Decentralized Email gateway that works when nothing else does
Welcome to a new era of HF communications—a decentralized email gateway system that anyone can operate, enabling true two-way email transfer between HF and the Internet.​
The VarAC Email Gateway provides a critical communication bridge, allowing users to send and receive emails over the HF/VHF/UHF/SAT.
It enables VarAC messages (VMails) to be forwarded to external email addresses via SMTP and, conversely, allows incoming emails to be retrieved via IMAP, converted into VMails, and routed back to VarAC users over the radio.
With flexible reply options and a smart redirection mechanism, the Email Gateway ensures seamless bi-directional communication between the VarAC network and the external email world, offering a reliable alternative for essential messaging.
Use a VarAC Gateway
Connect to VarAC gateways to send and receive emails even without Internet access. Receive incoming email alerts over HF and get delivery confirmations once your message is successfully delivered
What sets VarAC apart from Winlink RMS?
Winlink RMS
Architecture & Redundancy
VarAC Email Gateway
Every station can run a gateway, offering a decentralized system with built-in redundancy
Uses a single backbone on Amazon AWS, which acts as a single point of failure
Scalability
Scalable due to its decentralized architecture
A single, centralized service limits scalability
Frequency
Operates on a single shared frequency, eliminating the need for frequency lists
Requires users to download and occasionally update a list of RMS gateways
Finding Available Gateways
All available nodes are visible on the shared frequency, making them easy to find
Users must try connecting to different gateways until they find one that is reachable
Cross-Node Email Replies
To get a reply, you must connect to the same gateway you used to send the email
You can connect to any node in the network to retrieve your email reply
Incoming Email Alerts
Notifies you of incoming Vmails via "relay notifications"
You must actively and occasionally check for new emails by connecting to the network
Email Alerts
Get email notifications for HF events like Beacons, CQs, Broadcasts, and Messages
N/A
Message Size Limit
Outgoing:
500 characters (default)
10,000 in HF EmComm mode
1,000,000 on FM
Incoming: Unlimited
* Limited by design for short messages to ensure optimal performance in harsh conditions
Unlimited​
Live HF <-> Email Chat
Attachments
Allows for a LIVE, bi-directional chat between HF and email
(In development)
After sending or receiving an email, you are disconnected from the network
Gestures (Sound & visual)
An interactive experience enriched with graphics and sound
Plain text
ICS Templates
Transmission-efficient text-based ICS templates
HTML-based ICS templates with higher transmission overhead