Configuring SpotCollector Sources

SpotCollector Online Help Contents

The Sources tab contains two panels.

Telnet panel

This panel provides settings for each of four Telnet DXClusters.

Enable If checked, a DXCluster Window  is displayed for the specified Host Address
Auto If checked, a connection with the specified Host Address will be initiated when SpotCollector is started, or after a previous connection has been broken
Hide if checked, the DXCluster window is hidden when connected; if unchecked, the DXCluster window is immediately made visible
  • hidden windows do not appear on the Windows task bar
  • unchecking a DXCluster's Enable box will uncheck its Hide box
  • clicking the DXCluster's LED-like indicator in the Spot Source Status panel will uncheck the DXCluster's Hide box
  • closing a DXCluster's window will check the DXCluster's Hide box
Host Address The internet address of the server on which the desired DXCluster is running
Port The TCP port through which the server provides Telnet access to its DXCluster
Caption Text that will appear in the title bar of the DXCluster Window
Username Text used if the DXCluster's login process requires a user identifier
  • double-clicking this textbox enters the operator callsign  
  • leave this setting blank if no username is required
  • enter a single hyphen if all that is required is a carriage return followed by a newline
  • embedded commands will be expanded
Password Text used if the DXCluster's login process requires a user password (note: specifying a password when none is required may cause the login to fail)
  • double-clicking this textbox enters the operator callsign  
  • leave this setting blank if no password is required
  • enter a single hyphen if all that is required is a carriage return followed by a newline
  • embedded commands will be expanded
Cmd Text sent after the DXCluster's login process, typically to "connect" to the DXCluster 
  • leave this setting blank if no post-login command is required
  • enter a single hyphen if all that is required is a carriage return followed by a newline
  • embedded commands will be expanded
Spot If checked, outgoing spots will be sent to this DXCluster

In Telnet DXCluster's Username, Password, and Cmd settings, any information not surrounded by a pair of angle brackets is transmitted verbatim. Valid substitution commands begin and end with an angle bracket; SpotCollector processes such commands in these settings by replacing them as enumerated in the following table:

Command Replacement
<n> the character whose ASCII code is n (for 0 <= n < 255)
<enter> the character whose ASCII code is 13
<file filename> the contents of the designated file 
  • filename should begin with a drive letter and include all intervening directories
  • use the macro definition screen's Select button to choose a file, then drag and drop its filename from the filename textbox to the desired macro's contents
<mycall> the operator's callsign
<mylowercasecall> the operator's callsign in lower case letters
<myuppercasecall> the operator's callsign in upper case letters
<newline> the character whose ASCII code is 10
<UTC> the current UTC time
<date> the current UTC date
<revision> SpotCollector's revision level

 

Packet Panel

Enable If checked, a PacketCluster Window  is displayed for the specified PacketCluster Callsign
Auto If checked, a connection with the specified PacketCluster Callsign will be initiated when SpotCollector is started, or after a previous connection has been broken
Hide if checked, the PacketCluster window is hidden when connected; if unchecked, the PacketCluster window is immediately made visible
  • hidden windows do not appear on the Windows task bar
  • unchecking the PacketCluster's Enable box will uncheck its Hide box
  • clicking the PacketCluster's LED-like indicator in the Spot Source Status panel will uncheck the PacketCluster's Hide box
  • closing the PacketCluster's window will check the PacketCluster's Hide box
PacketCluster Callsign The Callsign of the node hosting the PacketCluster to which you wish to connect
Keep If checked, maintains your PacketCluster connection by sending a Newline character every 5 minutes
Caption Text that will appear in the title bar of the PacketCluster Window
Bye Cmd Command that will be sent to the PacketCluster when you disconnect (defaults to Bye )
TNC Model Selects the Terminal Node Controller (TNC) model connected to the serial port, thereby determining the Command File from which TNC directives are defined
Spot If checked, outgoing spots will be sent to this PacketCluster

 

IRC panel

Enable If checked, an IRC Window for the specified IRC Channel is displayed
Auto If checked, a connection with the specified IRC Channel will be initiated when SpotCollector is started, or after a previous connection has been broken
Hide if checked, the IRC window is hidden when connected; if unchecked, the IRC window is immediately made visible
  • hidden windows do not appear on the Windows task bar
  • unchecking the IRC window's Enable box will uncheck its Hide box
  • clicking the IRC window's LED-like indicator in the Spot Source Status panel will uncheck the IRC window's Hide box
  • closing the IRC window will check the IRC window's Hide box
Host Address The internet address of an IRC Server through which the specified IRC Channel is accessible
  • SpotCollector is designed to access the #CQDX IRC Channel, which is available on WorldIRC servers
Channel The name of the desired IRC Channel, without the leading #

If you include the leading #, SpotCollector will remove it during the connection process.

Caption Text that will appear in the title bar of the IRC Window
Username Text used to login to the IRC server
  • double-clicking this textbox enters the operator callsign
  • a forward slash is not acceptable in this field -- use a back slash instead, e.g. AA6YQ\1
First Name Text used to login to the IRC server
Robot the name of the CQDX spotting robot (usually DXS; use DDX when DXS is unavailable)
Spot If checked, outgoing spots will be sent to the CQDX IRC Channelr