Winlink ARDOP is a method of sending “email” messages over HF radio via an RMS station (see the Winlink How-To for more info). It is very similar to Winmor, but the later has been deprecated.

Every week, I connect to RMS stations in different locations and keep a log so I can track the most reliable ones. Here's the scenario I'm considering and how I'd use my log.

In the event of an emergency where the power and all communications go down, I want to be able to send my family back east a quick email to let them know that I'm ok, and offer the same service to others in my neighbourhood.

Every week, I connect to RMS stations in different locations without actually sending or receiving messages, and log the stations' information in addition to:

• The length of the session (the shorter the better).
• The date I last managed a connection (the most recent the better)
• The number of times I managed a connection (the bigger the better)

I then scale the distance (the further the better since our local emergency might not affect them if they're further away), and the further away from the coast the better (assuming we get an Earth quake and/or Tsunami). Based on all these different rankings, I created a semi-subjective “top 5” stations. Those are the stations I would try to connect to first.