Maps are not shown or shown partially / Maps are not updating automatically. What can I
do?
First of all, make sure that Javascript is enabled for
DXMAPS.COM in your browser. Second,
check the configuration of your Internet explorer and clear the cache
(Internet temporary files). Sometimes
can also help pressing the keys Ctrl+F5 (Shift+Command+R in MAC) to
force a full reload.
Additionally you will see some callsigns highlighted on a yellow background
(like XX0XX).
These are the DXMAPS supporter users. This
is, users who are contributing to keep the server running.
Callsigns highlighted on a green background (like XX0XX) are DXpeditions,
I'm not interested in WSPR, RB and APRS spots. How to do it to view only human made
reports?
I'm not interested in FM-SWL spots. How to do it to view only amateur
radio reports?
Simply tick the "Only DX-Cluster" option.
I am interested in digital modes, but I don't want to see the WSPR spots. How to do it?
Simply un-tick the "WSPR" option in the "Modes"
options.
Can I see a listing of the contacts, instead of a map?
Yes. Simply select the "List" tab at the top-left corner of the
maps. You can also select "Graph" to get a band-scope view.
Why the DX-spots I send from DXMAPS are not shown?
That could be due to a good number of reasons. First of all
you have to understand that when you send a DX-Spot from DXMAPS pages, it is
not directly incorporated to the database, but sent to the DX-Cluster
network. When that spot is received back from DX-Cluster, as all spots
from other stations, is analyzed by a sophisticated routine that filters out
spots that apparently are not real spots. You would be amazed to know
that more than 25% of spots flowing through the DX-Cluster are not reporting
a QSO, but are the result of misusing the network to cheer each other, ask
questions, complain about something, etc. There are also many
spots which frequency is clearly wrong, or that the spotted grid square is
outside the boundaries of the country of the reported station, etc.
Reports below a certain distance threshold are also discarded, as they
are not considered DX. The minimum distance depends on the band.
Also, you should make sure that you don't have some filtering option
enabled in DXMAPS that prevents some spots from being shown in your
particular case. For instance, if you have the "Only > 2600 km" option
enabled then you won't see any report of contacts below 2600 km, even if
they have been spotted by you. More information about DXMAPS options in the
user manual.
Some basic rules to prevent your spots from being filtered out:
Don't write useless comments. Texts like "Hello" or "Please"
for instance will possibly lead your spot to be filtered out as it will
not be considered the report of a QSO.
Make sure that your grid square/locator is correct in the
callbook
Make sure that the reported data (callsign, frequency, grid square,
etc.) are all correct.
Why the spots I send through the
PSK-Reporter network are not shown?
That could be due to a good number of reasons. First of all
you have to understand that the purpose of DXMAPS is not the same than PSK-Reporter:
The purpose of DXMAPS is to show propagation conditions, not to show every
single (and often wrong or useless for DXMAPS purposes) spot as PSK-Reported
does.
DXMAPS takes the PSK-Reporter spots from the excellent Telnet cluster of
DK1MAX, that applies a complex routine in order to filter out most of the
wrong and duplicate spots (I estimate they are more than a 25%) and so it
provides only those spots that are likely to be good and useful.
When the spot is received by DXMAPS, it is analyzed again by a
sophisticated routine that filters out those containing wrong information (frequency is clearly wrong, the spotted grid square is
outside the boundaries of the country of the reported station, etc.)
Reports below a certain distance threshold are also discarded, as they
are not considered DX. The minimum distance depends on the band.
Also, you should make sure that you don't have some filtering option
enabled in DXMAPS that prevents some spots from being shown in your
particular case. For instance, if you have the "Only > 2600 km" option
enabled then you won't see any report of contacts below 2600 km, even if
they have been spotted by you. More information about DXMAPS options in the
user manual.
Is there an historical record of the maps and QSO?
When I put a comment it shows both locators then my comment. How do I
eliminate the locators from my comments?
Locators are the most important information you can add when
sending a spot, as it shows the exact location of the stations, and allow
DXMAPS to make the calculations. I don't understand any reason why you would
like to eliminate the locators, but if that is really so important for you
and you want to take the risk that your spot could be filtered out you can
always send an unformatted spot.
The service is free, but how is it funded? Can I make a donation
to contribute keeping the service up and being improved in the future?
Yes, the service is free and it will continue being free.
However it requires hiring two powerful dedicated servers and a high speed
Internet connection, together with the required licenses of use of the maps,
domain registrations and SSL certificates, with an approximate cost of US
$415 per month. This cost is covered thanks to the
donations of supporter users and to the
advertising. If you like the service please
consider some kind of donation.
What are the little red dots that I sometimes see on the lines?
They mark the estimated ground reflection points in
multi-hop sporadic-E paths. They areonlyan estimation based onthe
geometryand as such shouldbe interpreted.
What are the blue lines that appear across the world maps?
They are the geomagnetic equator and tropics. An interesting reference for
north-south and TEP propagation. If you don't want to see them you can
disable them in the Layer options.
How can I post FM DX spots?
Please use
FMLIST to report the
received FM station on-line. As soon as you spot it there it will be also
shown in DXMAPS maps.
Alternatively you can also use DXMAPS form to spot FM stations, but in
that case you will have to indicate the Locator of the spotted station, so
that the system can locate it.
When my callsign contains a slash (/P, /M, etc) it is cut.
Why?
That is an old restriction of the DX-Cluster network, not of DXMAPS.
You should understand that when you send a spot using DXMAPS interface it is
sent first to the DX-Cluster and later processed when it is received back from
that network. If the DX-Cluster cuts it I can't do
anything.
Can I post VOR spots?
Yes, simply use the format VOR/xxx (being xxx the callsign
of the VOR). If you don't know the Locator of the VOR leave that
box blank and the system will try to take it from the
VOR database. This is an example of
how to spot VOR CDP (Capdepera) on 112.900 MHz.
I have an AIS receiving station. Can I post AIS spots?
Yes, simply download the
AIS DX Aggregator program that will automatically upload AIS DX
spots to DXMAPS.
If you have a Vesseltracker AIS receiver you can ask
Vesseltracker to
share with DXMAPS your DX reports without having to do anything on your
side.
I have an APRS station. Can I report the DX reception of APRS stations?
Yes, simply download the APRS DX Aggregator program that will automatically upload APRS DX
spots to DXMAPS.
I use WSJT-X and JTDX for
FT8, JT65 and JT9 modes. Can I automatically send
DX-Spots to DXMAPS?
Yes, simply download the
WSJT DX Aggregator program that will automatically upload DX
spots to DXMAPS.
How can I see only the spots with my callsign?
How can I see only the spots of a certain DX station?
You can filter by a certain callsign (yours or DX) entering
it in the input box at the top right and clicking the filter button.
When filtering is enabled the button will show a read tick mark on
it. Click the button again to disable the filtering.
How can hide all spots involving
a certain callsign?
You can hide all spots of a certain callsign (yours or DX) entering
it in the input box at the top right and clicking the hide button.
When hiding is enabled the icon will show a red tick and the input
box will be disabled. Click on the icon again to disable the
hiding.
How can I see only the spots
involving stations in my own continent?
You can filter by a certain continent entering the continent code
(NA, EU, SA, AF, OC, AS) in the input box at the top right and clicking
the filter button.
When filtering is enabled the button will show a read tick mark on
it. Click the button again to disable the filtering.
Sometimes the maps cover the last hour, but sometimes only the
last minutes. Why does this happen? Can I configure it?
In order to keep the maps readable the number of QSO lines
visible at a certain time on a certain map has to be restricted to 300.
Showing more QSO lines would end up in an unreadable and useless map.
If the number of visible contacts/reports is 300 or less then the map
will cover the last hour. Otherwise the time span shown will correspond
with the most recent 300 contacts/reports.
Take into account that, specially in the most popular HF bands, it
is not unusual to have more than 100 QSO reported per minute,
specially through the Reverse Beacon and PSK reporter networks, so it could happen that if
you don't apply some kind of filtering you only see the contacts/reports
of the last 2 or 3 minutes. In those cases you should consider
filtering by "DX-Cluster only", or by some mode, or restrict the map to
a regional area.
When a click on the tab of a regional map (Europe, North America,
etc) it does not show that region. Why?
When a click on the tab of a regional map (Europe, North America,
etc) it does not show the same area that in older versions. Why?
When you first select a regional map it will show the
default area coverage and zoom level for that area, but if you drag or
zoom the map (even outside the original region) those settings will be
preserved and the next time you click on that regional map tab you will
see the latest coverage and zoom level you had selected. This is
done on purpose so that every user can choose the exact boundaries and
zoom level he wants for a each region.
You can right click on the map a select the "Restore default
map/zoom" option to restore that map to its original view.
When I select some of the show/hide options in the right-click
menu, the option is not preserved and when I change of map I have to select it
again. Is this a bug?
The show/hide options in the menu that appear when you
right-click on the map are only for temporarily use. You have to
select it in the corresponding option lists on top of the maps so that
it is preserved.
Options are lost. When I access the site I have to
configure the options I like every time. Why does this happen?
Some of the parameters passed in the URL for accessing version 2.8
will force the default values of the configuration options of version
3.x. This happens because version 3.x has much more configuration
options. Please notice that if you are normally accessing DXMAPS
using a favourite/maker/bookmark in your Internet Browser you MUST
updated it.
In version 3.x click the "heart" icon at the right of the title to
create the correct link to the corresponding new page, Then update you
bookmarks or create new ones.
If you access DXMAPS using the new URL format and your internet
browser preserves cookies between navigation sessions then ALL
configured option will be kept.
It is IMPORTANT to take into account
that simply navigating always to https://www.dxmaps.com (without
any parameter after that) you will get exactly to the map/band/options
you had in the previous navigation session, so saving a long URL with
all those parameters it is no longer required for 99% of us, and in fact
it can be counterproductive.
If when you return to
https://www.dxmaps.com you
don't get the same map/band/options than in the previous navigation
session then you should try the following:
While in the DXMAPS page, press the Ctrl+F5 (Shift+Command+R in
MAC) keys to force a full
code reload
Delete all cookies from DXMAPS.COM and WWW.DXMAPS.COM. The
way to do it depends on the browser, so look at the help of your
browser to know how to do it.
Make sure that the configuration of your browser allow cookies
from DXMAPS.COM. The way to do it depends on the browser, so look at
the help of your browser to know how to do it.
Being in DXMAPS site I open
another site in another tab. When I click again on the DXMAPS tab the
map/list are not shown. Is this normal?
DXMAPS maps and QSO lists are refreshed automatically every minute.
If there is something in you browser (settings, plug-ins, etc) that
prevents that refresh when the tab is not in the foreground, then the
refresh will fail and the map/lists won't show. This is not a
common issue but if you notice it in your system I can only suggest you
try several things:
Press Ctrl+F5 keys (Shift+Command+R in MAC) to
force a full page reload.
Empty the cache of the browser. Cached files are temporary files
that the browser stores locally in your computer in order to speed
up navigation and the way to delete them is different for each
browser so you will have to search in its documentation how do to
it. For instance in Firefox you can use "Cookies and Site Data
- Clear Data" in the options menu. You have some guide at
Wikipedia or simply search in Google the words "clear cache XXXX",
being XXX the name of your browser.
Try using a different browser / computer and confirm that it
works normally there. That will be the confirmation that there
is something in your usual browser affecting the normal behaviour of
the page refresh.
Can DXMAPS be used on Windows XP?
Yes, it works fine with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
The only drawback is that the tick character is not available in this
operating system so it will be shown as a square. Your system must
support WebGL (read below for details)
Can DXMAPS be used with Internet Explorer 8?
No, it requires a modern browser. It works fine with modern
versions of Internet Explorer and also with updated versions of Google
Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and others browsers.
Can DXMAPS be used with a tablet / mobile phone?
Yes, it has been proved to work with Apple, Android and
Microsoft devices. The only requirement is that you use a modern
version of the internet browser, that the processor of your device is
decently fast and that the network speed is acceptable (not GPRS or so).
Your system must support WebGL (read below for details)
I you are using an Apple (IOS) device read the next questions and
answers.
Of course, no need to say it, for a better experience the device has
to be in panoramic (horizontal) view.
On my iPad and iPhone, using Safari, often appears the message "There
was a problem with this webpage so it was reloaded" and it tries to reload
the page once and once again. Why does this happen?
Believe it or not this is not due to DXMAPS code and that
message appears also when visiting many other sites. It is a bug
in the code of iOS related to memory handling starting from version 8.0,
that Apple has not fixed yet (!!!). If you don't believe me just
Google the text "There was a problem with this webpage so it was
reloaded" and you will see.
A way to minimize/eliminate the problem is to select the "Small map" option in DXMAPS options.
On my iPad and iPhone, using Chrome, often appears the message
"Oh, no! Error showing this web page". Why does this happen?
Read the same above answer and workaround for Safari.
How can I simulate the mouse right-click in my tablet / mobile
phone to get access to the contextual menu?
In the same way that for almost any other application
running on this kind of devices. Hold your finger on the map for
about one or two seconds. When you release your finger the contextual
menu will appear.
I am getting propagation warning E-Mails, but when I go to the
maps no spots are shown. Is there something wrong?
That is because you have some kind of filter enabled in the
configuration options of DXMAPS maps. Just disable it if you want to see
all spots.
For instance, you could have filtered digital modes out but still get a
propagation warning triggered by digital contacts. Notice that
now you have a new option to bypass digital mode spots in the
propagation alerts configuration.
In the QSO lists, beside some callsigns there is a "LoTW"
and/or "eQSL" indication,
some in black and some in orange colour. What does that means?
The LoTW text indicates that that callsign is registered
in LoTW
The eQSL text indicates that that callsign is registered in
eQSL.cc
Black (like LoTW or eQSL ) means that he has recently uploaded /
updated his log to LoTW or eQSL.cc.
Orange (Like LoTW or
eQSL) means that he
has not uploaded his log for months. He possibly registered in
LoTW or eQSL.cc at some time in the past, but is not longer using it.
I get a yellow warning saying that advertising is blocked. Why and what
can I do?
That happens because something in your computer is preventing
Google Ads from being shown. DXMAPS depends on the incomes generated
by those ads to keep the service running. You have
detailed information about this issue here.
I get a warning message saying that WebGL is not available or not
configured on my system. What can I do?
DXMAPS 4.x make use of vectorial maps. Vectorial maps
load faster than traditional raster maps and are also a requirement of the
development platform used. Most modern devices and internet browsers
support WebGL, but sometimes you have to enable that feature in your
browser, update the graphic card drivers, etc. You have
all information about this issue compiled here.
I can't see the maps. I only get a grey background. Why?
That is because something is wrong in your Internet Browser and it can't
run the code of DXMAPS. Some possible solutions that have worked for
several users:
Right click on the map area and select the "Restore default
map/zoom" option
Make sure that Javascript is enabled for
DXMAPS.COM in your browser.
Also, if you are using Chrome, go to Settings/Privacy and Security/Site
Settings/View permission and data stores across sites/ and in All sites
window select dxmaps.com/Clear Data and http://www.dxmaps.com Clear Data
It asks me to log in at least
every day. Is there a way to stay logged in for a longer time?
That happens because your Internet Browser is deleting DXMAPS cookies
every day, so the service does not have your login information when you
access it later. You will have to configure your Internet Browser settings
so that cookies for DXMAPS.COM and WWW.DXMAPS.COM domains are preserved
between the navigation sessions and not deleted automatically.
When I hover on a callsign it
shows a message box with its last report, but it cover the QSO lines. How can I
disable it?
In the "Select options" menu, tick / select the "Hide callsign
info" option.
When I use the mouse wheel to
zoom the map, the zoom jumps multiple times, zooming in or out too much. Why
does this happen?
This is because something in your computer's configuration is sending the
"Mouse Wheel" event to DXMAPS several times. Since it is something specific
to your computer, I cannot help you to know exactly what is influencing it,
but as an example, if you have the Logitech Options program you must make
sure to have the "Smooth scrolling" option disabled.
Alternatively, you can fully disable the "Mouse wheel zoom" in the
"Select options" menu of DXMAPS and use the "+ / -" signs on the top left
corner to change the zoom level.
Is there some way to to show at the
same time different maps, lists, etc, in a mosaic view?
Yes, but you have to use some kind of ad-on or extension in your Internet
Browser that allows to do that, and of course have a monitor large enough.
Below you have an example showing four different pages loaded at the same
time using the
Tile Tabs WE extension in Google Chrome. This utility is also
available as a Firefox ad-on
My callsign has changed.
How can I change it in my user record?
Changing the callsign is not possible because it is the user-id.
You have to unregister the old callsign using the "Cancel account" link in
your user details page and then register again with the new one going to the
user registration page.
Additionally, if you are a Supporter User,
contact DXMAPS first, so that
your Supporter User status is transferred to the new user record.
My email has changed.
Can you change it for me in my user record?
Due to the European regulation (GDPR) I am not allowed to access or
change personal data of users. You will have to change it yourself.
In order to do it, being logged in DXMAPS, click on your call at the
right of the top menu and select the option "Account details", then click
the "Edit account information" link.
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