Enable DXCC Coloring from an ADIF Log¶
DXCC coloring lets AetherSDR mark panadapter spots by whether the DX entity has been worked, confirmed, or is still needed, based on contacts in your ADIF log file. This helps you quickly distinguish new entities from ones you have already logged.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be running. A radio connection is not required to configure this feature.
- You need an ADIF log file exported from your logging software. The file must use the standard
.adior.adifformat. - At least one spot source (DX cluster, RBN, WSJT-X, POTA, etc.) should be active so spots appear on the panadapter.
Steps¶
- Open
Settings > SpotHub.... - Click the Display tab.
- Click the DXCC Colors: toggle button to enable it. The button activates DXCC coloring (
IsDxccColoringEnabled). - Click Log File (ADIF): to open a file chooser. Select your ADIF log file. The path is stored in
DxccAdifFilePath. - Confirm the DXCC stats indicator updates to show the number of QSOs and entities imported from the file.
- Optionally click the color swatches for New DXCC, New Band, New Mode, and Worked to customize the color assigned to each DXCC status category.
What each control does¶
| Control | Behavior | Setting key |
|---|---|---|
| DXCC Colors: | Master toggle. Colors panadapter spots by worked/confirmed/needed DXCC status. | IsDxccColoringEnabled (changed from DxccColoringEnabled in v26.5.1) |
| Log File (ADIF): | Opens a file picker. The chosen ADIF file is read to populate DXCC status. Auto-watches the file for changes after selection. | DxccAdifFilePath (changed from DxccAdifPath in v26.5.1) |
| Imported: | Shows QSO count and entity count when a log is loaded. Format: <N> QSOs / <M> entities. |
— |
| New DXCC color swatch | Opens a color picker for the color assigned to never-worked DXCC entities. | DxccColorNewEntity (new in v26.5.1) |
| New Band color swatch | Opens a color picker for the color assigned to DXCC entities worked on other bands but needed on the current band. | DxccColorNewBand (new in v26.5.1) |
| New Mode color swatch | Opens a color picker for the color assigned to DXCC entities worked on other modes but needed on the current mode. | DxccColorNewMode (new in v26.5.1) |
| Worked color swatch | Opens a color picker for the color assigned to fully-worked and confirmed DXCC entities. | DxccColorWorked (new in v26.5.1) |
| Spots: | Master toggle for DX spot overlay on the panadapter. | IsSpotsEnabled |
| Memories: | Toggles memory-channel overlay on the panadapter. | IsMemorySpotsEnabled |
| Auto: | Automatically switch slice mode when clicking a spot that includes mode info (e.g. CW, FT8, RTTY). | SpotAutoSwitchMode (changed from SpotsAutoMode in v26.5.1) |
| Signals (Signal History) | Gold markers for detected voice-width signals on the panadapter. New in v26.5.1 (#2426). Same toggle as View > Signal History Markers. | SHistoryMarkersEnabled (new in v26.5.1) |
| QRM (Signal History) | Red markers for persistent carriers and wideband interference. New in v26.5.1 (#2426). Same toggle as View > QRM History Markers. | SHistoryQrmEnabled (new in v26.5.1) |
| Clear All | Clears all DX spots, memory feed, Signal History markers and QRM markers from the spectrum. | — |
| Levels: | Number of vertical stacking rows for spots (1–10). | SpotsMaxLevel |
| Position: | Vertical position on panadapter (0–100%). | SpotsStartingHeightPercentage |
| Font Size: | Spot text size (8–32). | SpotFontSize |
| Spot Lifetime: | Seconds before a spot fades away (10 sec – 24 hrs, non-linear steps). | DxClusterSpotLifetimeSec |
| Override Colors: | Forces a single text color for all spots. | IsSpotsOverrideColorsEnabled |
| Spot text color picker | Opens QColorDialog to pick spot text color when Override Colors is enabled. Default #FFFF00. | SpotsOverrideColor |
| Override Background: Enabled | Enables custom spot background color. | IsSpotsOverrideBackgroundColorsEnabled |
| Override Background: Auto | Auto-picks background color for contrast when custom background is enabled. | IsSpotsOverrideToAutoBackgroundColorEnabled |
| Spot background color picker | Opens QColorDialog for spot background color. Default #000000. | SpotsOverrideBgColor |
| Background Opacity: | Opacity of spot background color (0–100%). Default 48. | SpotsBackgroundOpacity |
| Spot Lines: | Draws vertical lines from the spectrum up to each spot label. Disable during contests to reduce visual clutter. Default enabled. The toggle button always displays "Enabled". | IsSpotsLinesEnabled |
| DXCC Coloring (section) | Section header for DXCC coloring controls in the left column below the divider. | — |
| Signal History (section) | Section header for Signal History tunables in the right column below the divider. New in v26.5.1 (#2506). | — |
| Marker Lifetime: | How long an inactive Signal History marker persists before being removed (15–300 sec). Default 60 s. New in v26.5.1. | SHistoryLifetimeS (new in v26.5.1) |
| QRM Gate: | How long a narrow carrier or wideband signal must persist before being classified as QRM (3–30 sec). Default 6 s. New in v26.5.1. | SHistoryQrmGateS (new in v26.5.1) |
| Edge Threshold: | Threshold above noise floor for the slope edge walk that refines the S-History carrier-side edge (1.0–10.0 dB). Default 3.0 dB. Lower = closer to carrier but more noise-sensitive. New in v26.5.1. | SHistorySoftEdgeDb (new in v26.5.1) |
| Signals color swatch | Opens a color picker for the voice signal markers (gold). Default #FFC800. New in v26.5.1. | SHistoryColorSignals (new in v26.5.1) |
| QRM color swatch | Opens a color picker for the QRM markers (red). Default #FF0000. New in v26.5.1. | SHistoryColorQrm (new in v26.5.1) |
| 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. Default disabled. The toggle button always displays "Enabled". New in v26.5.1. | SHistorySnapToStep (new in v26.5.1) |
| Total Spots: | Live readout of how many spots are currently tracked across all sources. Updated whenever spots are added or cleared. | — |
Spot List Tab Band Checkboxes¶
The Spot List tab contains per-band checkboxes that filter which bands appear in the spot table. As of v26.7.4, these checkboxes use a flow layout so that when the SpotHub dialog is narrow, the checkboxes wrap to a new row rather than being compressed into an unreadable size. The minimum dialog width has been lowered from 680 to 360 pixels to allow the window to be sized down once spot table columns are hidden.
To use the band checkboxes: 1. Click the Spot List tab. 2. Check or uncheck any band name (160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m, 2m, etc.) to show or hide spots on that band in the table. 3. Click Clear to empty the current spot list.
Tuning from the Spot List¶
Double-clicking a row in the Spot List tab tunes the active receiver to that spot's frequency. As of v0.9.7, AetherSDR also forwards the mode derived from the spot comment, so the receiver switches to the appropriate mode (for example, CW or SSB) to match the spot rather than only changing frequency.
Spot List Table Columns¶
The Spot List tab shows a sortable table of all live spots with the following columns: Time, Freq, DX Call, Comment, Spotter, Band, Mode, and Source.
As of v26.8.4, the Time column is now sortable, just like the Freq column. Previously, Time was the only always-visible column that could not be sorted, so clicking its header did nothing and there was no way to return to the default newest-first order once the Freq column had been sorted. Now you can click the Time header to restore or toggle the newest-first ordering.
To tune to a spot from the table:
1. Open Settings > SpotHub... and click the Spot List tab.
2. Optionally click the Time or Freq column headers to sort the table.
3. Double-click any row to tune the active receiver to that spot's frequency and mode.
Cluster and RBN Startup Commands¶
The Cluster and RBN tabs each have a Startup Commands… button that opens an editor for commands sent automatically after every login to that source. New in v26.5.2.1 (#2683).
Steps¶
- Open
Settings > SpotHub.... - Click the Cluster tab or RBN tab.
- Click Startup Commands….
- Type one command per line (for example,
SET/NAME,SET/QTH,ACCEPT/SPOT). - Click Save. The commands are stored separately for each source:
- Cluster tab uses the
DxClusterStartupCommandssetting key. - RBN tab uses the
RbnStartupCommandssetting key.
The commands replay after every connection, including reconnects.
Spot Source Tabs¶
The SpotHub dialog contains a tab for each spot source, plus the unified Spot List and Display tabs:
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Cluster | DX cluster telnet connection with console, startup commands, and spot color picker. |
| RBN | Reverse Beacon Network telnet source with rate limiting, console, startup commands, and spot color picker. |
| WSJT-X | WSJT-X UDP listener with CQ/POTA/Calling Me filters, per-category color pickers, and decode console. |
| SpotCollector | UDP listener for Ham Radio Deluxe SpotCollector broadcasts. |
| POTA | Polls api.pota.app for current activations. |
| FreeDV | WebSocket feed of FreeDV QSO reporter spots. Build-gated by HAVE_WEBSOCKETS. |
| Spot List | Unified searchable table of all live spots with per-band filters. |
| Display | Panadapter spot visualization, Signal History tunables, and DXCC coloring. Reorganised in v26.5.1 (#2506). |
FreeDV Reporter reporting¶
The Station Reporting group on the FreeDV tab lets AetherSDR broadcast your station's activity to the public FreeDV Reporter map at qso.freedv.org whenever the RADE modem is active.
Requirements before enabling¶
- A non-empty callsign must be available, either from the radio (when Use radio (callsign) is checked) or entered manually in the Callsign: field.
- A non-empty Maidenhead grid square must