DXSPOTS.COM
N5IN AR-Cluster
The DXSPOTS.COM N5IN AR-Cluster distributes World-Wide DX Spots and WWV Solar Activity announcements via the web at N5IN-WebCluster and via telnet at telnet://dxspots.com. AX/IP and AX/UDP access is also available. An alternate cluster, described at http://dxspots.net, is available at telnet://dxspots.net.
Setting and
Viewing Your Filters Via N5IN-Telnet
When you connect for the
FIRST time to N5IN-Telnet your filters will
be set automatically to:
set/filter k,ve/pass DX spots only from spotters
in K and VE
set/filter dxbm/pass hf Show
HF including 12, 17, and 30 meter spots
You may view your currently effective filter options by
typing: “show/filter”.
You may clear all your filters and receive everything by
typing: “set/nofilter”. After clearing
your filters you may restore your filters::
set/nofilter
Removes all your filters
set/filter k,ve/pass DX spots only from spotters
in K and VE.
set/filter dxbm/pass hf Show
HF including
12, 17, and 30 meter spots
show/filter To confirm your settings
If you wish add 6 meters to the above you should substitute instead:
set/filter
dxbm/pass hf,6-cw,6-ssb,6-fmM Show
HF,30,17,12,and 6 meter spots
The
commands must be issued in the sequence shown above in order to be
effective! A User’s Manual
describing all the filtering options is available at the AR-Cluster home page.
Sending Test
Spots
To verify the system is working you may issue a test spot using the special call TE1ST. The test spot will echo back only to you, making you a considerate AR-Cluster user!
DX TE1ST 28050.0 This test spot will echo only to me
Setting and
Viewing Your Filters Via N5IN-WebCluster
The N5IN-WebCluster provides a convenient way to set and view all your account settings. You must first disconnect if you are connected via telnet or packet, otherwise changes you make via the web interface will not be effective. On the N5IN-WebCluster initial page, from the –Choose Page- drop down box select Account Settings and proceed to view or change all your settings, including filters. When selecting multiple filters, for example K and VE, you must hold down the control key so that both K and VE will be highlighted. These changes will apply to your next telnet or packet access to N5IN-Telnet.
Setting and
Viewing Your Filters Via The VE7CC AR-Cluster User Program
The VE7CC AR-Cluster Access Program provides a free full-featured telnet and packet interface to AR-Cluster. It will display your current filter set up and allow very easy entry of desired changes. But this is just a small part of its amazing features. I recommend you take a look at it!
Staying
Connected via Telnet and Packet
In many cases ‘keep-alive’ as detailed below will be sufficient to keep you connected, however the problem could also be hardware. From personal experience on one of my system which for years was able to say connected around the clock became unreliable. The problem was not apparent for e-mail nor for web surfing, however I could not say connected via telnet to N5IN for extended periods. That machine had built in ethernet on the motherboard and had worked well. Finding no solution using ‘keep-alive’ I disabled the on board ethernet and added a PCI ethernet card. That solved the problem. Of course there are many possible hardware problems, from your cable/dsl modem, router, switches, but in this case the on board ethernet was the problem.
AR-Cluster generates a ‘smart’ keep-alive string consisting of the standard AR time stamped prompt following every 9-minute period without any traffic. For some users the AR-Cluster 9-minute keep-alive period will be too long. In such a case, if your telnet/log program offers a built in ‘keep-alive’, you should enable it. If your program permits you to set the keep-alive period try a period of 5 minutes…it may be adequate. Setting a time period shorter than necessary consumes precious bandwidth, particularly on packet. A summary of keep-alive capability of popular programs follows:
|
Program |
Packet |
Keep-Alive |
Telnet |
Keep-Alive |
|
Yes |
None |
No |
|
|
|
Yes |
None |
Yes |
None |
|
|
Yes |
None |
Yes |
None |
|
|
Yes |
None |
Yes |
Basic |
|
|
Yes |
Basic |
Yes |
Basic |
|
|
Yes |
Smart |
Yes |
Smart |
|
|
Yes |
Smart |
Yes |
Smart |
|
|
Yes |
Basic |
Yes |
Basic |
|
|
Yes |
Basic |
Yes |
Basic |
|
|
Yes |
None |
No |
|
|
|
Yes |
Basic |
No |
|
|
|
Yes |
Smart |
Yes |
Smart |
|
|
Yes |
None |
Yes |
None |
|
|
Yes |
None |
Yes |
None |
‘Basic’ means the program generates a keep-alive on a timed basis irrespective of channel activity, thus unnecessarily cluttering up your page. ‘Smart’ means that the program monitors incoming traffic from the cluster and resets it’s timer. Only if the selected time period is reached without any incoming traffic is the keep-alive packet sent. The ‘Smart’ method produces less screen clutter and saves precious bandwidth on packet and is the preferred keep-alive.
The above information was gleaned from help files and manuals found on the vendor’s web pages and in some cases in discussion with the program authors. If you find any errors in this table please tell me so I may research further and correct.
Any logging program offering a packet interface, and all of the above do, can use DXTelnet (basic keep-alive) or VE7CC (smart keep-alive) to add telnet and packet capability with additional capabilities such as auto-connect/reconnect.
The absence of ‘keep-alive’ in a contest program is not a significant drawback, as usually the cluster traffic during a contest will be more than adequate to keep the connection alive.
MFJ TNC’s, and perhaps others, have a setting ACKPRIOR. It is critical that this be set to OFF. The default setting of ON can generate disconnects of that user as well as other radio users.
SETTING UP A
REMOTE ACCESS SITE FOR DX SPOTS