Toggle vertical spot lines for contest or casual operating¶
By default, AetherSDR draws a vertical line from the spectrum baseline up to each spot label on the panadapter. This page explains how to turn those lines off — useful during contests when the display becomes cluttered — and how to turn them back on for casual operating.
Before you start¶
- At least one spot source (DX cluster, RBN, WSJT-X, POTA, SpotCollector, or FreeDV) must be configured and delivering spots, or the effect of the change will not be visible.
- The master spot overlay must be on (
IsSpotsEnabledset to Enabled). If spots are off, spot lines have no visible effect.
Steps¶
There are two ways to reach the "Spot Lines:" toggle. Use whichever is more convenient.
Via SpotHub:
- Click
Settings > SpotHub.... - Click the Display tab.
- Click Spot Lines: to toggle it. The button shows Enabled (lines drawn) or Disabled (lines hidden). The change takes effect immediately.
Via Spot Settings:
- Right-click the panadapter spot overlay to open the context menu and select the spot settings option, which opens the Spot Settings window.
- Click Spot Lines: to toggle it. The button shows Enabled or Disabled. The change takes effect immediately.
What each control does¶
| Control | Default | Setting key | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spot Lines: | Enabled | IsSpotsLinesEnabled |
When Enabled, draws a vertical line from the spectrum baseline up to each spot label. When Disabled, spot labels appear without lines. |
Tips¶
- Disable Spot Lines: before a contest session. With dozens or hundreds of spots on screen, removing the lines significantly reduces visual noise.
- Re-enable Spot Lines: for casual DXing or band-scanning, where the lines help you identify exactly which signal each label corresponds to.
- The setting is persisted immediately; there is no Save button to click.