== Dealing with an empty Spot Database Display ==

If your Spot Database Display is empty, there are several possibilities:

 1. !SpotCollector has not successfully connected with a spot source

   * at least one of the LED-like displays in the Main window's '''Spot source status''' panel should be green; if not, check the settings on the Configuration window's '''Spot Sources''' tab for each active cluster:

     * '''Host address''' should specify the cluster's published internet address

     * '''Port''' should specify the cluster's published Telnet port

     * '''Username''' should specify your callsign

     * '''Password''' and '''Cmd''' should be empty

     * the '''Enable''' box should be checked

  * DXClusters that utilize [[http://www.dxcluster.org/main|DX Spider]] can be configured to disable the <<BR>><<BR>> {{{YourCallsign de ClusterCallsign}}}<<BR>><<BR>>prompt sequence that enables !SpotCollector to confirm that you've logged in, preventing the cluster's LED-like status indicator from advancing from yellow to green. To correct this, click the cluster's LED-like status indicator to display its cluster window, and issue the command <<BR>><<BR>>{{{set/Prompt}}}<<BR>><<BR>> If the cluster responds to this command with the message <<BR>><<BR>>{{{Need at least some text}}}<<BR>><<BR>> then issue the command <<BR>><<BR>>{{{unset/Prompt}}}<<BR>><<BR>>

 1. The filtering enabled in one or more spot sources results in no spots being conveyed to !SpotCollector

 1. !SpotCollector's [[SpotDatabasePrefilter|Pre-filtering]] is configured to discard all incoming spots

  * to stop all pre-filtering, uncheck the '''Enable''' box in !SpotCollector's '''Pre-filtering''' window's upper-left corner

 1. The Spot Database Display is filtered in a way that hides all of its entries

  * to remove all filters, depress the ''CTRL'' key while clicking the '''Filter''' panel's '''X''' button

 1. The '''Maximum age of valid incoming spots''' parameter is set to too low a value

  * on the Configuration window's '''Controls''' panel, set '''Maximum age of valid incoming spots''' to 60

 1. All incoming spots are from skimmers, and you have the '''Discard Skimmer Spots''' box checked in the [[SpotDatabasePrefilter|Pre-filtering window]].

 1. Your PC's clock is set to the incorrect time and/or time zone

  * if the Main window's title bar does not display the correct UTC time, incoming spots will be rejected as ''too old'' or ''in the future''; open the '''Windows Control Panel''' and run the '''Date and Time''' applet to set the correct time and time zone

  * be particularly mindful of this if your region has recently changed into or out of daylight savings time

 1. In the '''Network''' section of the '''Windows Control Panel''', you have not configured Windows to never power down the wired or wireless adapter by which your computer is connected to the internet. 
 
 1. Your anti-virus or firewall application is preventing !SpotCollector from accessing the internet

  * [[ApplicationInteference|Applications that can Interfere with DXLab Applications]]

  * configure the application in question to consider !SpotCollector (and your other DXLab applications) to be ''safe''
  

 1. The bands are dead so no one is spotting DX

  * double-click one of the green LED-like displays in the Main window's '''Spot source status''' panel to see that spot source's incoming data; if no spots are arriving from this source or any other source, no Spot Database Entries will be created

 1. The title bar of !SpotCollector's Main window indicates the presence of an errorlog.txt file in your !SpotCollector folder; if so, follow [[ErrorLogs|these instructions]].


If none of the above populate your Spot Database Display, then

 1. on the Configuration window's General tab, check the "Log debugging info" box

 1. terminate !SpotCollector

 1. start !SpotCollector

 1. wait 10 minutes

 1. on the Configuration window's General tab, uncheck the '''Log debugging info''' box

 1. attach the errorlog.txt file from your !SpotCollector folder to an email message, and send that message to 

aa6yq (at) ambersoft.com

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[[DXLabDiscussionGroup|Post a question or suggestion on the DXLab Discussion Group]]

[[ManagingSpotSources|Managing Spot Sources]]

[[CollectingSpots|Getting Started with Spot Collection, Active DX Identification, and Analytics]]

[[GettingStarted|Getting Started with DXLab]]