What Makes DXLab Different?

DXLab Discussion Group

DXLab is a free-ware suite of 8 applications that can operate independently, but detect each other's presence and interoperate automatically. Besides the usual logging, transceiver control, DX spot collection and digital mode features you'll find in most applications, DXLab provides many unique capabilities:

• Transceiver Control

  • controls up to 4 transceivers, with optional transceiver selection by frequency

  • supports transverters for 6m, 4m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 33cm, and 23cm operation

  • can direct a secondary transceiver, receiver, or panadapter to follow or lead the primary transceiver's frequency and mode

  • provides 10 banks of 10 memories, with the ability to continuously scan a bank's frequencies

  • displays frequency-dependent settings for devices like tuners, amplifiers, and antenna switches, with optional control via parallel port signals

  • provides user-defined transceiver control sequences initiated by up to 32 buttons and up to 16 sliders ; you can optimize your transceiver settings for each mode and each operating style with a single mouse click or key strike

  • when controlling an Elecraft K4 or an Icom IC-705, IC-7300, IC-7610, IC-7850, IC-7851, or IC-9700, can provide a Spectrum-Waterfall window that

    • displays spectrum data, callsigns of active DX stations, and a waterfall display

    • provides point-and-click control over your transmit and receive frequencies 

  • when controlling a FlexRadio Signature Series transceiver (6300, 6400, 6500, 6600, 6700), displays callsigns of active DX stations on SmartSDR panadapters

  • interoperates with SDR Consoles used as panadapters (e.g. NaP3, PowerSDR, SDR Radio, SpectraVue, Thetis, Win4K3) or skimmers (e.g. CW Skimmer)  

  • interoperates with the SatPC32 satellite tracking application

  • interoperates with the S.A.T. Self-contained Antenna Tracker
    

 


• Rotator Control: provides both map-driven and callsign-driven operation of most commercial PC-controllable rotators
  

 


• Information Access and Management

  • displays a world map that can show

    • the solar terminator (at present, or at any specified date and time)

    • auroral ovals

    • your current antenna heading

    • active DX stations with paths to the stations reporting them

    • logged QSOs

  • displays daily sunrise and sunset times for your QTH and any specified location

  • displays grayline paths between your QTH and any specified location

  • provides information from databases that know 

    • which callsigns have uploaded QSOs to LotW and how recently

    • which callsigns are Authenticity Guaranteed eQSL.cc participants

    • the locations of all stations whose licenses are issued by the US FCC (centroid of zipcode and US state)

    • the DXCC entities present in every Maidenhead grid square

  • knows which of 70 languages are spoken in a callsign's region, and displays the translation of 50 frequently-used phrases in those languages

  • extracts address information from all 3 CDROM callbooks, HamQTH.com (completely free), and QRZ.com (free with advertising, or no advertising with subscription)

  • provides one-click access to more than 80 web-accessible sources of QSL information  

  • provides operations that can alter many logged QSOs simultaneously without requiring the user to modify ADIF files -- e.g. performing callbook lookups on already-logged QSOs, or adjusting the start times of QSOs logged during a specific time range, or extracting QTH information from COMMENT fields, or...  

  • interoperates with DX Atlas, Google Earth, and MapQuest
    

 


• Digital Modes

  • decodes all PSK31 or PSK63 or PSK125 QSOs within your transceiver's passband and extracts callsigns to create and maintain an active stations heard window

  • simultaneously runs soundcard RTTY using the MMTTY and 2Tone engines and an optional external modem (e.g. a KAM or PK232) to provide diversity decoding, or the ability to simultaneously decode a DX station and callers

  • supports PSK, RTTY, CW (generation only), and Phone (voice keying) with a single user interface and macro facility

  • interoperates with WSJT-X for K1JT mode operation (FT4, FT8, ISCAT, JT4, JT65, JT9, MSK144, QRA64, WSPR)

    • creates and updates Spot Database Entries using information decoded by WSJT-X

    • directs DXKeeper, DXView, and Pathfinder to lookup the DX Call specified in WSJT-X

    • directs WSJT-X to set the text color of callsigns displayed in its Band Activity panel to indicate award need (for DXCC, IOTA, Leaderboard, Marathon, VUCC, WAS, WAZ, WPX), and the background color of those callsigns to indicate participation in eQSL and/or LoTW

    • can display the minimum, maximum, and most recent signal-to-noise ratio for each callsign decoded by WSJT-X

    • conveys QSOs logged by WSJT-X to DXKeeper

  • interoperates with CWGet, CWSkimmer, Fldigi, Gritty, JT Alert, MMSSTV, MMTTY, MMVARI, MixW, MRP40, and MultiPSK

 


• QSLing

  • directly prints QSL labels, 1-to-a-page QSL cards, 4-to-a-page QSL cards, and Reply cards

    • optionally with a background image your specify  

    • generates SWL QSLs

  • directly prints addresses and return addresses on envelopes, directly prints self-addressed envelopes, and directly prints addresses on labels

  • synchronizes with LotW

    • can automatically upload QSOs to LoTW as they are logged

    • one mouse click updates logged QSOs to reflect downloaded LoTW confirmations

    • shows changes in award progress after downloading new confirmations

    • shows still-unconfirmed QSOs with QSO partners who have uploaded to LotW after the QSO date

    • can automatically specify the correct "Station Location" for each place from which you've operated

    • for DXCC: reports LoTW confirmations to which DXCC credit has been granted

    • for Grid Chase and VUCC:

      • supports up to 4 grid squares per QSO

      • reports missing grid square confirmations

    • for WAS: reports missing state and mode confirmations

    • for WAZ: reports missing CQ zone confirmations

    • for WPX: reports missing mode confirmations

  • synchronizes with eQSL.cc

    • can automatically upload QSOs to eQSL as they are logged

    • one mouse click updates logged QSOs to reflect downloaded eQSL authenticity guaranteed (AG) confirmations

    • shows changes in award progress after downloading new confirmations

  • synchronizes with Club Log

    • can automatically upload QSOs to Club Log as they are logged

    • one mouse click updates logged QSOs to reflect downloaded Club Log confirmations

    • shows changes in award progress after downloading new confirmations

    • downloads OQRS requests for outgoing QSL generation

  • synchronizes with your QRZ Logbook(s)

    • can automatically upload QSOs to  QRZ as they are logged

    • one mouse click updates logged QSOs to reflect downloaded QRZ confirmations

    • can generate progress reports for QRZ awards based on QRZ confirmations

   

  
  

• Award Tracking

  • reports progress towards AJA, Canadaward, Challenge, DDFM, DXCC,  DOK, Grid Chase, Helvetia 26, Holyland, IOTA, JCC, JCG, KDN, Maidenhead, Marathon, RDA, SOTA, SRR, TopList, USA-CA, VUCC, WAB, WAC, WAE, WAHUC, WAJA, WAIP, WAZ, WAS, WITU, and WPX awards  

  • tracks confirmation and award credit for the DXCC, IOTA, Marathon, VUCC, WAS, WAZ, and WPX award families

    • for ARRL DXCC awards

      • automatically generates outgoing QSLs that request confirmations needed for award progress on the bands and modes on which DXCC is being pursued

      • reports requested QSLs needed for DXCC award progress but not yet received, showing time outstanding and missing entities, entity-bands, and entity-modes

      • identifies confirmed QSOs  whose submission for award credit would advance award progress on the bands and modes on which DXCC is being pursued

      • generates DXCC submission paperwork

      • interoperates with the ARRL's new Online DXCC, reducing the cost of submitting QSL cards while increasing accuracy and decreasing processing time  

      • downloads granted DXCC Credits, highlights discrepancies with logged QSOs, and automatically updates logged QSOs to reflect newly granted DXCC Credits  

    • for IOTA awards

      • automatically generates outgoing QSLs that request confirmations needed for award progress

      • reports requested QSLs needed for IOTA award progress but not yet received, showing time outstanding

      • identifies confirmed QSOs whose submission for award credit would advance award progress

      • generates an IOTA submission report

    • for ARRL VUCC awards

      • automatically generates outgoing QSLs that request confirmations needed for award progress on the bands on which VUCC is being pursued

      • reports requested QSLs needed for VUCC award progress but not yet received, showing time outstanding and missing grids and grid-bands

      • identifies confirmed QSOs whose submission for award credit would advance award progress on the bands on which VUCC is being pursued

      • generates a VUCC submission report

    • for ARRL WAS awards

      • automatically generates outgoing QSLs that request confirmations needed for award progress on the bands and modes on which WAS is being pursued

      • reports requested QSLs needed for WAS award progress but not yet received, showing time outstanding and missing states, state-bands, and state-modes

      • identifies confirmed QSOs whose submission for award credit would advance award progress on the bands and modes on which WAS is being pursued

      • generates a WAS submission report

    • for CQ WAZ awards

      • automatically generates outgoing QSLs that request confirmations needed for award progress on the bands and modes on which WAZ is being pursued

      • reports requested QSLs needed for WAZ award progress but not yet received, showing time outstanding and missing zones, zone-bands, zone-modes, and zone-band-modes

      • identifies confirmed QSOs whose submission for award credit would advance award progress on the bands and modes on which WAZ is being pursued

      • generates a WAZ submission report

    • for CQ WPX awards

      • automatically generates outgoing QSLs that request confirmations needed for award progress on the bands and modes on which WPX is being pursued

      • reports requested QSLs needed for WPX award progress but not yet received, showing time outstanding and missing prefixes, prefix-bands, and prefix-modes

      • identifies confirmed QSOs whose submission for award credit would advance award progress on the bands and modes on which WPX is being pursued

      • generates a WPX submission report

    • for CQ DX Marathon awards: generates CQ Marathon submission paperwork (score sheet) 

  • interoperates with Club Log: can automatically upload QSOs to Club Log as they are logged
    

 


• DXing

  • captures DX spots from up to 7 sources (telnet clusters, packet clusters, DX Summit, WSJT-X), creating and maintaining a local database with one entry for each active DX station; active DX stations can be viewed in multiple ways:

    • in a filterable table whose entries are color coded by "need" for DXCC, IOTA, Marathon, VUCC, WAS, WAZ, and WPX (LotW/eQSL participation is also indicated)

    • in a zoomable bandspread that tracks your transceiver's frequency (LotW/eQSL participation is also indicated)

    • when controlling an Elecraft K4 or an  Icom IC-705, IC-7300, IC-7610, IC-7850, IC-7851, or IC-9700, on a zoom-able Spectrum-Waterfall window that also shows spectrum data and a waterfall display

    • when controlling a FlexRadio Signature Series transceiver (6300, 6400, 6500, 6600, 6700), on SmartSDR panadapters

    • on its world map, on DX Atlas, and on Google Earth,

    • by band and time-of-day, revealing band openings and showing actual propagation

    • by band and continent, showing activity levels

  • optionally announces DX stations needed for DXCC, IOTA, Leaderboard, Marathon, VUCC, WAS, WAZ, or WPX awards, and sends email or SMS alerts

  • color codes callsigns in the WSJT-X Band Activity panel to highlight stations needed for DXCC, IOTA, Leaderboard, Marathon, VUCC, WAS, WAZ, or WPX awards (LotW/eQSL participation is also indicated)

  • includes a web server that makes active DX stations browser-accessible from anywhere on your home network (or using dyndns, from anywhere with internet access)

  • extracts QSX frequencies from DX spot notes, enabling accurate transceiver setup for split frequency operation with one user action

  • captures and displays solar and geomagnetic data from WWV spots, and uses this data to display easy-to-understand graphical propagation forecasts, and to depict the auroral oval on its world map (choice of VOACAP, ICEPAC, or IONCAP propagation forecasting engines, all of which are included)

  • generates propagation forecasts for 

    • each active DX station, including the expected signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and probability of an opening

    • any callsign or prefix

    • any location selected on the world map

  • can sequentially scan a set of specified bands to show DX stations and the stations reporting them

  • can automatically QSY your receiver to monitor specified NCDXF/IARU HF beacons, enabling you to rapidly calibrate propagation forecasts with actual propagation  

  • can record received audio for immediate playback and optionally save it in a .wav file logged with the QSO

  • interoperates with N1MM+
    

 


• User Community

  • frequently updated with user-suggested enhancements and new capabilities, and downloads/installs upgrades with a single mouse click

  • includes comprehensive reference documentation that is updated with each new version of each application

  • provides step-by-step instructions for frequently-used operations

  • is driven by an active and friendly user community open to everyone