Connect to a DX cluster

AetherSDR's SpotHub dialog lets you connect to a telnet DX cluster, the Reverse Beacon Network, WSJT-X, SpotCollector, POTA, and FreeDV, and configure how incoming spots display as overlays on the panadapter.

Before you start

• Know the hostname (or IP address) and telnet port of your chosen DX cluster (for example, dxc.k0xm.net on port 7373).
• Know the callsign you will use to log in to the cluster.

Opening SpotHub

1. Open Settings > SpotHub....

Cluster tab

Connecting to a DX cluster

1. Click the Cluster tab.
2. In the Server: field, type the cluster hostname or IP address. This saves to ClusterHost.
3. In the Port: field, set the telnet port (1–65535). This saves to ClusterPort.
4. In the Callsign: field, type your callsign. This saves to ClusterCallsign.
5. Click Connect.
6. The status indicator changes to Connected and the button label changes to Disconnect.
7. Incoming cluster traffic appears in the Cluster Console read-only display.
8. To reconnect automatically every time AetherSDR starts, enable Auto-connect on startup. This saves to ClusterAutoConnect.

Setting startup commands for the DX cluster

You can configure a list of commands that are sent automatically after every login to the DX cluster (for example, SET/NAME, SET/QTH, ACCEPT/SPOT).

1. Click Startup Commands….
2. In the dialog, enter one command per line.
3. Click OK to save. The commands are stored in the DxClusterStartupCommands setting and are replayed by the client after every successful login.

What each control does on the Cluster tab

Control	Description	Setting key
Server:	Hostname or IP address of the DX cluster telnet server.	ClusterHost
Port:	Telnet port. Valid range: 1–65535.	ClusterPort
Callsign:	Login callsign sent to the cluster on connect.	ClusterCallsign
Connect / Disconnect	Toggles the telnet connection. Label shows current action.	—
Auto-connect on startup	Connects to the cluster automatically when AetherSDR launches.	ClusterAutoConnect
Startup Commands…	Opens a dialog to edit commands sent automatically after every login. One command per line. New in v26.5.2.1.	DxClusterStartupCommands
Cluster Console	Read-only display of raw telnet traffic from the cluster.	—
Send (command line)	Sends a typed command to the cluster while connected.	—
Spot Color:	Opens a color picker for cluster spot overlays on the panadapter.	ClusterSpotColor

RBN tab

Connecting to the Reverse Beacon Network

1. Click the RBN tab.
2. In the Server: field, type the RBN telnet hostname. This saves to RbnHost.
3. In the Port: field, set the RBN telnet port (1–65535). This saves to RbnPort.
4. In the Callsign: field, type your login callsign. This saves to RbnCallsign.
5. Set the Rate Limit: to cap the number of RBN spots processed per second. This saves to RbnRateLimit.
6. Click Connect.
7. To reconnect automatically on launch, enable Auto-connect on startup. This saves to RbnAutoConnect.

Setting startup commands for the RBN

You can configure a list of commands that are sent automatically after every login to the RBN (for example, SET/NAME, SET/QTH, ACCEPT/SPOT).

1. Click Startup Commands….
2. In the dialog, enter one command per line.
3. Click OK to save. The commands are stored in the RbnStartupCommands setting and are replayed by the RBN client after every successful login.

What each control does on the RBN tab

Control	Description	Setting key
Server:	RBN telnet hostname.	RbnHost
Port:	RBN telnet port. Valid range: 1–65535.	RbnPort
Callsign:	Login callsign to RBN.	RbnCallsign
Rate Limit:	Caps RBN spots per second.	RbnRateLimit
Connect / Disconnect	Toggles RBN connection.	—
Auto-connect on startup	Starts RBN automatically on launch.	RbnAutoConnect
Startup Commands…	Opens a dialog to edit commands sent automatically after every login to the RBN. One command per line. New in v26.5.2.1.	RbnStartupCommands
RBN Console	Read-only console of RBN traffic.	—
Send	Sends command to RBN.	—
Spot Color:	Color picker for RBN spots.	RbnSpotColor

WSJT-X tab

Listening for WSJT-X spots

1. Click the WSJT-X tab.
2. In the Address: field, enter the UDP bind address for WSJT-X messages. This saves to WsjtxAddress.
3. In the Port: field, set the UDP port. This saves to WsjtxPort.
4. Click Start to begin listening. The status changes to Listening.
5. To auto-start on launch, enable Auto-start on startup. This saves to WsjtxAutoStart.

Filtering WSJT-X decodes

Use the checkboxes to filter which decodes appear as spots:

• CQ — Show only CQ calls. Saves to WsjtxFilterCQ.
• CQ POTA — Show CQ POTA calls. Saves to WsjtxFilterPOTA.
• Calling Me — Show only decodes addressed to your callsign. Saves to WsjtxFilterCallingMe.

Customizing WSJT-X spot colors

Click any color swatch to open a color picker:

• CQ color — Saves to WsjtxColorCQ.
• POTA color — Saves to WsjtxColorPOTA.
• Calling Me color — Saves to WsjtxColorCallingMe.
• Default color — Saves to WsjtxColorDefault.

What each control does on the WSJT-X tab

Control	Description	Setting key
Address:	UDP bind address for WSJT-X messages.	WsjtxAddress
Port:	UDP port for WSJT-X. Valid range: 1–65535.	WsjtxPort
Start / Stop	Starts or stops UDP listener.	—
Auto-start on startup	Auto-starts listener on launch.	WsjtxAutoStart
CQ	Show only CQ calls from WSJT-X.	WsjtxFilterCQ
CQ POTA	Show CQ POTA calls.	WsjtxFilterPOTA
Calling Me	Show only decodes addressed to your callsign.	WsjtxFilterCallingMe
CQ color	Color picker for CQ spots.	WsjtxColorCQ
POTA color	Color picker for POTA spots.	WsjtxColorPOTA
Calling Me color	Color picker for Calling Me spots.	WsjtxColorCallingMe
Default color	Color picker for other WSJT-X spots.	WsjtxColorDefault
WSJT-X Decodes	Console of decoded transmissions.	—
Spot Life:	Seconds WSJT-X spots remain on panadapter.	WsjtxSpotLife

SpotCollector tab

Listening for SpotCollector broadcasts

1. Click the SpotCollector tab.
2. In the UDP Port: field, set the port SpotCollector broadcasts on. This saves to SpotCollectorPort.
3. Click Start to begin listening. The status changes to Listening.
4. To auto-start on launch, enable Auto-start on startup. This saves to SpotCollectorAutoStart.

What each control does on the SpotCollector tab

Control	Description	Setting key
UDP Port:	UDP port SpotCollector broadcasts on. Valid range: 1–65535.	SpotCollectorPort
Start / Stop	Starts or stops UDP listener.	—
Auto-start on startup	Auto-starts listener on launch.	SpotCollectorAutoStart
SpotCollector Spots	Console of received SpotCollector spots.	—

POTA tab

Polling POTA activations

1. Click the POTA tab.
2. Set Poll Interval: to the seconds between polls. This saves to PotaPollInterval.
3. Click Start to begin polling. The status changes to Polling.
4. To auto-start on launch, enable Auto-start on startup. This saves to PotaAutoStart.

What each control does on the POTA tab

Control	Description	Setting key
Server:	Fixed endpoint: api.pota.app (HTTP polling).	—
Poll Interval:	Seconds between POTA polls.	PotaPollInterval
Start / Stop	Starts or stops POTA polling.	—
Auto-start on startup	Auto-starts POTA on launch.	PotaAutoStart
POTA Activations	Console of activation feed.	—
Spot Color:	Color picker for POTA spots.	PotaSpotColor

FreeDV tab

Connecting to FreeDV

Note: The FreeDV tab is only present in builds compiled with WebSocket support (HAVE_WEBSOCKETS).

1. Click the FreeDV tab.
2. Click Start to connect to the FreeDV WebSocket feed. The status changes to Connected.
3. To auto-start on launch, enable Auto-start on startup. This saves to FreeDvAutoStart.

What each control does on the FreeDV tab

Control	Description	Setting key
Server:	Fixed endpoint: qso.freedv.org (WebSocket).	—
Start / Stop	Connects or disconnects the FreeDV WebSocket.	—
Auto-start on startup	Auto-starts FreeDV on launch.	FreeDvAutoStart
FreeDV Spots	Console of FreeDV activity.	—
Spot Color:	Color picker for FreeDV spots.	FreeDvSpotColor

Spot List tab

Viewing and filtering spots

1. Click the Spot List tab.
2. Use the band checkboxes to toggle visibility of spots on each band (160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m, 2m, etc.).
3. Click Clear to empty the current spot list.

Tuning to a spot

Double-click a row in the spot table to tune the active slice to the spot's frequency. As of v0.9.7, AetherSDR also forwards mode information extracted from the spot comment, so the slice switches to the appropriate mode (for example, CW or SSB) to match the spot rather than only changing frequency.

What each control does on the Spot List tab

Control	Description	Setting key
Bands:	Per-band checkboxes toggle visibility in table.	—
Clear	Empties current spot list.	—
Spot table	Sortable table of spots. Columns: Time, Freq, DX Call, Comment, Spotter, Band, Mode, Source.	—

Display tab

Configuring spot overlay appearance

The Display tab controls how spots are visualized on the panadapter.

Master toggles

Control	Description	Setting key
Spots:	Master toggle for DX spot overlay on the panadapter. Default: Enabled.	IsSpotsEnabled
Memories:	Toggles memory-channel overlay on the panadapter. Default: Disabled.	IsMemorySpotsEnabled
Auto:	Automatically switches the slice mode when clicking a spot that includes mode information (e.g. CW, FT8, RTTY). Default: Enabled. Setting key changed from SpotsAutoMode to SpotAutoSwitchMode in v26.5.1. Default changed from Disabled to Enabled in v0.9.5.1.	SpotAutoSwitchMode

Signal History toggles