Remote stations

Remote operation means you sit at a computer, phone or tablet in one place and run a transmitter somewhere else over the internet. There are two common ways to do it:

• Rent a station someone else built, usually a contest-grade antenna farm, by the minute.
• Remote your own station, so you can operate the home rig from work, a hotel, or a deed-restricted apartment.

This page covers one well-known product for each, the FCC rules that apply to every remote setup, and how remote operation fits (and doesn't fit) Parks on the Air.

Independent guide, not affiliated with RemoteHamRadio, wfview, RigPi, POTA or the FCC. Products and versions change. Everything below was checked on the vendors' own pages as of Oct 2026.

Remote stations v1.0 · written 2026-10-08 · products, versions and rules checked as of Oct 2026

At a glance

RemoteHamRadio (rent a big station)

RemoteHamRadio (RHR) runs a network of large stations, with stacked yagis on towers and four-square arrays for the low bands. As of October 2026 its site lists 29 stations, up to 1,500 W, in places such as Maine, the Catskills, Arizona and Georgia.

• Console: web-based, so there's no software to install. The site lists Chrome, Edge and Safari. SSB, CW and digital modes are supported, including FT8 in the browser (marked beta).
• Logging: a built-in logbook with LoTW and Club Log sync.
• Cost: a monthly or yearly plan plus airtime billed per minute. Airtime varies by station and power level; the pricing page shows a range of roughly $0.19 to $1.25 per minute. The plan prices shown on the page weren't consistent when checked, so look at the current pricing yourself before you sign up.
• Youth Network: free access to a separate set of stations for licensed hams 21 or younger, with a parent or guardian's permission.
• License: you must hold an FCC amateur license to sign up.

The station list gives each site's antennas, amplifier and grid, and the knowledge base covers the console.

When it makes sense: chasing DX or working a contest with antennas you could never put up at home, or getting on HF at all if you can't have an antenna. You're still the control operator, so your license class limits what you can transmit.

wfview (your Icom or Kenwood, over the network)

wfview is free, open-source software that controls modern Icom and Kenwood radios with a live spectrum display. The current release listed on its download page is v2.24, released May 29, 2026 (checked Oct 2026).

• Radios with a network port (the site lists the TS-890S, IC-705, IC-905, IC-7610, IC-7850, IC-R8600, IC-9700 and Xiegu X6100): wfview connects straight to the radio over Ethernet or Wi-Fi, with transmit and receive audio.
• USB-only radios such as the IC-7300: run one copy of wfview at the radio (a Raspberry Pi or desktop PC) as a server, and a second copy wherever you are. wfview's remote server guide reports audio latency generally under 75 ms on a LAN and under 200 ms over the internet. The built-in server supports Icom radios only for now, and the radio's CI-V Transceive setting must be on.
• Other programs such as WSJT-X or a logger can share control through wfview's virtual serial port or its Hamlib-compatible rigctld server.

Check your model on the supported radios page. The source code has moved to github.com/wf-group/wfview.

RigPi Station Server (any Hamlib radio, from a browser)

RigPi began as MFJ hardware, a Raspberry Pi with audio and CW-keyer boards. Today it's the RigPi Station Server, a free, open-source Raspberry Pi image by W6HN. You write the image to the Pi's storage, cable the Pi to your radio and run the station from any browser. How RigPi works shows the layout.

• Radio support comes through Hamlib, so many brands work, along with rotators and SDRs such as SDRplay, Airspy HF+, RTL-SDR and KiwiSDR.
• In the browser: radio control, receive and transmit audio, CW keying, a spectrum and waterfall (RigPi-SDR) with FT8 decoding, and multiple user accounts.
• On the Pi: WSJT-X and JS8Call, plus logging.
• Windows: an optional "RigPi Hub" lets a Windows logging program control the radio through RigPi.

As of October 2026, the RigPi 5 image on the downloads page is a release candidate, not a final release. Back up anything on the storage card first, because writing a disk image replaces its contents.

The FCC rules for remote operation

Part 97 allows remote operation and doesn't need a special license or permit for it. The key rules:

• Any station may be remotely controlled. When it is, the control operator must be at the control point (§97.109(c)). The control point is "the location at which the control operator function is performed" (§97.3(a)(14)), which for remote operation means your keyboard.
• Remote control is defined as a control operator "who indirectly manipulates the operating adjustments in the station through a control link" (§97.3(a)(39)). The internet connection is that control link.
• The control operator must make sure the station operates properly, and can only use the privileges of their own license class (§97.105). A Technician on a rented station still has Technician HF privileges.
• The station licensee and the control operator are both responsible for proper operation (§97.103(a)). The licensee designates who may be control operator.
• ID every 10 minutes and at the end, the same as at home (§97.119).
• Automatic control (no operator at a control point) is only allowed for specific station types, such as repeaters, beacons and certain data stations (§97.109(d)). A remote HF station is remote control, not automatic: someone has to be at the controls.

The transmitter's location decides which rules apply. A station in the US transmits under Part 97. A remote station in another country transmits under that country's rules, and you need authorization valid there. See Operating away.

Remote stations and POTA

POTA's rules say the activator and all equipment must be within the park's boundary (POTA rules, checked Oct 2026). So:

• A remote station outside a park can't activate that park, no matter where you sit.
• Sitting in a park while controlling a radio at home isn't an activation either: the radio and antenna aren't in the park.
• POTA also prohibits fully automated QSOs and relays. Each contact must involve direct action by both operators.

Hunting parks from a remote station isn't directly addressed in the rules we checked. If it matters to you, ask POTA support before relying on those contacts for an award. Either way, log the remote station's location (grid, state), not your own.

WWFF and other programs have their own rules. See Programs.

Securing your own remote station

A remote station on the internet is a transmitter anyone could try to key. Before you open it up:

• Prefer a VPN or the software's own authenticated connection over opening router ports to the world. wfview notes that VPN users may need an 8-bit audio format such as uLaw.
• Use strong, unique passwords for every account on the server, and change any defaults.
• Make sure you can shut the transmitter off if the link drops: a timeout on the radio or amplifier, or a network-controlled power switch.
• Keep the server's operating system and the remote software updated.
• If others use the station, decide who may be control operator and keep a log of who operated when.

Habits / gotchas / checklist

• Your license class limits what you transmit, on any station.
• Know where the transmitter is and which country's rules apply.
• ID with your own call sign as usual, every 10 minutes and at the end.
• Have a way to stop transmitting if the internet drops.
• Don't count remote QSOs as a park activation.
• Log the remote station's grid and location, not yours.

Sources (checked Oct 2026)

• FCC rules via eCFR (current as of Oct 1, 2026): §97.3, §97.103, §97.105, §97.109, §97.119.
• POTA rules.
• RemoteHamRadio, The Stations, Knowledge Base.
• wfview, Download, Remote Operation (server), Supported radios.
• RigPi, How RigPi works, RigPi 5 downloads.

Related

• Operating away — abroad, ships, aircraft, remote control
• Programs — relays, automation and award rules
• WSJT-X — digital modes over a remote link