So ive been trying to get Winlink Express set up for a few weeks now and im just not getting it. I can see RMS gateways in the list, I pick the closest one which looks like its only about 40 miles away, set my frequency on the 7300, click connect and just... nothing. It tries for a minute and then times out. I'm running Vara HF and I went through the soundcard setup thing like three times. PTT is triggering, I can see the ALC moving on the radio, so the audio path seems fine.

My question is basically — is there something about how RMS gateways work that I'm missing? Like are some of them just not staffed or active even if they show in the map? Also does the gateway operator have to be on the air at that exact moment or is it more like a server that just runs? I genuinely dont know if this is a propagation issue or a setup issue or what. Any help appreciated, been staring at this for too long.

Yeah the gateway map can be misleading because stations do show up even if they havent been heard from in a while. The GIS map on winlink.org updates but I've seen nodes sitting there that havent actually been active in weeks. First thing I'd do is check the last activity timestamp on the gateway — if it hasnt made a connection in the last day or two I'd skip it and try another one even if its further away. Also Vara HF needs to be calibrated properly for your soundcard, the drive level matters a lot more than people realize. What's your signal report looking like on your end, is Vara actually decoding anything back?

this was my exact problem when i started. the RMS gateways are automated, no one has to be sitting there, its running off a PC somewhere with a radio attached. but like the other guy said some of them just go dark and nobody notices for a while. also worth checking — are you on the right dial frequency vs the Vara center frequency? i had mine off by like 500hz and it would key up and transmit but never make the handshake. drove me insane for like two weeks before someone on a local net pointed it out.