I see #1 and #2 very useful features. These features use VARAC Beacon/Broadcast to "spot" available winlink servers/digipeaters. There would need to be a way for the EOC personnel to periodically check the status of their local VARAFM RMS/digipeater, make sure server is up and internet connectivity is active. In the case that servers are down, the EOC could spot a Winlink P2P frequency. This would enable stations with emergency traffic to switch Winlink to P2P mode and get their traffic to the EOC using P2P. Good ideas!

Some additional thoughts on a VARAC relay station for emergency traffic: 1. The relay station being "Winlink Capable" enables usage of the ICS standard forms, such as the ICS-213, general message. Taking the vmail raw traffic and formatting it to the ICS-213 enables the traffic to be sent to an Emergency Management Entity in the ICS format and most importantly, tracking the traffic using the Winlink message number. This traffic could be sent by the relay via internet using Winlink Telnet or to a local RMS via UHF/VHF. Both are very reliable ways to send the ICS formatted emergency message text. 2. Another need in an emergency is for impacted area local residents to be able to contact their out of area emergency contact, to provide family and friends with their status in the case internet and cell phone is not operational. In this case, the relay station could send an email using a standard email client and free form format text for the family member recipient. Family getting confirmation that their loved ones are OK can be a huge relief to all impacted community members and their out of area contacts. 3. There are cases where the out of impacted area contact will not have access to email. Our local community on the island as a high number of older residence who have no email or internet access. While we encourage everyone to get an email, some are not interested. In this case (and there may be others) the relay station could deliver the emergency traffic received via the Vmail capability and relay the message via cell phone. 4. Using the broadcast message to specify an offset frequency for 2300 BW connections will be an important option. Speeding up the delivery of emergency traffic can save lives when time is critical. Establishing standard offsets for 2300 would be helpful. 3 kHz above slot 15 for example. Taking into account band plans and minimizing impact to other comm modes would be desired.

Irad, Awesome new features! File forwarding and Vmail notifications are very useful adds for the Emcomm toolbox. Now if we could crack the 2300 BW Emcomm slot feature for HF. I've been a digital station for local ARES drills here in Washington state and the amount of traffic I'm passing makes having the higher bandwidth capability very useful... almost essential. For example, when sending the ARES team's consolidated activation reports to the EOC, time is of the essence. Also, we have drills specifically for Earthquake preparedness (Cascadia Fault) where we assume local infrastructure will not be available. Using an NVIS antenna configuration and 40M or 80M HF, I connect with a station 150-300 Miles away using Winlink/VARA HF. This will be the most likely P2P scenario in the event of a large Earthquake. 73s and again, thank you for VARA AC! It will save lives. Brian, K7RUT