Posting DX Spots
Configuration
If you've never configured SpotCollector to post a DX Spot,
click the Main window's Config button
in the Configuration window
select the General tab
in the General panel, specify your operator callsign
in the General panel's Operator location sub-panel, select your geographic region
select the Spot Sources tab, and choose one of your enabled Telnet DXClusters, PacketCluster, or IRC to convey your outgoing spots by clicking its Spots button on the extreme right of its sub-panel
Operation
To post a DX spot on the cluster network, do the following in the Main window's Outgoing spot panel:
type the callsign of the DX station to be spotted into the Call textbox
striking CTRL-DEL in the Call textbox will clear its contents
type information to accompany your spot in the panel's Notes textbox
- the Notes textbox will not accept more than 29 characters, consistent with limits imposed by DXCluster software
clicking the X button will clear the Notes textbox
striking CTRL-DEL in the Notes textbox will clear its contents
type the spot frequency in kilohertz into the Freq textbox
- if Commander is running, the Freq textbox is replaced by a display of the current transceiver frequency, which will be used as the outgoing spot frequency
click the Cluster button to post the spot via the selected cluster
Striking Ctrl-Enter in the Outgoing spot panel's Call or Notes textboxes is equivalent to clicking the Cluster button, allowing you to post a spot without removing your hands from the keyboard.
To generate a spot that is not posted to the DX cluster network but is added to your Spot Database, click the Local button instead of the Cluster button. This is useful when
- verifying your filter settings
- mapping active stations on the band after copying their callsign (particularly when using Commander's Band Map)'
Note: if the Outgoing spot panel's Cluster button is disabled ("grayed out"), none of your enabled spot sources have been designated to convey your outgoing spots; see step 2.b in the Configuration section above.
Post a question or suggestion on the DXLab Discussion Group