so ive been trying to get Winlink working properly for the past couple weeks and i think i finally have most of it figured out but there's still this one issue thats been bugging me. my setup is a IC-7300 into a SignaLink USB, running Winlink Express on windows 10. i can connect to an RMS gateway fine most of the time, but randomly mid-transfer the session just drops. no error message that makes any sense, just disconnects. happens on both Vara HF and Pactor if i switch to that mode, so i dont think its a modem thing.

the gateway im hitting is about 180 miles away which should be totally fine for the band conditions we've been having, and i can see the S-meter staying steady so its not like im losing the signal. i checked my audio levels a bunch of times and they look okay in the vara waterfall. just wondering if anyone else has run into this or if there's something obvious im missing in the session setup. i mostly wanted this for EMCOMM purposes, our group is trying to get a local RMS gateway going too but i wanted to get client-side working first before i start messing with the server side stuff.

that intermittent drop thing got me for a while too. couple things to check — first, are you running any power saving settings on windows? USB selective suspend will absolutely kill a SignaLink mid-session, windows just cuts power to it randomly. go into device manager and disable that for every USB root hub, not just the one the signalink is on. took me way too long to figure that out.

also check your RF power level. i know it sounds backwards but running too hot can cause issues with some RMS nodes if youre hitting them with a strong signal and they're not expecting it. try dropping to 30-40 watts and see if the sessions stay connected longer. Vara HF especially seems happier with a cleaner lower power signal than a hotter one with any distortion. and make sure your ALC isnt moving at all on the 7300, that meter should be basically dead still during a Vara session or youre overdriving something.

yeah the RMS gateway thing, setting one up locally is actually not that bad once you get past the initial Winlink sysop registration process which takes a few days for them to approve you. just heads up on that. the Winlink Express software has the RMS Relay mode built in basically so you dont need separate software for a basic setup.

for your dropping sessions though, have you looked at the Winlink session log files? they're in the Winlink Express folder and sometimes they give you a better error than what shows on screen. also depending on what RMS youre hitting, some of them have known issues or just get busy and boot sessions. try connecting to a couple different gateways and see if the problem follows you or stays with that one node. if its gateway-specific theres not a ton you can do on your end honestly.