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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, FreeDV, EiBi, and N1MM Logger+ Spot Collector, 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

EiBi tab

Connecting to EiBi

  1. Click the EiBi tab.
  2. In the Server: field, type the EiBi server hostname. This saves to EibiHost.
  3. In the Port: field, set the port (1–65535). This saves to EibiPort.
  4. In the Callsign: field, type your login callsign. This saves to EibiCallsign.
  5. Click Connect to establish the telnet connection. The status changes to Connected.
  6. To reconnect automatically on launch, enable Auto-connect on startup. This saves to EibiAutoConnect.

What each control does on the EiBi tab

Control Description Setting key
Server: EiBi telnet hostname. EibiHost
Port: EiBi telnet port. Valid range: 1–65535. EibiPort
Callsign: Login callsign sent to EiBi. EibiCallsign
Connect / Disconnect Toggles the telnet connection. —
Auto-connect on startup Starts EiBi automatically on launch. EibiAutoConnect
EiBi Spots Console of received EiBi spots. —
Spot Color: Color picker for EiBi spots. EibiSpotColor

N1MM tab

Connecting to N1MM Logger+ Spot Collector

  1. Click the N1MM tab.
  2. In the Port: field, set the UDP port N1MM Logger+ broadcasts Spot Collector messages on. This saves to N1mmPort.
  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 N1mmAutoStart.

What each control does on the N1MM tab

Control Description Setting key
Port: UDP port for
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