WAØTDA Remote Base Ham Radio

Operate an amateur radio station from anywhere with an Internet connection.

New Samsung hardware no longer supporting RCForb Android app

October 16, 2026 /
It has come to my attention that some new Samsung Android phone owners are getting a message from the Play Store telling them that their phone is not able to run the Remotehams Android app when they try to purchase the app.

According to the Remotehams forum, this is due to Samsung no longer supporting 32 bit apps, and since the Remotehams RCForb app is the older 32 bit, the Play Store will not allow the app purchase or download.  This is a constraint of the new Samsung hardware.

The PC app is still supported by all reasonably new versions of Windows.  I have tested it on Windows 11 26H2, which is now in the process of being rolled out by Microsoft.

This serves as a reminder that the Remotehams software is over 10 years old now, and there is no current development ongoing as far as I can tell.  We are trying to keep tabs on newer software projects like POTACAT and WFView as possible replacements when the current software no longer works for us.  If you have  suggestions, please let me know.

October 2026 Status – WA0TDA online*, KB0SCE online, W0JH online

October 1, 2026 /
Pat, wa0tda, wearing FT8 - ham radio without the jibber jabber t-shirt & giving a thumbs up

Pat, WA0TDA

Solar WX makes for noisy conditions.  


*The wa0tda station may be in use either locally or via remote control with software other than Remotehams.  The station will return to Remotehams service when the local activity is completed. 

If you need transmit access (and hold a USA license), email wa0tda@arrl.net.
The Stillwater Amateur Radio Association is at https://radioham.org/

  • WØJH:  SARA club members and Handiham  club members. CW/SSB.  Grid location EN46lb37.  IC-7300, external LDG tuner, 300′ dipole fed with 450 Ohm ladder line, 80 – 6m.
  • KBØSCE:  CW/SSB – SARA club members and Handiham  club members. CW/SSB.  Grid location: EN26lv. IC-7300, external LDG tuner, 300′ dipole fed with 450 Ohm ladder line, 160 – 6m.
  • WAØTDA:  CW/SSB.  Grid location: EN34mw.   IC-7300, external LDG tuner, inverted vee maypole antenna, 160 – 6m.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The callsign of the Park Rapids, MN station changed from W0EQO to KB0SCE on Saturday, December 28, 2024. If you are having trouble connecting, delete your old w0eqo listing in favorites if you have saved it that way, then search for KB0SCE IC-7300. It will be the same station except for the new callsign. This station is operated by SARA, the Stillwater (MN) Amateur Radio Association. Contact wa0tda@gmail.com if you need assistance with the change.

All of these radios are Icom IC-7300s.  They work great, but it is possible to overdrive them and cause them to briefly power cycle.  Check your microphone slider at the top of the Windows application and make sure it is not set too far to the right. Look at the transmit waveform as you transmit – if it shows any red, you are overdriving the radio.  If the radio power cycles, its connection to the host PC will be lost and the system will have to be restarted by an administrator.  Please be sure to let us know ASAP so that we can return the station to service.  

Other circumstances can also cause this problem, including:

  • Power outages, however brief
  • Operating with high power at a frequency where the antenna tuner cannot find a good match
  • Using too much compression
  • Ice/snow on the antenna, making tuning difficult
  • Failure of any part of the antenna and feedline

Note that there may be occasional unannounced outages when the antennas are disconnected during thunderstorms.

 

Migration to new host PC

March 14, 2026 /

Close up of IC-7300 front panel showing color screen with radio tuned to 3.744 MHz

The WA0TDA IC-7300 hosting software has been moved to a dedicated Lenovo mini PC in March 2026.

The radio is currently dedicated to local use during nighttime hours, when an “unavailable” message will appear indicating the radio is unavailable indefinitely.  This is just the standard message and the radio will return to service each morning for the usual remote use.

Station usage:  Hours of operation: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM USA CDT. (11:00 – 03:00 UT)

During daylight hours, another radio may be in use periodically by the station owner (me), so interference can occur, such as might be experienced with a Field Day operation running multiple stations.  If you are using the remote and notice this and it is a problem, please email me at wa0tda@arrl.net for assistance.

Noise identification and reduction project

January 6, 2026 /

The WA0TDA IC-7300 station has experienced increasing RF noise on the 160 and 80 meter bands.  I have been methodically searching for and trying to mitigate noise sources.  This is an ongoing project, so please be patient.  Meanwhile, bands 40 through 6 meters are much less affected.

I’ll post more here as I round up the culprits!

73 – Pat

Software interface radio

New RCForb software

« Older posts

© 2026 WAØTDA Remote Base Ham Radio

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑