DXChrono Desktop — Changelog

1.3.7

27 May 2026

Fixed

Map and widgets stay responsive during logbook updates: Cloudlog, QRZ Logbook, local ADIF logbook, and the contest calendar now refresh in the background (on the same schedule as Settings → Data) instead of on the main draw loop — slow APIs or large ADIF files no longer freeze pan, zoom, or widget drags while a fetch runs.
QRZ XML during spot bursts: when XML lookup is enabled for DX Cluster or Reverse Beacon, new spots plot immediately from the prefix table and QRZ refines the pin in the background (grid when available) so a slow QRZ response no longer delays the spot list or telnet reader.
Propagation lines when zoomed in: great-circle lines no longer draw duplicate “ghost” segments across the Atlantic on a zoomed map, and lines redraw when QRZ refines a spot’s coordinates so arcs stay attached to the marker instead of pointing at the old prefix-table position.

Changed

Satellite tracking on the 2D map: footprints and markers update every frame without redrawing DX spots, logbook pins, and propagation lines — smoother motion on busy maps and less CPU when satellites are enabled alongside cluster or PSK overlays.
2D map pan while zoomed in: click-and-drag uses a lighter draw path (half-res coastlines, spot markers only — no prop lines or aurora/MUF refresh) until you release the mouse, then one full-quality frame restores everything.
3D globe drag/rotate: the same lighter path while you pan or rotate the globe — coarser shading, spot markers only (no propagation lines, aurora, MUF, or city labels) until you release, then a full-quality frame.
Propagation line hover: line highlight and tooltips reuse screen paths from the last map draw and hit-tests are capped at ~30 Hz — much snappier when the map is busy with cluster, PSK, or logbook lines.

1.3.5

20 May 2026

Added

DX Cluster profiles: on Settings → DX Cluster you can define multiple cluster connections (name, host, port, login callsign, cluster type). Mark one as primary; if it cannot connect, DXChrono tries your other profiles in list order, then returns to the primary on the next reconnect attempt. Use New profile, fill in the fields, then Add for each extra node; select a row and Update to change it. Test checks the profile selected in the list.
DX Cluster skimmer spots: spots from nodes such as W3LPL-# (common on AR Cluster feeds) now appear in the DX Cluster widget and on the map — the spot parser accepts # in spotter callsigns.
DX Cluster widget status: while connecting, failing over to a backup profile, or waiting for the first spot, the DX Cluster panel shows a short status line (e.g. Connecting to …, Failover: trying …, Connected — waiting for spots).

Changed

DX Cluster settings layout: display options use a tighter two-column strip; the profile list sizes to your entries; the edit form has clearer labels and a dedicated New profile control so adding a backup cluster is obvious.
Settings text fields: you can click to place the cursor in any settings text box and use the arrow keys, Home, End, Backspace, and Delete while editing — not only type at the end of the field. Ctrl+A selects all text; the next key you type replaces the selection.
DX Cluster command window (D): shows which profile you are connected to (or connect/failover status from the cluster client), not only a generic “Connected” line.
Great-circle lines at map edges (2D): propagation arcs continue on the opposite side of the window when the path wraps around the world, instead of stopping at the left or right edge.
Short-hop propagation lines (2D): nearby spots (e.g. England to Northern Ireland) no longer draw a spurious great-circle route via the south pole when coordinates or unwrap would have bent the arc the wrong way.
3D globe with overlays on: rotating and zooming stays smoother when aurora, Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF), satellite footprints, and reference grids are all enabled — the globe reuses cached overlay layers when only your view angle changes, and aurora/MUF/coverage tints are drawn with a faster path so NOAA data updates are less likely to stutter the frame.
3D globe aurora forecast: the NOAA probability grid is rebuilt when the forecast payload changes, not on every frame while you spin the globe (rotation still reprojects the tint on screen).
3D globe with many live spots: propagation lines from DX Cluster, logbooks, PSK Reporter, and Reverse Beacon are drawn in one composited pass per layer instead of clearing the full window for every single arc or marker, which keeps busy maps more responsive on slower PCs and Raspberry Pi.
Reverse Beacon on the 3D globe: skimmer great-circle lines and the new-spot pulse trail are handled in one pass per skimmer and reuse the same path geometry where both are drawn.
3D globe redraw while dragging: the main map buffer is reused between frames (less allocation at 30–60 FPS), the view is marked dirty as soon as you press the mouse to pan, and globe drag runs at 60 FPS like widget drags so rotation feels immediate.
3D globe terminator and city clocks: the day/night boundary polyline and city label times/colours are cached per UTC minute in world coordinates; only screen projection updates when you rotate (the terminator line itself stays aligned with the current time).
3D globe twilight and night shading: civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight plus night-side tint now match the 2D map overlay (on top of the lit globe texture, under grids and propagation overlays), so the gray line read is much clearer on the sphere.
3D globe new-spot lines: DX Cluster, PSK Reporter, and Reverse Beacon propagation arcs animate in over about two seconds when a spot arrives, with the same eased timing as the flat map.

Fixed

3D globe left-drag pan: click-and-drag to rotate no longer feels dead on the first press — the globe updates as soon as you start dragging. A quick second click right after a pan gesture no longer triggers reset-to-default view by mistake (double-click reset still works when you click twice without dragging).

1.3.0

Added

QRZ XML for live spots: on Settings → QRZ you can enter your QRZ.com website login and turn on optional XML lookups separately for DX Cluster and Reverse Beacon. The prefix table is tried first; QRZ fills missing pins, and when QRZ returns a Maidenhead grid the map uses that for a sharper pin. If QRZ is slow or errors, you still get the prefix-table position. Long uptimes get a fresh QRZ login on a timer so session keys do not go stale. Use the footer XML button to check login (separate from the Logbook API key and Logbook test).
Reverse Beacon Network: optional telnet feed from telnet.reversebeacon.net (CW/RTTY and FT8 ports) shows who is spotting your callsign on a scrollable panel with an SNR bar per skimmer, and on the map as pentagon markers at the skimmer with great-circle lines from your QTH (same kind of trail animation as other live spots). Enable it under Settings → Reverse Beacon Network and turn on the panel under Widgets.

Fixed

2D map freeze while resizing on Raspberry Pi: when you resize the app window in 2D mode, DXChrono now waits for the resize to settle before rebuilding map assets, so it no longer repeatedly reloads heavy textures and appears stuck on Loading 2D Map.
Cloudlog API burst timing: Cloudlog refresh checks now use a small stable per-install offset, so many stations are less likely to hit the same Cloudlog endpoints at exactly :00 when some servers are already busy.

1.2.1

Added

3D globe view (experimental): choose 3D Globe on Display for an interactive sphere with sharper coastlines and terrain (configurable map.globe.texture_width and optional map.globe.shading_scale to trade a little softness for CPU when you drag or zoom). Drag and arrow keys rotate the view the way most globe apps feel; a stronger day-side rim glow adds depth without hiding the map. Great-circle lines use per-band colours like the flat map; markers match 2D shapes (Cloudlog diamond, QRZ square, N1MM triangle, DX square, PSK hexagon/circle by role). Arcs and labels draw on a shared overlay so busy spots and log lines stay responsive. Aurora on the globe uses the same probability colours as 2D, renders as a smooth oval on the sphere, and sits above MUF and satellite fills but under lines and markers so context stays readable. Hover works on lines as well as markers; DX Cluster lines follow spotter → DX like 2D. Satellite footprints on the globe are smoother and less blocky. When you switch 2D ↔ 3D or resize the window, a short Loading 2D/3D Map message appears so a slow reload does not look like a frozen screen; returning to 2D also shows the same kind of asset decode progress hints as at cold start when the map file is large.
Settings → Performance: tune map memory mode (auto / low-RAM / full detail), optional RAM cutoff, 2D zoom and decode pixel caps, and resize quality so Raspberry Pi and 4 GB-class PCs can start faster without editing environment variables; values are saved in config.yaml and apply when you Save (map reloads).
Cloudlog / ADIF stats — poll age: next to the panel title you now see Updated … ago (seconds through days) so you can tell how long it has been since the Cloudlog API or your ADIF file was last checked, including between scheduled refreshes.

Changed

Low-RAM PCs and Raspberry Pi — quicker first map load: if the machine reports about 4 GB of RAM or less, DXChrono now prepares the world map and globe texture using a lighter loading path (smaller working images in memory, faster scaling) so startup and switching 2D ↔ 3D no longer sit on the splash for ages or grind while the swap light flickers. Machines with more RAM keep the sharper zoom path by default. Optional environment overrides are described in the in-app help under Troubleshooting → Slow startup or heavy map load (low RAM).
Solar, HF bands, and MUF @ QTH — data freshness: each footer shows Last Updated · HH:MM UTC when the feed is current, and Offline · last … UTC when a refresh failed but the desk is still showing the previous good values. For DXChrono solar JSON, the clock in that line follows the payload’s own updated time (for example 01 May 2026 1757 GMT) when present, with meta.timestamp only as a fallback — so it reflects the report time, not just when your PC happened to download the file.
Solar data widget layout: the panel is shorter, with compact index tiles; X-ray class and Last Updated · HH:MM UTC share one row (time on the right), dropped slightly for clearer separation from the grid above.
HF BANDS widget: the last-updated line is right-aligned to match the solar panel, with a small vertical nudge so it sits closer to the band rows.
Cloudlog / ADIF stats panel: the four QSO count tiles are a little shorter and tighter, and the panel height is reduced so you are not left with a large empty strip under the cards. If you rely on default stacking, panels placed below Cloudlog or ADIF (DX Cluster, watch list, N1MM recent, and a second logbook panel) move up accordingly; saved widget positions in config.yaml are unchanged.
Handbook (README): short guidance to use one primary logbook source on the map (Cloudlog, ADIF, QRZ, or N1MM) so lines and labels do not pile up.
2D map line performance: great-circle lines for logbooks and similar feeds reuse one scratch layer per draw pass instead of allocating a new full-window surface for every QSO line, which cuts overhead when many lines are shown.
2D map zoom quality: when a suitable high-resolution world image is present in assets (the app prefers NASA-style 21600×10800 topo+bathy JPEGs by filename if you add one), the zoomed-in map resamples from that full-detail texture with improved filtering, so terrain and coastlines stay much sharper at high zoom instead of looking soft or blocky.
2D zoom wheel responsiveness: after you have zoomed in deeply, zooming back out uses an intermediate-resolution map layer where that helps, so the view tends to stay smoother and more responsive instead of pausing on each step.
Settings tab naming: the settings tab is now labelled Contest Calendar for clearer wording consistency.
Widgets (CPU use): data panels reuse their last rendered surface when nothing relevant has changed (solar indices, band conditions, Cloudlog, ADIF logbook, MUF, DX Cluster, PSK Reporter, N1MM status/recent, and Upcoming Contests), which lowers CPU use during long sessions. The contest calendar only repaints when feed data, layout, or a visible row’s status text (countdown / LIVE) would actually change, so labels stay in sync with the same timing as a full redraw.

Fixed

Large world map + custom centre longitude: if you use a very large NASA-style equirectangular image and a non-default map.center_longitude, rolling the map to that centre no longer hits a Pillow safety limit on some systems (which could abort tests or break loading in edge cases).
Startup black screen: the main window no longer sits on a long blank black view while the splash loads the logo and fonts, or right after the display is created (including the extra step that enables a resizable window). You see the dark splash background immediately, then the full splash and map status as before.
--windowed launch: starting with -w / --windowed so the app recreates the window no longer leaves you on a black screen during map reload — the same splash and map loading messages appear as on a normal startup.
Aurora equator artifact (2D and 3D): NOAA Ovation’s near-equatorial baseline ring is detected more reliably (including adjacent latitude rows and weak leftovers), so faint horizontal smudges no longer appear on the equirectangular map; the 3D globe also clears the same pattern before bilinear sampling so interpolation cannot smear it back in.
PSK Reporter widget toggles: Heard me / I hear in the panel now update on the first click — the widget render cache signature includes those modes and band-filter settings so the UI is not stuck until you switch away from the app.
Portable callsign country mapping: slash-format operating prefixes now resolve correctly in both directions (for example 5Z4/MM0ZBH and W8LID/VP9), so spots no longer pin to the home callsign country by mistake.
2D satellite footprint vs marker when zoomed: visibility footprints now use the same longitude-to-screen rules as the satellite marker (continuous chain across the rim), so the filled cap and outline stay centred on the spacecraft instead of drifting far east or west on a zoomed map.
2D satellite footprint when the sat is off-screen: if you have panned or zoomed so the spacecraft is outside the visible map, its footprint is no longer drawn — avoiding stray coverage disks while the marker is correctly hidden, and saving work on busy maps.

v1.1.3

29 April 2026

Added

Zoomed gridsquare detail: with Show Gridsquares enabled, the map keeps larger 2-character Maidenhead fields (for example JO) at moderate zoom, then adds 4-character squares (for example JO00) when you zoom in further for local work.
Map pan and zoom: mouse wheel zooms the map toward the cursor; left-drag or middle-click drag pans on the map background (not over widgets). Double-click the map (or Home) resets to the default world view. When zoomed in, arrow keys (and keypad 8/4/6/2) pan the map, and holding a key repeats the step. With no blocking dialog open, = / + / Page Up zoom in and - / Page Down zoom out (keypad + / - too). Turn off left-drag pan with map.left_drag_pan: false in config.yaml if you prefer. Widgets stay put; wheel and map drags are ignored over widgets and modal dialogs. Your last view is stored under map.view in config.yaml.
About dialog: new in-app About window with current version, copyright/ownership statement, and quick links to the Website, Changelog, and EULA. Open it with the I keyboard shortcut.
Watch List widget: add callsigns in Settings → Data and show matching spots from DX Cluster and PSK Reporter in a dedicated panel (enable the panel in Settings → Widgets).
PSK Reporter widget: added on-panel view buttons so you can quickly switch between Who hears me and Who I hear directly in the widget, without opening Settings.
QRZ Logbook: optional link to your QRZ.com logbook so recent contacts appear on the map as square markers (Cloudlog contacts stay as diamonds). You can show call labels and great-circle lines to your station, same idea as other map feeds. There is a new QRZ tab in Settings for your logbook key, how many days back to look, and how many recent QSOs to plot; under Data you set how often the log is checked. Use Test to confirm your key works. Right-click the key field to paste from the clipboard. If contacts do not show, you can turn on a short “what QRZ sent” printout in the terminal when you start the app from a command window—your key is never printed there.
ADIF Logbook file source: new local-file option for operators who do not use Cloudlog or QRZ. Point DXChrono at an .adi file (or use the new Browse button to pick .adi/.adif) and it will read recent QSOs for map markers and a dedicated ADIF Logbook panel. File reads are done safely so ongoing logger writes do not break parsing.

Changed

Gridsquare label readability: Maidenhead labels on the map now use brighter white text with a slightly larger font so they are easier to read over map detail and overlays.
Zoomed map quality: the loader keeps a capped high-resolution rolled texture from your map file (when it is larger than the window) and the zoomed view resamples it with bilinear filtering, so zoomed-in coastlines and terrain look much less blocky.
Upcoming Contests widget: rows now use cleaner vertical spacing with clearer separation between contests, and status text (for example LIVE · ends) is vertically centred for better readability.
Contest countdowns: long times now show as days, hours, and minutes (for example in 4d 21h 00m) instead of large hour-only values.
Settings tabs: the tab row now uses a horizontal slider strip with left/right buttons, mouse-wheel tab scrolling, and subtle edge-fade hints when there are more tabs than fit on one row.

Fixed

Map pan at full zoom-out: when you are on the default full-world view, drag or arrow-key pan no longer shifts the map away from centre. Pan resumes as normal after you zoom in.
Great-circle lines near Antarctica / the date line: propagation arcs (DX Cluster, logbook lines, PSK Reporter) no longer break into vertical spikes or random edge segments when the path swings past a pole or crosses east–west wrap; the line follows the intended arc on the map.
Satellite footprint alignment on polar passes: high-latitude passes (for example RS-44 near Antarctica) now keep the coverage footprint centred on the satellite position instead of occasionally drawing offset from the marker.
Grayline visibility with overlays: the day/night terminator line now stays visible when aurora, MUF, and other map overlays are enabled, instead of sometimes appearing to disappear.
Night shading when zoomed: the twilight/night tint is recomputed whenever you pan or zoom, not only on a timer, so it no longer stays wrong (often looking like “all daylight”) until you zoom back out.
Satellite footprints when zoomed: the tinted coverage area now matches the outline: no missing wedges, straight cuts through the fill, or colour spilling well outside the oval. The fill is calculated in real-world coordinates so it stays accurate when the map is magnified.
Satellite footprints at map edges: when a footprint touches the top or bottom of the map while zoomed, the fill now stays solid instead of occasionally showing only an outline cap.
Aurora overlay and pan/zoom: the green NOAA probability pattern stays on the right parts of the map after wheel zoom, middle-drag pan, or window resize, instead of drifting out of place or looking the wrong scale.
DX Cluster callsign location parsing: slash tags that are not valid portable suffixes (for example /MAD) no longer override the real callsign part and pin spots to the wrong country. /AM and /MM now avoid fixed land pinning, while /A, /M, and /P keep the base callsign country.
Map redraw while dragging a widget: zooming or panning updates the map (including aurora and MUF overlays) immediately even while you are moving or resizing a widget, instead of waiting until you release the mouse.
Map overlays vs widgets: hover propagation lines now draw under widgets, so panels stay readable and on top as expected.
Upcoming Contests widget scrolling: wheel scrolling now works reliably even when the panel is resized smaller. Added a right-side scrollbar with track click and thumb-drag support, plus improved spacing between list content and scrollbar.
Great-circle line performance: map line layers skip unnecessary redraws when nothing has changed, and repeated paths are not recomputed from scratch every frame. That cuts CPU use on slower PCs while keeping satellite movement updates frequent.
New spot line animation: incoming DX Cluster / PSK Reporter great-circle lines now animate smoothly again as new spots arrive.
ADIF widget toggle sync: disabling ADIF Logbook file in Settings now automatically turns off the ADIF panel widget so it does not stay visible by mistake.

v1.0.94

24 April 2026

Added

Upcoming Passes widget: scrollable pass list (AOS / LOS / MAX elevation / TRK compass arc with hyphens, e.g. W-N-E), live ETA countdown (minutes, or hours and minutes when ≥ 1 hour), UTC or local times, configurable font size and resize; satellite names truncate by pixel width so they do not overlap AOS; pass predictions refresh on a short interval so ETAs and active-pass highlighting stay current.
Upcoming Contests widget: contest calendar RSS, live / scheduled status, separate title and meta font sizes, resize and scroll; stale indicator when the feed fails but cached data is shown; contests whose end time has passed are removed from the list (including between RSS refreshes).
Map: propagation marker lines (DX Cluster, Cloudlog, PSK Reporter, N1MM) are drawn as great-circle paths to your station; you can hover-highlight a line itself, not only the marker.
Settings options for contest calendar, satellite passes, and related refresh intervals; bundled docs/help pages updated (widgets, map behaviour, integrations, great-circle wording).
Update notification: optional version check from Settings → Data (enable/disable, Daily or Every startup, Check for Updates). When a newer build is published, an Update Available dialog offers Download and View Changelog; if you are already up to date, a short confirmation appears in Settings. HTTPS uses a standard certificate bundle so checks work reliably on macOS and other platforms.

Changed

Upcoming Passes table: wider default panel, tighter layout between TRK and ETA, right-aligned ETA; MAX shows peak elevation in degrees only (direction on TRK).
Map tooltips: each shows a Source line (e.g. DX Spot, N1MM, PSK Reporter, Cloudlog). DX Cluster spot tooltips also show the spotter callsign.
Contest calendar: removed the redundant Data-tab feed enabled checkbox; RSS fetching follows the Contest calendar widget toggle only.

Fixed

Settings: tab row label alignment (tabs such as DX Cluster, PSK Reporter, Special Event) so all labels sit on a consistent baseline with clearer text rendering.
Map / great-circle lines: more stable paths in edge cases (e.g. near-antipodal geometry).
Satellite footprints: corrected occasional missing or flickering fill when a footprint polygon crosses the map seam (wrap), including self-intersecting geometry during the transition.
Contest list no longer keeps finished events for an extended grace period; cached data is re-filtered against the current time.
Upcoming Contests widget: “updated” timestamp in the header aligns cleanly to the right edge of the panel.
PSK Reporter: WSJT-X / FT8 protocol tokens (e.g. RR73, RRR, 73) are no longer treated as station callsigns in the widget table or on the map.
Linux display: more reliable SDL setup when SDL_RENDER_DRIVER is unset (prefers software rendering where appropriate) and safer fullscreen / window flag handling — reduces black or blank window issues on some systems.