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Adjust S-History marker lifetime, QRM gate and edge threshold

Fine-tune how Signal History markers behave on the panadapter β€” how long they live, how persistently a signal must hold to be flagged as QRM, and how aggressively the marker edge snaps to the carrier.

Before you start

  • Open SpotHub: Settings > SpotHub...
  • Click the Display tab.

Steps

  1. Under Signal History, adjust Marker Lifetime: by dragging the slider. Inactive markers are removed after this many seconds (range 15–300 sec, default 60). Left double-click the slider to reset to 60.

  2. Adjust QRM Gate: β€” the seconds a narrow carrier or wideband signal must persist before the system classifies it as QRM (range 3–30 sec, default 6). Left double-click the slider to reset to 6.

  3. Adjust Edge Threshold: β€” the dB level above the noise floor for the slope-edge walk that refines a marker's carrier-side edge. A lower value hugs the carrier more tightly but is more noise-sensitive (range 1.0–10.0 dB, default 3.0). Left double-click the slider to reset to 3.0.

  4. Optionally enable Snap to Step: in the Signal History section to round click-to-tune to the nearest active slice step size.

What each control does

Control Label on slider Default Valid range Setting key Notes
Marker Lifetime: 15 sec – 300 sec 60 15–300 sec SHistoryLifetimeS Left double-click resets to 60
QRM Gate: 3 sec – 30 sec 6 3–30 sec SHistoryQrmGateS Left double-click resets to 6
Edge Threshold: 1.0 dB – 10.0 dB 3.0 1.0–10.0 dB SHistorySoftEdgeDb Left double-click resets to 3.0
Snap to Step: toggle button Disabled Enabled / Disabled SHistorySnapToStep Toggle always shows "Enabled" label β€” the text does not change to "Disabled" when toggled off

Tips

  • Marker Lifetime controls voice-bandwidth signal markers (gold by default). QRM markers (red by default) also follow this lifetime β€” they are not separately timed.
  • To see Signal History markers on the panadapter in the first place, enable Signals and/or QRM under the top toggle row in the Display tab. Their persisted keys are SHistoryMarkersEnabled and SHistoryQrmEnabled.
  • Turning on Snap to Step hides the small carrier offset that can appear when clicking an S-History marker; the tune frequency snaps to the next multiple of the active slice's step size.
  • Left double-clicking any slider resets it to its default value, providing a quick way to restore factory behavior without dragging.
  • The Snap to Step toggle button always displays "Enabled" regardless of its state. The current state is indicated by whether the button is visually pressed (checked) or not.

Troubleshooting

  • Markers disappear too quickly β€” Increase Marker Lifetime: to a higher value. Left double-click the slider to reset to the 60-second default.
  • QRM markers appear on weak signals that aren't really interference β€” Raise QRM Gate: so the system requires a longer hold time before classifying the signal as QRM. Left double-click the slider to reset to the 6-second default.
  • Marker edges wobble or jump β€” Increase Edge Threshold: slightly (e.g., from 3.0 to 4.0 dB) to reduce noise sensitivity. Left double-click the slider to reset to the 3.0 dB default.
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