# 37 - Worldwide Email via HF Radio
One of the main things that we have to consider in our preparations for a SHTF event is communications, both outgoing and incoming. We have to be able to find out what is really going on, and we have to be able to reach other people for help.
Cellphones wont work because they will either be overloaded or the towers that they depend on will be down. Telephones will be in the same situation if it is a wide area disaster because the circuits will be overloaded with hundreds or even thousands of people trying to call at the same time.
If there is no electricity, there is also no internet so that isn't a reliable option, or is it?
Just because the electricity is out in your local area and you do not have access to the internet does not mean that the electricity and internet are out everywhere around the world.
You may still be able to access the internet to send and receive email messages even if there is no electricity, phones, or internet in your local area, state, or even your own country utilizing an HF radio and the Winlink Global Radio Email System.
With the Winlink system, HF radio stations around the world are able to forward email messages through the airwaves via HF radio signals to their intended target, be it a regular email user on the internet, or another Winlink user around the world on another HF radio.
The way the system works is there are RMS (Radio Message Server) stations set up around the world who basically act as gateways. We connect to them over HF, VHF, or UHF radio and they are connected through the internet to the redundant main server radio stations located in several countries throughout the world where the emails are stored. If the internet were to be completely down these main server stations are still able to communicate with and sync to each other using HF radio.
If the RMS stations are not able to connect to the main servers over internet connections they are still able to get our email messages. A secondary message forwarding system is in place to forward email messages between each other over radio waves to get the message to the intended Winlink recipient.
So, even if the electricity goes out, and all phones lines are down, and the internet goes offline world-wide, emails will still be able to go through using the Winlink Global Radio Email System and ham radios.
On October 29, 2012 the HMS Bounty replica headed down the coast of North Carolina and ran into high seas caused by Hurricane Sandy. 16 crew members abandoned the ship as it sank in the coastal waters. Captain Robin Walbridge attempted to reach the Coast Guard via radio but the ship was too far from shore for VHF/UHF and he was unsuccessful with his HF radio. He was finally able to send an email using the Winlink system to the ships company which was then forwarded to the Coast Guard station in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
14 of the 16 member crew were saved. The only losses were of Captain Walbridge whose body was never recovered after an exhaustive search, and Claudene Christian, reportedly a descendant of the original HMS Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian.
Utilizing the Winlink Global Radio Email System to reach the Coast Guard when all other forms of communication had failed shows a clear viability for the system in EmComms situations.
I will be doing a future video showing how the Winlink system works right after I do an unveiling video of the new EmComms radio station that I have built. I am putting the final touches on it this weekend so I should have those videos soon.
73
RC
WH6FQE
Previous Episode:
Coming Episodes:
In upcoming episodes we will also take a look at "Water Purification & Sanitization" as well as "Vacuum Sealed vs. Mylar Bagged Food Storage". We will also take a look at the shelf-life of "Home Canned Foods" and the viability of using them in our emergency supplies. We will also have future episodes on Emergency Communications or EmComms.
Also we will have an episode on the need for a Wilderness First Aid training even if you live in a city. We will also take a look at the need for "Sanitation After A Disaster".
