Spot Settings¶
This page describes the Spot Settings dialog, a quick stand-alone settings window for how DX spots and memories render on the panadapter. It includes toggles, sliders, color overrides, and a clear-all action.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be running.
- At least one panadapter must be open.
Opening the Spot Settings dialog¶
Right-click anywhere on the panadapter, then select the option that opens the Spot Settings overlay.
Controls¶
Spots¶
| Control | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spots: | Toggle button | Enabled | Master toggle for DX spot display. |
| Memories: | Toggle button | Disabled | Toggles memory channel overlays on the panadapter. |
Appearance¶
| Control | Type | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levels: | Slider | 3 | 1-10 | Vertical stacking rows for spots. |
| Position: | Slider | 50 | 0-100 | Vertical position on the panadapter as a percentage. |
| Font Size: | Slider | 16 | 8-32 | Spot text size in points. |
| Spot Lifetime: | Slider | Varies | 10 sec – 24 hrs (non-linear steps) | How long spots remain before fading. The slider uses a non-linear scale from 10 seconds to 24 hours. The value is stored in seconds. |
Color Overrides¶
| Control | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Override Colors: | Toggle button | Disabled | Forces a single text color for all spots. |
| Spot text color picker | Push button | #FFFF00 | Opens a color picker to choose the spot text color. Only active when Override Colors: is Enabled. |
| Override Background: Enabled | Toggle button | Enabled | Draws a background under spot text. |
| Override Background: Auto | Toggle button | Enabled | Auto-picks background color for contrast. |
| Spot background color picker | Push button | #000000 | Opens a color picker for the spot background color. Only active when Override Background: Enabled is Enabled and Override Background: Auto is Disabled. |
| Background Opacity: | Slider | 48 | 0-100 |
Lines¶
| Control | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spot Lines: | Toggle button | Enabled | Draws vertical lines from the spectrum baseline up to each spot label. Disable during contests to reduce visual clutter. |
Clear All Spots¶
| Control | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Clear All Spots | Push button | Clears all currently displayed spots from the panadapter. New spots will continue to arrive normally. |
Indicator¶
| Indicator | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Spots: | Shows the count of live spots currently tracked. |
Steps¶
Clear every spot from the panadapter¶
- Open the Spot Settings dialog.
- Click Clear All Spots.
All spots are immediately removed from the panadapter. New spots will continue to arrive and display normally according to your current settings.
Turn spots on or off¶
- Open the Spot Settings dialog.
- Set Spots: to Enabled or Disabled.
When set to Enabled, the button displays "Enabled" with an active background. When set to Disabled, the button displays "Enabled" with a dimmed background.
Shorten or lengthen spot lifetime¶
- Open the Spot Settings dialog.
- Adjust the Spot Lifetime: slider to your desired duration.
Spots will remain on the panadapter for the configured time before fading.
Change spot density and vertical position¶
- Open the Spot Settings dialog.
- Adjust Levels: to set the number of vertical stacking rows.
- Adjust Position: to set the vertical position on the panadapter.
Customize spot colors¶
- Open the Spot Settings dialog.
- Set Override Colors: to Enabled.
- Click the Spot text color picker button to choose a text color.
- Configure the background:
- Set Override Background: Enabled to Enabled to show a background.
- Set Override Background: Auto to Enabled to let the system pick a contrast color automatically, or set it to Disabled and click the Spot background color picker button to choose a custom color.
- Adjust Background Opacity: to control transparency.
Toggle spot lines¶
- Open the Spot Settings dialog.
- Set Spot Lines: to Enabled or Disabled.
When disabled, vertical lines from the spectrum baseline to each spot label are hidden, reducing visual clutter.
Toggle memory display¶
- Open the Spot Settings dialog.
- Set Memories: to Enabled or Disabled.
Tips¶
- Clear All Spots does not affect incoming spots from your DX cluster or other sources. Spots will reappear as new ones are received.
- The Total Spots: indicator at the bottom of the Spot Settings dialog shows the count of live spots currently tracked. After clearing, this count will reflect only spots received after the clear action.
- To stop spots from appearing entirely, use the Spots: toggle to set it to Disabled instead.
- The Spot Lines: toggle is independent of Clear All Spots. If the panadapter feels visually busy during a contest, set Spot Lines: to Disabled before or after clearing spots to reduce clutter without removing the spot labels themselves.