Dealing with an empty Spot Database Display

If your Spot Database Display is empty, there are several possibilities:

  1. SpotCollector has not successfully connected with a spot source

    • at least one of the LED-like displays in the Main window's Spot source status panel should be green; if not, check the settings on the Configuration window's Spot Sources tab for each active cluster:

      • Host address should specify the cluster's published internet address

      • Port should specify the cluster's published Telnet port

      • Username should specify your callsign

      • Password and Cmd should be empty

      • the Enable box should be checked

    • DXClusters that utilize DX Spider can be configured to disable the

      YourCallsign de ClusterCallsign

      prompt sequence that enables SpotCollector to confirm that you've logged in, preventing the cluster's LED-like status indicator from advancing from yellow to green. To correct this, click the cluster's LED-like status indicator to display its cluster window, and issue the command

      set/Prompt

      If the cluster responds to this command with the message

      Need at least some text

      then issue the command

      unset/Prompt

  2. The filtering enabled in one or more spot sources results in no spots being conveyed to SpotCollector

  3. SpotCollector's pre-filtering is configured to discard all incoming spots

  4. The Spot Database Display is filtered in a way that hides all of its entries
    • to remove all filters, depress the CTRL key while clicking the Filter panel's X button

  5. The Maximum age of valid incoming spots parameter is set to too low a value

    • on the Configuration window's Controls panel, set Maximum age of valid incoming spots to 60

  6. All incoming spots are from skimmers, and you have the Discard spots from spotting station callsigns ending in -# or Discard spots from spotting station callsigns ending in -@ box checked on the Configuration window's Special Callsigns tab.

  7. Your PC's clock is set to the incorrect time and/or time zone
    • if the Main window's title bar does not display the correct UTC time, incoming spots will be rejected as too old or in the future; open the Windows Control Panel and run the Date and Time applet to set the correct time and time zone

    • be particularly mindful of this if your region has recently changed into or out of daylight savings time
  8. In the Network section of the Windows Control Panel, you have not configured Windows to never power down the wired or wireless adapter by which your computer is connected to the internet.

  9. Your anti-virus or firewall application is preventing SpotCollector from accessing the internet

  10. The bands are dead so no one is spotting DX
    • double-click one of the green LED-like displays in the Main window's Spot source status panel to see that spot source's incoming data; if no spots are arriving from this source or any other source, no Spot Database Entries will be created

  11. The title bar of SpotCollector's Main window indicates the presence of an errorlog.txt file in your SpotCollector folder; if so, follow these instructions.


Post a question or suggestion on the DXLab Discussion Group

Managing Spot Sources

Getting Started with Spot Collection, Active DX Identification, and Analytics

Getting Started with DXLab

EmptyDatabase (last edited 2024-01-25 22:38:22 by AA6YQ)