Pick colors for each spot source

AetherSDR can display spots from up to six sources simultaneously. Assigning a distinct color to each source makes it easy to tell them apart on the panadapter at a glance.

Before you start

• Open SpotHub: Settings > SpotHub...
• At least one spot source should be configured so you can see the effect of your color choice.

Steps

DX Cluster spot color

1. In SpotHub, click the Cluster tab.
2. Click the Spot Color: button.
3. Choose a color in the color picker that opens and confirm your selection.
4. The new color is saved to ClusterSpotColor and applied immediately to cluster spots on the panadapter.

RBN spot color

1. Click the RBN tab.
2. Click the Spot Color: button.
3. Choose a color and confirm.
4. Saved to RbnSpotColor.

WSJT-X spot colors

WSJT-X supports four separate colors, one per decode category.

1. Click the WSJT-X tab.
2. Click the color button for each category you want to change:
3. CQ color — spots decoded as CQ calls. Saved to WsjtxColorCQ.
4. POTA color — spots decoded as CQ POTA calls. Saved to WsjtxColorPOTA.
5. Calling Me color — decodes addressed to your callsign. Saved to WsjtxColorCallingMe.
6. Default color — all other WSJT-X decodes. Saved to WsjtxColorDefault.
7. Confirm each color in the color picker before moving to the next.

POTA spot color

1. Click the POTA tab.
2. Click the Spot Color: button.
3. Choose a color and confirm.
4. Saved to PotaSpotColor.

FreeDV spot color

1. Click the FreeDV tab.
2. Click the Spot Color: button.
3. Choose a color and confirm.
4. Saved to FreeDvSpotColor.

Note: The FreeDV tab is present only if AetherSDR was built with WebSocket support.

SpotCollector

SpotCollector does not have a dedicated spot-color picker in SpotHub. See the Display tab options below if you need a uniform override for all sources.

What each control does

Control	Tab	Saved setting
Spot Color:	Cluster	ClusterSpotColor
Startup Commands…	Cluster	DxClusterStartupCommands — commands sent automatically after every login (#2683). One command per line.
Spot Color:	RBN	RbnSpotColor
Startup Commands…	RBN	RbnStartupCommands — independent setting from DX cluster startup commands. One command per line.
CQ color	WSJT-X	WsjtxColorCQ
POTA color	WSJT-X	WsjtxColorPOTA
Calling Me color	WSJT-X	WsjtxColorCallingMe
Default color	WSJT-X	WsjtxColorDefault
Spot Color:	POTA	PotaSpotColor
Spot Color:	FreeDV	FreeDvSpotColor
Enable FreeDV Reporter reporting when RADE is active	FreeDV	FreeDvAutoReport
Callsign:	FreeDV — Station Reporting	FreeDvMyCallsign
Use radio (callsign)	FreeDV — Station Reporting	FreeDvUseRadioCallsign
Grid Square:	FreeDV — Station Reporting	FreeDvMyGrid
Use GPS (grid)	FreeDV — Station Reporting	FreeDvUseGpsGrid
Station Msg:	FreeDV — Station Reporting	FreeDvMyMessage
Auto:	Display	SpotAutoSwitchMode — setting key changed from SpotsAutoMode in v26.5.1. Default changed to Enabled in v0.9.5.1.
Signals (Signal History)	Display	SHistoryMarkersEnabled — new in v26.5.1 (#2426). Same toggle as View > Signal History Markers.
QRM (Signal History)	Display	SHistoryQrmEnabled — new in v26.5.1 (#2426). Same toggle as View > QRM History Markers.
Clear All	Display	Clears all DX spots, memory feed, Signal History markers and QRM markers from the spectrum.
Spot Lines:	Display	IsSpotsLinesEnabled — new in v0.9.7
Total spots count	Status bar	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 text color picker	Display	SpotsOverrideColor — default #FFFF00
Override Background: Enabled	Display	IsSpotsOverrideBackgroundColorsEnabled
Override Background: Auto	Display	IsSpotsOverrideToAutoBackgroundColorEnabled
Spot background color picker	Display	SpotsOverrideBgColor — default #000000
Background Opacity:	Display	SpotsBackgroundOpacity — setting key migrated from SpotsOverrideBgOpacity in v0.9.7
Total Spots:	Display	Live count of spots currently tracked across all sources.
DXCC Colors:	Display — DXCC Coloring section	IsDxccColoringEnabled — setting key changed from DxccColoringEnabled in v26.5.1.
Log File (ADIF):	Display — DXCC Coloring section	DxccAdifFilePath — setting key changed from DxccAdifPath in v26.5.1. Auto-Reload is always enabled when a file is selected.
Imported: (DXCC stats)	Display — DXCC Coloring section	Shows QSO count and entity count when a log is loaded. Format: ' QSOs / entities'.
DXCC Color swatches (New DXCC / New Band / New Mode / Worked)	Display — DXCC Coloring section	DxccColorNewEntity / DxccColorNewBand / DxccColorNewMode / DxccColorWorked — new in v26.5.1
Marker Lifetime:	Display — Signal History section	SHistoryLifetimeS — new in v26.5.1. Default 60 s.
QRM Gate:	Display — Signal History section	SHistoryQrmGateS — new in v26.5.1. Default 6 s.
Edge Threshold:	Display — Signal History section	SHistorySoftEdgeDb — new in v26.5.1. Default 3.0 dB.
Signal History color swatches (Signals / QRM)	Display — Signal History section	SHistoryColorSignals (gold) / SHistoryColorQrm (red) — new in v26.5.1.
Snap to Step:	Display — Signal History section	SHistorySnapToStep — new in v26.5.1. Default Disabled.

FreeDV Reporter — Station Reporting

v0.9.3 adds a Station Reporting group inside the FreeDV tab. When enabled, AetherSDR broadcasts your station's activity to the public FreeDV Reporter map at qso.freedv.org whenever the RADE modem is active.

Note: Station Reporting is present only if AetherSDR was built with WebSocket support (HAVE_WEBSOCKETS). On Windows builds it additionally requires HAVE_RADE.

Enable reporting

1. Click the FreeDV tab in SpotHub.
2. In the Station Reporting group, fill in a valid callsign and grid square (see below) before enabling the checkbox.
3. Check Enable FreeDV Reporter reporting when RADE is active.
4. If either the callsign or grid square field is blank when you check the box, a warning dialog appears and the checkbox reverts to unchecked. Fill both fields first, then try again.
5. The setting is saved to FreeDvAutoReport.

Callsign field

• The Callsign: field (FreeDvMyCallsign) sets the callsign reported to the public map.
• When Use radio is checked (default), the field is pre-filled from the radio's configured callsign and locked read-only. The field updates automatically if you change the callsign in Radio Setup.
• Uncheck Use radio to type a callsign manually. The value is saved to FreeDvMyCallsign and uppercased on exit.
• Use radio is saved to FreeDvUseRadioCallsign.

Grid Square field

• The Grid Square: field (FreeDvMyGrid) sets the Maidenhead locator reported to the public map.
• On radio models with GPS hardware, a Use GPS checkbox appears. When checked (default), the field is pre-filled from the radio's GPS module and locked read-only.
• Uncheck Use GPS to type a grid square manually. The value is saved to FreeDvMyGrid and uppercased on exit.
• Use GPS is saved to FreeDvUseGpsGrid. The checkbox is hidden on radio models that have no GPS hardware.

Station message

• The optional Station Msg: field (FreeDvMyMessage) accepts free text that appears beside your callsign on the public FreeDV Reporter map. Leave it blank if you have nothing to add.

Auto Mode default changed in v0.9.5.1

The Auto: toggle on the Display tab now defaults to Enabled for new installations. If you are upgrading from an earlier version and SpotAutoSwitchMode was not previously set, AetherSDR will treat it as enabled after the update. To disable it, open the Display tab and click Auto: until it shows Disabled.

Note: The setting key changed from SpotsAutoMode to SpotAutoSwitchMode in v26.5.1.

Spot Lines (new in v0.9.7)

The Spot Lines: toggle on the Display tab controls whether vertical lines are drawn from the spectrum baseline up to each spot label on the panadapter. The setting is saved to IsSpotsLinesEnabled and defaults to Enabled.

To turn off spot lines:

1. Open SpotHub: Settings > SpotHub...
2. Click the Display tab.
3. Click Spot Lines: until it shows Disabled.

Disabling spot lines reduces visual clutter during contests or when spot density is high.

Signal History and QRM markers (new in v26.5.1)

The Display tab includes Signal History controls for detecting and marking signals on the panadapter:

• Signals (Signal History): Gold markers for detected voice-width signals on the panadapter. Saved to SHistoryMarkersEnabled.
• QRM (Signal History): Red markers for persistent carriers and wideband interference. Saved to SHistoryQrmEnabled.

Both toggles mirror the same controls found under View > Signal History Markers and View > QRM History Markers.

Signal History tunables

The Signal History section below the divider on the Display tab provides fine-tuning:

• Marker Lifetime: Slider (15–300 seconds, default 60 s) controlling how long an inactive Signal History marker persists. Saved to SHistoryLifetimeS.
• QRM Gate: Slider (3–30 seconds, default 6 s) controlling how long a narrow carrier or wideband signal must persist before being classified as QRM. Saved to SHistoryQrmGateS.
• Edge Threshold: Slider (1.0–10.0 dB, default 3.0 dB) for the slope edge walk that refines the S-History carrier-side edge. Lower values are closer to the carrier but more noise-sensitive. Saved to SHistorySoftEdgeDb.
• Signal History color swatches: Click to open a color picker for the voice signal markers (default gold #FFC800) and QRM markers (default red #FF0000). Saved to