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I had finally figured out how to use Winlink with VARA-FM and an AIOC into both a Baofeng and an Anytone 878. I also use the same hardware configuration for Direwolf/Outpost packet BBS operation.
Today, I was able to connect to a Winlink node, with no issues, but when I tried again a few minutes later, I could not connect on either radio. I have an HT set up as a "monitor", and I can hear outgoing transmit audio, but never hear any return audio. There are three 2m systems near me, all on the same frequency, and none of them respond. However, if I start Direwolf and Outpost, I can connect to that BBS every time. I haven't changed any settings in my Winlink/VARA-FM setup, so I'm at a loss here. Is there any way to determine what my Winlink setup is actually sending out? As I said, I can hear the audio on my monitor HT, and it sounds (to me) the same as it always has.
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FWIW, I have tried a range of TX drive levels, but still no joy. Since the hardware works with my packet setup, I have to think it is something in RMS Express or the VARA-FM setup, but I changed nothin in the setup between the two tries. I've double-checked the frequency, no TX offset, etc.
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Have you tried running an "Auto Tune", from the VARA FM "Settings -> SoundCard..." window?
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On your 'monitor' radio, you should hear all 10 signal bursts at increasing audio levels. Many radios stop transmitting if the audio level is too high.
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Make sure that you've entered the full call of the station you're trying to connect with, in the "Calibrate with:" field.
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Mark - AD7EF
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Hello Mark,
Yes, I tried autotune and ping - no response. The last time something like this happened, I found it was because I was selecting VARA FM Radio only. Once I selected VARA FM Winlink, everything worked, so I am at a loss to understand what happened.
73,
Dave, KJ7WT
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Have you tried running an "Auto Tune", from the VARA FM "Settings -> SoundCard..." window?
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On your 'monitor' radio, you should hear all 10 signal bursts at increasing audio levels. Many radios stop transmitting if the audio level is too high.
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Make sure that you've entered the full call of the station you're trying to connect with, in the "Calibrate with:" field.
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Mark - AD7EF
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Another guess.? Is the message in your outbox set as Winlink, instead of P2P?? If set to P2P, then unless you are connecting to a node that is in P2P listening mode and also is the callsign your message is addressed to, then the connection/transfer will fail.
73,
-- Dave, N8SBE, Hamshack Hotline 550-0971, HamsOverIP 101018, AmateurWire 1348
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On 2025-03-03 20:20, Dave Telling, KJ7WT via groups.io wrote:
Hello Mark,
Yes, I tried autotune and ping - no response. The last time something like this happened, I found it was because I was selecting VARA FM Radio only. Once I selected VARA FM Winlink, everything worked, so I am at a loss to understand what happened.
73,
Dave, KJ7WT
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Have you tried running an "Auto Tune", from the VARA FM "Settings -> SoundCard..." window?
?
On your 'monitor' radio, you should hear all 10 signal bursts at increasing audio levels. Many radios stop transmitting if the audio level is too high.
?
Make sure that you've entered the full call of the station you're trying to connect with, in the "Calibrate with:" field.
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Mark - AD7EF
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Yes, I'll check, but I never have used P2P, so I'd be surprised if that was the case.
Another guess.? Is the message in your outbox set as Winlink, instead of P2P?? If set to P2P, then unless you are connecting to a node that is in P2P listening mode and also is the callsign your message is addressed to, then the connection/transfer will fail.
73,
-- Dave, N8SBE, Hamshack Hotline 550-0971, HamsOverIP 101018, AmateurWire 1348
On 2025-03-03 20:20, Dave Telling, KJ7WT via wrote:
Hello Mark,
Yes, I tried autotune and ping - no response. The last time something like this happened, I found it was because I was selecting VARA FM Radio only. Once I selected VARA FM Winlink, everything worked, so I am at a loss to understand what happened.
73,
Dave, KJ7WT
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Have you tried running an "Auto Tune", from the VARA FM "Settings -> SoundCard..." window?
?
On your 'monitor' radio, you should hear all 10 signal bursts at increasing audio levels. Many radios stop transmitting if the audio level is too high.
?
Make sure that you've entered the full call of the station you're trying to connect with, in the "Calibrate with:" field.
?
Mark - AD7EF
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The message in the outbox won't affect the connection, but selecting VARA FM P2P vs VARA FM Winlink will.
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Dave I've been able to use an HT to connect to Winlink gateways that were either really close or if my antenna was on a tall mast. The time of day can affect really weak signals that seem to work early, but not at all during the day. I can hit my Winlink gateways from my car 17 miles away at work just after sunrise, and my gateway antennas are in the attic above the second floor. Not long after, it becomes impossible to reach my gateways. The reason why I mentioned this is that if nothing in your QTH has changed, then it must be something outside that has changed. Can you try using an external antenna mount at a higher elevation or at least one with higher gain?
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73
John Denison
KD5YOU
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I always select VARA FM Winlink for my sessions. Also, the gateway is just 7 miles from my QTH, and I have no problem connecting with a packet node (2m) that is 20+ miles away. I literally had just made a successful connection a few minutes earlier. 73, Dave KJ7WT?
The message in the outbox won't affect the connection, but selecting VARA FM P2P vs VARA FM Winlink will.
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Dave I've been able to use an HT to connect to Winlink gateways that were either really close or if my antenna was on a tall mast. The time of day can affect really weak signals that seem to work early, but not at all during the day. I can hit my Winlink gateways from my car 17 miles away at work just after sunrise, and my gateway antennas are in the attic above the second floor. Not long after, it becomes impossible to reach my gateways. The reason why I mentioned this is that if nothing in your QTH has changed, then it must be something outside that has changed. Can you try using an external antenna mount at a higher elevation or at least one with higher gain?
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73
John Denison
KD5YOU
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Also, I forgot to mention - the initial successful connection was with a rubber duck on the HT, after that I switched to a gain antenna on the roof. I also tried going back to the rubber duck, but still no joy. 73, Dave KJ7WT?
The message in the outbox won't affect the connection, but selecting VARA FM P2P vs VARA FM Winlink will.
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Dave I've been able to use an HT to connect to Winlink gateways that were either really close or if my antenna was on a tall mast. The time of day can affect really weak signals that seem to work early, but not at all during the day. I can hit my Winlink gateways from my car 17 miles away at work just after sunrise, and my gateway antennas are in the attic above the second floor. Not long after, it becomes impossible to reach my gateways. The reason why I mentioned this is that if nothing in your QTH has changed, then it must be something outside that has changed. Can you try using an external antenna mount at a higher elevation or at least one with higher gain?
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73
John Denison
KD5YOU
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On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 05:20 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
Yes, I tried autotune and ping - no response
Do you hear all 10 Auto Tune bursts, at increasing volume levels? Watch the Auto Tune counter... if any bursts are missing, are they at the beginning or the end of the sequence?
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Are you selecting the call of the gateway station you're trying to connect to from the VARA FM Winlink "Channel Selection" list (i.e. the "Vara FM Channel Selector" window) so that the call sign in the "Connection:" field has the -nn extension, like so?:
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Does the "Connection: mode drop-down field show "Direct"?
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Mark - AD7EF
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On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 02:38 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
There are three 2m systems near me, all on the same frequency, and none of them respond.
What are the call-signs (and -nn extension) for those three gateway stations?
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I'd be very surprised to see three VARA FM Winlink RMS gateway stations in close proximity all being on the same frequency.
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Mark - AD7EF
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Yes to all your questions. Also, I can hear one of the nodes (not sure which one, as the frequency is shared with several in the area) make a connection to another station, and the connecting station's audio sounds (to my ear, at least) the same as what I transmit.
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On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 05:20 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
Yes, I tried autotune and ping - no response
Do you hear all 10 Auto Tune bursts, at increasing volume levels? Watch the Auto Tune counter... if any bursts are missing, are they at the beginning or the end of the sequence?
?
Are you selecting the call of the gateway station you're trying to connect to from the VARA FM Winlink "Channel Selection" list (i.e. the "Vara FM Channel Selector" window) so that the call sign in the "Connection:" field has the -nn extension, like so?:
?
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Does the "Connection: mode drop-down field show "Direct"?
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Mark - AD7EF
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W7DEM-10 (4 miles away);NV7LV-10 (18 miles away); KL7RI-10 (23 miles away. I have successfully connected to all three in the past, the one at 23 miles was a bit sketchy! All use 145.610 for their frequency, and as I mentioned, I have another radio that use
to monitor, which let's me know that I am not getting any return data from the RMS nodes.
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On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 02:38 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
There are three 2m systems near me, all on the same frequency, and none of them respond.
What are the call-signs (and -nn extension) for those three gateway stations?
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Mark - AD7EF
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On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 10:02 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
W7DEM-10 (4 miles away);NV7LV-10 (18 miles away); KL7RI-10 (23 miles away
Dave;
I looked up all three gateway stations on . It looks like NV7LV-10 is a typo on your part... the closest call I could see on the list is NV7LC-10. If you have NV7LV-10 in the call-sign box, though, that would explain problems connecting to that gateway.
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Gateway stations do go down occasionally, so that's a possibility. However, if you're hearing W7DEM-10 responding to other stations, that's probably not the case for that station.
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I don't have any experience with the HTs you're using... Have you checked that you haven't bump the output power to 'low'? You probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between TX power levels on your monitoring HT.
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Mark - AD7EF
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Sorry, that was a typo! I have tried high and low power, with no benefit. At this point, I have another sound card coming in later this week, and I'll see if that makes any difference. I did try uninstalling and re-installing RMS Express and VARA FM, and I also updated my AIOC sound card to the latest firmware. This issue is one of the most puzzling I have ever come across, and I know it will turn out to be something stupid that I did, but so far, everything looks correct, and as I said earlier, packet seems to work fine on a local BBS system.
On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 10:02 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
W7DEM-10 (4 miles away);NV7LV-10 (18 miles away); KL7RI-10 (23 miles away
Dave;
I looked up all three gateway stations on . It looks like NV7LV-10 is a typo on your part... the closest call I could see on the list is NV7LC-10. If you have NV7LV-10 in the call-sign box, though, that would explain problems connecting to that gateway.
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Gateway stations do go down occasionally, so that's a possibility. However, if you're hearing W7DEM-10 responding to other stations, that's probably not the case for that station.
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I don't have any experience with the HTs you're using... Have you checked that you haven't bump the output power to 'low'? You probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between TX power levels on your monitoring HT.
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Mark - AD7EF
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audio levels are very tricky on VARA FM.? Using an HT, it's easy to hit the volume knob (there's no "data" port on most HT's).? I'd try turning the volume knob down and retry the autolevel tool.
--
Roy Dugger, KD6R
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On Tue, Mar 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM, Roy KD6R wrote:
audio levels are very tricky on VARA FM.? Using an HT, it's easy to hit the volume knob (there's no "data" port on most HT's).
I second that...
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However we're talking about receive volume here. If you're monitoring the channel with a second radio (HT), and the gateway station isn't responding to an "Auto Tune" test, the receive volume isn't the issue.
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Although you aren't able to hear the receive audio when working Winlink with an HT, you can see that the receive volume level is appropriate by watching the VARA FM 'VU' meter with the squelch open. Noise on a clear channel should put the needle somewhere between the 12:00 (mid-scale) and 1:00 position on the VU meter. If there's a VARA FM signal, from a gateway station, you ideally want the needle somewhere above 12:00 and definitely below the red zone.
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If you want to be able to hear the receive signal when working Winlink with an HT, consider using a Masters Communications DRA-100-xx device with a speaker connected to the 'SPKR' jack, or a SignaLink with a speaker connected to the 'Aux' output.
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Mark - AD7EF
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On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 07:25 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
I literally had just made a successful connection a few minutes earlier.
Check the "Playback" settings on your Windows "Sound Control Panel"... since you're using a different app for audio I/O (Direwolf vs VARA FM), your sound settings on the control panel might be different for each app.
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Make sure that the PnP device you have selected for VARA FM is not set as default Windows audio. If there is an 'AGC' box anywhere, make sure it isn't checked, and also make sure all enhancements are turned off.
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Mark - AD7EF
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I have used both squelched and unsquelched with the radio, no difference. The RMS never responds to my connect attempts, so there is nothing to receive. I'll know more when new sound card interface arrives. Hopefully, that will confirm an issue with the existing sound card, but that one works just fine for packet, so why would Winlink not work? Who knows?
On Tue, Mar 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM, Roy KD6R wrote:
audio levels are very tricky on VARA FM.? Using an HT, it's easy to hit the volume knob (there's no "data" port on most HT's).
I second that...
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However we're talking about receive volume here. If you're monitoring the channel with a second radio (HT), and the gateway station isn't responding to an "Auto Tune" test, the receive volume isn't the issue.
?
Although you aren't able to hear the receive audio when working Winlink with an HT, you can see that the receive volume level is appropriate by watching the VARA FM 'VU' meter with the squelch open. Noise on a clear channel should put the needle somewhere between the 12:00 (mid-scale) and 1:00 position on the VU meter. If there's a VARA FM signal, from a gateway station, you ideally want the needle somewhere above 12:00 and definitely below the red zone.
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If you want to be able to hear the receive signal when working Winlink with an HT, consider using a Masters Communications DRA-100-xx device with a speaker connected to the 'SPKR' jack, or a SignaLink with a speaker connected to the 'Aux' output.
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Mark - AD7EF
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Well, I had just done a Winlink session and had not changed any settings when I tried again. When I subsequently tried the packet session, I made no changes in my sound settings.? I appreciate your suggestions, but most of what you've talked about I've already tried. I'm really hoping that this might be a sound card issue, because if not, then I've done something in Winlink that is not obvious.
On Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 07:25 PM, Dave Telling, KJ7WT wrote:
I literally had just made a successful connection a few minutes earlier.
Check the "Playback" settings on your Windows "Sound Control Panel"... since you're using a different app for audio I/O (Direwolf vs VARA FM), your sound settings on the control panel might be different for each app.
?
Make sure that the PnP device you have selected for VARA FM is not set as default Windows audio. If there is an 'AGC' box anywhere, make sure it isn't checked, and also make sure all enhancements are turned off.
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Mark - AD7EF
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Mark Davis