diff --git a/internal/cat/icomnet.go b/internal/cat/icomnet.go
index 78c3867..7949b7b 100644
--- a/internal/cat/icomnet.go
+++ b/internal/cat/icomnet.go
@@ -98,6 +98,13 @@ type icomNet struct {
 	vTracked uint16
 	vCivSeq  uint16
 	seqMu    sync.Mutex // guards vTracked/vCivSeq: the command loop AND the pump's quiet-recovery both send
+	// txCiv counts CI-V command packets sent, and txAtData snapshots it at the
+	// last received CI-V data. Their difference during a silence answers the
+	// question the reconnects cannot: were we still ASKING when the answers
+	// stopped? Zero writes-since-data would mean the fault is our own poll
+	// loop, not the rig — and RS-BA1 showing no such dropouts points that way.
+	txCiv    atomic.Uint32
+	txAtData atomic.Uint32
 
 	rx      chan []byte // CI-V byte chunks from civPump → Read (control replies)
 	scopeRx chan []byte // scope (0x27) frames, kept off rx so the panadapter
@@ -233,6 +240,7 @@ func (n *icomNet) Write(p []byte) (int, error) {
 	n.vTracked++
 	n.vCivSeq++
 	n.seqMu.Unlock()
+	n.txCiv.Add(1)
 	pkt := icnCivData(seq, n.vID, n.vRemote, civSeq, p)
 	n.sentMu.Lock()
 	n.sentBuf[seq] = pkt
@@ -405,6 +413,7 @@ func (n *icomNet) civPump() {
 					quietSaid, gaveUp = false, false
 				}
 				lastData = time.Now()
+				n.txAtData.Store(n.txCiv.Load())
 				n.trackRxSeq(icnLE.Uint16(buf[6:])) // note gaps for retransmit
 				civBytes := buf[0x15:k]
 				cp := append([]byte(nil), civBytes...)
@@ -443,8 +452,8 @@ func (n *icomNet) civPump() {
 			if !lastScope.IsZero() {
 				scopeAge = time.Since(lastScope).Round(time.Second).String()
 			}
-			debugLog.Printf("icom net: no CI-V DATA for 10 s (transport last heard %s ago; last scope frame %s ago; last socket error: %v; missing-seq backlog: %d)",
-				time.Since(lastPkt).Round(time.Second), scopeAge, lastErr, len(n.rxMissing))
+			debugLog.Printf("icom net: no CI-V DATA for 10 s (transport last heard %s ago; last scope frame %s ago; last socket error: %v; missing-seq backlog: %d; CI-V commands SENT since the last answer: %d)",
+				time.Since(lastPkt).Round(time.Second), scopeAge, lastErr, len(n.rxMissing), n.txCiv.Load()-n.txAtData.Load())
 			// And try the gentle repair before the 30 s watchdog tears the whole
 			// session down: if the rig quietly closed the CI-V data flow (the
 			// transport is still chatting, so the session itself stands), saying