Icom IC-7610

Control an Icom IC-7610 transceiver over USB/LAN. Get/set frequency, mode, power, S-meter, SWR. CW keying and beacon mode. Remote power on/off.

Sergey Morozik@morozsm

Install

openclaw skills install @morozsm/icom-7610

Icom IC-7610

Prerequisites

Hamlib (rigctl): brew install hamlib
curl: usually pre-installed
python3: usually pre-installed
pyserial (only for serial power on): pip3 install pyserial
wfview (optional, for LAN control): wfview.org/download

Configuration

Station config in .env (not in git). On first install: cp .env.example .env.

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`CALLSIGN`	(required for CW/beacon)	Your callsign
`SERIAL_PORT`	`/dev/cu.usbserial-11320`	CI-V USB serial port
`BAUD_RATE`	`19200`	Serial baud rate (⚠️ not 115200!)
`HAMLIB_MODEL`	`3078`	Hamlib model ID for IC-7610
`FLRIG_URL`	`http://127.0.0.1:12345/RPC2`	flrig XML-RPC endpoint
`RIGCTLD_ADDR`	`127.0.0.1:4533`	rigctld TCP address (wfview/hamlib)
`MAX_POWER_W`	`50`	Hard power limit in watts

bash

source "$(dirname "$0")/.env" 2>/dev/null || true
PORT="${SERIAL_PORT:-/dev/cu.usbserial-11320}"
BAUD="${BAUD_RATE:-19200}"
MODEL="${HAMLIB_MODEL:-3078}"
FLRIG="${FLRIG_URL:-http://127.0.0.1:12345/RPC2}"
RIGCTLD="${RIGCTLD_ADDR:-127.0.0.1:4533}"
MAX_POWER="${MAX_POWER_W:-50}"

RFPOWER Scale

rigctl uses 0.0–1.0 where 1.0 = 100 W. So: RFPOWER = watts / 100. 5 W = 0.05, 50 W = 0.50. ⚠️ L RFPOWER 5 = 500 W equivalent, NOT 5 watts! flrig uses watts directly: rig.set_power 50 = 50 W.

Connecting

Three connection methods, in priority order. Auto-detect logic:

bash

# 1. Check rigctld (wfview LAN or standalone hamlib rigctld)
if rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" f >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  CONN="rigctld"
# 2. Check flrig
elif curl -s --connect-timeout 2 --max-time 3 -X POST "$FLRIG" \
     -H "Content-Type: text/xml" \
     -d '<?xml version="1.0"?><methodCall><methodName>rig.get_vfoA</methodName></methodCall>' \
     | grep -q '<value>'; then
  CONN="flrig"
# 3. Fall back to direct serial
else
  CONN="serial"
fi

rigctld — LAN via wfview (recommended) or standalone hamlib daemon

Connects to IC-7610 over network via wfview (UDP) or a running rigctld daemon. Full control: freq, mode, power, S-meter, SWR, CW keying, power on/off.

bash

rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" <cmd>
# Read:  f   m   l RFPOWER   l SWR
# Write: F 14074000   M USB 3000   L RFPOWER 0.50
# CW:    b "CQ CQ DE YOURCALL K"
# Power: set_powerstat 0 (off)   set_powerstat 1 (on)

Setup: wfview → Settings → Enable LAN → connect to radio IP → Enable RigCtld (port 4533).

⚠️ Note: M (set mode) may hang waiting for ack from wfview rigctld — command still executes. Use a timeout wrapper or send as fire-and-forget when needed.

Advantages over serial:

No USB cable needed — Ethernet only
Power on works with simple set_powerstat 1 (no raw CI-V / pyserial needed)
Multiple programs can share the radio via wfview (rigctld + virtual serial port)
Longer distance (Ethernet 100m vs USB 5m)

rigctl serial (direct USB, full control incl. CW and power on/off)

bash

rigctl -m $MODEL -r "$PORT" -s $BAUD <cmd>
# Read:  f (freq)  m (mode+BW)  l RFPOWER  l SWR
# Write: F 14074000   M USB 3000   L RFPOWER 0.50
# CW:    b "CQ CQ DE YOURCALL K"
# Quick: f m l RFPOWER   → freq, mode, BW, power in one call

⚠️ Baud 19200 (not 115200!). Always wrap: timeout 10 rigctl ... ⚠️ Port busy while flrig runs. Close flrig for CW/power on-off.

flrig XML-RPC

bash

call_flrig() {
  curl -s --connect-timeout 3 --max-time 5 -X POST "$FLRIG" \
    -H "Content-Type: text/xml" \
    -d "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><methodCall><methodName>$1</methodName><params>$2</params></methodCall>" | \
    grep -o '<value>[^<]*</value>' | head -1 | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g'
}
# Read:  call_flrig rig.get_vfoA / rig.get_modeA / rig.get_power / rig.get_Sunits / rig.get_SWR
# Write: call_flrig rig.set_vfoA '<param><value><double>14074000</double></value></param>'
#        call_flrig rig.set_modeA '<param><value><string>USB</string></value></param>'
#        call_flrig rig.set_power '<param><value><double>50</double></value></param>'

Remote Power On/Off

Requires: rear POWER switch ON + MENU → SET → Network → Power OFF Setting = Standby/Shutdown.

Via rigctld (wfview LAN) — simplest

bash

rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" set_powerstat 0   # off
rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" set_powerstat 1   # on — works! wfview handles it

Via serial — power off works, power on needs raw CI-V

Off: rigctl -m $MODEL -r "$PORT" -s $BAUD set_powerstat 0

On: rigctl set_powerstat 1 DOES NOT WORK via serial (rig_open fails in standby). Use raw CI-V:

bash

python3 -c "
import serial, time
ser = serial.Serial('$PORT', $BAUD, timeout=2)
ser.reset_input_buffer()
ser.write(bytes([0xFE,0xFE,0x98,0xE0,0x18,0x01,0xFD]))
time.sleep(1); resp = ser.read(100); ser.close()
print('Power ON: OK' if 0xFB in resp else 'FAIL')
"

Wait 7–10 sec after power on before sending commands. "Command rejected" during boot is normal.

CW & Beacon

Works via both rigctld (LAN) and direct serial.

bash

# Via rigctld (LAN):
rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" b "CQ CQ CQ DE $CALLSIGN $CALLSIGN K"

# Via serial:
rigctl -m $MODEL -r "$PORT" -s $BAUD b "CQ CQ CQ DE $CALLSIGN $CALLSIGN K"

# Beacon loop (works with either connection)
for i in $(seq 1 $REPEATS); do
  rigctl -m 2 -r "$RIGCTLD" b "VVV DE $CALLSIGN VVV DE $CALLSIGN"
  [ $i -lt $REPEATS ] && sleep $INTERVAL
done

Radio setting for CW: MENU → SET → Connectors → USB Keying (CW) → RTS

Safety Rules

Pre-TX checklist (MANDATORY before every transmission)

Operator confirmation received
Frequency within amateur band (1.8–2.0, 3.5–4.0, 7.0–7.3, 10.1–10.15, 14.0–14.35, 18.068–18.168, 21.0–21.45, 24.89–24.99, 28.0–29.7 MHz)
Mode matches band segment (no phone below CW/data boundary)
Power ≤ $MAX_POWER_W (default 50 W); above → extra confirmation
SWR ≤ 3.0 if available; >3.0 → REFUSE (antenna problem)

No confirmation needed

Reading freq/mode/S-meter/SWR, switching VFO, changing freq/mode, power on/off.

Always require confirmation

PTT, CW keying, beacon, power > $MAX_POWER_W. Any RF transmission.

Auto-refuse (even with confirmation)

Transmit outside amateur bands. Transmit with SWR > 3.0.

Beacon regulatory (FCC)

Remote operation legal (§97.109d). Unattended beacon only 28.2–28.3, 50.06–50.08+ MHz. Below 28 MHz → operator must be on comms.

Reference

Full documentation in references/FULL-REFERENCE.md — consult when needed:

Complete flrig XML-RPC method list (30+ methods)
CI-V protocol reference (commands, modes, addressing)
Error recovery table (common errors + fixes)
Shell helper functions (freq_valid, set_power_safe, rig_retry, preflight, quick_status)
Radio menu settings (Network, CI-V, Connectors)
Compatibility notes for other Icom transceivers
US Amateur Band Plan table (detailed, with CW/Data/Phone segments)