DXView Operation

Online Help Index

 

DXView's major functions can be invoked by clicking buttons in its Info window, or by striking keyboard shortcuts.

Using the World Map

DXView employs three windows:

To display the currently-selected World Map, click the World button in the Info window's Map panel.

If you have configured WinWarbler to use its built-in World Map, you can use the controls in the World Map window's Map panel to display

Both the built-in World Map window and the  DX Atlas world map display

The built-in World Map window also displays

If the built-in World Map is in use and Solar Position panel's Current button is selected, the solar position and terminator are updated every two minutes; the World Map window's title bar displays the time of the most recent update. To view the solar position and terminator at a specific date and time, click the At this UTC date/time button and specify a UTC date and time using the format dd-mmm-yyyy hh:mm; if this date and time are valid, the solar position and terminator will be displayed, and the World Map window's title bar will display this date and time until you specify another, or until you select the  Solar Position panel's Current button. The DX Atlas continuously updates its display of the solar position and terminator, and provides controls for displaying the positions of solar position and terminator at any time in the past or future. 

To set your QTH, click the Config button and specify your latitude and longitude in the General tab's QTH panel. Alternatively, select your QTH position as described in the next section, click the Config button, and then click the Position button in the General tab's QTH panel.

Selecting a position

There are four ways to select a position:

Selecting a position plots its position in the World Map window as a solid blue circle, plots the great circle route connecting it and your QTH as a blue line, and updates the following Info window textboxes:

short the short-path heading from your QTH to the selected position
long the long-path heading from your QTH to the selected position
latitude the selected position's latitude
longitude the selected position's longitude
grid the selected position's Maidenhead grid square
SP DX the short-path distance in miles or kilometers from your QTH to the selected position, depending upon the setting selected in the Distance Units panel ;click the ~ button to display the long-path distance in miles or kilometers.
max the maximum magnetic latitude encountered by a signal traversing the short or long path from your QTH to the selected position

If you depress the Ctrl key while selecting a location by clicking on a map location, DXView will rotate your antenna to the location's short path heading; if you depress the Alt key, DXView will rotate your antenna to the location's long path heading.

If you depress the Shift key while selecting a location by clicking on a map location, DXView will direct PropView to compute and display a propagation forecast to the designated location.

Latitudes should be entered in the format X Y' Z, where

Examples of latitudes include 38 15' N and 42S . If you enter an illegal latitude, the value 0 0' S will be used.

Longitudes should entered in the format X Y' Z, where

Examples of latitudes include 122 10' W and 10E . If you enter an illegal longitude, the value 0 0' E will be used.

The accuracy of DXView's computation of the maximum magnetic latitude encountered by a signal depends in part on knowing the geographic location of the Magnetic Poles; as the magnetic poles drift significantly from year to year, these settings should be updated annually.

Displaying Auroral Zones

If you check the Aurora box in the World Map window's Plot panel, the predicted boundaries of the northern and southern aurora zones will be displayed on the built-in World Map, enabling you to visually determine the extent to which a signal path may be influenced by auroral transit. As described in http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/forecast/currentshelp.html , the auroral boundaries expand as the earth's magnetosphere increases in strength due to solar activity. This field strength is measured and widely reported using a parameter referred to as the K index, which takes on values from 0 (low field strength) to 9 (extremely high field strength). DXView provides a textbox on its Info window's GeoMag panel for you to specify the current value of the K index, which is available from WWV broadcasts and propagation web sites. SpotCollector automatically captures the most recent K index from WWV spots; if SpotCollector is running, DXView's K index textbox will be automatically updated as SpotCollector receives WWV data. The accuracy of DXView's prediction of auroral zone boundaries depends in part on knowing the geographic location of the Magnetic Poles; as the magnetic poles drift significantly from year to year, these settings should be updated annually.

Displaying a callsign's location

Enter or paste a callsign (or callsign fragment or prefix) into the Info window's Callsign textbox; characters will be displayed in red font until you initiate the search by striking the Enter key, or by clicking the Go button. If an Entity Overide is specified for the callsign, the specified DXCC entity will be used; otherwise, the DXCC Database will be searched to determine the callsign's DXCC entity and location. If successful, the current position is set to a location in the DXCC entity; the current position is chosen based on secondary information in the callsign, e.g. the prefix and call area. DXView plots the current position in the World Map window as a solid blue circle, plots the great circle route connecting it and your QTH as a blue line, and updates the following Info window textboxes:

Prefix the standard prefix associated with the DXCC entity
Entity the name of the DXCC entity
Code the DXCC entity's country code as assigned by the ARRL's DXCC desk
Short the short-path heading from your QTH to the selected position
Long the long-path heading from your QTH to the selected position
Region the name of the region containing the selected position
Latitude the selected position's latitude
Longitude the selected position's longitude
Grid the selected position's Maidenhead grid square
SP DX the short-path distance in miles or kilometers from your QTH to the selected position, depending upon the setting selected in the Distance Units panel; click the ~ button to display the long-path distance in miles or kilometers.
Cont the selected position's continent
CQ the selected position's CQ zone
ITU the selected position's ITU zone
Time the selected position's time offset relative to UTC

If Pathfinder is running, clicking the QRZ.com button will query the online callbook at www.QRZ.com and update the Entity, Code, Grid, Latitude, Longitude, CQ, ITU, and Time textboxes with the information found there. Depressing the Shift key while striking the Enter key in the Callsign textbox or while clicking the Go button will also query www.QRZ.com.

If DXKeeper is running, DXView displays a Progress panel showing award progress for the selected DXCC entity in the currently open log; the DXCC entity's prefix and the name of the currently open log both appear in the Progress panel's caption. A table within the Progress panel shows the status of four modes (SSB, CW, RTTY, and PSK) and 11 bands (160m through 2m), using the following progress codes:

Code Meaning
W worked, no QSL requested
R worked, QSL requested
C QSL received
V QSL verified by DXCC desk

If the DXCC Award objectives specified in DXKeeper indicate that a mode is sought, but there are no confirmed QSOs with the selected DXCC entity in that mode, then the background of that mode's cells will be white rather than the window's background color.. Similarly, if the DXCC Award objectives specified in DXKeeper indicate that a band is sought, but there are no confirmed QSOs with the selected DXCC entity on that band, then the background of that band's cells will be white rather thant the window's background color.

SpotCollector can be configured to automatically direct DXView to display information about each incoming spot. To ensure that these automatic updates will not displace information you directly requested from DXView, such automatic updates are ignored for 5 seconds after any direct request. To preserve the currently-displayed information for a longer time, click the SC Lock button; when the current information is no longer needed, click the SC Unlock button.  

If DXKeeper is running, you can log the contents of the Prefix textbox, presumably a callsign, by

or

Highlighting callsigns known to QSL via Logbook of the World

The file LotW.mdb is a database containing callsigns known to participate in the ARRL's Logbook of the World (LotW). If at startup, LotW.mdb is present in DXView's Databases folder,  then DXView will indicate that a callsign is known to QSL via Logbook of the World by coloring the backgrounds of  textboxes in the Search and DXCC panels when you strike the Enter key in the Callsign textbox or when you click the Go button. The colors used differentiate callsigns based on known LotW participation can be specified in the Search & DXCC Background Colors panel.

You can obtain LotW.mdb by downloading http://www.qsl.net/spotcollector/LotW.exe ; extract this file's contents (a file named LotW.mdb) into DXView's Databases folder. If LotW.mdb is present, its date of last update is shown in the Database Versions panel.

Selecting a DXCC entity

You can select a DXCC entity by

DXView responds as it does when you identify a callsign's DXCC entity.

Locating an Island from its IOTA tag

If you enter an IOTA tag in the Info window's IOTA textbox and strike the Enter key, DXView will 

If the entire Island group falls within a single DXCC entity, the Info window's Prefix, and Country textboxes will be updated; the Cont, CQ, ITU, and Time textboxes may also be updated if they can be unambiguously determined.

DXView presents the above information by querying an IOTA database. To determine what version of this database is installed on your system, consult the Database Versions panel, or let the mouse cursor hover over the word IOTA in the Info window's Location panel; a popup window displaying the IOTA database version will appear.

Positioning an antenna rotator

To activate a properly configured antenna rotator connected to your PC, click the Info window's SP button to choose the current short path heading, or click the LP button to choose the current long path heading. Depressing the CTRL key while clicking the SP or LP buttons will stop any in-progress rotation if the selected rotator supports a programmable stop command.

Above the SP and LP buttons, DXView displays the most recent heading and path conveyed to the rotator.

Viewing a country map

If DXView's Map subfolder contains a map for the currently-specified DXCC entity, the Info window's Country Map button will be enabled. Clicking this button displays the country map in a separate window.

Plotting the selected location

To capture information associated with the selected location and plot this location on the currently-selected World Map window,  click the Info window's Plot button. Subject to Band Filtering, Mode Filtering, and Origin Filtering, this location will be marked on the World Map by a solid red circle that persists until its lifetime expires, or until you terminate DXView. Allowing the mouse cursor to rest on a plotted red circle will produce a popup that displays the captured information, which can include callsign, DXCC prefix, DXCC entity (if enabled), Maidenhead gridsquare, frequency, mode, UTC time, and shortpath heading.

For plots created by the Plot button to be visible on the World Map, the Origin Filter must include the region specified by the Location setting in the General tab's QTH panel .

If Commander is running, the active transceiver's frequency and mode are captured when the Plot button is clicked. If Commander is not running, you must set the Band Filter and Mode Filter to display plots of unknown band and mode respective for such plots to be visible on the World Map. 

If you depress the CTRL key while clicking the Info window's Plot button, a small DXView Plot window will appear that lets you specify a frequency (in Kilohertz), and select a mode. Clicking the DXView Plot window's Plot button lets you create a plot with frequency and mode information without Commander running. If you depress CTRL key while clicking the DXView Plot window's Plot button, the plot will be generated, and the DXView Plot window will remain on-screen rather than close; this is convenient if you'll be frequently creating plots whose frequencies and modes you manually specify.

Displaying sunrise and sunset times

To display sunrise and sunset times for the currently-selected position, click the DXInfo window's Sun button to display DXView's Sunrise/Sunset window. The scrollable grid in this window displays sunrise and sunset times for your QTH, and for the currently-selected position -- referred to in this window as DX. The grid displays sunrise and sunset times for the next 30 days, starting with the date specified in the UTC Date textbox; by modifying this date and clicking the Calculate button, you can display sunrise and sunset times for any 30-day interval. Double-clicking the UTC Date sets its contents to the current UTC date.

If you change the location of the selected position, or the location of your QTH, or the contents of the UTC Date textbox, the Calculate button will become active, indicating that the information displayed in the grid does not correspond to the newly-specified location and/or time. When you click the Calculate button, the grid is updated, and the Calculate button is deactivated.

If a location is in 24-hour sunlight or 24-hour darkness, the corresponding grid cell will indicate day or night respectively.

Displaying the selected location in MapQuest

To invoke MapQuest with the coordinates of the DXView's currently selected location, click the Info window's MapQuest button. MapQuest will be displayed in the web browser whose pathname is specified in the Guidance panel on the Config window's General tab; if no browser pathname is specified, your default web browser will be used. You can specify the initial zoom level via the slider in the MapQuest Zoom panel.

Displaying the selected location in Google Maps

To display a Google Map with the coordinates of the DXView's currently selected location, click the Info window's Google button. Google Maps will be displayed in the web browser whose pathname is specified in the Guidance panel on the Config window's General tab; if no browser pathname is specified, your default web browser will be used. You can specify the initial zoom level via the slider in the Google Map panel.

Displaying DX Spots, DX QSOs, Logged QSOs, and DXCC Entity Award Progress

Using its built-in world map or DX Atlas, DXView can display the locations of DX spots and DX QSOs captured by SpotCollector, QSOs logged in DXKeeper, and your progress against DXing awards tracked by DXKeeper.

Displaying DX Spots and DX QSOs on the built-in world map

To display spots captured by SpotCollector on DXView's built-in world map, select Spots in the DX sub-panel in the World Map window's Plot panel. Subject to Band Filtering, Mode Filtering, and Origin Filtering, the plotted spot will be marked by a solid red circle that persists until its lifetime expires, or until you terminate DXView. 

If you check the QSOs box in the DX sub-panel in the World Map window's Plot panel, DXView will plot the location of both a spotted DX station and the station that spotted it if SpotCollector was able to obtain a grid square for both locations. The location of the spotting station is depicted as a black circle, the path between the spotted and spotting station is depicted as a black line.

You can control the size of the circles and lines used to depict DX stations, spotting stations, and paths:

Allowing the mouse cursor to linger on the built-in World Map window within 500 miles (800 kilometers) of a plotted spot will pop up a text banner containing the associated callsign, frequency, mode, grid square (if available), time, and beam heading for the closest plotted spot; if the Include country in popup box is checked, the text banner will also include the associated country name.

With Spots selected in the World Map window's Plot panel, double-clicking in the World Map will

If you depress the Ctrl key while double-clicking a plotted spot, DXView will rotate your antenna to the short path heading; if you depress the Alt key, DXView will rotate your antenna to the long path heading. 

Displaying Logged QSOs on the built-in world map

When you invoke the Plot function on the Log QSOs tab of DXKeeper's Main window, all QSOs in the Log Page Display will be conveyed to DXView, the QSOs button in the Log sub-panel in the Plot panel of DXView's World Map window will be both enabled and selected, and the each conveyed QSO will be plotted as a red circle on the world map. These plotted QSOs are subject to confirmation status filtering, as specified by checkboxes in the Log sub-panel:

If DXKeeper's Log Page Display was filtered when the Plot function was invoked, the caption of the QSOs button in the Plot panel of DXView's World Map window will change to Filtered QSOs; allowing the mouse cursor to hover over the Filtered QSOs button will display a popup window showing the expression used to filter the Log Page Display.

You can control the diameter of the circles used to depict logged QSOs via the Logged QSO diameter setting.

With QSOs or Filtered QSOs selected in the Log sub-panel of the World Map window's Plot panel, allowing the mouse cursor to linger on the World Map within 500 miles (800 kilometers) of a plotted QSO will display a text banner showing the QSO's callsign, DXCC entity name, band, mode, and grid square (if available). If multiple QSOs specify the same location, the text banner will designate one with the most advance confirmation status for that location.

Displaying DXCC Entity Award Progress on the built-in world map

When DXKeeper is running or with the Open most recent log option enabled, the caption of the Log sub-panel in the World Map window's Plot panel indicates the name of the currently open log file; you can visually plot DXing award progress for this log file by selecting DXCC Entities in the Plot panel's Log sub-panel. These plots are subject to Band Filtering, Mode Filtering, and progress filtering, as specified by checkboxes in the Log sub-panel:

You can control the diameter of the circles used to depict DXCC entities via the DX entity diameter setting.

With DXCC Entities selected in the World Map window's Plot panel, allowing the mouse cursor to linger on the World Map within 500 miles (800 kilometers) of a plotted DXCC entity will display a text banner showing the prefix for the closest plotted country and the associated DXCC entity name.

Displaying DX Spots and DX QSOs on the DX Atlas world map

To display spots on the DX Atlas world map rather than on DXView's built-in World Map window,  check the DX Atlas box the Config window's World Map tab, and check the Spots box in the DX sub-panel on the Config window's Selection panel. Subject to Band Filtering, Mode Filtering, and Origin Filtering, the plotted spot will be marked by a solid red circle that persists until its lifetime expires, or until you terminate DXView. If the Display labels box is checked, the red circle will be accompanied by a text description. If the Display label details box is unchecked, the description will be the spot's callsign; if the Display label details box is checked, the description will be the spot's callsign, frequency, mode, grid square (if available), time, and beam heading. Note that a spot's text description will be suppressed if it would obscure another spot or its description; increasing the zoom will provide additional room for descriptions to appear. 

If the Display labels box is not checked, plotted spots will not be accompanied by text, but if you allow the mouse cursor to rest over a plotted spot, text containing the spot's callsign, frequency, mode, grid square (if available), and time will appear, and remain until you move the mouse cursor.

With Spots selected in the DX sub-panel on the Config window's Selection panel, depressing the Shift key while clicking on the DX Atlas world map with panning mode disabled will select the designated location

If you depress the Ctrl key while clicking a plotted spot, DXView will also rotate your antenna to the short path heading; if you depress the Alt key, DXView will rotate your antenna to the long path heading. 

 

Displaying Logged QSOs on DX Atlas on the DX Atlas world map

To display logged QSOs on the DX Atlas world map rather than on DXView's built-in World Map window,  check the DX Atlas box the Config window's World Map tab. When you invoke the Plot function on the Log QSOs tab of DXKeeper's Main window, all QSOs in the Log Page Display will be conveyed to DXView, the QSOs button in the Log sub-panel in the Configuration window's Selection panel will be both enabled and selected, and the each conveyed QSO will be plotted as a red circle on the DX Atlas world map. If the Display labels box is checked, the red circle will be accompanied by a text description. If the Display label details box is unchecked, the description will be the QSO's callsign; if the Display label details box is checked, the description will be the QSO's callsign, DXCC entity, band, mode, and grid square (if available). Note that a spot's text description will be suppressed if it would obscure another spot or its description; increasing the zoom will provide additional room for descriptions to appear. 

If the Display labels box is not checked, plotted QSOs will not be accompanied by text, but if you allow the mouse cursor to rest over a plotted QSO, text containing the QSO's callsign, DXCC entity, band, mode, and grid square (if available) will appear, and remain until you move the mouse cursor.

Plotted QSOs are subject to confirmation status filtering, as specified by checkboxes in the Log sub-panel on the Configuration window's Selection panel:

If DXKeeper's Log Page Display was filtered when the Plot function was invoked, the caption of the QSOs button in the Log sub-panel in the Configuration window's Selection panel will change to Filtered QSOs; allowing the mouse cursor to hover over the Filtered QSOs button will display a popup window showing the expression used to filter the Log Page Display.

Displaying DXCC Entity Award Progress on DX Atlas on the DX Atlas world map

To display DXCC entities on the DX Atlas world map rather than on DXView's built-in World Map window,  check the DX Atlas box the Config window's World Map tab. When DXKeeper is running or with the Open most recent log option enabled, the caption of the Log sub-panel in the Configuration window's Selection panel indicates the name of the currently open log file; you can visually plot DXing award progress for this log file by selecting DXCC Entities in the Selection panel's Log sub-panel. If the Display labels box is checked, DXCC entities will be plotted on the DX Atlas world map as red circles accompanied by a text description. If the Display label details box is unchecked, the description will be the entity's DXCC prefix; if the Display label details box is checked, the description will be the entity's DXCC prefix and name. Note that a DXCC entity's text description will be suppressed if it would obscure another spot or its description; increasing the zoom will provide additional room for descriptions to appear. 

If the Display labels box is not checked, plotted DXCC entities will not be accompanied by text, but if you allow the mouse cursor to rest over a plotted entity, text containing its DXCC prefix and name will appear, and remain until you move the mouse cursor.

Plotted DXCC entities are subject to Band Filtering, Mode Filtering, and progress filtering, as specified by checkboxes in the Log sub-panel on the Configuration window's Selection panel:

Displaying or Editing the DXCC Database

To display or modify Entries in the DXCC Database, click the Info window's DXCC button.

Online Help Index