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The DX Alarm Clock - Part 1: Software

Posted: 29 Jan 2017 03:39 PM PST
https://stationproject.wordpress.com...rt-1-software/

The DX Alarm Clock

I have been a Ham for 5 years and my favorite thing to do is chase DX. As a
new Ham it was always a thrill to work a newÂ*DXCC, but now that I have over
280 DXCCs and over 1000 band points, it is a little more difficult to find
a new one. Add to that the fact that I am trying to get aÂ*DXCCÂ*in 80m and
160m., which are usually open when I am asleep. I created the DX Alarm
Clock as a way to get notified that there is something new on the air when
I am not down in the shack. Â*This article will talk about how I developed
the software for the DX Alarm Clock. Â*Part 2 will talk about the building
theÂ*Raspberry PiÂ*based Hardware and loading the OS.

The DX Alarm Clock is aÂ*PythonÂ*software program running on aÂ*Raspberry
PiÂ*that gathers data online about my log and what is on the spotting
network and uses that data to alert me whenÂ*there is a new one on the air.
DX Alarm Clock Architecture

TheÂ*ClubLogÂ*website provides a light DX Cluster website calledÂ*DXLite,
which has an XML Interface. The DX Alarm Clock uses this interface to get
the current spots. The software uses theÂ*Developer APIÂ*fromÂ*ClubLogÂ*to get
aÂ*JSONÂ*matrix of allÂ*DXCC entities by bandÂ*indicating whether I have
worked, confirmed or verified each band-entity. The software loops through
all of the spots returned byÂ*DXLiteÂ*and looks each DXCC up in the JSON
ClubLog matrix. I also use theÂ*QRZ.comÂ*XML InterfaceÂ*to get additional
information for each callsign that is spotted, like the state.
DXCC Configuration Screen

The DX Alarm Clock usesÂ*tkinter/ttkÂ*for the GUI. Â*I used
theÂ*NotebookÂ*widget to create a multi-tab GUI. Â*There is a tab for
configuring filters for DX Entity. The user can choose all New DXCCs, as
well as specific bands and nodes to provide alerts for.
WAS Configuration Screen

There is another tab for configuring filters for WAS. ClubLog has no log
look up capability based on US State so the WAS filter lets you create a
list of States and associated bands to provide alerts for.
Notification Configuration Screen

The Notification tab allows configuration of what notifications the user
would like to receive. The user can specify a separate email address for
New DXCCs, New Band Points, and New US States. This allows alerts to be
sent to email accounts or as SMS texts. You can also configure the sounds
the the DX Alarm Clock itself makes to “wake you up� when that ATNO or new
Band Point is spotted.

The DXAlarm clock wakes up every 5 minutes and gets the latest spots from
the DXLite Cluster. It checks each spot against the ClubLog log and if
there is a match based on the configure filters, it sounds the alert, and
then speaks the alarm, giving you the Callsign, DXCC Entity, Band and
Mode.Â*Â* A simple text to speech package calledÂ*fliteÂ*(festival-lite) was
used to implement the speech on the Raspberry Pi.


Alert Screen

It also puts a message with these details and the Frequency, UTC Date/Time,
Spotter and Comment on the display.
Text Notification to iPhone

Additionally it sends this information as an email to the configured email
address, which results in a text or email.


Apple Watch Alert

I can even get the alert on my Apple Watch.
Filtered Spots Display

Once all spots are processed, it keeps a running list of all spots that
resulted in alerts on the main screen. Spots are aged out if they do not
recur over time.
DX Alarm Clock Hardware

The DX Alarm Clock just alerted me thatÂ*ZC4SBÂ*is on 20m thats an
ATNO! Â*Got to go down to the shack and work him! Â* Â*Stay tuned for Part 2
of this post on the DXAlarm Clock Raspberry Pi based hardware and on
setting up the Raspberry Pi OS.

Anita,Â*AB1QB
Filed under: DX'ing, Kit Building and Home Brewing, Software