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Ham Radio DX Monitor

by @capt-marbles

Monitor DX clusters for rare station spots, track active DX expeditions, and get daily band activity digests for amateur radio operators.

Versionv1.0.0
Downloads2,680
TERMINAL
clawhub install ham-radio-dx

πŸ“– About This Skill


name: ham-radio-dx description: Monitor DX clusters for rare station spots, track active DX expeditions, and get daily band activity digests for amateur radio operators. version: 1.0.0 author: captmarbles

Ham Radio DX Monitor πŸ“»

Monitor DX clusters in real-time, get notified of rare DX stations, and track active DX expeditions. Perfect for ham radio operators who want to catch rare contacts!

Features

πŸ“‘ Live DX Spots - Connect to global DX cluster network 🌍 Rare DX Alerts - Notify when rare stations appear πŸ“Š Daily Digest - Band activity summary πŸ—ΊοΈ DX Expeditions - Track active expeditions ⏰ Automated Monitoring - Run via cron for alerts

Quick Start

Watch Live Spots

# Get latest DX spots
python3 dx-monitor.py watch

Specific cluster node

python3 dx-monitor.py watch --cluster ea7jxh

Use your callsign

python3 dx-monitor.py watch --callsign KN4XYZ

Only show NEW spots (filters duplicates)

python3 dx-monitor.py watch --new-only

Output:

πŸ“‘ Latest DX Spots from EA7JXH

20m SSB 14.195 K1ABC - CQ Contest 40m CW 7.015 VP8/G3XYZ - Falklands 15m FT8 21.074 ZL2ABC - New Zealand

Daily Digest

python3 dx-monitor.py digest

Output:

# πŸ“‘ DX Digest - 2026-01-27

Band Activity (last 100 spots)

20m β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ 24 40m β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ 16 15m β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ 12 10m β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ 8

Rare DX Spotted

🌍 VP8/G3XYZ 40m 7.015 - Falklands Expedition 🌍 ZL2ABC 15m 21.074 - New Zealand

DX Cluster Nodes

Available clusters:

  • ea7jxh - dx.ea7jxh.eu:7373 (Europe)
  • om0rx - cluster.om0rx.com:7300 (Europe)
  • oh2aq - oh2aq.kolumbus.fi:7373 (Finland)
  • ab5k - ab5k.net:7373 (USA)
  • w6rk - telnet.w6rk.com:7373 (USA West Coast)
  • Automated Monitoring

    Real-Time Alerts (Check Every 5 Minutes)

    # Add to crontab
    */5 * * * * cd ~/clawd && python3 skills/ham-radio-dx/dx-monitor.py watch --new-only --callsign YOUR_CALL >> /tmp/dx-alerts.log
    

    This checks for new DX spots every 5 minutes and logs them.

    Daily Digest (9am Every Day)

    # Add to crontab
    0 9 * * * cd ~/clawd && python3 skills/ham-radio-dx/dx-monitor.py digest >> ~/dx-digest-$(date +\%Y-\%m-\%d).txt
    

    Telegram Notifications

    Integrate with Clawdbot message tool:

    # When rare DX appears, send Telegram alert
    python3 dx-monitor.py watch --new-only | grep -E "(VP8|ZL|VK|ZS|P5)" && \
      echo "🚨 Rare DX spotted!" | # Send via Clawdbot message tool
    

    Example Prompts for Clawdbot

  • *"Check the DX cluster for new spots"*
  • *"What's active on 20 meters?"*
  • *"Show me today's DX digest"*
  • *"Any rare DX on the air?"*
  • *"Monitor for VP8 or ZL prefixes"*
  • Rare DX Prefixes to Watch

    Most Wanted:

  • VP8 - Falkland Islands
  • VK0 - Heard Island
  • 3Y0 - Bouvet Island
  • FT5 - Amsterdam & St. Paul Islands
  • P5 - North Korea
  • BS7 - Scarborough Reef
  • Other Rare:

  • ZL - New Zealand
  • VK - Australia
  • ZS - South Africa
  • 9G - Ghana
  • S9 - SΓ£o TomΓ© and PrΓ­ncipe
  • DX Expedition Resources

    Track active expeditions:

  • NG3K Calendar: https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html
  • DX News: https://www.dx-world.net/
  • 425 DX News: http://www.425dxn.org/
  • Band Plans

    Common DX frequencies:

  • 160m: 1.830-1.840 (CW), 1.840-1.850 (Digital)
  • 80m: 3.500-3.600 (CW), 3.790-3.800 (Digital)
  • 40m: 7.000-7.040 (CW), 7.070-7.080 (Digital)
  • 30m: 10.100-10.140 (CW/Digital only)
  • 20m: 14.000-14.070 (CW), 14.070-14.100 (Digital)
  • 17m: 18.068-18.100 (CW), 18.100-18.110 (Digital)
  • 15m: 21.000-21.070 (CW), 21.070-21.120 (Digital)
  • 12m: 24.890-24.920 (CW), 24.920-24.930 (Digital)
  • 10m: 28.000-28.070 (CW), 28.070-28.120 (Digital)
  • Tips

    1. Use Your Callsign - Some clusters require valid callsigns 2. Check Multiple Clusters - Coverage varies by region 3. Filter by Band - Focus on bands you can work 4. Track Rare Prefixes - Set up alerts for most-wanted 5. Morning Check - Best DX often in early morning

    Technical Details

  • Protocol: Telnet to DX cluster nodes
  • Format: Standard PacketCluster/AR-Cluster format
  • State Tracking: /tmp/dx-monitor-state.json
  • Dependencies: Python 3.6+ (stdlib only)
  • Future Ideas

  • Band-specific filtering
  • DXCC entity tracking
  • Propagation prediction integration
  • Log integration (check if you need that one)
  • Contest mode (filter contest stations)
  • FT8/FT4 integration via PSKReporter
  • 73 and good DX! πŸ“»πŸŒ

    πŸ’‘ Examples

    Watch Live Spots

    # Get latest DX spots
    python3 dx-monitor.py watch

    Specific cluster node

    python3 dx-monitor.py watch --cluster ea7jxh

    Use your callsign

    python3 dx-monitor.py watch --callsign KN4XYZ

    Only show NEW spots (filters duplicates)

    python3 dx-monitor.py watch --new-only

    Output:

    πŸ“‘ Latest DX Spots from EA7JXH

    20m SSB 14.195 K1ABC - CQ Contest 40m CW 7.015 VP8/G3XYZ - Falklands 15m FT8 21.074 ZL2ABC - New Zealand

    Daily Digest

    python3 dx-monitor.py digest
    

    Output: ```

    πŸ“‘ DX Digest - 2026-01-27

    πŸ“‹ Tips & Best Practices

    1. Use Your Callsign - Some clusters require valid callsigns 2. Check Multiple Clusters - Coverage varies by region 3. Filter by Band - Focus on bands you can work 4. Track Rare Prefixes - Set up alerts for most-wanted 5. Morning Check - Best DX often in early morning