DXLab

 

Downloading and Installing DXLab applications 

Getting Started with DXLab

Documentation

Articles and Presentations

Availability Announcements

 

 

DXLab is a freeware suite of eight interoperating applications designed to automate amateur radio DXing activities:

  • Rotator control (AlfaSpid, ARSWIN, Heath, Hygain, M2, N1MM Rotor, Prosistel, SARtek, TIC, Trackbox, Yaesu)
  • RTTY (dual receive via the included MMTTY engine and a TNC)
  • Logging (can be optimized for real-time logging, or for recording QSOs from paper logs)
  • Propagation prediction (graphical view of openings by frequency and time using your choice of the included VOACAP, ICEPAC, and IONCAP forecasting engines)
  • Award tracking and submission (DXCC, Challenge, TopList, VUCC, Marathon, WAZ, WPX, WAC, IOTA, WAS, US Counties, Maidenhead Fields & Squares, DOK, WAE, RDA, WAB, WAJA, JCC, JCG, AJA)

Each of the eight applications can be independently installed and utilized; when multiple applications are running, they sense each other's presence and automatically interoperate. All DXLab applications are free, and contain no advertising. Commercial use is expressly forbidden.

DXLab applications run on Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, and 7 in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. Some DXLab applications can be individually run on Windows 95, 98, and 98SE. Using virtual machines, DXLab applications can also be run on Linux and Macintosh.

Articles and Presentations DXLab Product Reviews

More DXLab Product Reviews

Screenshot
Downloading and Installing DXLab applications 
Life on HF - DX Clusters using SpotCollector and DXView
Subscribe to the DXLab Reflector

Current members of the DXLab suite are:

Commander

  • controls  frequency, mode, and receiver bandwidth for Alinco, Elecraft, FlexRadio,  Icom, Kachina, Kenwood, TenTec, and Yaesu radios

  • provides 10 banks of 10 memories, each specifying frequency, mode, and receiver bandwidth

  • provides a zoomable slide-rule dial with ranges from 1 kHz to 100 kHz

  • displays frequency-dependent settings for amplifiers and tuners

  • switches among 4 transceivers with a mouse click, or automatically based on frequency

  • supports one-click execution of up to 16 transceiver-specific command sequences, each sequence containing up to 16 transceiver commands

  • provides 8 user-defined slider controls that generate transceiver commands for controlling settings like RF gain, AF gain, RF output power, and keyer speed

  • provides frequency and mode information to WinWarbler and DXKeeper

  • enables WinWarbler to activate PTT via the transceiver control com port

  • displays DX spots from SpotCollector on its slide-rule dial

  • enables PropView to QSY your transceiver to monitor specified IARU/NCDXF propagation beacons

DXKeeper

  • records and manages QSOs

  • tracks progress towards DXing objectives (DXCC, 5BDXCC, honor roll, ARRL Challenge, VUCC, TopBand, TopMode, TopList, Marathon, WAZ, 5BWAZ, WPX, WAS, WAC, WAE, WAE, IOTA, US Counties, DARC DOKs, Japanese Prefectures/Cities/Guns, British Areas, Maidenhead Fields, and Maidenhead Grids)

  • extracts address information from the Radio Amateur's Callbook, HamCall, and/or QRZ callbooks

  • prints QSL cards and labels

  • prints QSL cards for SWL reports

  • prints envelopes and address labels

  • provides real-time upload to eQSL.cc, and updates logged QSOs to reflect confirmation status downloaded from eQSL.cc

  • prepares batch uploads for the ARRL's Logbook of the World (LotW), and updates logged QSOs to reflect confirmation status downloaded from LotW

  • logs WinWarbler RTTY, PSK, CW, and Phone QSOs with accurate QSO frequencies

  • logs QSOs in realtime from MultiPSK, MMVARI, MMSSTV, MMTTY, and MixW   

  • uses Commander for Elecraft, FlexRadio,  Icom, Kenwood, TenTec, and Yaesu  transceiver control

  • uses DXView for progress reporting and plotting

  • uses Pathfinder for QSL route lookup and for direct access to callbook information from QRZ.com

DXLab Launcher

  • starts or stops a set of DXLab applications with one click

  • starts or stops individual DXLab applications with one click

  • minimizes or restores the windows of individual DXLab applications with one click

  • saves or restores DXLab application settings to or from files

  • installs or updates DXLab applications with one click

DXView

  • displays DXCC information, location information, and and country maps

    • accurately locates stations based on their callsign and, for US stations, from FCC station location data

    • provides the location of all grid squares and IOTA tags

    • identifies stations known to participate in Logbook of the World

    • identifies stations that are Authenticity Guaranteed members of eQSL.cc

  • plots spots, QSOs, beam headings, solar position, and the solar terminator in real time on a world map

  • computes sunrise and sunset times for a designated location and your QTH over a specified 30-day range

  • displays auroral zone boundaries as a function of the current K index, supplied by SpotCollector

  • updates the DXCC, station location, IOTA, and LotW databases with a single mouse click

  • commands AlfaSpid, Heath, Hygain, M2, Prosistel, SARtek, TIC, TrackBox, and Yaesu rotator controllers

  • interoperates with the ARSWIN, LP-Rotor, and N1MM rotor control applications

  • plots WinWarbler QSOs

  • supports DXKeeper progress reporting and plotting

  • plots spots captured by SpotCollector

  • supplies spot frequency and mode to Commander for 1-click QSY from plotted spot

  • enables PropView to rotate your antenna to monitor specified IARU/NCDXF propagation beacons

  • uses Pathfinder for QSL route lookup

  • optionally interoperates with DX Atlas, an Electronic World Atlas that provides rectangular, azimuthal, and global projections that are resizable and zoom-able

Pathfinder

  • locates QSL information from more than 100 web-accessible sources

  • extracts address information from the Radio Amateur's Callbook

  • provides DXKeeper with direct access to callbook information from QRZ.com

PropView

  • uses DXView to specify locations via point-and-click on a world map

  • uses the included VOACAP, ICEPAC, and IONCAP propagation prediction engines to predict minimum and maximum usable frequencies between specified locations

  • illustrates open bands graphically as a function of time and probability

  • obtains the current solar flux (SFI) and geomagnetic K-index readings from SpotCollector

  • creates schedules for monitoring IARU/NCDXF propagation beacons -- by band, by location, or by bearing

  • uses Commander to to QSY your transceiver to monitor beacons per the current schedule

  • uses DXView to rotate your antenna to monitor beacons per the current schedule

SpotCollector

  • collects and aggregates spots from multiple sources -- including packet, Telnet, and IRC -- to create a local database that you can display, sort, and filter in real time

  • computes spot statistics by band and by continent

  • collects and displays a 31-day graphical record of solar parameters (SFI, A, and K)

  • plots spots on DXView's world map

  • consults your current DXKeeper log and highlights spots of stations with whom you need a QSO to meet specified DXing objectives

  • highlights stations known to participate in Logbook of the World

  • highlights stations that are Authenticity Guaranteed members of eQSL.cc

  • supplies frequency and mode to Commander for 1-click QSY; initializes both VFOs for split operation when appropriate

  • supplies the solar flux (SFI) and geomagnetic K-index to PropView

  • uses Pathfinder for QSL route lookup

WinWarbler  

  • conducts PSK31, PSK63 or PSK125 QSOs, with simultaneous three-channel decoding and display

  • monitors all PSK31, PSK63 or PSK125 QSOs in a 3.5 kHz band, displaying extracted callsigns in a "Station's Heard" list

  • conducts RTTY QSOs using the included MMTTY engine, with dual-channel diversity decoding when an external RTTY modem is available

  • generates CW via software timing, WinKey, an external TNC

  • includes a phone voice memory keyer

  • provides macros and a comprehensive set of substitution commands

  • includes a GPS interface and macro commands for transmitting current location, course, and speed

  • plots QSOs on DXView's world map

  • logs QSOs to ADIF files, or to DXKeeper with accurate QSO frequencies

  • uses Pathfinder for QSL route lookup

  • uses Commander for Icom, TenTec, Kenwood, Elecraft, and Yaesu transceiver control of frequency and PTT activation

  • uses Commander to generates CW via via CAT-capable transceivers like the Kenwood TS-480 and TS-2000, and the Elecraft K2 and K3

  • uses SpotCollector to post RTTY and PSK spots with accurate frequencies

If you have questions or suggestions, please send them via email to the DXLab reflector.

Web hosting donated by Jamie Punderson W2QO and  Networks & More! Inc. ( http://www.k12usa.com & http://www.isboss.com )