DX Monitor
Frequently Asked Questions
Please read this list of questions before submitting a bug report or comment.
Do all the features of DX Monitor work with Vista?
Vista security has problems with DX Monitor because it communicates with several older programs for rig control and propagation forecasts. The easiest way to make DX Monitor happy under Vista so that it will work with propagation predictions and rig control features is to install DX Monitor, HamCap, and VOACAP in c:\dxmon, c:\HamCap and c:\itshfbc instead of the c:\Program Files folder suggested by the installation programs. Installation should be done from the administrator account.
Some users have reported the need to right click the icon for the exe of each program and under the compatibility tab, show settings for all users, set the compatibility to XP SP2. More help from Microsoft.
My hard drive crashed and I need to re-install DX Monitor. Do I have to pay again?
Of course not. If you wrote down your serial number or backed up the email containing it, then you can enter it into the new installation. If you didn't then fill in the Lost Serial Number Form, and I will send it to you again. If you are reading this before your hard drive crashes, perhaps it would be a good idea to back up all the passwords and serial numbers that you might need when your hard drive crashes or your computer dies. Press F10 in DX Monitor to read your serial number now.
I want to run DX Monitor on my laptop at work. Do I have to pay twice?
You can run the program on as many computers as you want. As long as it is for your own use and you enter the same callsign into the User Information on all the computers.
DX Monitor is not working. No spots are showing up.
The button at the left of the toolbar will say STOP when automatic updates are occurring. If the button says AUTO, click it to start accessing DX Summit and other sources automatically. Or Select a source from the Update menu. Watch the status in the bar at the bottom. If DX Monitor is unable to make a connection, it is probably an issue with your firewall or malware software not allowing DX Monitor to connect.
I see the program access the internet, but no new spots show up, or some spots are missing from either the main window or the band map.
Tip: You can test the data sources in the Preferences Window. Double click on any URL that you suspect is not working. The page will be retrieved by your web browser so you can see the raw data. Or an error page will be displayed if the server is down. |
Double clicking on a callsign can be defined to do one or more tasks in the User Preferences. Press F10 and select the Preferences tab. Check the options you would like to define.
The QRZ, HamCall, and Google buttons have stopped working.
You probably just updated Internet Explorer. The default web browser setting in Windows is pointing to the non-existent old version. In Internet Explorer, Tools menu, select Internet Options. On the Programs page at the bottom, check the box beside Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser. This should resolve the problem.
Will DX Monitor work from behind a corporate firewall or with a proxy server?
Yes, DX Monitor supports proxy firewalls and dialup accelerators including those with username and password. Proxy setup is in the User Preferences window.
Can I print from DX Monitor?
Currently, DX Monitor does not support printing directly. The free PrintKey 2000 utility does a great job. Just define a new hotkey (ctl-F11, for example) to copy any window to the clipboard, open PrintKey and print.
My new installation or upgrade freezes during installation or the first time I run the program. Help!
This has happened to a very few users (less than one per cent). If you can quit the program, do so and run it again. If not, reboot your computer. That has always worked so far. All of the people reporting this problem have been using Zone Alarm or Norton firewalls and it seems that Zone Alarm is stopping the new program (as it is supposed to do) but “forgetting” to display the alert box to ask permission to run it.
I don’t like the new default color scheme. What can I do?.
The colors in the
Band Map and
Main Window are set by the filter used. You can select a different filter or use the
Filter Editor to create your own custom color scheme.
Right Click Here and save the HF996.fil file to
the Data subfolder of DX Monitor. When DX Monitor is restarted, one of the options under
Select Filter and Colors will be HF996. This will restore the old filter colors you used to have.
Where is TX9 (or some new prefix)? Why doesn't DX Monitor know where it is?
DX Monitor uses the CTY.DAT file updated by AD1C for the CT and other contest programs to
determine the country and location of callsigns based on their prefix. CTY.DAT is
updated regularly and DX Monitor will automatically download the updates.
You can
add new prefixes to the file yourself, but make sure you get the newest CTY.DAT
when it is released.
Tip: You can define the location of any station by right-clicking on the Mercator Map in the correct location and entering the callsign. The new location will be applied to maps and propagation predictions. |
The UTC time correction is incorrect.
This value is obtained directly from the operating system and displayed with no changes made
by DX Monitor.
There are two choices available for getting the correct combination of local and UTC time:
Some garbage data got into one of the spots. How can I get rid of it?
First, wait until tomorrow. The spot may not be saved when the History File is cleaned. Deleting it now will only result in it being downloaded again from the spot sources. To delete from the History Window, select the spot or spots, and press the Del key.
I use HamCap and DX Monitor sometimes freezes the first time I run it.
This is usually a firewall issue. Make sure that DX Monitor has permission to open a new process (in this case HamCap). In Zone Alarm, select Program Control, the Programs tab, right click DX Monitor, Options, check the box Allow OpenProcess. There is now a User Preference to skip the automatic HamCap interface if this is a problem on your system. There seems to be a problem with some versions of Windows causing this to occur when DX Monitor initiates HamCap. This problem should have been resolved in Version 1.03 and later. Please let me know if you experience this problem.
What tools were used to program DX Monitor?
DX Monitor was written using the Borland Delphi Development Environment. The Winsock interface was written using the excellent Internet Component Suite developed by François Piette.
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