Changelog

This page documents the version history and changes to the DXSpotter Pro firmware.

Version 1.0.12

Release Date: 2026-10-21

Bug Fixes

• The AP setup screen showed a small empty box in its instructions where a dash should have been. The same missing character appeared on the QRZ.com details when a field was blank, and on the WiFi picker's "scan failed" message.

• A "CLUSTER ERROR: Propagation: No network connection" window could appear over the AP setup screen if the WiFi link dropped while propagation data was being fetched. Errors are no longer shown while the WiFi link is down — the LINK indicator already says so — and a propagation problem is now titled PROPAGATION ERROR rather than CLUSTER ERROR.

• In the WiFi management window, a saved network's row was slightly wider than the list, which hid part of the delete button behind a sideways scrollbar. Rows now fit the list.

Improvements

• The WiFi picker list now matches the rest of the dark screen design instead of showing bright white rows.

• The touchscreen interface now keeps its working memory in the unit's large external memory. This leaves far more room for the secure connections used by the propagation, QRZ.com, flag and update downloads, so opening long lists such as the band chooser no longer eats into it.

• New serial commands wifi ap and wifi retry switch the unit into AP setup mode on demand and back out again, without erasing the saved WiFi networks (see Advanced Features).

Version 1.0.11

Release Date: 2026-08-12

Bug Fixes

• Fixed country flags never appearing for most countries. Around 45 flags are built into the firmware and always worked; every other country downloads its flag on demand, and that download was failing every time — so those spots showed no flag at all, and the unit gave up on that country until it was restarted. The download now completes correctly, and a country that does fail is retried a few minutes later instead of being written off.

• Further fix for spot details staying on "looking up...". Some look-ups could still get wedged in a state where the unit believed a look-up was already running when nothing was. The details window now gives up on the spinner after a few seconds regardless, and a look-up that has genuinely been abandoned is started again automatically.

Improvements

• The screen no longer flickers while the unit starts up. The display is now kept dark until the first complete screen has been drawn, so the brief scrambled image and the visible "painting in" of the layout during start-up are no longer shown. Nothing about the start-up itself has changed — there is simply nothing on screen until there is something worth showing.

• Country flags are now prepared once when they are downloaded rather than being re-processed every time the screen redraws. This removes a steady load from the part of memory the unit's secure connections depend on, which is the same memory pressure behind the propagation and QRZ problems fixed in 1.0.10.

Version 1.0.10

Release Date: 2026-08-08

New Features

• Added a Non Ham bands switch to the network (link) menu. Turn it on and the band chooser also offers the CB bands (27 MHz, plus the UK FM CB segment), so you can filter spots and add a CB row to the propagation panel. Off by default, and the setting is also available in the web configuration page.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed spot details getting stuck on "looking up...". Tapping a spot opened the details window but the QRZ.com look-up never finished, and once it happened that callsign stayed stuck for as long as the unit was powered on. Look-ups that fail for a temporary reason now retry automatically instead of getting wedged, and a network problem during sign-in is no longer mistaken for "callsign not found".

• Fixed the propagation panel occasionally showing a technical memory message instead of solar data. The unit was mis-reading its own memory while another download was in progress and concluding it had run out, when nothing was actually wrong. Secure connections now measure available memory correctly, and any fetch that does fail simply keeps the last good reading and retries quietly rather than putting a diagnostic message on screen.

• Fixed opening the BANDS chooser stopping QRZ look-ups, propagation updates, flags and firmware update checks until the unit was rebooted. The chooser was holding on to memory after it closed, which over time left too little for secure connections. That memory is now released as soon as the window is closed.

• Fixed the unit dropping to the AP setup screen after a brief WiFi outage. A router reboot or a short loss of signal could strand the device on the setup screen until someone reconnected it by hand. A network that has already worked is now retried for several minutes, with progressively longer gaps between attempts, before falling back to AP mode. Setting up a brand-new network is unaffected — a wrong password still takes you to the setup screen quickly.

Version 1.0.9

Release Date: 2026-07-25

Bug Fixes

• Fixed propagation data sometimes stopping updating until the unit was rebooted. Under load the HamQSL propagation fetch could stall on a busy secure (HTTPS) connection and never recover — the propagation panel kept showing the last values with no refresh, and in some cases the unit would reboot on its own. Secure connections are now shared cooperatively between propagation, QRZ look-ups, flag downloads and update checks so they no longer starve each other; a slow or failed fetch now retries automatically instead of hanging, and can no longer lock up the device. Validated over a multi-hour soak with no stalls or reboots.

Version 1.0.8

Release Date: 2026-07-25

New Features

• Added selectable propagation bands. The BANDS heading in the propagation panel is now a button that opens a chooser listing every amateur band from HF through VHF, UHF and the microwave (gigahertz) bands. Pick up to 10 to show in the panel; your selection is saved and restored across reboots. Bands the HamQSL feed doesn't report conditions for (160 m, 60 m and everything above 6 m) show ---- but can still be tapped to apply a band filter.

Version 1.0.5

Release Date: 2026-06-12

Bug Fixes

• Fixed QRZ.com look-ups failing on portable and compound callsigns. Spots such as F/HB9BIN/P, K1ABC/P or OH/DL1ABC were looked up in full, which QRZ cannot resolve — in some cases the wrong part of the callsign was searched (K1ABC/P was reported as "Not found: P"). The home callsign is now extracted and used for both the look-up and the cache.

• Fixed new QRZ.com sign-in details not taking effect until the unit was rebooted. Saving your username and password in the web portal now applies immediately, and any callsigns that failed to resolve under the old details are looked up again.

• Fixed taps landing in the wrong place when the screen was rotated 180°. The display and the touch layer were each applying the rotation, so the two cancelled out and taps registered at their un-rotated positions.

Version 1.0.4

Release Date: 2026-06-07

New Features

• Added 180° screen rotation for upside-down mounting — for example when the unit hangs from a shelf, or is mounted with the USB-C socket at the top. Available from the LINK modal on screen or from the web portal; the unit saves the setting and reboots to apply it.

• Added QRZ.com callsign look-up. With your QRZ.com sign-in details saved in the web portal, tapping a spot (or an alert pop-up) also shows the operator's name, QTH, grid square and country, with the country flag. Requires a paid QRZ XML Logbook subscription; leave the details blank to disable.

Version 1.0.3

Release Date: 2026-06-07

Improvements

• Propagation data is now served from the TopBytes cache rather than fetched from HamQSL directly by every unit. The data shown is unchanged — this simply spreads the load so a single upstream fetch is shared across all devices.

• Added the HamQSL credit to the web configuration page footer.

Version 1.0.2

Release Date: 2026-06-06

New Features

• Added the xOTA DX cluster (xota.iz2lsc.eu:7373) to the built-in cluster presets.

• Added the *OTA filter preset (accept/spot 0 info pota or info sota or info bota or info wwff) for POTA / SOTA / BOTA / WWFF activations.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the Device ID reading as 00:00:00:00:00:00 on the configuration page and network-info screen while the unit was in setup / access-point mode. The all-zero ID could stop the device registering. The device ID is now read reliably in every WiFi mode.

• Fixed the on-screen Check for Update button reporting "Already up to date" when the update check had actually failed to reach the server (so a genuinely available update was missed). It now reports "Update check failed - try again" when the check can't complete.

Version 0.1.0

Release Date: 2026-04-16

Initial Release

First public release of DXSpotter Pro. The device introduces a 7-inch colour LCD with capacitive touch to the TopBytes DX Spotter family, with a touch-driven UI, live HamQSL propagation data, and DX alerts.

Hardware

• 7-inch 800 x 480 colour LCD with capacitive multi-touch

• USB-C power input

Touch UI

• Three-region main screen: status bar (top), spot list (left), propagation panel (right)

• Status bar: callsign (tap to edit), local clock with timezone abbreviation (long-press to change timezone), cluster name (tap to switch), LINK indicator (tap for details, long-press for WiFi management)

• Spot list with tap-to-detail modal showing the full comment text

• Propagation panel with live SFI / SN / A / K gauges and per-band day/night condition indicators

• Tap a band row to apply a band filter

• MODE button for mode toggle filters (CW / SSB / FT8 / FT4 / RTTY / PSK / ANY) and custom presets

• ALERTS button for managing alert callsigns/prefixes on screen

• Filter footer with active-filter label and CLEAR button

• All modals dismissible via X button or background tap; modals are mutually exclusive

On-Screen First-Run Wizard

• Two-step guided setup: WiFi network and callsign

• Live WiFi picker with on-screen alphanumeric keyboard for password entry

• Wizard auto-opens on first boot and after factory reset

• DONE button activates only when both required fields are filled

Network Stack

• Up to 5 WiFi credentials with priority-based connection

• Automatic scan on boot and selection of highest-priority network in range

• AP-mode fallback after 3 consecutive failures

• AP setup screen with two QR codes — one to join the AP, one to open the config page

• mDNS/Bonjour discovery as <deviceName>.local (default dxspotter-pro)

DX Cluster

• Persistent Telnet client with state-machine-driven reconnect

• Two-slot composable filter system: band (slot 0) AND mode (slot 1)

• Atomic preset path for full-replacement filter recipes (web dropdown and PRESETS list)

• 5 built-in cluster presets: HamServe G1FEF, Rusty Cluster, G3LRS UK, M0KGX, NC7J

• 5 built-in filter presets: All Bands, 20M Only, 40M Only, HF SSB, HF CW

• Up to 5 user-defined custom clusters (web portal)

• Up to 5 user-defined custom filters (web portal)

DX Alerts

• Up to 10 callsign or prefix entries

• Case-insensitive startsWith matching against incoming spot's DX callsign

• Matching spots highlighted in amber on the spot list

• Auto-popup alert modal with full spot details and bell icon

• Configurable auto-dismiss timer (default 60 s, range 0–600 s; 0 = manual only)

• Manageable from touch (ALERTS button) and web portal

Propagation Data

• Live HamQSL solar XML feed fetched every 10 minutes

• SFI, SN, A-index, K-index displayed with proportional gauge bars

• Per-band conditions for 160M / 80M / 40M / 30M / 20M / 17M / 15M / 12M / 10M / 6M

• Runs in the background — does not block the UI

Web Configuration Portal

• HTTP server on port 80

• mDNS discoverable as <deviceName>.local

• Captive portal in AP mode (redirects probe URLs to the config page)

• Form covers: WiFi credentials (with drag-and-drop priority), cluster selection, custom clusters, filter selection, custom filters, callsign, alert callsign list with auto-dismiss, device name, timezone (~20 timezones), max spots

• Live network scan endpoint for the in-page "scan" button

• Factory reset button with confirmation prompt

Serial CLI

• 115200-baud line-based command interface, available at any time

• Commands: help, show, wifi add, wifi clear, cluster, callsign, filter, tz, save, reboot, ota, reset-lcd

• Case-insensitive command names

• Useful for headless management and recovery

Time Synchronisation

• NTP via pool.ntp.org

• POSIX timezone strings — automatic DST adjustment

• Web portal dropdown of ~20 common worldwide timezones

• Status bar clock displayed as HH:MM:SS XXX

OTA Firmware Updates

• Secure HTTPS firmware updates from the TopBytes update service

• First check shortly after WiFi comes up; rechecks hourly thereafter

• Production units only install strictly-newer releases

• Manual trigger via the serial ota command

• On-screen progress modal with status text and percentage bar

• "Device Not Registered" lockout screen if the update service reports the device is unclaimed

Known Issues

• MODE button label currently reads "FILTERS" inside the modal — the on-screen button itself displays "MODE" but the modal title is "FILTERS"

• No on-screen affordance for triggering a manual OTA — use the serial ota command

• No on-screen factory reset — use the web portal's Factory Reset button

Upgrade Notes

• This is the initial release; no prior versions exist to upgrade from

• OTA installation will preserve all NVS configuration across future updates

• If your device's registration lapses, the lockout screen will appear at the next hourly check; contact TopBytes support to resolve

Version History

Version	Date	Summary
0.1.0	2026-04-16	Initial release of DXSpotter Pro: 7-inch colour LCD with capacitive touch, on-screen wizard, live HamQSL propagation panel, DX alerts, two-slot composable filters, web portal, serial CLI, OTA