DX Cluster

At app start HAM-Tools connects to its own DXSpider cluster dxspider.funkwelt.net:7300 and augments the Telnet spots with program-specific live feeds:

• POTA spots from api.pota.app/spot/activator (every 60 s)
• SOTA spots from api2.sota.org.uk (every 60 s)
• WWFF spots from the cluster stream (pattern match on XXFF-NNNN)
• BOTA spots from the cluster stream (pattern + DB match)

Which feed is visible in the lower tab depends on the active log: standard log → classic DX cluster, POTA log → POTA feed, SOTA log → SOTA feed, and so on.

ATNO Live Marking 🆕

New in 1.8.9

For each spot in the DX cluster, a colored pill right to the left of the call shows whether the DXCC country/band/mode is still interesting for you:

• 🔴 ATNO — All Time New One: DXCC country never worked
• 🟠 NEW BAND — country already worked, but not on this band
• 🟡 NEW MODE — country+band already, but not in this mode
• no pill — already fully worked

The worked sets are derived live from the DXCCAccumulator that runs per log anyway — no extra scan, the lookup is O(1) per spot. The update happens immediately after every logged QSO.

Standard DX log only

ATNO is active in the standard DX log and in the DX cluster pop-up. In a contest, dupe/mult coloring dominates (red = dupe, green = new multiplier). In the outdoor programs, the respective spots tab shows its own ref-match logic (P2P/S2S/R2R/B2B).

DXpedition Alerts 🆕

New in 1.12.1

The DXpeditions tab in the DX cluster shows the NG3K ADXO list (Announced DX Operations) with around 40 active and planned DXpeditions — call, DXCC, time window, bands, source.

• Enable per entry: a toggle in the list — only monitored expeditions trigger alerts
• macOS notification as soon as a monitored DXpedition is spotted on the cluster within its QRV window
• ✈ marking: spots of monitored DXpeditions get a cyan airplane symbol in the spot list and in the logbook DX tab — you see at a glance that an expedition is on the band right now
• Prefix matching: 5Z4 also catches 5Z4/MM0ZBH — operator variants aren't lost
• Cooldown against pile-up spam: the same expedition doesn't trigger a notification again on every one of the dozens of follow-up spots

Band Plan Live Awareness in QSO Forms 🆕

New in 1.8.9

In all six QSO forms (DX, Contest, POTA, SOTA, WWFF, BOTA) a pill in the status bar tells you the moment you log whether frequency + mode are IARU R1 compliant.

• 🟢 in band — sub-segment fits the mode (e.g. SSB in the SSB area)
• 🟠 wrong sub-segment — e.g. SSB in the CW area, FT8 outside the digi sub-segment
• 🔴 outside amateur band — frequency lies completely outside all known bands

The data source is the bundled bandplan.json (22 bands + sub-segments). The mode-compatibility table is tolerant — "all modes" sub-segments let everything through. Reacts live to CAT frequency changes.

Columns & Filters

The spot table shows by default: ATNO pill · spotter · call · frequency · band · mode · comment · age. Columns are reorderable and hideable via header right-click or the "Columns" button in the toolbar (with reset).

Filters:

• Watchlist: preferred calls are marked yellow and can optionally be pinned to the top
• Award modes: shows only spots in modes you have active in the Award settings (e.g. only CW + Digi)
• Contest mode: with a contest log the spot list is automatically restricted to contest bands + mode category
• Band follows TRX (band filter menu, opt-in): the band filter automatically follows the frequency of the radio. A band change — even via WSJT-X over a shared rigctld (see CAT → CAT Sharing) — pulls the spot list, world map, and logbook filter along. While active, manual band selection is locked and an antenna symbol indicates TRX mode.

Actions Per Spot

• Single click → marks the spot on the world map: when you switch to the map tab it's highlighted and centered. The selection is shared with the logbook and bidirectional — a click on a pin in the map conversely marks the row in the list.
• Double click → call + frequency + mode into the logbook entry panel, CAT follows (if connected)
• Right click → context menu with "Add to Logbook" / "Add to Watchlist" / "Open QRZ.com"
• ★ before the call → spot is on the watchlist

A spot click does not force a switch from the DXClusters tab into the log sub-tab — you stay where you are (fix from 1.8.4).

Status in the Top Bar 🆕

New in 1.10.9

Next to the battery symbol in the logbook top bar, two pills show the connection status: an internet pill (WLAN / LAN / Cellular / Offline) and a cluster pill (green = connected, yellow = connecting, red = error, gray = disconnected; tooltip with pool count "N/M"). If the Mac is offline, the cluster pill is grayed out.

Bandmap Pop-up

For each band you can open a separate bandmap as a pop-up window (new in 1.8.5). Several in parallel on a second monitor are possible — ideal during a contest or in DX pile-ups, where you want to keep an eye on 20 m and 40 m at the same time.

Configuration

Settings → Cluster:

• Multi-node setup (several DX cluster connections in parallel)
• Add your own cluster URLs (hostname:port + login call)
• Status display + reconnect button per node
• External spot sources: toggles for SOTA/POTA/WWFF fetching — switched off means nothing is polled at all (saves battery in the field)