Internet access, use Telnet Winlink.
# Transmit by regular email.  For instance, PDXEOCMSGC-1@winlink.org.  Put the following at the begining of the subject to facilitate obtaining “white list” status for your message: //WL2K
# Transmit by regular email.  For instance, W77ECC@winlink.org.  Put the following at the beginning of the subject to facilitate obtaining “white list” status for your message: //WL2K
# Hand deliver if that’s possible.
# Hand deliver if that’s possible.


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