When all is said and done, this is the main function of a DX cluster. -In its simplest form you can just connect to the node and you will -start to receive DX spots almost immediately! You can check on -recent postings in either a general manner or on a particular band or -mode. You can even check DX by callsign or a fragment of a callsign. -Of course, once you get the hang of things, it is expected that you -start posting some yourself! After all, there would be no clusters -if people did not post DX and you get the added thrill of the hunt!
- -As we have already said, it is possible just to connect to the -cluster and you will receive spots automatically. However, you may -wish to check on spots just posted. Maybe you wish to see if a -particular band is open or if a certain callsign is active, perhaps a -DXpedition. The command to do this is SHOW/DX. Without any -other arguments, this command will output the last 10 spots -posted. It is possible to look at more than this, for example the -last 20 or 50 spots, by adding the number to the command. You can -make it even more specific by adding a band in either wavelength or -frequency, and/or any additional information such as QSL details.
-Examples:
--
-
-show/dx
-show/dx 5
-show/dx 20
-
-will show the last 10, 5 and 20 spots received by the cluster -respectively.
-Examples
--
-
-show/dx on 20m
-show/dx 10 on 20m
-show/dx 20 on 20m
-
-will show the last 5, 10 or 20 spots on 20 metres only.
-It is also possible to check for certain callsigns, or fragments of -callsigns in the same way.
-Examples:
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-
-show/dx g0vgs
-show/dx 10 g0vgs
-
-would show the last 5 or 10 dx spots containing the callsign g0vgs.
- -You can check for DX by offset and also by specifying a comment to -search for.
-Examples:
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-
-show/dx 30-40
-show/dx 14000-14033
-show/dx iota
-
-would show the spots that arrived between 30 and 40 spots ago and any -spots with the word iota in the comment field. The case of -the comment is not important.
-Checking DX posted on a certain day is possible too. All you have -to do here is to specify how many days ago it was like this ...
-Example:
--
-
-show/dx day 30
-
-It is of course possible to specify multiple arguments.
-Example:
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-show/dx 20 prefix 9a on vhf day 30
-
-This would show the last 20 spots posted by or about calls with the prefix -9a on vhf 30 days ago.
-As you can see the SHOW/DX command is very flexible, so if you are -not sure whether something will work or not, try it and see! More -information can be found in the Command Set section.
- -To post DX you use the DX command. The syntax is shown below.
-Example:
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-dx (frequency) (callsign) (remarks)
-
-Where frequency is in kilohertz and the callsign is the callsign of -the station you have worked or heard, (ie not your own callsign!). -The remarks section allows you to add information like the operators -name or perhaps a location. Actually DXSpider will allow the frequency -and callsign fields to be entered in any order.
-Example:
--
-
-dx 14004 pa3ezl OP Aurelio 599
-
-In fact, all the following will give the same result...
--
-
-dx 14004 pa3ezl OP Aurelio 599
-dx pa3ezl 14004 OP Aurelio 599
-dx pa3ezl 14.004 OP Aurelio 599
-
-This posting, or callout as it is known, will be forwarded to all -other connected stations both at the cluster you are connected to and -other active clusters in the network. The callout will also be sent -to you as proof of receipt.
- -