[MD7323]

On Tuesday morning March 11, I started my day by having breakfast and checking email. Breakfast was fine but the internet was not available for reasons unknown.

While I could not send or receive email using my local service provider I could, and did, send email to my Winlink Tuesday mail group, using the Winlink network. Had I wished to do so I could have also sent email to any email address anywhere in the world using the Winlink software and network. 

At one time, some internet email providers offered a gateway for SMS messages sent from email. I have successfully used this feature to send an SMS message directly from Winlink. I have not used this method for sometime so am not certain if it still works. If it does work then this adds another means by which to let friends or relatives know you are fine in the event of a prolonged internet outage. 

I can only speak for myself in saying that I’m reassured that if the internet were out for any length of time I can still communication with family friends or others in my emergency communication contact list. That is a very nice feeling.

73
Marvin VE3VCG