[Elecraft] Panadapters - need for bandmap capability

[Amateur Radio Operator N5GE]

On Mon, 8 Nov 2010 14:10:50 +0000, Barry N1EU <barry.n1eu at gmail.com>  wrote:

Software that displays callsign data  that I am aware of use clusters (Telnet or
web connections) to get the information displayed.  I can see how some software
might record QSO data in a way that would allow the sort of tagging you suggest,
but that would not be something I would want in a panadapter. 

 I don't think equipment designers would want to use the CPU cycles required to
provide that functionality in their products.  It's one thing to use an external
computer to store data and display it, because most of them are capable of
storing large amounts of data in memory or in a data store (database) without
reducing the user experience, which is an important consideration when designing
software.

Perhaps you could suggest that functionality to one of the many contest and
logging software providers.

Speaking of contests;  When a contest category is "Unassisted" does that infer
that the use of cluster spots, etc. is prohibited?  I'm not a contester, so I
don't know the answer to that question.

Tom
Radio Amateur N5GE

>I'm offering this as food for thought.  It seems that one important feature
>that panadapters (SDR, LP-PAN, P3, etc) lack is the inability to tag a
>spectral trace with a callsign to mark its identity.  For example, check
>this mockup:  http://n1eu.com/bndmp_spec.jpg
>
>If I qsy to a trace I see on a busy band, I want to be able to ID that trace
>so I don't keep coming back to it.  And those ID'd callsigns by trace
>frequency would constitute a bandmap.  Ultimately, this bandmap could have
>the same functionality as the bandmap in a contest logger (e.g., N1MM).
>It's just rotated 90 degrees and has freq interval spacing aligned with the
>panadapter waterfall display.  This ID'd panadapter functionality would be
>immensely useful in both unassisted and assisted contesting.  I realize that
>development of this capability might require unique collaboration between
>several software/hardware vendors but it would fundamentally enhance
>panadapter-centric operating.
>
>(CW Skimmer provides some of this capability, but it's totally limited to
>callsigns decoded by Skimmer, not by the operator, etc.)
>
>73,
>Barry N1EU
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