Pursuing DX Marathon Awards with DXLab
You can pursue multiple DX Marathon classes and categories during the year, track your progress, and then automatically generate a submission for your most competitive class/category at the end of the year.
DXLab maintains an Active DX Database containing one entry for each active station, as reported by up to 4 DX Cluster nodes or skimmers, DX Summit, and as decoded by one or more instances of WSJT-X. Combining multiple spots of the same station on the same frequency and mode into single entry that contains all reported information significantly reduces the DXer's cognitive burden.
You can view the contents of the Active DX Database
in a tabular format that can be filtered and sorted as needed
on a built-in world map, on DX Atlas, and on Google Earth
on a bandspread
on a spectrum-waterfall display when using an Elecraft K4, FlexRadio Signature, or recent Icom transceiver
as a propagation heat map
Callsigns with whom a QSO would advance your DX Marathon progress can be audibly announced, alerted via email/SMS, and identified in each view with a font color of your choosing; a callsign’s background color indicates participation in LoTW and eQSL.
DXLab provides a means of characterizing the risk of each logged QSO in order to minimize Marathon points lost to busted or disqualified QSOs.
Propagation forecasts can be automatically generated for each active DX station by the included VOACAP engine; reduce clutter by hiding entries for stations from which propagation is currently unlikely.
Propagation heat maps of active DX stations reveal
- the activity pattern of a target station with whom you seek a QSO
- actual propagation openings between your QTH and that target station.
Monitoring the intersection of a target station’s recent activity with propagation openings to that target station optimizes your ability to obtain a sought-after QSO before the target station is spotted and cluster hordes descend on the frequency.
Additional Topics
Post a question or suggestion on the DXLab Discussion Group