and 
buttons to travel backwards and forwards respectively.SpotCollector Online Help Contents
Spots arriving from spot sources are used to create entries in SpotCollector's Spot Database. Each Spot Database Entry represents a single DX station operating in the same mode around the same frequency over an interval of time. When a spot arrives, SpotCollector
discards it if its too
old (make sure your PC is set to the correct time zone and local time!)
checks to see if there's already a Spot Database Entry for the spotted DX station in the same mode around the same frequency that is still active
if so, the existing entry is updated
if not, a new entry is created
The information recorded in a Spot Database Entry is obtained from
the incoming spot, e.g. DX station's callsign, frequency, mode, time, spotting station's callsign
the incoming spot's notes (if enabled), e.g. DX station's gridsquare, DX station's IOTA tag, spotting station's gridsquare
a specified DXKeeper log, e.g. award progress for the DX station's entity, entity-band, and entity-mode
performing a DXCC or USAP database lookup on the DX callsign's (if enabled), e.g. DX station's DXCC prefix, gridsquare, CQ zone, ITU zone, IOTA tag, continent
performing a DXCC or USAP database lookup on the spotting station's callsign (if enabled), e.g. spotting station's gridsquare
Here's the total set
of information recorded in each Spot Database Entry:
| Caption | Field Name | Content |
| Callsign | Callsign | the spotted DX station's callsign |
| Pfx | DXCCPrefix | the spotted DX station's DXCC entity prefix (determined from its callsign by performing a lookup in the DXCC or USAP database unless there's an entity override specified) |
| Freq | Frequency | the spotted DX station's frequency (if simplex) or transmitting frequency (if operating split) |
| QSX | QSX | the spotted DX station's receiving frequency (if operating split) |
| Band | Band | the spotted DX station's frequency band, as determined by the Sub-band Definition file |
| Mode | Mode | the spotted DX station's mode as determined by the Sub-band Definition file unless over-ridden by a mode designation like PSK or MFSK in the spot notes (if the DX station is operating split, then the QSX frequency's sub-band is used to determine the mode rather than the DX station's transmit frequency) |
| Submode | Submode | the spotted DX station's sub-mode, as extracted from a mode-submode designation like CONTESTI-4-500 in the spot notes (mode = CONTESTI, submode = 4-500) |
| FirstTime | FirstTime | the first UTC time at which this DX station was spotted in this mode close to this frequency, formatted as specified (see note 1) |
| LastTime | LastTime | the most recent UTC time at which this DX station was spotted in this mode close to this frequency, formatted as specified (see note 1) |
| RcvdTime | SpotTime | the most recent UTC time at which this DX station was spotted in this mode close to this frequency, formatted as specified (see note 2) |
| Source | Source | the callsign of the station that most recently spotted this DX station in this mode close to this frequency |
| LastOrigin | Origin | the likely geographic location of the station that most recently spotted this DX station in this mode close to this frequency (see note 3) |
| Notes | Notes | the notes taken from the most recent spot of this station in this mode close to this frequency with non-empty notes |
| Network | Network | the name of the PacketCluster, DXCluster, or IRC channel from that supplied the most recent spot of this station in this mode close to this frequency |
| BandProgress | BandProgress | award
progress for the DXCC entity on the spotted band (used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| ModeProgress | ModeProgress | award
progress for the DXCC entity in the spotted mode (used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| CountryProgress | CountryProgress | award
progress for the DXCC entity on any band or mode (used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| BandSought | BandSought | Indicates
whether the spotted band's box is checked in the DXCC panel
on the Awards tab of DXKeeper's
Configuration window ( used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| ModeSought | ModeSought | Indicates
whether the spotted mode's box is checked in the DXCC panel
on the Awards tab of DXKeeper's
Configuration window ( used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| BandWorked | BandWorked | Indicates
whether or not this callsign has already been worked on the spotted band
(used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| ModeWorked | ModeWorked | Indicates
whether or not this callsign has already been worked on the spotted mode
( used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| CountryWorked | CountryWorked | Indicates
whether or not this callsign has already been worked on the spotted
band and mode ( used by SpotCollector to determine whether or not an entry is unworked,
unconfirmed, or unneeded)
|
| Index | Index | a number unique to each Spot Database Entry used by SpotCollector for navigation |
| UN, NAE, NAM, NAW, SA, EU, AF, AS, OC | UN, NAE, NAM, NAW, SA, EU, AF, AS, OC | these fields record the locations from which the spotted DX station has been spotted (unknown, North American East coast, North American Midwest, North American West coast, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania) |
| Cont | Cont | the spotted DX station's continent |
| DXCCCountry | DXCCCountry | the spotted DX station's DXCC entity name |
| DXGrid | DXGrid | the spotted station's Maidenhead gridsquare |
| Azimuth | Azimuth | short-path bearing to the spotted station (in degrees) |
| CQ | CQ | the spotted stations' CQ zone |
| ITU | ITU | the spotted station's ITU zone |
| IOTA | IOTA | the spotted station's IOTA tag |
| Primary | Primary | the primary administrative subdivision in which the spotted station is located (ADIF-defined code) |
| Region | Region | the region in which the spotted station is located |
| OriginGrid | OriginGrid | the spotting station's Maidenhead gridsquare (extracted form spot notes or provided by a spot source) |
| ODX | ODX | the distance from the center of the Maidenhead gridsquare of the closest station to spot the DX station and the Operator's latitude and longitude in miles or kilometers; if no spotting station gridsquare is known, this value is set to -1 (displayed as a blank entry in the Spot Database Display) |
| OMDX | OMDX | the maximum distance from the center of the Maidenhead gridsquare of the closest station to spot the DX station and the Operator's latitude and longitude in miles or kilometers |
| Hidden | Hidden | Indicates
whether or not this entry should be hidden
|
| LotW | LotW | Indicates
whether or not this station is known to QSL via the ARRL's Logbook
of the World (LotW)
|
| Tag | Tag | the spotted DX station's Tag, assigned by the Special Callsign List |
| NoteSource | NotesSource | callsign of the station that posted the spot notes |
| Cumulative | CumulativeNotes | all spot notes received for this station in order of ascending time, separated by carriage return and line feed |
| BFA | BFA | Indicates
whether or not this entry's Band Filter is Active
|
Notes
The FirstTime and LastTime fields are computed using the timestamps received with each spot unless they are in the future with respect to your PC's local clock; in this case, your PC's local clock is used.
DXClusters running DX Spider software can be configured to append the spotting station's Maidenhead gridsquare to each spot. DXKeeper can properly decode spots with appended gridsquares, and will record such gridsquares in the Spot Database's OriginGrid field. To enable a cluster running DX Spider to append spotting station gridsquares, enter the following command:
set/dxgrid
Access to and management of the Spot Database is accomplished via controls in the Spot Database Window . The most important of these controls is the Spot Database Display - a grid that displays several Spot Database entries. Expanding the height of the Spot Database window will increase the number of Spot Database entries visible in the Spot Database Display, and expanding the width of this window will increase the number of fields visible in each entry. You can reformat the Spot Database Display's field order and field widths.
The Spot Database Display shows a subset of
all Spot
Database Entries . Specifying this
subset is referred to as Filtering the
Spot Database. You can control the order
in which entries appear in the Spot Database Display, as well as the order
of the columns used to display each entry's contents.
SpotCollector interoperates with DXKeeper, DXLab's logging program, to obtain
objectives - whether or not you are pursuing confirmed QSOs on the reported band and mode, as specified in the DXCC/Top Bands & Modes panel on the Awards tab of DXKeeper's Config window
| Award Program | boxes to check in DXKeeper's DXCC/Top Bands & Modes panel |
| DXCC | none |
| 5-band DXCC | 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, 10m |
| DXCC Challenge | 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m, Phone, CW, RTTY |
| TopList | 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, Phone, CW, RTTY |
awards progress - whether or not you've worked and/or confirmed a spotted station's DXCC entity on the reported band or mode, and whether or not you've worked the spotted station on the reported band or mode
Objectives are determined from information DXKeeper maintains in the Windows registry; thus DXKeeper need not be running for SpotCollector to appropriately characterize spots. Awards progress is determined from a DXKeeper log file. You can configure SpotCollector to
consult the log file that was last opened by DXKeeper, and automatically switch to any new log opened in DXKeeper
ask the operator to choose when a log is opened in DXKeeper that is different than the one currently being consulted by SpotCollector
specify a log file to be consulted independently of what log file was last opened in DXKeeper
If you use only one log file in DXKeeper, then SpotCollector's out-of-the-box setting is appropriate (ask the operator for guidance when a log is opened in DXKeeper that is different than the one currently being consulted by SpotCollector). If you use DXKeeper to maintain logs of QSOs made from multiple DXCC entities, you'll find it convenient to specify that SpotCollector always consult the log associated with your home station; this keeps SpotCollector focused on the correct source of award progress when you use DXKeeper to open one of the other logs for QSO confirmation, QSL generation, or other activities.
Using the objectives specified on the DXCC/Top panel on DXKeeper's Awards tab and award progress information from the specified log, SpotCollector places each Spot Database Entry into one of five categories:
unworked country: a QSO with this station will be your first with an unworked DXCC entity
unworked band or mode: a QSO with this station will be your first with the reported DXCC entity on a band or mode you're pursuing
unconfirmed: a confirmed QSO with this station will advance your progress against your objectives
unneeded: a QSO with this station will not advance your progress against your objectives, but you do not have ARRL-verified QSOs with the station's DXCC entity, entity-band (if being chased), and/or entity-mode (if being chased)
verified: a QSO with this station will not advance your progress against your objectives because you have ARRL-verified QSOs with the station's DXCC entity, entity-band (if being chased), and/or entity-mode (if being chased)
By default, unworked country Spot Database Entries and unworked band or mode Spot Database Entries are rendered with a red font, unconfirmed Spot Database Entries with a blue font, and unneeded and verified Spot Database Entries with a black font; you can modify these colors via the Spot Database sub-tab on the Config window's Display Fonts tab. A Color codes panel summarizing these font colors is displayed to the right of the Main window's Filter panel if window width permits.
Spot Database entries that would give you a duplicate QSO -- i.e. with a callsign you've already worked -- for an unconfirmed band, mode, or country are considered unneeded rather than unconfirmed. For example, suppose you have already worked, but not yet confirmed VU4DX on 20m SSB. Spot database entries for VU4DX on 20m SSB will be rendered in black - even though you don't have VU4 confirmed; that's because another QSO with VU4DX on 20m SSB will not advance your awards progress. However, spot database entries for VU4DY on 20m SSB would be colored blue, as QSOing this station would give you an alternate way to confirm VU4 on 20m and SSB.
Right-clicking an entry in the Spot Database Display displays a menu, one of whose choices is to display award status for the entry's DXCC entity, callsign, band, and mode. This status includes
the name of the DXCC entity
whether the DXCC entity is unworked, worked, confirmed, or verified
whether you've worked the callsign before
whether the DXCC entity-band is is unworked, worked, confirmed, or verified
whether the band is one you are pursuing (as specified on the DXCC/Top panel on DXKeeper's Awards tab)
whether you've worked the callsign on this band before
whether the DXCC entity-mode is is unworked, worked, confirmed, or verified
whether the mode is one you are pursuing (as specified on the DXCC/Top panel on DXKeeper's Awards tab)
whether you've worked the callsign on this mode before
If you have never installed or executed DXKeeper, then the Seek everything setting determines whether SpotCollector assumes that every Spot Database Entry is needed or unneeded.
SpotCollector can also generate an audio alarm whenever an unworked Spot Database Entry is created. Settings in the Audio Alarm panel on the Config window's General tab allow you to
enable or disable the audio alarm
specify that the DXCC country, band, and mode should be announced
specify a .wav file to serve as the audio alarm instead of the DXCC country, band, and mode announcement
specify that only unworked DXCC entities should be announced, or that both unworked and unconfirmed DXCC entities should be announced
specify that a specific sound file be played after announcing a Spot Database Entry whose callsign is known to participate in Logbook of the World
specify that the alarm should be triggered whenever a newly-created unworked Spot Database Entry is created, or only if this entry passes the Band, Mode, Origin, Continent, and LotW filters.
test the audio alarm to verify proper volume settings
specify the names of folders containing
the .wav files used to announce entities, bands, and modes
the .wav files used to announce callsigns alphanumerically
the .wav files used to announce callsigns phonetically
If you change logs in DXKeeper while SpotCollector is running, SpotCollector will give you the choice of continuing to check progress against the previously-opened log, or switching to the new log.
The file LotW.mdb is a database containing callsigns known to participate in the ARRL's Logbook of the World (LotW). If at startup, LotW.mdb is present in DXView's Databases folder or in SpotCollector's Databases folder, then SpotCollector will set the LotW item of each Spot Database Entry it creates to indicate whether or not the entry's callsign is a known Logbook of the World participant; if LotW.mdb is not present in DXView's or SpotCollector's Databases folders, then each Spot Database Entry's LotW item will be set to 'N'. You can obtain the most recent LotW.mdb by downloading http://bbcyber.com/ftp/LotW.mdb . If you have DXView installed, you should extract LotW.mdb into DXView's Databases folder, where it will be referenced by both DXView and SpotCollector; if you don't have DXView installed, extracting LotW.mdb into SpotCollector's Databases folder. The date at which LotW.mdb was last updated is displayed below the Filter panel's LotW checkbox.
By default, Spot Database Entries whose callsigns are not known to participate in Logbook of the World are rendered with a white background; Spot Database Entries whose callsigns are known to participate in Logbook of the World are rendered with a yellow background. You can modify these colors via the Spot Database sub-tab on the Config window's Display Fonts tab.
Checking the Announce LotW participation box directs SpotCollector to identify announced Spot Database entries whose callsigns are known to participate in Logbook of the World.
To change the width of a column in the Spot Database display, position the cursor over the vertical line to the left or right of the column's caption; when properly positioned, the cursor will change to the Windows border adjustment cursor, allowing you to click and drag the column border to either expand or contract the column width as desired.
To change the order of columns in the Spot Database display, click on the caption of a column you wish to relocate. Then click-and-drag the column until the two red positioning triangles indicate the desired new location.
To change the format used to display dates and times in the FirstTime, LastTime, and RcvdTime fields, use the Config window's dates and times setting.
To restore the Spot Database Display's default format, click the Layout panel's Reset button.
Using the radio buttons in the Spot Database window's Sort panel, you can sort the Spot Database Display in order of
| Sort | Description | Field | Order |
| First | sort by the UTC time (extracted from spot) each DX station was first spotted | FirstTime | ascending |
| Last | sort by the UTC time (extracted from spot) each DX station was most recently spotted | LastTime | ascending |
| Rcv | sort by the UTC time (from PC) each DX station was most recently spotted | RcvdTime | ascending |
| Call | sort by each spotted DX station's callsign | Callsign | ascending |
| Freq | sort by each spotted DX station's frequency | Frequency | ascending |
| Az | sort by each spotted DX station's azimuth (short path antenna heading) | Azimuth | ascending |
Through the use of filters, you can direct SpotCollector to limit the display of Spot Database Entries to those that match specific criteria, such as
only Spot Database Entries for VK9NS
only Spot Database Entries for stations on 6m working CW
only Spot Database Entries for stations from Mongolia on 80m spotted from Europe
only Spot Database Entries for stations whose DXCC entities you haven't confirmed on CW
only Spot Database Entries for for African, European, or Asian stations on 160m that were spotted from the North American East coast.
only Spot Database Entries known to QSL via the ARRL's Logbook of the World
When you specify a filter, the Spot Database Display immediately hides all Spot Database entries that don't conform. Spot Database Entries created after you specify a filter are added to the Spot Database, but only appear in the Spot Database Display if they conform to the current filter. If you modify or clear the current filter, the Spot Database Display is immediately updated to show only conforming entries.
SpotCollector also provides a more fine-grained mechanism for controlling the Spot Database Display: any individual Spot Database Entry can be designated as hidden. You can further specify a set of keywords that, if found in a spot's notes, will automatically designate its Spot Database Entry as hidden; the words pirate and slim are good candidates for this list. You can review all hidden entries and, if desired, un-hide them.
The Spot Database window's Filter panel provides the means by which you specify the current filter. The Filter panel's caption displays the current filter within square brackets, for example
Filter: [call=VK9NS]
which means that the Spot Database Display only shows entries whose callsign is VK9NS and that have not been individually hidden . If the current filter is empty, then the Filter Panel's caption will be
Filter: All
which means that the Spot Database Display shows every Spot Database Entry except those that were hidden.
The Spot Database window's filter panel provides three groups of filters: General, Context, and SQL.
The five General filter buttons let you choose one of five criteria; some of these criteria reference the contents of the General Expression textbox, located on the left side of the Filter panel.
| Button | Description | General Expression |
| Need | When clicked
without the Ctrl key being depressed, displays only
unhidden Spot
Database Entries for needed DXCC entities, entity-bands, and
entity-modes, as specified on the Awards tab of DXKeeper's
configuration window.
When clicked with the Ctrl key being depressed, displays only unhidden Spot Database Entries for needed DXCC entities. In either case, the Need Filter Mode setting determines whether unworked, or both unworked and unconfirmed Spot Database Entries are displayed. |
not used |
| Call |
Displays only unhidden Spot Database Entries for DX stations whose callsign is specified in the General Expression textbox |
callsign |
| DXCC |
Displays only unhidden Spot Database Entries for DX stations whose DXCC prefix is specified in the General Expression textbox |
DXCC prefix |
| Freq |
Displays only unhidden Spot Database Entries for DX stations spotted on frequencies near the current transceiver frequency as reported by Commander and younger than a specified age (this option is not available if Commander is not running) |
not used |
| Tag | Displays only unhidden Spot Database Entries for DX stations whose Tag is specified in the General Expression textbox; Tags are assigned to callsigns by the Special Callsign List |
You can use * (asterisk) as a wildcard character when specifying either callsigns or DXCC prefixes in the General Expression textbox. For example,
*K6MIO*
will match KH6/K6MIO, K6MIO, and K6MIO/KH6.
With Commander running, enabling both the Frequency Filter and Frequency sort automatically shows recent spots near your transceiver frequency as you QSY. You can enable the Mode and/or Origin filter for additional specificity.
To clear the General filters, click the button labeled X to the immediate right of the General Expression textbox. When the General filter is cleared, Spot Database Display shows all unhidden Spot Database Entries that conform to the four Context filters: Band, Mode, Continent, and Origin filters.
The Band filter
enables you to display only unhidden
Spot Database entries for DX stations spotted on
frequencies within specified bands; clicking the Filter panel's Band
button displays the Band Filter window, with Enable checkboxes for each amateur band
from 160m to 12cm. This window also provides buttons that toggle groups of band
checkboxes on or off; these allow you to, for example, enable all three WARC
bands with a single mouse click, or disable the 6m, 4m, 2m, and 1.25m VHF
bands with two mouse clicks. The Spot Database Display will not show Spot Database entries with
frequencies in bands having Band Filter boxes un-checked. If Commander
is running, checking the Transceiver Band Only box will automatically
keep the Band filter set only show spots for your transceiver's current band;
this feature is currently limited to 160m through 2m. SpotCollector retains a
history of the most recent 16 Band filter configurations; you can navigate
within this history using the Band filter's
and
buttons to travel backwards and forwards respectively.
If you check the Enable Start/End & Max Origin DX Filtering box, then you can optionally specify the following additional filtering rules for each band individually:
a starting and ending UTC time (either an absolute time, or as an offset in minutes from the current Sunrise or Sunset time)
a maximum distance between your QTH location and the closest station to have spotted the DX station, in miles or kilometers
When you specify a band's Start UTC or End UTC settings, Spot Database Entries whose frequencies are in this band will only be visible when the current UTC time is after the Start UTC and before the End UTC specified for that band. To temporarily disable "Start/End UTC" filtering for all bands, check the Ignore panel's Start & End times box.
You can only modify a band's starting UTC time, ending UTC time, or maximum distance to closest spotting station if that band's Enable box is unchecked. Typically, one would uncheck a band's Enable box, specify or update these settings, and then check the band's Enable box to put those settings into action. To specify an absolute UTC time, simply enter that time; for example, if you want to filter out spot database entries that occur on 80m before 0900Z, then enter 0900 into the 80m band's Start UTC textbox. To specify a UTC time relative to sunrise or sunset, use the format SR+X, SR-X, SS+X, or SS-X where SR refers to the current sunrise time, SS refers to the current sunset time, and X is an offset in minutes. To filter out spot database entries that occur on 160m starting 45 minutes after sunrise, for example, type SR+45 into the 160m band's End UTC textbox.
You can specify the current sunrise and sunset times in the Band Filter window's Sunrise & Sunset panel, but you must check the Ignore panel's Start & End times box before modifying the Sunrise UTC or Sunset UTC and then uncheck the Ignore panel's Start & End times box after completing these modifications. If you are running DXView version 2.8.9 or later, the Sunrise UTC or Sunset UTC will automatically be updated at 0Z each day, eliminating the need to manually keep these settings up to date.
If you type a distance into a band's Max origin DX textbox, the band's Enable box will be disabled. After completing the entry or modification of this distance, check the band's Enable box; only Spot Database Entries on this band whose distance to the closest spotting station is equal to or less than the specified Max origin DX will be visible in the Spot Database Display. To temporarily disable "maximum distance to closest spotting station" filtering for all bands, check the Ignore panel's Max origin DX box.
SpotCollector can be configured to determine a spotting station's location as a Maidenhead gridsquare by
extracting the spotting station's gridsquare from spot notes, if present: enable Capture location info from notes
capturing the spotting station's gridsquare provided by DX clusters running DX Spider software that have been enabled with the set/dxgrid command
if the spotting station's gridsquare has not been extracted from spot notes or provided by a DX cluster, by performing a lookup on the spotting station's callsign in the DXCC or USAP database: enable Lookup missing location info
If desired, you can place the set/dxgrid command in the Spot Sources tab's initial cluster command so that SpotCollector will automatically configure all enabled clusters to provide spotting station GridSquares when connecting to the cluster.
Filtering by Mode
The Mode filter enables you to display only unhidden Spot Database entries for DX stations spotted in specified modes; clicking the Filter panel's Mode button displays the Mode Filter window, with checkboxes for several amateur modes. The Spot Database Display will not show Spot Database entries with modes having Mode Filter boxes un-checked.
Filtering by Continent
The Continent filter enables you to display only unhidden Spot database entries for DX stations located in specified continents; clicking the Filter panel's Cont button displays the Continent Filter window, with checkboxes for each of the six continents. The Spot Database Display will not show Spot Database entries with continents having Continent Filter boxes unchecked. Unchecking the Continent filter's ? (unknown) checkbox is an effective way to suppress the display of Spots whose callsigns do not map to a DXCC entity; such Spots are generally bogus.
Filtering by Origin
The Origin filter enables you to display only unhidden Spot Database entries for DX stations spotted from specified geographic locations; clicking the Filter panel's Origin button displays the Origin Filter window, with checkboxes for the geographic locations shown in the following table. The Spot Database Display will not show Spot Database entries not spotted from any geographic location having Origin Filter boxes checked. Note that a particular DX station may have been spotted from multiple geographic locations.
| Origin Checkbox | Geographic Location |
| NA-E | the North American east coast |
| NA-M | the North American mid-west |
| NA-W | the North American west coast |
| SA | South America |
| EU | Europe |
| AF | Africa |
| AS | Asia |
| OC | Oceania |
| ? | unknown |
To avoid long, complex expressions in the Filter panel caption's display of the current filter, the following convention is used:
if any Band filter checkbox is unchecked, the word Band appears in the current filter
if any Mode filter checkbox is unchecked, the word Mode appears in the current filter
if any Continent filter checkbox is unchecked, the word Continent appears in the current filter
if any Origin filter checkbox is unchecked, the word Origin appears in the current filter
Thus if the Filter panel caption is
Filter: Band and Mode and [call=VK9NS]
then the Spot Database Display is showing unhidden Spot Database entries whose callsign is VK9NS with specific filtering by Band and Mode, but with no filtering by Continent or Origin. To see exactly which Bands and Modes are being filtered, you can click the Filter panel's Band and Mode buttons.
To clear the all filters, depress the CTRL key while clicking the button labeled X to the immediate right of the General Expression textbox. This clears the General filter, checks all boxes in the Band, Mode, Continent, and Origin context filters, and unhides all entries in the Spot Database Display. Thus the Spot Database Display shows all Spot Database Entries.
If the LotW callsign database LotW.mdb is present in SpotCollector's Database folder at startup, you can display only Spot Database Entries whose callsigns are known to participate in the ARRL's Logbook of the World by checking the Filter panel's LotW box.
You can hide an individual Spot Database Entry by right-clicking it, and choosing the Hide option in the resulting pop-up menu.
To un-hide one or more hidden Spot Database Entries, click the Filter panel's AutoHide button to display SpotCollector's AutoHide Filter window, and check the Display only hidden Spot Database Entries box; the Spot Database Display will now show only hidden entries that match the General and Context filters. You can un-hide an individual entry by right-clicking it, and choosing the Un-hide option in the resulting pop-up menu. Alternatively, you can click the AutoHide Filter window's Un-hide button to un-hide all entries shown in the Spot Database Display.
You can configure SpotCollector to automatically hide the Spot Database Entry for any spot whose notes contain one of 16 words you specify. To enable this functionality,
click the Filter panel's AutoHide button to display SpotCollector's AutoHide Filter window
in the AutoHide Filter window's word list, key in the words that will trigger automatic hiding
check the AutoHide Filter window's Enable Automatic Hiding... box
SQL filters enable complete control over the display of Spot Database Entries through the specification of SQL expressions that reference Spot Database fields. You can specify up to 16 SQL filters, organized as two groups of 8.
With the Filter panel's SB box unchecked, its eight SQL filter buttons provide access to SQL filters 1 to 8; with the SB box checked, the buttons provide access to SQL filters 9 to 16. . Depressing the Ctrl key while clicking an SQL filter button displays SpotCollector's SQL Filter window, which allows you to specify a button caption and SQL expression for each of the 16 SQL filters. At the top of the SQL Filter window, the Spot Database fields selector lists the name of each Spot Database Entry field; double-clicking in an SQL expression textbox in this window will append the selected field name to that textbox.
When you click one of the Filter panel's eight SQL filter buttons, the Spot Database is filtered using the SQL expression associated with the clicked button, completely ignoring the Need, Call, DXCC, Freq, Band, Mode, Continent, Origin, and Hidden filters. The Filter panel caption indicates an active SQL filter with the word SQL followed by the caption of the SQL filter button you clicked within square brackets, for example
Filter: SQL [DX 80]
An SQL filter remains in force until you click another SQL filter, or until you click the Filter panel's Need, Call, DXCC, or Freq filter buttons.
Before executing an SQL filter expression, SpotCollector replaces any occurrence of
<FILTERTEXTBOX>
in the expression with the contents of the Filter panel's General Expression textbox. This enables you to create SQL filters that reference a callsign, band, DXCC prefix, etc. that you specify.
Here's a sample SQL filter expression an east coast DXer might use to display DX spots on 80m:
(Band='80m') and ((Origin='NA-E') or (Origin='NA-M')) and ((Cont='EU') or (Cont='SA') or (Cont='AS') or (Cont='OC'))
When activated, this SQL filter will display only Spot Database entries for stations
and
and
A online reference for SQL as supported by the Microsoft Jet engine, which is incorporated in both SpotCollector and Microsoft Access, is available at http://www.devguru.com/Technologies/jetsql/quickref/jet_sql_intro.html .
When you left-click on a Spot Database Entry, SpotCollector notifies the DXLab application DXView, which if running displays information about the DX station's location -- latitude and longitude, beam heading, distance, local time, CQ zone, and ITU zone -- and highlights that location on a world map with a blue dot connected to your QTH by the signal path; DXView will also convey the location information to PropView. If the Convey DX Grid option is enabled and the DX station's Maidenhead gridsquare has been determined from spot notes, Spot Collector sends the gridsquare to DXView which uses it to plot a more accurate position and beam heading than could be accomplished from the DX callsign alone. Left-clicking a Spot Database Entry action disables AutoScroll if you depressed the Shift key when you clicked on the Spot Database Entry, or if you clicked on the Spot Database Entry's left-most column.
When you right-click on a Spot Database Entry, SpotCollector displays a pop-up menu from which you can choose to
QSY your transceiver to the entry's frequency and mode (if Commander is running)
rotate your antenna to the computed short-path or long-path beam heading to the entry's location (if DXView is running)
display cumulative spot notes for the entry in a Spot Notes window (if enabled); new spot notes for the entry will be appended to the display as they arrive
lookup previously logged QSOs (if DXKeeper is running), DX information (if DXView is running), and QSL routes (if Pathfinder is running)
display award status for the entry's DXCC entity, callsign, band, and mode
generate a propagation forecast to the entry's location (if PropView and DXView are both running)
create an entity override for the entry's callsign
hide or un-hide the entry
copy the entry's callsign, frequency, mode, last time, DXCC prefix, and DXCC country to the Windows clipboard
When you double-click on a Spot Database Entry, SpotCollector's notifies the DXLab applications DXView, DXKeeper, WinWarbler, Pathfinder, and Commander if they are currently running, and sends them information as described below. If you have specified a Digital Mode Application other than WinWarbler -- like MultiPSK -- then SpotCollector sends it information as described below.
If the DX station's Maidenhead gridsquare has been determined from spot notes or a DXCC or USAP database lookup, Spot Collector sends the gridsquare to DXView, to the Digital Mode Application, and to DXKeeper for logging.
PropView generates a propagation forecast if both it and DXView are running, and if the Request Prop Forecast box is checked
DXView displays information about the DX station's location -- latitude and longitude, Maidenhead gridsquare, beam heading, distance, local time, CQ zone, and ITU zone -- and highlights that location on a world map with a blue dot connected to your QTH by the signal path
if you depress the Ctrl key while double-clicking on a Spot Database Entry with both DXView and DXKeeper running, then DXView will rotate your antenna to the computed short-path beam heading
if you depress the Alt key while double-clicking on a Spot Database Entry with both DXView and DXKeeper running, then DXView will rotate your antenna to the computed long-path beam heading
Pathfinder captures the the Entry's callsign, and initiates the designated automatic search if one is specified
filters its Log Page Display to show previous QSOs with the station's base callsign, or previous QSOs with the station's DXCC entity as specified by the setting in SpotCollector's Log Filter panel
places the DX station's callsign, frequency, and mode into the appropriate fields of its Capture window so that you can log your QSO with a single click after entering the additional information gained during the conversation
If the specified Digital Mode Application is WinWarbler, and WinWarbler is running, then WinWarbler
if the DX station's mode is PSK31 or PSK63, switches to the correct mode and arranges for the current PSK receive pane to copy the DX station by
directing Commander to set the transceiver to USB or LSB as specified by WinWarbler's soundcard PSK modulation setting
directing Commander to set the transceiver frequency to the spot frequency less WinWarbler's soundcard PSK optimal offset setting if its soundcard PSK modulation setting is USB,
directing Commander to set the transceiver frequency to the spot frequency plus WinWarbler's soundcard PSK optimal offset setting if its soundcard PSK modulation setting is LSB,
setting the current receive pane's audio offset to the soundcard PSK optimal offset frequency
placing the station's callsign in the call textbox in WinWarbler's QSO Info panel.
If the DX station's mode is RTTY, arranges for the current RTTY receive pane to copy the DX station by
directing Commander to set the transceiver to the correct frequency and mode as a function of WinWarbler's settings (Transceiver mode, RTTY Mark Offset) for the current receive pane (Soundcard RTTY or External RTTY modem)
setting the current receive pane's frequency
placing the station's callsign in the call textbox in WinWarbler's QSO Info panel.
If the DX station's mode is CW and the CW mode panel panel is set to CW via Digital Mode Application,
directs Commander to set the transceiver to the correct frequency and mode as a function of WinWarbler's CW Mode setting
places the station's callsign in the call textbox in WinWarbler's QSO Info panel.
if the DX station's mode is SSB, AM, or FM, and the corresponding box in the Phone modes panel is checked,
directs Commander to set the transceiver to the correct frequency and mode
places the station's callsign in the call textbox in WinWarbler's QSO Info panel.
if the DX station's mode is other than PSK31, PSK63, RTTY, CW, SSB, AM, or FM,
directs Commander to set the transceiver to the spotted frequency and either USB (if above 10 MHz) or LSB (if below 10 MHz)
places the station's callsign in the call textbox in WinWarbler's QSO Info panel.
If the specified Digital Mode Application is other than WinWarbler, and the Digital Mode Application is running, then the Digital Mode Application
if the DX station's mode is other than USB, LSB, AM, FM, or CW, switches to the correct mode (if supported) and arrange to copy the DX station
If the DX station's mode is CW and the CW mode panel panel is set to CW via Digital Mode Application, switches to the CW mode (if supported) and arranges to copy the DX station
if the DX station's mode is SSB, AM, or FM, and the corresponding box in the Phone modes panel is checked, switches to the correct mode (if supported) and arranges to copy the DX station
If the specified Digital Mode Application isn't running, then Commander QSYs your transceiver to the DX station's frequency and changes its mode to the DX station's mode, where the mode is determined by spot notes, spot frequency, and settings in the CW mode panel and RTTY mode panel.
If the spot notes indicate that the station is operating in split mode and the Set Xcvr Split box is checked, Commander will place your transceiver in split mode (if supported) and set the alternate VFO to the reported split frequency; the words and abbreviations QSX, worked, wkd. wkd, up, down, dwn, and dn are assumed to indicate split operation.
Double-clicking a Spot Database Entry disables AutoScroll if you depressed the Shift key when you clicked on the Spot Database Entry, or if you double-clicked on the Spot Database Entry's left-most column.
SpotCollector maintains a history of up to 64 selected
spots. The and
buttons traverse that history backwards and forwards respectfully, QSYing the transceiver if Commander
is running.
You can scroll through the entries in the Spot Database using the vertical scrollbar along the right-hand margin of the Spot Database Display. A set of four VCR-style buttons located above the vertical scrollbar give you one-click access to the first, previous, next, and last Spot Database Entry. Clicking the last button places the Spot Database Display in Autoscroll mode; with Autoscroll mode enabled, new Spot Database entries are added to the Spot Database Display, and the display scrolls vertically to make these new entries visible. While this is convenient when scanning for DX, the automatic scrolling can be problematic when inspecting an entry in detail. Vertically or horizontally scrolling the Spot Database Display, or navigating via the first, previous, or next buttons disables Autoscroll mode so that the selected entry remains visible even as new entries are added to the Spot Database; clicking or double-clicking a Spot Database Entry while depressing the Shift key also disables Autoscroll mode, as does clicking or double-clicking a Spot Database Entry in its left-most column. When Autoscroll is disabled, the words "Autoscroll Disabled" blink in blue font beneath the first, previous, last, and next buttons. If new Spot Database entries are added while Autoscroll is disabled, the words "Autoscroll Disabled" blink in red font. Enabling Autoscroll mode by clicking the last button will display the new Spot Database entries, and clear the "Autoscroll Disabled" notification.
Clicking the Report button generates a report with one entry for each visible Spot Datbase entry, and places that report in a file in SpotCollector''s Reports subfolder. This fixed-format report includes the following items:
Callsign
DXCC country
Frequency
Mode
Date/Time of first spot
Date/Time of most recent spot
Spotting station
Spot Notes
To delete a Spot Database Entry, click in it's left-most column - a black triangle will appear in this column, and the entire entry will be highlighted - and then strike the Delete key, or the CTRL-X key; if the Confirm spot deletion setting is enabled, a dialog box will appear asking you to confirm the deletion. This can be used to eliminate erroneous spots.
Controls in the Spot Database window's Outgoing spot panel enable you to generate both local and DXCluster spots. In either case, enter the callsign of the DX station to be spotted in the panel's Call textbox, and 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 panel's X button will clear the Notes textbox. If Commander is running, the transceiver frequency will be used as the outgoing spot frequency, and is displayed in the panel; if Commander is not running, type the spot frequency in kilohertz into the freq textbox.
Clicking the Cluster button will compose and forward a spot to the DXCluster whose Spot radio button is selected in the Telnet panel on the Configuration window's Spot Sources tab. If you are spotting via the CQDX IRC Channel, your spot will be handled by that channel's spotting robot, which is normally DXS. If DXS is unavailable, however, you must specify the DDX backup spotting robot. If the Cluster button is disabled ("grayed out"), you must specify the DXCluster that will convey your outgoing spots by selecting a Spot radio button.
Clicking the Local button will enter the spot in your Spot Database as if it had been received by a spot source, with your callsign shown as the Network.
Clicking the Cluster or Local button enables Autoscroll mode.
Striking Ctrl-Enter in the panel's Call or Notes textboxes is equivalent to clicking the Cluster button. Striking Ctrl-Del in either of these textboxes will clear their contents.
If the Spot
Xcvr split setting is enabled and Commander
is running (version 5.9.2 or later), then the Notes textbox will track the current transceiver split frequency, e.g. "up
2.5" or "dn 1"; if Commander
indicates that the transceiver is not in split mode, then the Notes
textbox will be cleared.
SpotCollector keeps track of the number of new spot database entries created during the most recent 60 minutes. Two sets of statistics are computed: by-band and by-continent. The by-band statistics are captured for 160m through 2m and are subject to the Mode filter, Continent filter, and Origin filter settings; the by-continent statistics are subject to the Band filter, Mode filter, and Origin filter settings. Spot statistics are presented in the Statistics window, which you can view by clicking the main window's Stats button. Newly created spot database entries immediately update the spot statistics. Periodically, the statistics are updated to exclude spots older than 60 minutes; this rate is controlled by the Update Interval setting in the Spot Statistics panel on the Config window's Spot Database tab. When SpotCollector starts, it scans the spot database for any entries less than 60 minutes old and initializes the spot statistics accordingly.
If Commander is running (version 6.6.4 or later), clicking the band button above a by-band statistic will QSY the transceiver to that band.
The Statistics window's Reset button clears all spot statistics.
The only limit to the growth of SpotCollector's Spot Database is the amount of free storage on its storage volume. Use the facilities of the Size Limit panel on the Configuration window's Spot Database tab to periodically prune the size of the Spot Database, or clear it entirely.
SpotCollector monitors each DXCluster and the #CQDX IRC channel for WWV announcements. Data from the most recent announcement is shown in the Spot Display window's WWV panel.
| Parameter | Description |
| SFI | Solar flux index |
| A | Boulder A index |
| K | Boulder K index |
SpotCollector maintains a history of these parameters in the file SolarHistory.txt; to graphically display the last 31 days of history, click the WWV panel's history button; depressing the CTRL key while clicking the history button ensures that the window containing the solar history display is never obscured by other windows.. The checkboxes below the display let you examine trends in the SFI, A, and K parameters either individually, or together. Since the sun completes a revolution every 27 days, its behavior 27 days ago is often helpful in predicting current behavior; this point in time is highlighted in red font.
Descriptions of these parameters and their role in HF
radio propagation are described in the many links available in AC6V's excellent Propagation
page. PropView
automatically references these parameters when generating its prediction of
minimum and maximum useable frequencies between specified locations over a
24-hour period.
SpotCollector performs lookups in a DXCC database to determine a callsign's DXCC entity and as much location information as can be unambiguously determined from that callsign -- e.g. CQ zone, ITU zone, and IOTA tag. If DXView is installed, then SpotCollector uses the DXCC database located in the DXCC.mdb file in DXView's Databases sub-folder; If DXView is not installed, then SpotCollector uses the DXCC database located in the DXCC.mdb file in SpotCollector's own Databases sub-folder.
Due to the policies of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the DXCC database cannot unambiguously determine location information from callsigns issued to stations in the United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, and American Samoa. To accurately determine location information from callsigns in these DXCC entities, an optional US and Possessions (USAP) database is available. When present in either DXView's or SpotCollector's Databases sub-folder, SpotCollector uses the USAP database to determine location information for callsigns in these entities. The current USAP database is available here.
Occasionally, stations use callsigns that the DXCC and USAP databases cannot unambiguously or correctly map to the DXCC entity in which the station is operating. To address such situations SpotCollector permits the definition of Entity Overrides.
