Connect to the Reverse Beacon Network¶
The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) provides automated CW, RTTY, and digital skimmer spots. This page shows how to configure and connect AetherSDR's RBN telnet feed so that RBN spots appear on your panadapter.
Before you start¶
- Know the RBN telnet server hostname and port (the public server is
telnet.reversebeacon.net, port7000for CW skimmers). - Know the callsign you will use to log in to the RBN.
- Spots will only appear on the panadapter if the master spot overlay is enabled (
IsSpotsEnableddefaults to Enabled).
Steps¶
- Open
Settings > SpotHub.... - Click the RBN tab.
- In the Server: field, enter the RBN telnet hostname (e.g.,
telnet.reversebeacon.net). This persists asRbnHost. - Set Port: to the telnet port for the skimmer feed you want. Valid range: 1–65535. This persists as
RbnPort. - In the Callsign: field, enter your callsign. This persists as
RbnCallsign. - If the RBN feed produces more spots than you need, set Rate Limit: to cap the number of spots processed per second. This persists as
RbnRateLimit. - Click Connect. The button label changes to Disconnect when the session is established, and the RBN Console shows incoming traffic.
- To have AetherSDR connect to the RBN automatically on every launch, enable Auto-connect on startup. This persists as
RbnAutoConnect.
What each control does¶
| Control | Behavior | Setting key |
|---|---|---|
| Server: | RBN telnet hostname | RbnHost |
| Port: | RBN telnet port | RbnPort |
| Callsign: | Login callsign sent to RBN | RbnCallsign |
| Rate Limit: | Maximum RBN spots accepted per second | RbnRateLimit |
| Connect / Disconnect | Toggles the RBN telnet session | — |
| Auto-connect on startup | Connects to RBN automatically on launch | RbnAutoConnect |
| RBN Console | Read-only display of raw RBN traffic | — |
| Send | Sends a typed command to the RBN session | — |
| Spot Color: | Opens a color picker for RBN spots on the panadapter | RbnSpotColor |
| Spot Lines: | Draws vertical lines from the spectrum up to each spot label. Disable during contests to reduce visual clutter. | IsSpotsLinesEnabled |
| Total Spots: | Live readout of how many spots are currently tracked across all sources. Updated whenever spots are added or cleared. Resets to 0 when Clear All Spots is pressed. | — |
| Auto: | Automatically switch slice mode when clicking a spot that includes mode info (e.g. CW, FT8, RTTY). | SpotAutoSwitchMode |
| Signals (Signal History) | Gold markers for detected voice-width signals on the panadapter. | SHistoryMarkersEnabled |
| QRM (Signal History) | Red markers for persistent carriers and wideband interference. | SHistoryQrmEnabled |
| Clear All | Clears all DX spots, memory feed, Signal History markers and QRM markers from the spectrum. | — |
| Override Colors: | Forces a single text color for all spots. Button is always labelled Enabled and changes to checked/ unchecked state. | IsSpotsOverrideColorsEnabled |
| Spot text color picker | Opens QColorDialog to pick spot text color. | SpotsOverrideColor |
| Override Background: Enabled | Enables custom spot background color. | IsSpotsOverrideBackgroundColorsEnabled |
| Override Background: Auto | Auto-picks background color for contrast. | IsSpotsOverrideToAutoBackgroundColorEnabled |
| Spot background color picker | Opens QColorDialog for spot background color. | SpotsOverrideBgColor |
| Background Opacity: | Opacity of spot background color (0-100). | SpotsBackgroundOpacity |
| DXCC Coloring (section) | Section header for DXCC coloring controls in the left column below the divider. | — |
| DXCC Colors: | Colors spots by worked/confirmed/needed DXCC status. Button is always labelled Enabled. | IsDxccColoringEnabled |
| Log File (ADIF): | Loads an ADIF log file to drive DXCC coloring. Auto-watches the file for changes after selection. | DxccAdifFilePath |
| Imported: (DXCC stats) | Shows QSO count and entity count when a log is loaded. | — |
| DXCC Color swatches (New DXCC / New Band / New Mode / Worked) | Opens a color picker for each DXCC status category. | DxccColorNewEntity, DxccColorNewBand, DxccColorNewMode, DxccColorWorked |
| Signal History (section) | Section header for Signal History tunables in the right column below the divider. | — |
| Marker Lifetime: | How long an inactive Signal History marker persists before being removed (15-300 sec). | SHistoryLifetimeS |
| QRM Gate: | How long a narrow carrier or wideband signal must persist before being classified as QRM (3-30 sec). | SHistoryQrmGateS |
| Edge Threshold: | Threshold above noise floor for the slope edge walk that refines the S-History carrier-side edge (1.0-10.0 dB). | SHistorySoftEdgeDb |
| Signal History color swatches (Signals / QRM) | Opens a color picker for the voice signal markers (gold) and QRM markers (red). | SHistoryColorSignals, SHistoryColorQrm |
| Snap to Step: | Rounds S-History click-to-tune to the nearest multiple of the active slice's step size, hiding the small carrier offset. Button is always labelled Enabled. | SHistorySnapToStep |
Double-clicking a spot now forwards mode hints¶
Starting in v0.9.7, double-clicking a row in the Spot List tab tunes the receiver to the spot frequency and also switches the receiver mode to match the spot. For example, double-clicking a CW spot switches the receiver to CW, and double-clicking an FT8 spot switches it to the appropriate digital mode, rather than only changing the frequency. The mode is resolved from the spot comment by the SpotModeResolver logic shared across all spot sources.
Spot Lines¶
The Display tab now includes a Spot Lines: toggle (new in v0.9.7). When Enabled (the default), AetherSDR draws a short vertical line from the spectrum trace up to each spot label on the panadapter, making it easier to see exactly which frequency a spot corresponds to. Set it to Disabled during contests or other high-spot-density operating sessions to reduce visual clutter. This persists as IsSpotsLinesEnabled.
Toggle button labels simplified¶
In v26.6.3, the Override Colors:, DXCC Colors:, Spot Lines:, and Snap to Step: toggle buttons on the Display tab no longer change their text between Enabled and Disabled when clicked. Instead, the button always displays its default label (e.g., Enabled) and uses its checked/unchecked visual state (depressed or raised) to indicate the current setting. This applies to:
- Override Colors: (setting
IsSpotsOverrideColorsEnabled) - Spot Lines: (setting
IsSpotsLinesEnabled) - DXCC Colors: (setting
IsDxccColoringEnabled) - Snap to Step: (setting
SHistorySnapToStep)
All other toggle buttons throughout the SpotHub dialog continue to display text reflecting their on/off state.
Theme-aware styling¶
Starting in v26.6.1, the SpotHub dialog uses theme-aware styling. The status labels and tab bar colors now respect the selected theme, using semantic color tokens such as {{color.accent}}, {{color.text.label}}, and {{color.accent.danger}} instead of hardcoded hex values. This means status indicators (Connected, Disconnected, Error) automatically adjust their colors when you change themes.
Auto Mode default change¶
In v0.9.5.1 the Auto Mode: toggle on the Display tab defaults to Enabled for new installations. The setting persists as SpotAutoSwitchMode. Existing installations where the value has been saved explicitly are not affected.
Tips¶
- The RBN Console is read-only and shows raw telnet lines as they arrive. Use the Send command line below it to issue filter commands directly to the RBN server (e.g.,
set/skimmeror band-filter commands supported by the RBN). - If the panadapter becomes cluttered during a contest, lower Rate Limit: to reduce spot density without disconnecting. You can also disable Spot Lines: on the Display tab to reduce visual clutter further.
- To change how spots look on the panadapter — size, position, lifetime, and stacking — see Tune spot density, position, font size and lifetime.
- RBN spots use the color set by Spot Color: on the RBN tab. To override all spot source colors with a single color, use the Override Colors: toggle on the Display tab.
Troubleshooting¶
- Connect button returns to Connect immediately with an error in the console — The hostname or port is wrong, or the RBN server is unreachable. Verify
RbnHostandRbnPortand check your network connection. - No spots appear on the panadapter after connecting — Confirm that Spots: on the Display tab is set to Enabled (
IsSpotsEnabled). Also check that the band you are monitoring is not hidden in the Spot List tab band filter checkboxes. - Panadapter is flooded with spots — Reduce Rate Limit: to a lower value to cap incoming spot rate. Alternatively, disable Spot Lines: (
IsSpotsLinesEnabled) on the Display tab to make dense spot areas easier to read without reducing the number of spots shown. - Double-clicking a spot changes frequency but does not change mode — The spot comment may not contain a recognizable mode token. Mode switching depends on the spot comment containing a known mode string (e.g.,
CW,FT8,SSB). If the spotter did not include a mode in the comment, only the frequency changes. - Toggle buttons do not show Enabled/Disabled text change — This is expected behavior starting in v26.6.3. The Override Colors:, Spot Lines:, DXCC Colors:, and Snap to Step: buttons always display Enabled regardless of state. Their checked/unchecked visual state indicates whether the feature is active.