Configuring SpotCollector Sources

SpotCollector Online Help Contents

The Sources tab contains four panels and the alert when Talk message received setting.

Telnet DXCluster panel

This panel provides settings for each of four Telnet DXClusters.

Enable If checked, a DXCluster window  is displayed for the specified Host Address
Auto If checked, a connection with the specified Host Address will be initiated when SpotCollector is started, or after a previous connection has been broken
Hide if checked, the cluster's DXCluster window is hidden when connected; if unchecked, the DXCluster window is immediately made visible
  • hidden windows do not appear on the Windows task bar
  • unchecking a DXCluster's Enable box will uncheck its Hide box
  • clicking a DXCluster's LED-like indicator in the Spot Source Status panel will uncheck the DXCluster's Hide box
  • closing a  DXCluster window window will check the DXCluster's Hide box
Host Address The internet address of the server on which the desired DXCluster is running
Ann/Talk If checked, only announcement and talk messages will be displayed in the DXCluster window (DX and WWV spots will be added to their respective databases, but will not be displayed in the DXCluster window); this checkbox is replicated in the upper-left corner of the cluster's DXCluster window
Port The TCP port through which the server provides Telnet access to its DXCluster
Caption Text that will appear in the title bar of the DXCluster window
Username Text used if the DXCluster's login process requires a user identifier
  • double-clicking this textbox enters the operator callsign  
  • leave this setting blank if no username is required
  • enter a single hyphen if all that is required is a carriage return followed by a newline
  • embedded commands will be expanded

If you are already connected to a particular DX Cluster from another instance of SpotCollector running on another PC, make your username for that DX Cluster unique from each instance by appending a hyphen and a single digit to your username, for example AA6YQ-2.

Password Text used if the DXCluster's login process requires a user password (note: specifying a password when none is required may cause the login to fail)
  • double-clicking this textbox enters the operator callsign  
  • leave this setting blank if no password is required
  • enter a single hyphen if all that is required is a carriage return followed by a newline
  • embedded commands will be expanded
Cmd Text sent after the DXCluster's login process, typically to "connect" to the DXCluster 
  • leave this setting blank if no post-login command is required
  • enter a single hyphen if all that is required is a carriage return followed by a newline
  • embedded commands will be expanded
Spot If checked, outgoing spots will be sent to this DXCluster

In Telnet DXCluster's Username, Password, and Cmd settings, and in its Initial Cluster Command, any information not surrounded by a pair of angle brackets is transmitted verbatim. Valid substitution commands begin and end with an angle bracket; SpotCollector processes such commands in these settings by replacing them as enumerated in the following table:

Command Replacement
<n> the character whose ASCII code is n (for 0 <= n < 255)
<enter> the character whose ASCII code is 13
<file filename> the contents of the designated file 
  • filename should begin with a drive letter and include all intervening directories
  • use the macro definition screen's Select button to choose a file, then drag and drop its filename from the filename textbox to the desired macro's contents
<mycall> the operator's callsign
<mylowercasecall> the operator's callsign in lower case letters
<myuppercasecall> the operator's callsign in upper case letters
<newline> the character whose ASCII code is 10
<UTC> the current UTC time
<date> the current UTC date
<revision> SpotCollector's revision level

 

PacketCluster Panel

Enable If checked, a PacketCluster window is displayed for the specified PacketCluster Callsign
Auto If checked, a connection with the specified PacketCluster Callsign will be initiated when SpotCollector is started, or after a previous connection has been broken
Hide if checked, the PacketCluster window is hidden when connected; if unchecked, the PacketCluster window is immediately made visible
  • hidden windows do not appear on the Windows task bar
  • unchecking the PacketCluster panel's Enable box will uncheck its Hide box
  • clicking the PacketCluster's LED-like indicator in the Spot Source Status panel will uncheck the PacketCluster panel's Hide box
  • closing the PacketCluster window will check the PacketCluster panel's Hide box
Ann/Talk If checked, only announcement and talk messages will be displayed in the PacketCluster window (DX and WWV spots will be added to their respective databases, but will not be displayed in the PacketCluster window)
Packet Callsign The Callsign of the node hosting the PacketCluster to which you wish to connect
Keep If checked, maintains your PacketCluster connection by sending a Newline character every 5 minutes
Caption Text that will appear in the title bar of the PacketCluster window
Bye Cmd Command that will be sent to the PacketCluster when you disconnect (defaults to Bye )
TNC Model Selects the Terminal Node Controller (TNC) model connected to the serial port, thereby determining the Command File from which TNC directives are defined
Cmd Text sent 5 seconds after the PacketCluster login process, typically to "connect" to another packet node; leave this setting blank if no post-login command is required.
Spot If checked, outgoing spots will be sent to this PacketCluster

 

IRC panel

Enable If checked, a CQDX window for the specified IRC Channel is displayed
Auto If checked, a connection with the specified IRC Channel will be initiated when SpotCollector is started, or after a previous connection has been broken
Hide if checked, the CQDX window is hidden when connected; if unchecked, the CQDX window is immediately made visible
  • hidden windows do not appear on the Windows task bar
  • unchecking the IRC panel's Enable box will uncheck its Hide box
  • clicking the IRC panel's LED-like indicator in the Spot Source Status panel will uncheck the IRC panel's Hide box
  • closing the CQDX window will check the IRC panel' Hide box
Host Address The internet address of an IRC Server through which the specified IRC Channel is accessible
  • SpotCollector is designed to access the #CQDX IRC Channel, which is available on WorldIRC servers
Channel The name of the desired IRC Channel, without the leading #

If you include the leading #, SpotCollector will remove it during the connection process.

Caption Text that will appear in the title bar of the IRC Window
Username Text used to login to the IRC server
  • double-clicking this textbox enters the operator callsign
  • a forward slash is not acceptable in this field -- use a back slash instead, e.g. AA6YQ\1
First Name Text used to login to the IRC server
Robot the name of the CQDX spotting robot (usually DXS; use DDX when DXS is unavailable)
Spot If checked, outgoing spots will be sent to the CQDX IRC Channel

 

WSJT-X panel

Enable if checked, SpotCollector will endeavor to connect with WSJT-X
CQ color if the smaller left-hand box is checked, CQ and QRZ and DE words in the WSJT-X Band Activity panel will be displayed with the color shown in the larger right-hand box; to change the color in the larger right-hand box, click the larger right-hand box and use the Color window that appears
73 color if the smaller left-hand box is checked, 73 and RR73 words in the WSJT-X Band Activity panel will be displayed with the color shown in the larger right-hand box; to change the color in the larger right-hand box, click the larger right-hand box and use the Color window that appears
MyCall color if the smaller left-hand box is checked, your callsign in WSJT-X will be displayed with the color shown in the larger right-hand box; to change the color in the larger right-hand box, click the larger right-hand box and use the Color window that appears
Port WSJT-X UDP Server port; defaults to 2237
Lookup if checked when DX Call in the connected WSJT-X changes, DXKeeper will filter its Log Page Display to show previous QSOs with the QSO's callsign, DXView (if running) will lookup the callsign, and Pathfinder (if running) will lookup the callsign
Callbook if checked when the connected WSJT-X forwards a QSO to be logged, DXKeeper will perform a callbook lookup of that callsign and include the results in the QSO it logs
eQSL if checked when the connected WSJT-X forwards a QSO to be logged, DXKeeper will be instructed to upload the QSO to eQSL after logging it
LoTW if checked when the connected WSJT-X forwards a QSO to be logged, DXKeeper will be instructed to upload the QSO to LoTW after logging it
Club if checked when the connected WSJT-X forwards a QSO to be logged, DXKeeper will be instructed to upload the QSO to ClubLog after logging it
QRZ if checked when the connected WSJT-X forwards a QSO to be logged, DXKeeper will be instructed to upload the QSO to your QRZ Logbook after logging it
Auto Config if checked, conveys the name of the local Commander instance's Primary transceiver to the local WSJT-X instance and directs that WSJT-X instance to switch to the Configuration that matches the transceiver name

 

Initial Cluster Commands panel

 

Enable when checked, the specified command will be sent to the specified Telnet DXCluster or PacketCluster after logging in
Command cluster command sent to the specified Telnet DXCluster or PacketCluster after logging in (embedded commands can be used)

 

If the alert when Talk message received box is checked, then a Talk message received by a Telnet DXCluster or PacketCluster source window or a Private message received by the IRC source window will make the source window visible and play the sound file specified in the Audio message alert pathname textbox; if no filename is specified,  the Windows Default Beep audible alert will be played.

The Spot source status 'connected' color panel determines whether the indicators in the Main window's Spot source status panel use green or blue to indicate "spot source connected".

Pre-filter button

Clicking the Pre-filter button displays SpotCollector's Pre-filtering window, from which you can configure SpotCollector to discard incoming spots as a function of several criteria. The word Enabled will appear beneath this button when in SpotCollector's Pre-filtering window, the Enable box is checked, and at least method of pre-filtering is enabled