so ive been messing with winlink for a few months now, mostly on VHF hitting a local RMS node about 12 miles out. works great maybe 60% of the time but the other 40% it just drops mid-session and i get a incomplete transfer message in Winlink Express. doesnt seem to matter if im sending a 2kb message or a 20kb one, just randomly cuts out.

my setup is a IC-9700 running about 25w into a 5/8 wave vertical on the roof. using a Signalink USB for the soundcard and i've got the levels set pretty conservatively, maybe sitting around 50% drive in the Vara FM settings. the RMS gateway im hitting is listed as active and i can see it showing green in RFinder so its not like its down or anything.

i did notice the drops seem worse in the evening which makes me wonder if its interference or if other people are hammering the gateway at that time. anyone dealt with this? is there a way to check gateway load or is that not really a thing with Winlink? also not sure if i should be trying a different protocol - right now im just using VARA FM, havent really messed with packet 1200 baud on this link.

Evening drops on a shared RMS gateway are pretty common, especially if theres a lot of EMCOMM traffic or if the sysop has it set up with session limits. VARA FM is definitely the right call over 1200 baud packet for that distance but one thing i'd check is your audio chain - Signalink can be a bit finicky with the 9700 specifically because of how the radio handles its USB audio versus the Signalink input. some guys have had better luck just going straight USB audio from the 9700 and ditching the Signalink entirely on that radio.

also worth checking if the gateway operator has a contact listed on the RMS list. sometimes they'll tell you if the node is being hammered or if theres a known issue. i've seen gateways that look green in the directory but are actually having backend issues connecting to the CMS servers and that'll cause exactly the kind of mid-session drops you're describing. the gateway might accept your connection and then lose its internet backhaul halfway through.

yeah this happened to me too for like two weeks straight and i was going crazy. turned out my VARA FM update had reset my bandwidth setting and i was trying to push more than the gateway config would accept. check your VARA FM settings under the advanced tab and make sure you're not set to wide if the gateway is running narrow. probably not your issue but worth a look since its a 2 second fix if it is.