DX Monitor 0.94

DX Monitor is a program for Windows (95/98/NT/2K/XP) for cooperation with an Internet cluster OH2AQ. The author of this shareware is Peter Jennings VE3SUN. It allows receiving, sending and managing DX spots, announcements and WWV. In addition to a text listing, it can project spots onto a directional or surface map, synchronize PC time according to the time standard, and display station information from callbooks on CD or the Internet.

DX Monitor 0.94 installation consists of extracting files from a compressed ZIP file to a selected directory (e.g. C:HAMDX Monitor). It occupies approximately 1.5 MB on the disk. Hardware requirements are minimal, but in order to really use the program, you need a non-stop Internet connection.

At the first launch, a configuration window will open where you can define your own data. You do not change the URL (list of Internet addresses), but you can set the interval of loading new data, access to the callbook on CD and details of synchronization with the time standard.

If you are connected to the Internet, you can start immediately by pressing a button on the program bar. DX Monitor instantly loads spots from the OH2AQ cluster. There will probably also be information from bands that you are not interested in, or you would like to set a notification when a DX station that you are interested in appears...

…. and therefore set your own filters and alarms. In the menu, click on "Options" and then on "Filters". In the form, enter the range of frequencies (bands) you are interested in and check "Enable Filters".

Alerts for rare stations can be defined in the "Tools - Set DX Alerts" menu. In the lines below, write the prefixes or stations that you want DX Monitor to alert you to. The program will highlight these spots in red, and you can also activate an audio warning. Confirm your selection by unchecking "Enable DX Alerts".

Spots can be sorted in different ways or displayed in maps. This method is particularly useful for finding the directions in which it "goes". I was only disappointed by the quality of the surface map. I was expecting more than a stark vector map. This map is stored in the "world.bmp" file, which is not so difficult to replace with a better one.

We read and write announcements in a separate window, but WWV numbers (SFI, A and K indexes) are displayed on the bar. The program also includes a simple sked scheduler.

You can get information from the callbook by double-clicking on any brand. QRZ.com is preset from internet callbooks.

The whole program seems extremely functional to me. It is controlled very well and is clear. For being a beta version (the year listed is 1999) it's exactly what I wanted. So I have no choice but to rate DX Monitor excellent!

You can download DX Monitor 0.94 at CQ.sk.