Do I need to install Python to run DX Agent?

No. The Windows zip, the Linux tarball and the Mac package each bring their own Python, so you unpack the file and start it. Nothing else to install.

What is the DX cluster and what is the Reverse Beacon Network?

The DX cluster is where radio amateurs announce the stations they hear; the Reverse Beacon Network is a worldwide set of automatic receivers (skimmers) that decode CW and digital modes and report every station they hear. DX Agent listens to both and keeps the spots that matter to your log.

Yes, it is free and open source under the MIT licence, with no account, no telemetry and no cloud service: it runs on your own computer.

DX cluster · RBN · your log

DX Agent

It watches the DX cluster and the Reverse Beacon Network, checks every spot against your log, and tells you the moment a station you still need is on the air: a new country, a new band or mode, a grid square, a DXpedition that adds something, a park or summit you have not worked.

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Windows · Linux · macOSPython includedFree · MIT

DX Agent: the alert list with a station picked, and the Station tab showing what you have of that country by band and mode, its LoTW status, the beam headings and a one-click Log QSO — The alert list, and what each station adds to your log: need, LoTW status and the bands and modes you already have.

What it tells you

ATNO, new band, new mode An alert only when working that station would actually add something: the country never worked, the band or the mode you are missing, or a combination you do not have.
Maidenhead grid squares The squares you worked and confirmed on the map (VUCC, FFMA), the stations heard with a locator in their square, and a NEW GRID alert when a square you still need on that band is on the air.
Your awards on the map DXCC (Mixed, by mode or band, Satellite, Challenge), WAZ (5BWAZ too) and WAS (the 50 US states), each country, zone or state painted confirmed, worked or missing; click a country to see what you have of it.
DXpeditions worth your time Announced DXpeditions from NG3K, 425 DX News and Club Log, each one saying whether it adds an entity, a band or a mode for you, and whether you are already in their online log.
Your watchlist, and your stations Calls you always want to hear, with wildcards, plus the exact callsigns you are chasing.
POTA, SOTA, IOTA, WWFF Summits, parks and islands, marked new when you have not worked them on that band.
Near you Whether the station is being heard by receivers close to your own station (RBN, cluster, PSKReporter live, and your own WSJT-X's decodes), so you know if the path is open to you.
Ventanas: when to be there For every country you still need, the hours and bands it was heard from stations near yours, built from the spots DX Agent already reads and kept month by month. At the top of each UTC hour an ITS HOUR alert names one that is usually heard near you then, so you know when to be in the chair.
Propagation: VOACAP and the path The chance of a QSO with each station this hour, both ways, with VOACAP built in (nothing to install), the next 24 hours by band, and whether your own signal was reported near the station.
Who hears you Your own call spotted: which skimmers and PSKReporter receivers hear you, how far away and in which country, on the list and the map.
VHF openings An alert when 6 m or 2 m opens around you, from PSKReporter's live reports.
CQ DX Marathon Your score for the year or the Sprint, the countries and CQ zones still missing, and an alert when one of them is on the air.
Several callsigns Each with its own log; alerts and awards for all of them together, or for the one you pick.
One click to the radio Tune to the spot from the dashboard: Log4OM, N1MM, DXLog.net, OmniRig, Hamlib, flrig, DXLab, WSJT-X or TCI (a FlexRadio on AetherSDR, with the alerts on its panadapter; in testing). Its frequency, VFOs and S-meter beside the QSO form, one radio or two, and Hamlib reads it back. And Spot it posts a spot to the DX cluster.
Log without leaving the list A console under the list, the map and the Log view keeps the spots in sight while you work: the radios along its top, one line with call, kHz, band, mode, the reports and Log QSO, the WinKey's messages in a column at the right, and Last QSO at the end of the line. In the Log view the radio keeps its whole window instead of the strip. Fold it to the radios alone, in any view, when you want the room back.
Its own logbook (experimental) DX Agent can keep your log itself: log a QSO with the form filled from the spot and the radio, edit it, filter it, upload it to LoTW, Club Log and QRZ.com, and see who confirmed in LoTW.

Screens

DX Agent: the spot list, filtered to the stations still needed, with band and mode chips — Every spot, or only what you need.

DX Agent: the band and mode grid, with a green ring on the band where the station is on the air now — What you have of that country, band by band and mode by mode.

DX Agent: the DXpeditions tab, with the ones on the air now and what each adds to the log — DXpeditions on the air now, and what each one adds to your log.

DX Agent: the world map with the alerts, the DXpeditions on the air, your own station and the night side — Your DXCC and WAZ standing on a world map.

DX Agent: the map's Grids view, with the grid squares worked and confirmed and the stations on the air in their square — Your grid squares, and who is on the air in each one.

DX Agent: the alert list filtered to activations, with the parks and summits not worked marked new — POTA, SOTA and other activations, the ones you need marked new.

Works with what you already use

Reads the ADIF file of any logger — WSJT-X, Log4OM, N1MM Logger+, DXLog.net, Ham Radio Deluxe, DXLab… — and your LoTW confirmations. A QSO you just saved is taken into account in seconds: straight from Log4OM 2's database, or over UDP from N1MM, DXLog.net, Log4OM and WSJT-X. Your settings and data stay on your computer.

Python 3.11+ standard library only: no accounts, no cloud, no telemetry.

Install

Download the latest version from the releases page.
Windows: unzip dx-agent-<version>-windows.zip and double-click start-dx-agent.bat.
Linux (x86_64): unpack dx-agent-<version>-linux-x86_64.tar.gz and run ./start-dx-agent.sh.
Mac: unpack dx-agent-<version>-macos.tar.gz and double-click start-dx-agent.command.
The dashboard opens in your browser at http://localhost:8073. Open Settings and set your callsign and the path to your ADIF log.

Questions

Do I need to install Python?

No. Each package brings its own Python: you unpack it and start it. Nothing else to install.

Does it use my LoTW confirmations?

Yes. With your LoTW password it downloads your confirmations and merges them with your log, so an entity counts as confirmed even if your logger has not synced it yet. It can also use your LoTW uploads as the log, with no ADIF file at all.

Which loggers does it work with?

Any program that writes an ADIF file. With Log4OM 2 a QSO is read straight from its database within about 10 seconds; QSOs that N1MM Logger+, DXLog.net, Log4OM or WSJT-X send over UDP count at once.

What are the DX cluster and the RBN?

The DX cluster is where radio amateurs announce the stations they hear. The Reverse Beacon Network is a worldwide set of automatic receivers that decode CW and digital modes and report every station they hear. DX Agent listens to both and keeps what matters to your log.

Does it show Maidenhead grid squares?

Yes. The map's Grids view paints the Maidenhead squares you worked and confirmed (VUCC rules: one band for VUCC, 6 m for FFMA) and puts the stations heard with a locator in their square, from your WSJT-X's decodes and the RBN's FT8/FT4 spots. A NEW GRID alert tells you when a square you still need on that band is on the air.

Windows, Linux or Mac?

All three, each with its own package. The Windows-only parts are Log4OM's live log and the Log4OM, N1MM, OmniRig and DXLab tuning targets; Hamlib, flrig and TCI work everywhere.

Is it really free?

Yes: MIT licence, no account, no telemetry, no cloud service. It runs on your computer.

Community · operator to operator

Tell us your ideas. Get in touch.

Questions, ideas, and field notes from people using DX Agent on the air.

Join the discussions

User manual — install, first setup, the screen, alerts, tuning the radio, your logger, DXpeditions, POTA/SOTA, the map and its grid squares, the CQ DX Marathon, LoTW.
Technical documentation — every setting and how it works inside.
All versions, with what changed in each one.
GitHub Discussions — questions, ideas, and conversation.
Problems or ideas: issues.
En castellano: página en español · manual.