Every week, two maps are produced for Winlink Wednesday to show the locations of the weekly and historical participants. Where do the locations come from, and how can they be more dynamic?
Background
Winlink Wednesday tracks user participation primarily to award the Century Club certificates, but also to produce two maps that show the geographical distribution of weekly and historical participation.
The net tracks an "address of record" on first participation, which comes from either the FCC database, a lookup on sites like QRZ, or from the information contained in the check-in. For the US, the FCC publishes weekly database updates that are used to find license address changes, and to update the net's records.
The weekly and historical maps have always used this "address of record", but with Winlink Express version 1.7.2.0 (10/14/2022), it became possible to include a dynamic X-Location: header to all messages. The X-Location: header, when enabled and added to messages, includes the location as either exact latitude/longitude ("GPS"), as user specified lat/lon ("SPECIFIED"), or as lat/lon from the 6-character grid square entered in the main account Settings ("GRID SQUARE").
Starting with Winlink Wednesday #362 (08/16/2023), messages with X-Location: headers, of types GPS and SPECIFIED, are used to set dynamic location markers on the weekly map. The historical map continues to use the address of record, as before.
See below for instructions on enabling (or disabling) the X-Location: header in Winlink Express.
Want to change your address of record? Send to KN4LQN an email (QRZ) or Winlink message with your preferred, default location for the historical map.
New X-Location: Usage, GRID SQUARE
Starting with Winlink Wednesday #404 (06/05/2024), messages with X-Location: header of type GRID SQUARE will also be used to set dynamic location markers on the weekly map. Since most of the participants that send X-Location: headers use the type GRID SQUARE, the location markers will receive a slight, random re-positioning so the markers are spaced apart and don't stack on top of each other.
New Location Tag Option
Starting with Winlink Wednesday #400 (05/08/2024), there will be an additional method for specifying dynamic locations on the weekly map for participants that don't want to use the X-Location: header, or that use a client that does not include this header.
A new "{loc: }" tag is being added as an optional extension to the standard single-line check-in, included at the end of the line. The {loc: } tag can be used to specify latitude/longitude in decimal degress format, in either +/- or NS/EW notation. The {loc: } tag can also be used to specify a grid square of varying precision, from 6-characters minimum to a 12-character maximum.
Examples:
KN4LQN, David, Chesterfield, VA (HF) {loc: 37.3478038, -77.6502951}
KN4LQN, David, Chesterfield, VA (HF) {loc: 37.3478038N, 77.6502951W}
KN4LQN, David, Chesterfield, VA (HF) {loc: FM17EI}
KN4LQN, David, Chesterfield, VA (HF) {loc: FM17EI13XL13}
NOTE! Make sure to pay careful attention to the format and numbers, i.e., do not mix +/- with NS/EW notation. Only decimal degrees are support (not degrees, minutes, seconds). The {loc: } tag must appear on the same line as the standard check-in.
More Information:
For more information on latitude, longitude, the Global Positioning System (GPS), and the Maidenhead Locator System (grid squares):
Two excellent sites for discovering lat/lon and grid squares:
Enabling (or Disabling) X-Location: in Winlink Express:
The X-Location: header is enabled in the Settings menu > Preferences by checking the option "Include your location in message headers":
The default location uses the 6-character grid square entered in the Settings menu > Winlink Express Setup / main account window:
A different location can be specified in the Settings menu > GPS / Position Reports window, and it is not necessary to click the "Post Report" button:
A GPS dongle/device can be used by setting the device COM port in the Settings menu > GPS / Position Reports window:
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