Transcript DX Clusters
DX Clusters Brought to you by: And Denton County Amateur Radio Association, 2013 Finding those DX Stations? Does anyone NOT know what a DX Cluster is? How many have NEVER used a DX Cluster? So What is a DX Cluster? A DX Cluster is a packet node where DX chasers on any band or mode can post rare or interesting stations that they have worked or heard. Clusters tend to be linked to each other so that the amount of people using them is increased, thereby increasing the amount of posted DX. So What is a DX Cluster? (cont’d) You can talk to other stations connected to the cluster network too, in real time, whether at the node you are logged into or on another node connected to the network. You can also use converse mode, where several stations can talk to each other in the same way. All this while the DX spots are still being posted for you to see! How DX Clusters Work (The old way) In the "good old days" DX’ers had to tune around the bands to find the country or station they were looking for. • Friends would help friends by getting together on VHF nets to pass information, or • by telephoning each other to say tune to Freq. 14.2 Mhz. "DX1DX is on frequency now". The old way updated It all changed in 1986 when Dick Newell, AK1A wrote the original “PacketCluster” program. This was a buggy DOS program that ran on a node PC connected to a packet TNC. The AX.25 packet protocol allowed many connections on the same port - sharing time slots - to connect to the node. One Dx’er in Dallas could spot (report) DX1DX and all the other stations connected to the node would receive the spot almost instantly. The same thing would happen in Atlanta, Boston etc. The nodes would use a 70cm link to talk to each other, and a huge network emerged. Lone Star DX Association Make way for the Internet The local Packet networks, for the most part, are history. With the introduction of the Internet Packet Nodes could now be accessed by many hams from almost anywhere. Using the TCP/IP protocol and a telnet client on a PC you simply Telnet to an IP address and login. The Telnet Way Using a Telnet client like Putty you simply type in the IP address, set the port the DX Cluster Node uses and off you go. The Internet Web One station (node) is set up with DX Packet Cluster software and is linked to one or more stations also running DX Packet Cluster software. These nodes when connected make up a cluster. Clusters are connected to other clusters, expanding the network. The Internet Web (cont’d.) Individual users connect to one of the nodes using: 1. An Internet browser to login to a Web Cluster site. 2. Cluster Client software on a PC that is connected to the Internet. Lets look at each of these methods a little closer. Internet Web Clusters The main advantage of a Internet web cluster is the userfriendly spot filters and the fact that the connection never times out. A disadvantage is that you will see DX spots from DX spotters all over the world! Beware! Due to the ease of the internet, the monitoring of DX clusters has become very popular. Traditional and well-valued amateur radio operating practices are not always followed by all. www.qrzcq.com Using a Web Browser Perhaps the most straight-forward manner to get current on-air activity, is to connect to a DX cluster, like the DX-Summit Web Cluster, maintained in Finland by OH9W. (http://www.dxsummit.fi/DxSpots.aspx) Using a Web Browser (cont’d.) F5LEN is another web cluster site. http://cluster.f5len.org/ SV8CS (Spotter) TJ3SN Cluster Client Programs The best way to connect is to use a DX Cluster Client program loaded on your P.C. 1. Automatically logs you into a cluster using built-in X25 or telnet protocols. 2. Provides filters by band, country, call sign, etc. 3. Some offer WWV sun spot activity information 4. Some offer Grey Line propagation links 5. Have Telnet, DDE, or DLL outputs to talk to logging programs. . Cluster Client Programs (cont’d.) 6. Can insert States and Provinces into contest programs to aid in multiplier determination 7. Separates data from the cluster. DX spots, WWV, Announcements, Mail, filtering ,etc. 8. Each band can have its own color for DX Spots. 9. Removes bad DX Spots. (blank or duplicate) 10. Can be set to reject DX spots by spotter, DX call or by comments. 11. Displays bearing and distance to DX and much more. SpotCollector from DxLabs SpotCollector is part of the Dxlabs suite of products which are FREE by the way. http://www.dxlabsuite.com VE7CC DX Cluster Client CC User is a window to the DX world. You can see what stations and countries are on the air and the band they are working in real time. IQ2CJ Logging Software The logging program I use is ProLog. IQ2CJ Cluster Watch on a Smartphone NKCCluster: Free Andorid software to watch cluster activity. Disclaimer The Denton County Amateur Radio Association (DCARA) makes no representation concerning any effort to review the content of sites listed in these presentations (indeed, given the frequency with which they are updated, such review would be practically impossible.) Consequently, DCARA is not and cannot be held responsible for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality or decency of the websites contained in these presentations. The material used in these presentations is provided “AS IS” and without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. DCARA respects the intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights of others and wishes to thank the groups, individuals, and websites for the documentation and drawings used in this series. Credit is given to all authors of articles used where authorship can be identified. 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