Bring your radio online

Setup guide · HamRig Gateway 2.11

Getting started
~15minutes, start to on-air

Your radio, anywhere.

A small program on the computer next to your radio - the HamRig Gateway - finds the rig, registers it in your account and keeps it online. After that you operate it from any browser: waterfall, audio, TX, logging, FT8. No port forwarding, no router settings.

Icom via USB or LAN Windows · macOS · Linux · Raspberry Pi The gateway finds the radio for you Outgoing connections only
Download the gateway Watch it in 50 seconds Something does not work
Your radioIC-7300, IC-7610, IC-705 …
USB or LAN
HamRig Gatewayon a PC or Raspberry Pi next to the radio
internet, outgoing
You, anywherebrowser or phone, via a HamRig server near you

The whole setup in 50 seconds

In the gateway: log in → Add… → Scan USB finds the IC-7300 → Create radio → pick the USB audio → Start Gateway → Auto-Fix Settings → running.
Meanwhile on the Radios page: the tile switches from Offline to Available by itself - click Control and you are on the air.

What you need

A supported Icom radioUSB works on all of them; the blue ones also over the network (Icom's RS-BA1 protocol, no extra software needed).
IC-7300IC-7300MK2IC-705IC-7610IC-9700IC-905IC-7760IC-7850/51
A computer that stays onWindows 10/11, macOS, Linux or a Raspberry Pi 3/4/5 with a 64-bit OS - next to the radio, running while you want the station online.
InternetAny normal line. Wired is better than Wi-Fi. Nothing to open on your router: the gateway only connects outwards (TCP 9876 to the HamRig server, audio via WebRTC).
A USB cableUSB-B (IC-7300, IC-7610 …) or USB-C (IC-705). For the network way: the radio on your LAN instead.
Your HamRig accountThe same login you use here. You do not need to create the radio in the portal first - the gateway does it.
A locationWhere the station is. Nice to have, not required: the gateway can create it on the fly with a name and a locator.

1 Prepare the radio 2 minutes, once

The gateway talks to the radio over CI-V (Icom's control protocol) and takes its audio from the radio's built-in USB sound card. A few menu settings make sure both are available. Menu names below are from the IC-7300 and IC-7610; the other models use the same names.

On the radio: MENU › SET › Connectors

SettingSet toWhy
CI-V › CI-V Baud Rate115200fastest link; the scan also finds other rates
CI-V › CI-V TransceiveONthe radio reports every knob turn at once
CI-V › CI-V USB PortUnlink from [REMOTE]USB gets its own CI-V address
MOD Input › DATA OFF MODUSB (or MIC,USB)transmit audio from the gateway - the gateway can set this for you
MOD Input › DATA MODUSBtransmit audio in the data modes (FT8, RTTY …)
Windows: plug the radio in and switch it on. It appears as a new COM port and as USB Audio CODEC (microphone and speakers). If no COM port shows up, install Icom's USB driver for your model from icom.co.jp and plug in again.
Linux and Raspberry Pi: no driver needed - the radio appears as /dev/ttyUSB0 and as a USB sound card. Your user needs to be in the dialout group for the serial port.
Only one program can use the radio's COM port. Close WSJT-X, flrig, Log4OM's CAT or Icom's RS-BA1 on this computer before you continue.

2 Install the gateway 3 minutes

  1. Open Clients & Apps on the computer next to the radio. The page picks your system; Raspberry Pi has its own tab (64-bit for Pi 3/4/5).
  2. Download HamRig Gateway for your system and start the downloaded program.
  3. The first start takes a few seconds. The main window opens on the Gateway tab.
The gateway checks for new versions itself and offers Download & Install. Say yes - updates often bring support for more radio functions.
The Clients & Apps page with the HamRig Gateway download
Clients & Apps: the gateway for your system, with the Raspberry Pi builds on their own tab.

3 Log in 30 seconds

  1. Enter your HamRig Username (or your e-mail) and Password.
  2. Click Login. Next to Logout your callsign appears with a tick.
  3. The Radio list now shows the radios already in your account. For a new radio click Add… - next step.
Server Location is the HamRig server the gateway connects to. Keep Frankfurt (DE) in Europe; elsewhere pick the one nearest to the radio - Network Test measures them.
The gateway after login: N0CALL with a tick next to Logout, the Radio list and the Add button
Logged in: callsign with a tick, Radio list and Add… beside it.

4 Add the radio 1 minute

Add… opens Add a new radio to HamRig. It finds the radio, suggests all settings, creates the radio in your account and configures the gateway - you type at most a name.

  1. Radio switched on and connected by USB? Click Scan USB. The gateway asks every serial port for an Icom radio.
  2. After a few seconds it reports what it found, for example Found IC-7300 on COM4 @ 115200 Bd (CI-V 0x94). Model and Port are filled in.
  3. Change the Nickname if you like - that is the name on your radio card.
  4. Pick the Location, or choose to create a new one (name and, if you like, a locator).
  5. Click Create radio. The radio now exists in your account, and the gateway is set up for it.
The empty Add a new radio dialog with Scan USB and Scan network
The dialog after Scan USB: Found IC-7300 on COM4
After Scan USB: model, port and name suggested.

5 Start the gateway 1 minute

  1. USB radios: check Audio Input and Audio Output - both must be the radio's USB Audio CODEC, not your PC's speakers. (Network radios skip this.)
  2. Click Start Gateway. It stays grey until radio, port, CI-V address and both audio devices are set.
  3. If the radio's audio routing is not right, the gateway says so in Audio Configuration Warning - click Auto-Fix Settings and it sets the radio for you.
  4. After a few seconds Running appears top right, Proxy and Radio turn green, and VFO A shows your radio's frequency.
Tick Autostart and the gateway starts by itself whenever the program is opened - handy together with starting the program at login.
Audio Configuration Warning: DATA OFF MOD is MIC, with Auto-Fix Settings
Audio Configuration Warning: Auto-Fix Settings sets DATA OFF MOD to USB.
The gateway running: Proxy and Radio green, VFO A 14.074 MHz USB
Running: Proxy and Radio green, 14.074 MHz from the radio.

What the lights in Gateway Status mean

Proxyconnected to the HamRig server. Red: no internet, or TCP 9876 blocked.
Radiothe gateway talks to the radio over CI-V. Red: port, cable, or the radio is off.
Audioaudio is ready; turns green while someone listens. Red: the audio device is missing.
WebRTCthe audio link to the browser; yellow waits for a listener, green while connected.

6 On the air now

  1. Open Radios here in the portal. Your radio has a tile; it switches from Offline to Available within seconds, with the frequency and mode from the radio.
  2. Click Control. The operating client opens: waterfall, audio (click once to allow sound), VFO, bands, PTT.
  3. The phone icon next to Control shows a QR code - scan it and the radio is on your phone.
That's it. The gateway keeps the radio online and reconnects by itself after a short network drop. After a longer outage, click Start Gateway again - or use Autostart.
The radio tile on the Radios page: IC-7300 at 14.074 MHz USB, Available
The radio card: Available, 14.074 MHz USB, Control.

If something does not work

Scan USB says “No radio found”
  • Is the radio switched on and the USB cable plugged into the radio's USB socket (not the ACC or CI-V jack)?
  • Windows: does Device Manager show a new COM port when you plug in? If not, install Icom's USB driver.
  • Another program holds the port: close WSJT-X, flrig, logging software with CAT, or a second gateway.
  • Check CI-V USB Port = Unlink from [REMOTE] (step 1) and try again. If it still fails, choose the Model and Port by hand - the CI-V address is filled in with the model.
Start Gateway stays grey
It needs a selected Radio, a COM Port (or a Host for network radios), a CI-V Address and, for USB, both audio devices. The field that is still empty is the one to fill in. Refresh Devices reloads the ports and sound cards after you plugged something in.
“COM Port Configuration Issue” when starting

The COM port saved last time is gone - typical after a Windows update or when the radio is plugged into another USB socket. Click Refresh Devices, pick the new port under COM Port (or run Add… › Scan USB again) and start.

The COM Port Configuration Issue dialog
No sound, or nothing is transmitted
  • Audio Input / Audio Output must be the radio's USB Audio CODEC.
  • DATA OFF MOD and DATA MOD on USB (step 1) - or accept Auto-Fix Settings.
  • In the browser, click the audio button once: browsers only play sound after a click.
  • Transmitting also needs TX permission and the control seat - on your own radio you have both.
The gateway runs, but the radio shows Offline in the portal
  • Look at the Proxy light: red means the gateway cannot reach the HamRig server. Company, hotel and some school networks block TCP port 9876 - try another network or ask the admin.
  • Network Test shows which HamRig servers the computer can reach and how fast.
  • Is the right radio selected under Radio? The portal shows the radio whose name is selected there.
Network radio: “nothing answers” or login fails
  • Wrong address: check the radio's IP in its Network menu and type it into Host.
  • Network Control must be ON on the radio.
  • Username and password are the radio's Network User1 - not your HamRig login.
  • Right after closing another remote program the radio can need up to a minute before it accepts the next login.
Running it on a Raspberry Pi without a screen
Set the gateway up once with a screen (or over VNC) as above, check that it runs, and close it. The gateway saves its settings in hamrig_gateway_config.json next to itself. After that it starts without a window from the same file: hamrig-gateway --config /path/to/hamrig_gateway_config.json - for example from a systemd service, so the station comes back after a power cut.
Still stuck? Open Support and write us what the gateway shows - a screenshot of the Logs tab helps most.

What next

Share itLet friends listen, operate or transmit - with an end date if you like. Make it a club radioFrom the radio card's menu: members book and use it under the club's rules. BookingsHand out time slots, so nobody waits for the seat. Everything elseLogbook, FT8, contests, DX map, satellites - the overview of HamRig.