Reverse Beacon Network spotting

The Reverse Beacon Network is a worldwide set of receivers that decode CW around the clock and publish every station they hear. ShackNerd can watch that feed for your callsign.

Turning it on

In Settings, make sure your callsign is set, then turn on Spotting. It is off by default because it makes an outbound connection to the network's public feed, and ShackNerd does not talk to third parties without being told to.

Using it

Call CQ on CW. Within seconds, Where you were heard fills with the receivers that decoded you: their identity, the exact frequency they heard you on, your signal to noise ratio at their antenna, and your sending speed as they measured it.

What it tells you:

• Spots from three continents and no answers: the band is open, your signal is fine, keep calling.
• No spots at all on an active band: check the antenna, the tuner and the power before blaming propagation.
• Strong reports in one direction only: that is your antenna's pattern, drawn for you by the ionosphere.

The panel beside the keyer keeps the thirty most recent CW spots. Spots are of your transmitted signal, so this only works when you actually transmit, and only on CW, since that is what the network's receivers decode.