Remote FT8 from the couch with POTACAT and ECHOCAT

Remote FT8 from the couch with POTACAT and ECHOCAT On Wednesday evening, October 28, 2026, I logged a two-way FT8 contact with Bulgaria while watching the World Series upstairs with my wife. My radio was in the basement the whole time. The station was LZ2XA, Val, in grid KN33, about 7,400 kilometers (4,600 miles) away on 40 meters. I made the contact from my phone. Why remote? I like experimenting with technology. There’s another reason too: when I go to the basement to do radio, I feel antisocial. Remote control gives me a way to be around my family upstairs and still get on the air. When my wife saw me making radio contacts through my phone, she rolled her eyes and thought it was funny. The setup Radio: my Icom IC-7300 in the basement Antenna: my standard rig, an inverted-V configured 40 meter end-fed half-wave. Remote operation gets more use out of this radio and antenna. Shack computer: an old Acer laptop running the latest Ubuntu, connected to the radio with the standard USB…