1 The DXSpider User Filtering Primer v1.0
2 Compiled By W3BG - Jim Samuels (jimsam@comcast.net) With
3 Introduction by N3RD - Dave Hawes (dave.n3rd@comcast.net)
4 April 2003 revision 0.2
6 A primer and tutorial for Users and SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster
8 ______________________________________________________________________
15 3. Configuring Spot Filters
16 3.1 What is a spot filter?
17 3.2 How can filters be used?
19 4. Types of spot filters used in DXSpider
20 4.1 Numbering lines and slots
21 4.2 Reject before accept
22 4.3 Using Multiple Reject Filter Rules
23 4.4 A very useful command
24 4.5 Case does not matter
29 6. Filters to reject spots based on frequency
33 6.4 Sub-bands as part of range
34 6.5 Filters to reject spots based on the "info" data in the spot
35 6.6 Filters to reject spots based on call
36 6.7 Filters to reject spots based on call_dxcc
37 6.8 Filters to reject spots based on call_itu
38 6.9 Filters to reject spots based on call_zone
39 6.10 Filters to reject spots based on call_state
40 6.11 Filters to reject spots based on by
43 7.1 Filters to accept spots based on frequency
44 7.2 Sub-bands as part of range
45 7.3 Filters to accept spots based on info
46 7.4 Filters to accept spots based on call
47 7.5 Filters to accept spots based on call_dxcc
48 7.6 Filters to accept spots based on call_itu
49 7.7 Filters to accept spots based on call_zone
50 7.8 Filters to accept spots based on call_state
51 7.9 Filters to accept spots based on by
54 9. Some Practice Examples
58 ______________________________________________________________________
60 \e[1m1. Introduction.
\e[0m
62 The PacketCluster software written in the mid-80s by Dick Newell,
63 AK1A, has served us well. Dick has moved on though and has not
64 supported the software with updates etc. for the last 10 years.
65 Numerous PacketCluster "clones" have come and gone over the years,
66 however there is one, called DX Spider, which provides a very similar
67 user interface to that of AK1A, allows internet connections of users
68 and node-to-node links, is actively supported by the author, and best
69 of all is freeware. FRC has started to convert several nodes to
73 One of the strengths of DX Spider is its very powerful and flexible DX
74 spot filtering routines. These filters are totally different from
75 anything we learned how to do with PacketCluster, and along with their
76 power and flexibility comes somewhat of a learning curve. Hence the
80 In the following sections, you will learn that you can filter DX spots
87 Callsign of the spot (by state, country, zone, or specific callsign)
88 Callsign of the spotter (by state, country, zone, or specific callsign)
89 Callsign of the source node of the spot (by state, country, zone, or specific callsign)
93 With a few keystrokes, you can set up a filter for the CQ WW SSB
94 contest, for example, that says that you only want to see SSB spots on
95 the contesting bands. In the ARRL contest, it is simple to exclude
96 spots for Ws and VEs. For example, the best all around one-line
97 filter for users in the CQ WW SSB contest would be:
101 accept/spots on contesthf/ssb
105 This simply reads, "I want to get spots on the hf contesting bands on
109 Jim Samuels, W3BG, has put together this primer which not only
110 provides complete details on the format for all the available filter
111 commands, but also provides useful examples that can be simply typed
112 in, without the need to learn the specifics.
115 I would be remiss in not thanking Charlie Carroll, K1XX, who gave a
116 lot of encouragement and mentoring, and provided some of the material
120 As always, your local sysop is available to help you out, if need be.
121 Don't hesitate to contact him for assistance.
128 \e[1m2. Foreword
\e[0m
130 While attempting to learn how DXSpider filters work, I found that I
131 had to glean bits and pieces of information from the DXSpider User
132 Manual and Administrators Guide as well as various posted messages,
133 help files and the program and data-base files themselves. Therefore,
134 this is by no means an original work. I have used and in some cases
135 copied from some of these sources. What I have tried to accomplish is
136 to gather this scattered information, put it in one spot (please
137 pardon the pun) so others might benefit. I would advise those with
138 interest to go back and read these other sources at their leisure.
142 \e[1m3. Configuring Spot Filters
\e[0m
144 \e[1m3.1. What is a spot filter?
\e[0m
146 A spot filter is one rule (a one line spot filter) or multiple rules
147 (multiple line spot filters) that a user can setup within DXSpider to
148 control which specific spot(s) are received at the shack console.
149 These configurable filters/rules reside on the DXSpider node and are
150 stored along with the user's other information. Filters can be likened
151 to a car wash . . . . . like cars, information goes in one end dirty,
152 gets washed and comes out the other end cleaned.
155 All spots received from other users on the cluster, or those received
156 from other nodes, start out life destined for each and every connected
157 user's console. If spot filtering has been configured, all spots
158 headed for that user first go into the filter input, are processed and
159 sent out the other end of these filters before being sent to the
160 user's console. Like a car wash, each spot goes through one or many
161 stages depending on whether the user wanted a simple or a super-duper
162 filtering job. Along the way, the spot gets scrubbed, unwanted
163 information removed or wanted information passed on and finally the
164 wanted spots only are spit out the other end - nice and clean with all
165 unwanted "stuff" sent down the drain to the infamous "bit-bucket."
169 \e[1m3.2. How can filters be used?
\e[0m
171 For example, let's say our local user has never owned a microphone in
172 his life and definitely doesn't want to see any of those useless SSB
173 spots. Our user simply sets up a basic filter to reject any SSB spots
174 before they reach the user's console. Similarly, it's now the ARRL CW
175 DX contest weekend, so not only does our user not want to see SSB
176 spots, but now doesn't want to see any UHF, VHF, DATA or any
177 US/Canadian "DX" spots. Our user now only accepts HF CW CONTEST spots
178 and in the same rule rejects spots for W and VE stations. In these and
179 many more situations, "filters are our friends."
183 \e[1m4. Types of spot filters used in DXSpider
\e[0m
185 Basic filter types are "accept", "reject", and "clear" where the
186 following applies ...
190 Reject filters - any spots that match will be dumped, all others passed on.
191 Accept filters - any spots that match are passed on, all others are dumped.
192 Clear filters - the filter slot(s) referenced will be cleared from the filter
197 For the most part we will use only reject and accept filters. These
198 are the main filter types. Basically, reject means dump it and accept
199 means take it and pass it on to the user. By nature, accept filters
200 are more powerful than reject filters. A user can generally do with a
201 one line accept rule what it could take many lines of reject rules to
202 accomplish. However, the flip-side of this statement is that a series
203 of reject filters are usually easier to administer and change.
206 \e[1m4.1. Numbering lines and slots
\e[0m
208 There are ten usable filter slots in DXSpider. Each slot holds one
209 reject and one accept rule. Therefore, each type filter can have up to
210 ten lines of rules contained in these ten slots. The filter rules must
211 be numbered sequentially, that is, 0-9 lines of reject filter rules
212 and 0-9 lines of accept filter rules to correspond to their respective
213 slot position. If no number is used, every line is assumed to be in
214 slot 1 and the addition of a second filter line of the same type
215 without a number will just over-write the first that was previously
216 written to slot 1. (Why not slot 0? I don't know. This is the way it
220 \e[4mImportant:
\e[24m The filter rules are applied in sequence, i.e., 0-9. If a
221 line matches, action is taken on that line. The filter sequence acts
222 on rules in the order listed. It acts on the reject filter in each
223 slot before acting on the accept filter contained in that slot. If the
224 slot is completely blank or if a reject or accept filter line is
225 missing in that slot it skips right over to the next filter rule in
226 the sequence. A picture of a filter set might look like this ...
230 Execution Sequence Slot Number Filter Rule
231 1 Slot0 reject/spot 0 <pattern>
232 2 accept/spot 0 <pattern>
233 3 Slot1 reject/spot 1 <pattern>
234 4 accept/spot 1 <pattern>
235 5 Slot2 reject/spot 2 <pattern>
236 6 accept/spot 2 <pattern>
238 19 Slot9 reject/spot 9 <pattern>
239 20 accept/spot 9 <pattern>
243 \e[1m4.2. Reject before accept
\e[0m
245 This is not a good rule for life, but it makes sense for DXSpider
246 filters. As a general rule, reject filter rules within a slot are
247 always executed before accept filter rules. There is a very good
248 reason for this. If a spot doesn't match a reject filter, the spot is
249 passed to the next filter line in the set. However, if a spot matches
250 an accept filter, it is sent immediately to the user.
252 \e[1m4.3. Using Multiple Reject Filter Rules
\e[0m
254 Another important concept to know is that you can do everything you
255 want to do with multiple reject filters AND NO ACCEPT FILTERS. By
256 default, if a spot doesn't match any of the reject filter definitions,
257 then the system considers you want the spot and sends it to you. For
258 example, the following two filters perform exactly the same thing ...
262 accept/spots on contesthf
263 reject/spots not on contesthf
267 So, why would we choose one rather than the other? Using reject
268 syntax allows you to add another filter line easily, without
269 disturbing the first line. A real example will show us how this
270 works. Let's say that there is a RTTY contest coming up and you don't
271 wish to see the RTTY spots. Simply add another reject filter like
276 reject/spots 2 on hf/rtty
280 Note that we need to specify that this is the second line of reject
281 filter definitions. Also, the "RTTY" sub-band specification has to be
282 associated with a range of bands; it can't be specified all by itself.
283 So, we just add it behind the range of bands defined by "HF". So in
284 our example, if the user does a show/filter, he will be told by the
285 Spider that his current filters are ...
289 filter 1 reject not on contesthf
290 filter 2 reject on hf/rtty
294 With these filters set up, if a spot comes through on 14085 kHz, the
295 filter works like this ...
299 filter1: Is spot NOT on the HF contest bands? No.
300 The spot doesn't match the filter definition, so pass it to
303 filter2: Is spot within the frequency range defined for RTTY? Yes.
304 Since the spot matches the filter definition, the spot is rejected
305 and the user never sees it.
309 Had the frequency of the spot been 14025, then the spot would have not
310 matched the filter2 definition either, would have passed through all
311 the filters, and would have been sent to the user at the end of the
312 filter set. Similarly, had the spot been on 10 MHz, it would have met
313 the definition of filter1, been rejected immediately, and the
314 filtering process would have stopped before processing filter2.
317 In addition, the filtering system has a rough time handling accept
318 filters followed by reject filters and adds inefficiency to the
319 processing. (Note: a reject as a "qualifier" to an accept rule in an
320 accept filter line is okay as we will see below)
324 \e[1m4.4. A very useful command
\e[0m
326 To see all active filters in use at any time, just type the following
335 \e[1m4.5. Case does not matter
\e[0m
337 In entering any filter - case does not matter. Upper, lower, or mixed
338 case will not effect how filters work or perform.
341 \e[1m4.6. Qualifiers
\e[0m
343 Logical operands can be used in rule sets to combine multiple actions
344 or qualify others. These are ...
350 or a and not (c or b)= action
354 Note: as a general rule when or is used you must also use parentheses
355 (). We will see how these can be used in examples later.
358 \e[1m4.7. Comma Separation
\e[0m
360 Any command can have multiple pattern variables if commas separate
361 them. For example ...
365 reject/spot call_state nj,ny,pa,de,md
369 \e[1m5. Reject filters
\e[0m
371 A reject filter line means that if a spot matches, send it to the
372 trash, dump it, do not send it down the line to the next rule or to
373 the user, but pass-on all other spots that do not match.
375 Syntax: reject/spots [0-9] <pattern>
379 Any of the following patterns may be used in this line ...
390 call_state <state 2-letter abbreviations>
395 by_state <state 2-letter abbreviations>
396 origin <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
397 channel <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
401 \e[1m6. Filters to reject spots based on frequency
\e[0m
405 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] freq <range>
409 reject/spot [0-9] on <range>
413 Important: both
\e[4mfreq
\e[24m and
\e[4mon
\e[24m are exactly the same and can be used
414 interchangeably - most persons use
\e[4mon
\e[24m (less typing.)
417 For range, you can specify a frequency like 7040, a range of
418 frequencies like 0/30000 ( the whole HF band) or use any of the "band"
419 or "region" names defined in the show/bands command.
422 \e[1m6.1. Bands Available
\e[0m
438 military: 29700 -> 50000, 230000 -> 420000
439 band1: 47000 -> 49999, 52000 -> 68000
441 pmrlow: 68000 -> 87500
443 band2: 87500 -> 108000
444 aircraft: 108000 -> 137500
445 pmrmid: 138000 -> 165000
447 pmrhigh: 165000 => 174000
448 band3: 176000 => 230000
449 220: 220000 => 222000
450 pmruhf: 425000 => 430000, 440000 => 471000
451 70cm: 430000 => 450000
452 band4: 471000 => 550000
453 band5: 550000 => 868000
454 23cm: 1240000 => 1325000
455 13cm: 2310000 => 2450000
456 9cm: 3400000 => 3475000
457 6cm: 5650000 => 5850000
458 3cm: 10000000 => 10500000
459 12mm: 24000000 => 24250000
460 6mm: 47000000 => 47200000
464 \e[1m6.2. Regions Available
\e[0m
468 all: 73khz 136khz 160m 80m 60m 40m 30m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m 6m 4m
469 2m 220 70cm 23cm 9cm 6cm 3cm 12mm 6mm
470 vhfradio: band1 band2
472 contesthf: 160m 80m 40m 20m 15m 10m
473 warc: 60m 30m 17m 12m
474 pmr: pmrlow pmrmid pmrhigh pmruhf
476 shf: 23cm 13cm 9cm 6cm 3cm
479 hf: 160m 80m 60m 40m 30m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m
485 \e[1m6.3. Examples
\e[0m
487 The following line will reject spots on 7,040 kHz and pass all others.
491 reject/spot 0 freq 7040
495 The next line will reject spots from 0 to 30,000 kHz and pass on all
500 reject/spot 1 on 0/30000
504 This next will trash all spots in the frequency range 144000 -> 148000
505 kHz and pass on all others.
509 reject/spot 2 freq 2m
513 This rule will reject all spots on 6m, 4m, 2m, and 220 and pass on
522 This rule will dump all spots on the 160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m,
523 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m bands and all spots on 70cm and 23cm bands passing
528 reject/spot 4 freq hf and freq uhf
532 This is a special spot to be used only by members of the Yankee
533 Clipper Contest Club during contest weekends. Hi!
541 \e[1m6.4. Sub-bands as part of range
\e[0m
543 In conjunction with range, you can use the following sub-band names,
547 cw, rtty, data, ssb, and sstv
551 by using a forward-slash [(band or region)/sub-band] as part of the
552 range definition. For example ...
555 This rule will reject all HF phone spots passing on all others
559 reject/spot 0 freq hf/ssb
563 This filter rule will reject all HF CW spots but will not reject DATA
564 and RTTY spots in the CW range and will pass on all other spots.
568 reject/spot 1 on hf/cw and not (on hf/data or on hf/rtty)
572 \e[1m6.5. Filters to reject spots based on the "info" data in the spot
\e[0m
576 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] info <string>
580 This filter is used to key on information contained in the information
581 section of the spot. One could use this to reject any spots containing
582 IOTA, QSL OP or any other "key-word" used in the information string of
589 This filter will reject spots containing IOTA information and pass on
594 reject/spot 0 info IOTA
598 This filter will reject all general CW spots on HF, but will still
599 permit any HF CW spots that contain iota information in addition to
604 reject/spot 1 on hf/cw and not info iota
608 This next filter will reject spots asking or containing QSL
609 information and pass on all others
613 reject/spot 2 info QSL
617 Note: The following series of filters are based on
\e[4mcall
\e[24m and
\e[4mby
\e[24m. Call
618 always references the callsign of the spotted DX station. By always
619 references the callsign of the spotting station.
622 \e[1m6.6. Filters to reject spots based on call
\e[0m
626 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call <prefixes>
630 This filter is misleading in a way. It is strictly based on the
631 spotted call sign letters or numbers entered and not based on
632 countries or DXCC entities. One could filter on JIMSAM62 if desired.
638 This filter will reject spots for G1AAA, GJ2BBB, and GW3CCC and will
639 pass on spots for M0AAA.
647 This next filter will reject spots for PA3AAA and pass on spots for
652 reject/spot 1 call PA
656 This filter will reject spots for K1AA, KC4AAA, and KH6DDD and pass
657 on spots for W3BG and N3RD
665 \e[1m6.7. Filters to reject spots based on call_dxcc
\e[0m
669 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call_dxcc <numbers or prefixes>
673 This filter is based on DXCC entities and uses either the country
674 prefix or the DXCC entity number, found by using the command
675 \e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m.
683 W DXCC: 226 ITU: 7 CQ: 4 LL: 43 0 N 87 54 W (W, United-States-W)
688 VE DXCC: 197 ITU: 9 CQ: 5 LL: 45 18 N 66 6 W (VE, New-Brunswick-VE)
689 DXCC: 197 ITU: 9 CQ: 5 LL: 48 30 N 56 0 W (VE, Newfoundland-VE)
690 DXCC: 197 ITU: 9 CQ: 5 LL: 44 36 N 63 36 W (VE, Nova-Scotia-VE)
691 DXCC: 197 ITU: 4 CQ: 5 LL: 45 30 N 73 36 W (VE, Quebec-VE)
692 DXCC: 197 ITU: 4 CQ: 4 LL: 43 42 N 79 24 W (VE, Ontario-VE)
693 DXCC: 197 ITU: 3 CQ: 4 LL: 49 54 N 97 6 W (VE, Manitoba-VE)
694 DXCC: 197 ITU: 3 CQ: 4 LL: 50 30 N 104 36 W (VE, Saskatchewan-VE)
695 DXCC: 197 ITU: 2 CQ: 3 LL: 51 0 N 114 6 W (VE, Alberta-VE)
696 DXCC: 197 ITU: 2 CQ: 3 LL: 49 18 N 123 6 W (VE, British-Columbia-VE)
697 DXCC: 197 ITU: 75 CQ: 1 LL: 60 42 N 135 6 W (VE, Yukon-VE)
704 This spot filter will reject all spots for US and Canada stations and
709 reject/spot 0 call_dxcc 226,197
713 This spot filter will reject all spots for US and Canada stations and
714 pass on all others including the special event station, W2WTC, who I
715 want to work the next time he is on the air.
719 reject/spot 1 call_dxcc w,ve not call w2wtc
723 \e[1m6.8. Filters to reject spots based on call_itu
\e[0m
725 Similarly, call_itu and call_zone use ITU regions that can also be
726 obtained using the show/prefix <prefix> command (see above.)
730 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_itu <numbers>
737 This spot filter will reject all spots for ITU region 7 and pass on
742 reject/spot 0 call_itu 7
746 \e[1m6.9. Filters to reject spots based on call_zone
\e[0m
750 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call_zone <numbers>
754 This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by
755 using the command
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m (see above.)
761 This spot filter will reject all spots for CQ zone 5 and pass on all
766 reject/spot 0 call_zone 5
770 \e[1m6.10. Filters to reject spots based on call_state
\e[0m
774 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] call_state <state2-letter abbreviations>
777 This filter is based on the state of the call spotted, for those
778 callsigns contained in the usdb database. Use the command
\e[4mshow/usdb
\e[0m
779 to see an example of a listing in the database, like this ...
791 This spot filter will reject all spots for stations in the Mid-
792 Atlantic states and pass on all others.
796 reject/spot call_state nj,ny,pa,de,md
800 \e[1m6.11. Filters to reject spots based on by
\e[0m
802 \e[4mby
\e[24m filters are similar to and function exactly as call filters except
803 that they act on the spotting station callsign and not the spotted
810 This filter is similar to and functions like the call <prefixes> (See
811 above) except that it rejects spots generated by the spotting callsign
812 and passes all other spots.
816 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by <prefixes>
820 This next filter is based on DXCC entities and uses the DXCC entity
821 number found by using the command show/prefix <prefix> and it rejects
822 spots generated within the spotting DXCC entity and passes all other
827 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_dxcc <numbers>
831 This next filter is based on ITU regions and uses the ITU region
832 number found by using the command
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m (see above), except that
833 it rejects spots generated by a spotting callsign within the ITU
834 region and passes all other spots.
838 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_itu <numbers>
842 This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by
843 using the command
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m (see above), except that it rejects
844 spots generated by a spotting callsign within the CQ zone and passes
849 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_zone <numbers>
853 This filter is based on the state of the spotting station found by
854 using the command
\e[4mshow/usdb
\e[24m and passes all other spots.
858 Syntax: reject/spot [0-9] by_state <state2-letter postal codes
862 \e[1m7. Accept filters
\e[0m
864 An accept filter line means that if a spot matches pass it on to the
865 user, send it down the line to the next rule or to the user, and
866 trash, dump, all other spots that do not match to the next filter
871 Syntax: accept/spots [0-9] <pattern>
875 Any of the following patterns may be used in this line ...
886 call_state <state2-letter abbreviations>
891 by_state <state2-letter abbreviations>
892 origin <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
893 channel <prefixes> Used primarily be SYSOPS, not by users and not discussed.
897 Using these patterns, we can accept spots based upon ...
901 Frequency of the spot
902 Callsign of the spot (country or zone)
903 Callsign of the spotter (country or zone)
904 Contents of the "information field" which comes with the spot
908 \e[1m7.1. Filters to accept spots based on frequency
\e[0m
912 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] freq <range>
916 accept/spot [0-9] on <range>
920 Important: as noted before, both
\e[4mfreq
\e[24m and
\e[4mon
\e[24m are exactly the same and
921 can be used interchangeably.
924 For range, you can specify a frequency like 7040, a range of
925 frequencies like 0/30000 ( the whole HF spectrum) or use any of the
926 band/region names defined in the SHOW/BANDS command (see above).
932 This will pass on a HF spots only from 0 to 30,000 kHz and dump all
937 accept/spot 1 on 0/30000
941 This passes on all spots in the frequency range 144000 -> 148000 kHz
942 and trash all others.
946 accept/spot 2 freq 2m
950 This rule will only pass on spots on 6m, 4m, 2m, and 220 and reject
958 This rule will pass on all spots on the 160m, 80m, 60m, 40m, 30m, 20m,
959 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m bands and all spots on 70cm and 23cm bands only.
960 All other spots are trashed.
964 accept/spot 4 freq hf and freq uhf
968 \e[1m7.2. Sub-bands as part of range
\e[0m
970 In conjunction with range, you can use the following sub-band names:
971 CW, RTTY, DATA, SSB, and SSTV by using a back-slash [(band or
972 region)/sub-band] as part of the range definition.
978 This rule will only accept and pass on HF phone spots rejecting all
983 accept/spot 0 freq hf/ssb
987 This filter rule will accept all HF CW spots but will not include DATA
988 and RTTY spots in the CW range. In addition all other spots will be
993 accept/spot 1 on hf/cw and not (on hf/data or on hf/rtty)
997 \e[1m7.3. Filters to accept spots based on info
\e[0m
1001 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] info <string>
1005 This filter is used to key on information contained in the information
1006 section of the spot. One could use this to accept any spots containing
1007 IOTA, QSL OP or any other "key-word" used in the information string of
1014 This filter will accept spots containing IOTA information only and
1017 accept/spot 0 info IOTA
1021 This filter will accept only 10m SSB spots, but will still permit any
1022 spots that contain iota information in addition - rejecting all other
1027 accept/spot 1 on 10m/ssb and info iota
1031 This next filter will accept spots asking or containing QSL
1032 information and dump all other spots
1036 accept/spot 2 info QSL
1040 Note: The following series of filters are based on
\e[4mcall
\e[24m and
\e[4mby
\e[24m. Call
1041 always references the callsign of the spotted DX station. By always
1042 references the callsign of the spotting station.
1045 \e[1m7.4. Filters to accept spots based on call
\e[0m
1049 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call <prefixes>
1053 This filter is misleading in a way. It is strictly based on the
1054 spotted call sign letters or numbers entered and not based on
1055 countries or DXCC entities.
1061 This filter will accept spots for G1AAA, GJ2BBB, and GW3CCC and reject
1062 all others, including M0AAA.
1066 accept/spot 0 call G
1070 This next filter will accept spots for PA3AAA and reject spots for
1071 PB4BBB as well as all others.
1075 accept/spot 1 call PA
1078 This filter will accept spots for callsigns beginning with "K", i.e.,
1079 K1AA, KC4AAA, KH6DDD and reject spots for W3BG and N3RD as well as
1084 accept/spot 2 call K
1088 \e[1m7.5. Filters to accept spots based on call_dxcc
\e[0m
1092 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_dxcc <numbers or prefixes>
1096 This filter is based on DXCC entities and uses either the country
1097 prefixes or the DXCC entity number found by using the command
1098 \e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m. See example of
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m above.
1105 accept/spot 0 call_dxcc 226,197
1109 accept/spot 0 call_dxcc ve,w
1113 (Both will work) These spot filters will accept all spots for US and
1114 Canada stations and trash all others.
1117 The folowing spot filter will accept all spots for US stations and yet
1118 reject any spots for W3FM who is always being spotted by Europeans and
1119 filling up my screen.
1123 accept/spot 1 call_dxcc w not call w3fm
1127 \e[1m7.6. Filters to accept spots based on call_itu
\e[0m
1129 Similarly, call_itu and call_zone use ITU regions that can also be
1130 obtained using the
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m command (see above.)
1134 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_itu <numbers>
1141 This spot filter will accept all spots for ITU region 7 and reject
1146 accept/spot 0 call_itu 7
1150 \e[1m7.7. Filters to accept spots based on call_zone
\e[0m
1154 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_zone <numbers>
1158 This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by
1159 using the command
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m (see above.)
1165 This spot filter will accept all spots for CQ zone 5 and reject all
1170 accept/spot 0 call_zone 5
1174 \e[1m7.8. Filters to accept spots based on call_state
\e[0m
1178 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_state <state2-letter postal codes>
1182 This filter is based on state of the call spotted for those callsigns
1183 contained in the usdb database.
1189 This spot filter will accept all spots of stations located in the
1190 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and reject all others. It's the PA QSO
1195 accept/spot 0 call_state pa
1198 \e[1m7.9. Filters to accept spots based on by
\e[0m
1200 \e[4mby
\e[24m filters are similar to and function exactly as call filters except
1201 that they act on the spotting station callsign and not the spotted
1208 This filter is similar to and functions like the call <prefixes> (See
1209 above) except that it accepts spots generated by the spotting callsign
1210 and dumps all other spots.
1214 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] by <prefixes>
1218 This filter is based on DXCC entities and uses the DXCC entity number
1219 found by using the command
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m and it accepts spots generated
1220 within the spotting DXCC entity and rejects other spots.
1224 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] by_dxcc <numbers>
1228 This next filter is based on ITU regions and uses the ITU region
1229 number found by using the command
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m (see above), except that
1230 it accepts spots generated by a spotting callsign within the ITU
1231 region and rejects all other spots.
1235 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_itu <numbers>
1239 This filter is based on CQ zones and uses the CQ zone number found by
1240 using the command
\e[4mshow/prefix
\e[24m (see above), except that it accepts
1241 spots generated by a spotting callsign within the CQ zone and rejects
1246 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] call_zone <numbers>
1250 This filters is based on the state location of the spotting station
1251 found by using the command
\e[4mshow/usdb
\e[24m and accepts only those spots
1252 generated by stations from the states(s) specified rejecting all other
1257 Syntax: accept/spot [0-9] by_state <state2-letter postal codes>
1260 \e[1m8. Clear filters
\e[0m
1262 A clear filter line will delete the slot number specified or all slots
1263 and consequently all filters that have been created by a user.
1267 Syntax: clear/spots [0-9]
1278 This will clear any or both accept and reject spot filters in slot 2.
1286 This will clear each and every user spot filter - it will clear out
1287 all filters in all slots.
1295 Note - if you just want to replace a spot filter, enter the rule again
1296 (with a line number) and it will overwrite the previous filter in that
1297 slot. If you forget the line number, it will overwrite the filter in
1301 \e[1m9. Some Practice Examples
\e[0m
1303 The proceeding sections have discussed the basics of DXSpider filters.
1304 The following are some examples utilizing basic filters and some not
1305 so basic combination filters.
1308 Let's say you don't want to see any of those 6m, 2m, or 220 spots.
1312 reject/spot 0 on uhf
1316 As a good stand alone contest filter ...
1320 accept/spot on contesthf/<mode> where mode is either CW, SSB, or RTTY
1324 Note: since a slot number is not included slot 1 is assumed.
1327 It's a CW contest weekend so you don't want to see any WARC band or
1332 accept/spots 0 on contesthf/cw
1336 It's the same weekend, but you also don't want to see any US or
1337 Canadian spots, or any rtty and data spots that are included in the CW
1338 portion of the bands. Any of the following will accomplish the same
1343 reject/spot 0 not on contesthf/cw
1344 reject/spot 1 on contesthf/data
1345 reject/spot 2 call_dxcc w,ve
1349 accept/spot 0 on contesthf/cw and not (call_dxcc 226,197 or on contesthf/data)
1353 accept/spot 0 on contesthf/cw and not (call_dxcc w,ve or on contesthf/data)
1357 The following two discussions are from the Administrator Manual and
1358 are good "textbook" examples:
1364 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1368 Note that accept and reject can be abbreviated. Also, the first filter
1369 has not been specified with a number. This will automatically be
1370 assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said to reject all HF
1371 spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also
1372 accept anything in VHF and above that is spotted in or by operators in
1373 the zones 14, 15 and 16. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' rule
1374 slot and an 'accept' rule slot. The reject rule slot is executed
1375 BEFORE the accept rule slot.
1378 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match,
1379 the default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for
1380 'accept'. In the example what happens is that the reject is executed
1381 first, any non hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets
1382 through everything else on HF. The next filter line lets through just
1383 VHF/UHF spots from EU.
1386 If you set a reject filter like this ...
1390 reject/spots on hf/cw
1394 Then you will get everything except HF CW spots. You could make this
1395 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested
1396 in IOTA and will work it on CW even though normally you are not
1397 interested in CW, then you could say ...
1401 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
1405 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say,
1409 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
1413 which achieves exactly the same thing. Note that since slot numbers
1414 were not used, slot 1 is assumed.
1417 \e[1m10. Contacts
\e[0m
1419 This Primer is a work in progress. Additional features and filters are
1420 added from time to time by Dirk Koopman, G1TLH, the developer behind
1421 DXSpider. So periodic revisions will be made to this document. If you
1422 have any questions, comments, or suggestions relative to this primer
1423 on spot filtering, please contact,
1427 Jim Samuels, W3BG jimsam@comcast.net
1431 Dave Hawes, N3RD (W3FRC Cluster SYSOP) dave.n3rd@comcast.net