SpotHub overview¶
SpotHub is AetherSDR's central hub for receiving DX spots from multiple sources and displaying them as overlays on the panadapter. Use it to connect to traditional DX clusters, the Reverse Beacon Network, WSJT-X, SpotCollector, POTA, and FreeDV — all from one dialog.
Before you start¶
- Open SpotHub via
Settings > SpotHub.... No radio connection is required. - Have your login callsign ready if you plan to connect to a DX cluster or RBN.
- Have an ADIF log file available if you want DXCC coloring.
How it works¶
SpotHub aggregates spots from up to six independent sources. Each source runs independently — you can enable any combination simultaneously. All incoming spots are merged into a unified list and rendered as frequency markers on the panadapter.
Spots from each source are color-coded separately so you can distinguish their origin at a glance. A global display layer (the Display tab) controls how all spots appear on the panadapter, regardless of source.
Sources¶
Cluster tab — Connects to a DX cluster via a telnet session. You provide the hostname (ClusterHost), port (ClusterPort, 1–65535), and login callsign (ClusterCallsign). The Cluster Console shows raw telnet traffic. You can type cluster commands in the command line field and send them with Send. Spot color is set via Spot Color:, persisted as ClusterSpotColor.
RBN tab — Connects to the Reverse Beacon Network via telnet. Configuration mirrors the Cluster tab: RbnHost, RbnPort (1–65535), RbnCallsign. The Rate Limit: spinbox (RbnRateLimit) caps the number of spots accepted per second, which is useful because RBN traffic volume can be very high. The RBN Console shows raw traffic. Spot color is set via Spot Color: (RbnSpotColor).
WSJT-X tab — Listens for UDP datagrams broadcast by a running WSJT-X instance. Set the bind address (WsjtxAddress) and port (WsjtxPort, 1–65535), then click Start. Three checkboxes filter which decodes appear as spots: CQ (WsjtxFilterCQ), CQ POTA (WsjtxFilterPOTA), and Calling Me (WsjtxFilterCallingMe). Each category has its own color picker: CQ color (WsjtxColorCQ), POTA color (WsjtxColorPOTA), Calling Me color (WsjtxColorCallingMe), and Default color (WsjtxColorDefault). Spot Life: (WsjtxSpotLife) controls how long WSJT-X spots remain on the panadapter. The WSJT-X Decodes console shows the raw decode stream.
SpotCollector tab — Listens on a UDP port for spot broadcasts from Ham Radio Deluxe SpotCollector. Set UDP Port: (SpotCollectorPort, 1–65535) and click Start. The SpotCollector Spots console shows received spots.
POTA tab — Polls api.pota.app over HTTP at a configurable interval (Poll Interval:, PotaPollInterval). The server address is fixed and shown as an indicator. The POTA Activations console shows the activation feed. Spot color is set via Spot Color: (PotaSpotColor).
FreeDV tab — Connects to the FreeDV QSO Reporter via WebSocket at qso.freedv.org. The server address is fixed. The FreeDV Spots console shows activity. Spot color is set via Spot Color: (FreeDvSpotColor). This tab is only present in builds that include WebSocket support.
Auto-connect and auto-start¶
Each source has an Auto-connect on startup or Auto-start on startup toggle. When enabled, that source connects or starts automatically every time AetherSDR launches, without manual intervention. The persisted keys are ClusterAutoConnect, RbnAutoConnect, WsjtxAutoStart, SpotCollectorAutoStart, PotaAutoStart, and FreeDvAutoStart.
Spot List tab¶
The Spot List tab shows a unified, sortable table of all live spots from all active sources. Columns are: Time, Freq (kHz), DX Call, Mode, Comment, Spotter, Band, and Source. Per-band checkboxes under Bands: toggle visibility for each amateur band. Click Clear to empty the current list. Double-click any row to tune the active VFO to that spot's frequency and, where the spot carries mode information (for example CW, FT8, or RTTY), automatically switch the slice to that mode.
Display tab¶
The Display tab controls how spots appear on the panadapter.
| Control | Setting key | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Spots: | IsSpotsEnabled |
Enabled |
| Memories: | IsMemoriesShownOnPanadapter |
Disabled |
| Auto Mode: | SpotsAutoMode |
Enabled |
| Levels: | SpotsStackLevels |
— |
| Position: | SpotsPosition |
— |
| Font Size: | SpotsFontSize |
— |
| Spot Lifetime: | SpotsLifetime |
— |
| Override Colors: | IsSpotsOverrideColorsEnabled |
— |
| Override Background: Enabled | IsSpotsOverrideBackgroundColorsEnabled |
— |
| Override Background: Auto | IsSpotsOverrideToAutoBackgroundColorEnabled |
— |
| Background Opacity: | SpotsOverrideBgOpacity |
48 |
| DXCC Coloring | DxccColoringEnabled |
— |
| Log File (ADIF): | DxccAdifPath |
— |
| Auto-Reload Log: | DxccAutoReload |
— |
| Spot Lines: | IsSpotsLinesEnabled |
Enabled |
| Clear All Spots | — | — |
| 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. |
Spot Lines: draws a vertical line from the spectrum baseline up to each spot label. Disable this during contests to reduce visual clutter. The setting is persisted as IsSpotsLinesEnabled and defaults to Enabled.
Auto Mode defaults to Enabled (SpotsAutoMode defaults to True). If you previously relied on Auto Mode being off by default, verify this setting after upgrading.
FreeDV Reporter reporting¶
The FreeDV tab includes a Station Reporting section that lets AetherSDR broadcast your station activity to the public FreeDV Reporter map at qso.freedv.org whenever the RADE modem is active. This feature is only present in builds compiled with WebSocket support.
Enable reporting¶
- Open the FreeDV tab.
- Fill in a valid callsign and grid square in the Callsign: and Grid Square: fields (see below). The checkbox refuses to enable if either field is blank or unresolvable.
- Check Enable FreeDV Reporter reporting when RADE is active (
FreeDvAutoReport). If the callsign or grid cannot be resolved, a warning dialog appears and the checkbox reverts to unchecked.
Note: Reporter data is published to a community-shared public map. Do not enable reporting with placeholder values.
Callsign field¶
| Control | Setting key | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callsign: | FreeDvMyCallsign |
— | The callsign sent to the FreeDV Reporter map. Field is read-only when Use radio is checked. |
| Use radio | FreeDvUseRadioCallsign |
True | Pre-fills the callsign from the radio's configured callsign and locks the field read-only. Updates automatically if you change the callsign in Radio Setup. |
When Use radio is checked, the field displays the radio's callsign. Uncheck it to enter a callsign manually.
Grid Square field¶
| Control | Setting key | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grid Square: | FreeDvMyGrid |
— | Maidenhead grid square sent to the FreeDV Reporter map. Field is read-only when Use GPS is checked. |
| Use GPS | FreeDvUseGpsGrid |
True | Pre-fills the grid from the radio's GPS module and locks the field read-only. Only shown on radio models that have GPS hardware. |
Station message¶
| Control | Setting key | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Station Msg: | FreeDvMyMessage |
— | Optional free-text message shown beside your callsign on the public FreeDV Reporter map. |
SWR sweep overlay¶
V0.9.4 adds a SWR sweep overlay that plots SWR versus frequency directly on the panadapter. An external source (for example, an antenna analyzer integration) supplies the data by calling setSwrSweepPoints(). The panadapter renders the curve via the internal drawSwrSweep() layer.
Supplying sweep data¶
Call setSwrSweepPoints() with a vector of SwrSweepPoint values. Each point carries two fields:
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
freqMhz |
double |
0.0 |
Frequency of the measurement in MHz. |
swr |
float |
1.0 |
SWR value at that frequency. |
The method signature is:
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
points |
QVector<SwrSweepPoint> |
— | The sweep data to display. |
running |
bool |
false |
Pass true while a sweep is in progress to indicate a live, incomplete trace. |
currentFreqMhz |
double |
-1.0 |
The frequency currently being swept. Pass -1.0 to suppress the cursor. |
sourceLabel |
QString |
(empty) | Optional label identifying the source of the sweep data, shown on the overlay. |
Clearing sweep data¶
Call clearSwrSweepPoints() to remove all sweep data and hide the overlay.
Tips¶
- RBN produces a very high spot rate. Set Rate Limit: to a value your display can handle before connecting, to avoid flooding the panadapter.
- WSJT-X spots are ephemeral by nature. Set Spot Life: to match the FT8 or FT4 transmission cycle length (15 or 7.5 seconds) if you want spots to clear between periods.
- The Calling Me filter in the WSJT-X tab highlights decodes specifically addressed to your callsign, which makes it easy to see when a station is responding to your CQ.
- Auto Mode: defaults to Enabled. It automatically switches the slice mode when you double-click a spot that includes mode information (for example CW, FT8, or RTTY).
- Double-clicking a spot in the Spot List now also forwards the mode hint from the spot comment, so the slice switches to CW, SSB, or the appropriate digital mode automatically — not just the frequency.
- Disable Spot Lines: during contests to reduce visual clutter on the panadapter. Re-enable it afterward to restore the vertical line guides (
IsSpotsLinesEnabled). - Before enabling Enable FreeDV Reporter reporting when RADE is active, confirm your callsign and grid square are correctly set. The checkbox will not enable if either value is blank.
- Call
clearSwrSweepPoints()after a sweep completes if you do not want the finished trace to persist on the panadapter.