DXSkyView release notes

What changed in each version of DX SkyView, newest first: Windows · Mac · Linux · Online map. The installed apps update themselves; the downloads are on the DXSkyView page.

Windows

Windows 1.9

New

• Point anywhere on the map, not only at a country label: the info box and the prediction wheel show that 2° square, for example the New York area instead of the middle of the USA.
• With coverage on, the info box shows the exact coverage figure for that place.
• Six new map styles: Terrain, Midnight, Deep teal, Old map (parchment), Arctic and Desert.
• Clock colour: choose it in Settings › Clocks.
• Help › Donate for a licence (PayPal) opens the donation page. The Licence page has the same link.

Windows 1.8

New

• Antennas by band. In Settings › Station, choose the antenna and its height above ground for each band from 160 to 6 m. Predictions and coverage now use the real gain of that antenna at each take-off angle, so a low dipole and a high Yagi give different results, on short and long paths.

Fixed

• The serial port list in Settings › Rotators updates by itself when you plug in a cable.

Windows 1.7.1

New

• The Settings panel can be made wider: drag its left edge, or click ⤢. On a wide screen the settings are shown in several columns, so there is less scrolling.
• Settings › Rotators warns you when two rotators are set to the same serial port.

Fixed

• The rotator settings refresh when you change a port.

Windows 1.7

New

• Antenna rotators (premium). Connect your rotator controller by USB and add it in Settings › Rotators. DX SkyView supports Yaesu GS-232A and GS-232B controllers and interfaces (including ERC and K3NG), Prosistel D and F controllers, and Hamlib rotctld over the network. Up to 4 rotators.
• Each antenna's beam is drawn on the map from your QTH in its own colour: the heading with arrows, the covered area shaded between the beam-width edges and, if you like, the long path. The antenna's name is shown on the beam.
• Soft start and stop for Yaesu (GS-232) controllers: the rotator starts slowly, speeds up, and slows down again before the target and when you press Stop.
• Right-click a country, a spot or any place on the map and choose the antenna (listed by its name and colour) and the short or long path, or Stop all rotators. The antenna turns, and the map follows it.
• A box at the top right shows each antenna's heading. Type a heading and press Enter to turn, or click Stop.

Windows 1.6

New

• The map now fills the window, with no black bars at the sides. Drag the map to see the edges. Settings › Map › Map size also offers Whole map and Stretch.
• New map style Outline (borders only): just coastlines and borders on grey, ideal under the MUF map.
• Coastline and border colour and strength, and Draw borders over the MUF map, so the world stays visible under the MUF colours.
• Choose the colour of each MUF level (3.5 to 35 MHz).
• Choose the font, size and colour of the latitude and longitude numbers.
• The font lists show every font installed on your computer.
• A welcome window on first start asks for your callsign and locator, so the DX cluster can log in with your call.
• New installations start with the classic blue map, prefixes, CQ zones, day/night, aurora and the DX cluster on.

Changed

• The solar wind tile was removed from the space weather panel.

Windows 1.5

New

• Font, size, bold and colour for the prefix labels, and for the CQ and ITU zone numbers.
• Colours for the CQ and ITU zones and their lines, and for cluster spots, needed countries and watched callsigns.
• Clock font, size, bold and seconds.
• A list of DX cluster nodes to choose from (VE7CC, DL9GTB, GB7MBC, W3LPL, K1TTT, NC7J, DXFun), or your own node.
• Cluster login commands, for example set/nofilter.
• Choose how often space weather refreshes, and whether the MUF map uses live ionosondes or the model only.

Windows 1.4

New

• Help › Report a problem… sends your message and the app's log to 5B4AOF, with your email if you'd like a reply.
• You can enter your licence key at any time, also during the trial, with the trial badge or the "Enter licence key…" button in the toolbar.

Windows 1.3

New

• A licence key works on 2 computers. To move it, click Deactivate on this PC in Help › Licence… on the old computer, then enter the key on the new one.

Windows 1.2

New

• My DXCC: import your log (ADIF) to see which countries you have worked and confirmed.
• Spots of countries you still need blink in gold, and you can show only those.
• Watched callsigns blink green and are listed at the top of the map, with a sound and a notification when they are spotted.
• The DX cluster logs in with your own callsign, and you can choose the node.
• Update now: DX SkyView tells you when a new version is ready and installs it for you.

Windows 1.1.1

Fixed

• The map could turn black after a few minutes on some PCs.

New

• View › Use graphics card, and Help › Open log folder.

Windows 1.1

New

• A 30-day trial with all features, and licence keys.

The first Windows version (1.0)

• DX SkyView as a Windows program, with its own window and Start menu entry: live world map, greyline, aurora, MUF map, DX cluster, space weather and ITU-R P.533 propagation predictions.

Mac

Mac 1.5

• Added: Donate for a Licence (PayPal) in the DX SkyView menu, next to Licence.
• Added: a clock colour. Choose it in Settings › Labels › Clocks.
• Added: predictions at any place. Rest the pointer anywhere on the map for a moment. The info box shows that grid square, with the prediction wheel to that spot. Prefix labels still predict to the country's centre.
• Added: the exact coverage number. With a coverage map on, the info box shows the percentage for that place.
• Added: six new map styles: Terrain, Midnight, Deep teal, Old map (parchment), Arctic and Desert. Choose one in Settings › Map.

Mac 1.4

• Added: an antenna and height for each band, from 160 to 6 m, in Settings › Station. Predictions and the coverage map now take your antenna's real height into account. A low dipole on 40 m no longer looks as strong as a high one.
• Improved: gain now depends on the band and the take-off angle, so short and long distances are treated differently. Your predictions may change from earlier versions; every band starts with your previous antenna at 10 m, so set your real heights.

Mac 1.3.1

• Fixed: the rotator heading now keeps up with the controller. The heading on screen follows the antenna as it turns and stops when the antenna stops.
• Improved: the serial port list names the USB device next to each port, and notices a cable within a couple of seconds of plugging it in.
• Improved: a warning when two rotators use the same port. Each rotator needs its own port; Settings › Rotators tells you if two are set to the same one.
• Improved: Yaesu GS-232 interfaces connect more reliably. DX SkyView keeps asking while the controller starts up, and if a controller answers in a way it can't read, the status line shows what it said.
• Improved: the Settings window can be resized, and it lays its sections out in columns when it is wide, for less scrolling on a big screen.

Mac 1.3

• Added: antenna rotators (premium). DX SkyView shows where your antenna points: the beam from your QTH with its width, and the heading in the toolbar. Right-click a country or any place on the map and choose Turn … to … (short path) or (long path), and the rotator turns there. Stop in the toolbar stops it.
• The covered area is shaded in the rotator's colour, strongest near your QTH and fading with distance, so you can see at a glance which countries are in the beam.
• Soft start and stop for Yaesu rotators with speed control: the antenna starts slowly, speeds up, and slows down before it stops.
• Works with Yaesu rotators through a GS-232A or GS-232B interface (for example ERC, ERC-DUO, K3NG), Prosistel controllers, and Hamlib rotctld for most other rotators. You can add more than one rotator.

Mac 1.2

• Added: map size options (Settings › Map). Fill the window keeps the true shape of the map and fills the whole window with no black bars; drag to see the parts that are cut off. Whole map and Stretch are also available.
• Added: Outline map style. A dark grey map with only coastlines and borders, the clearest choice under the MUF map.
• Added: border colour and strength, and Draw borders over the MUF map, so the continents stay visible when the MUF map is on.
• Added: your own MUF colours for each MUF level, with Reset MUF colours.
• Added: font, size and colour for the lat/long numbers (Settings › Labels).
• Improved: every installed font can now be chosen for the clocks, prefixes, zone numbers and lat/long numbers.
• Added: a welcome window on the first start that asks for your callsign and locator, so the DX cluster can log in.
• Improved: a ready-to-use map on a new installation: Classic blue, with prefixes, CQ zones, day/night, aurora and the DX cluster on. Your own settings are kept when you update.
• Improved: your licence stays active once it is activated on this Mac.

Mac 1.1.1

• Added: Intel Macs. DX SkyView now runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Mac 1.1

• Added: Help › Report a Problem… Describe what happened, add your email if you'd like a reply, and send it. The app's log can be included to help find the cause.
• Added: a log file and Help › Open Log Folder.
• Improved: enter your licence key at any time, also during the trial: click the trial badge or Enter licence key… in the toolbar.
• Improved: install steps for macOS 15 Sequoia (System Settings › Privacy & Security › Open Anyway).

Mac 1.0

• Added: try everything free for 30 days. After the trial, the free version keeps running with the world map, greyline, aurora, the MUF map, space weather and the DX cluster.
• Added: licence keys for the premium features: propagation predictions, your own station, My DXCC and watched callsigns with alerts. Enter the key in DX SkyView › Licence…. One key can be active on 2 computers.
• Added: automatic updates. When a new version is ready, click Update now.

Mac 0.10.1

• Long path included. The prediction wheel and the coverage layer now take the better of the short path and the long path for each place. Long-path openings, such as Europe to VK and ZL on 20 m in the morning, now show up. The coverage layer takes about twice as long to calculate.

Mac 0.10.0

• ITU-R P.533 predictions. The prediction wheel and the coverage layer now use the international standard method for HF prediction, running the ITU's own reference software (ITURHFProp) inside the app.
• Monthly data download. The first prediction each month downloads that month's ionosphere map (about 11 MB) from the ITU repository. It takes a few seconds, once.
• Coverage in the background. The coverage layer is calculated across all of the Mac's processor cores, usually in a few seconds, and is recalculated each UTC hour.
• Choose the model. Settings › Station › Prediction model lets you switch back to the quick built-in model.
• More realistic antenna gains. The presets now give the gain at a low take-off angle, for example 3 dBi for a dipole.

Mac 0.9.1

• More realistic predictions. The model now includes:

- noise from thunderstorms around the world (atmospheric noise), which is strong at night and on the low bands

- absorption counted where the signal actually passes the D layer, with a small amount left at night

- auroral absorption on paths through the auroral zone, using the current Kp

- a fixed extra loss for real-world imperfections

- longer nights with a lower F layer in winter

• SSB now needs a slightly better signal to count as workable. With 100 W and a dipole, 40 m to the USA at night is now a possible contact on SSB, not a near-certain one. CW and FT8 still score much higher, as they do on the air.

Mac 0.9.0

• 24-hour prediction wheel: point at a country to see, for every band and every UTC hour today, the chance that a contact from your station works. Hours run around the wheel with 00 UTC at the top. Bands are rings, 10 m outside and 160 m inside. The current hour is outlined, and the centre shows the best band now.
• Coverage layer: the toolbar's Coverage menu shades the map with where your station should reach right now on the band you choose.
• Your station: set power, antenna, mode and the noise level at your QTH in Settings › Station. Both features use these settings.

Mac 0.8.2

• This help, under Help › DX SkyView Help (Cmd-?). The same file, HELP.md, comes with each release.

Mac 0.8 and 0.8.1

• MUF contours: labelled contour lines at the band edges (3.5, 5, 7, 10, 14, 18, 21, 24.9, 28, 35 MHz), with one flat colour per band range.
• MUF everywhere: a day/night model fills the gaps between ionosondes, so the contours close. Near an ionosonde the map shows its own reading.
• MUF stays readable at night: the MUF colours are drawn above the night shading, so they look the same by day and by night.
• Path MUF in the hover box: the lowest MUF at the reflection points along the short path from your QTH.
• Stronger aurora: the aurora intensity setting goes up to 250%.

Linux

Linux 1.9

New

• Point anywhere on the map, not only at a country label: the info box and the prediction wheel show that 2° square, for example the New York area instead of the middle of the USA.
• With coverage on, the info box shows the exact coverage figure for that place.
• Six new map styles: Terrain, Midnight, Deep teal, Old map (parchment), Arctic and Desert.
• Clock colour: choose it in Settings › Clocks.
• Help › Donate for a licence (PayPal) opens the donation page. The Licence page has the same link.

Linux 1.8

New

• Antennas by band. In Settings › Station, choose the antenna and its height above ground for each band from 160 to 6 m. Predictions and coverage now use the real gain of that antenna at each take-off angle, so a low dipole and a high Yagi give different results, on short and long paths.

Fixed

• The serial port list in Settings › Rotators updates by itself when you plug in a cable.
• Each rotator remembers its USB cable by name, so it keeps working when the cables are plugged in in a different order.
• If Linux doesn't allow DX SkyView to use a serial port, the rotator box now tells you how to fix it.

Linux 1.7.1

New

• The Settings panel can be made wider: drag its left edge, or click ⤢. On a wide screen the settings are shown in several columns, so there is less scrolling.
• Settings › Rotators warns you when two rotators are set to the same serial port.

Fixed

• The serial port list shows only real devices (USB adapters), with the maker and serial number, instead of every built-in port.
• The rotator settings refresh when you change a port.

Linux 1.7

New

• Antenna rotators (premium). Connect your rotator controller by USB and add it in Settings › Rotators. DX SkyView supports Yaesu GS-232A and GS-232B controllers and interfaces (including ERC and K3NG), Prosistel D and F controllers, and Hamlib rotctld over the network. Up to 4 rotators.
• Each antenna's beam is drawn on the map from your QTH in its own colour: the heading with arrows, the covered area shaded between the beam-width edges and, if you like, the long path. The antenna's name is shown on the beam.
• Soft start and stop for Yaesu (GS-232) controllers: the rotator starts slowly, speeds up, and slows down again before the target and when you press Stop.
• Right-click a country, a spot or any place on the map and choose the antenna (listed by its name and colour) and the short or long path, or Stop all rotators. The antenna turns, and the map follows it.
• A box at the top right shows each antenna's heading. Type a heading and press Enter to turn, or click Stop.

Linux 1.6

New

• The map now fills the window, with no black bars at the sides. Drag the map to see the edges. Settings › Map › Map size also offers Whole map and Stretch.
• New map style Outline (borders only): just coastlines and borders on grey, ideal under the MUF map.
• Coastline and border colour and strength, and Draw borders over the MUF map, so the world stays visible under the MUF colours.
• Choose the colour of each MUF level (3.5 to 35 MHz).
• Choose the font, size and colour of the latitude and longitude numbers.
• The font lists show every font installed on your computer.
• A welcome window on first start asks for your callsign and locator, so the DX cluster can log in with your call.
• New installations start with the classic blue map, prefixes, CQ zones, day/night, aurora and the DX cluster on.

Changed

• The solar wind tile was removed from the space weather panel.

Linux 1.5.1

Fixed

• DX SkyView did not start on Ubuntu 23.10 and later (including 24.04). Both the .deb and the AppImage now start normally.

The first Linux version (1.5)

• DX SkyView for Linux, as an AppImage and a .deb, with the same features as Windows and Mac: live world map, greyline, aurora, MUF map, DX cluster with your own login, My DXCC, watched callsigns and alerts, ITU-R P.533 predictions, and all the look settings.
• It updates itself: click Update now when a new version is offered.

Online map

Online map 1.3

• Added: seven new map styles: Outline, Terrain, Midnight, Deep teal, Old map (parchment), Arctic and Desert. Choose one in Settings › Map.
• Added: predictions at any place. Rest the pointer anywhere on the map to see that grid square, with its prediction wheel and, with a coverage map on, the exact coverage percentage.
• Added: a link back to the DX Holiday home page at the top left.
• Added: a short note on what we count. To improve DX SkyView we count visits and which features are used, with the visitor's country. We use no cookies and don't store IP addresses.

Online map 1.2

• Added: an antenna and height for each band, from 160 to 6 m, in Settings › Station. Predictions and the coverage map now take your antenna's real height into account, so your predictions may change. Every band starts with your previous antenna at 10 m.
• Added: a welcome dialog on your first visit that asks for your callsign and locator.
• Improved: new visitors start with the Classic blue map, with prefixes, greyline, aurora, CQ zones and the DX cluster on.

Online map 1.1

• Added: the version number at the bottom of the Help window.
• Improved: data feeds. Problems with a data provider are now noticed and fixed faster.

The first online version (1.0)

• Live world map with the greyline, CQ and ITU zones and all DXCC prefixes, in your web browser on a computer, tablet or phone.
• MUF map from live ionosonde readings, with contour lines at the band edges.
• DX cluster spots that blink on the map; point at a country for frequencies, modes and calls.
• Propagation predictions: a 24-hour band wheel to any country and a coverage map for any band, calculated with ITU-R P.533 for your power, antenna and mode.
• Space weather: Kp, solar flux, the A index, sunspots and the aurora forecast at a glance.
• Your settings (callsign, locator, station) are kept in your browser only.