Cluster Questions

[w9nz]

I'm new to using clusters and have several questions re their use within Log4om:

There are numerous servers that can be selected. Assuming that a server is available is there any reason to select one server over another?

What is Super Cluster about, what determines the "quality" of the spot (poor,etc). How does one best utilize supper cluster?

Why are there so few spots using log4om cluster vs. dxheat for the same filtering parameters?

Thanks,

Ray Mikula
WA9ZVF

[IW3HMH]

I'm new to using clusters and have several questions re their use within Log4om:
There are numerous servers that can be selected. Assuming that a server is available is there any reason to select one server over another?

Clusters are usually interconnected, so informations that are in a cluster are, usually, shared with other cluster servers.
There are some theories about the fact that you should use more than one cluster to have access to the "whole group of informations" but this is not exact.
Some clusters (like SOTA cluster) are not interconnected, so spot in the SOTA cluster are kept into this "cluster network" and not shared. This means that users in the SOTA cluster sending spot will share the information only with other users of the same cluster, but this is an exception. Usually informations are shared.

What is Super Cluster about, what determines the "quality" of the spot (poor,etc). How does one best utilize supper cluster?

HRDLOG.NET has a nice feature, supported by some logging softwares (hrd, logger32 and others, and Log4OM obviously), that allow software send "self spot" to hrdlog.net website. You can see those informations on HRDLOG webserver.
Log4OM download those informations from hrdlog.net and create a sort of cluster, based on "self spot" of logging softwares connected via CAT to the rigs. Here you can find all HAM radio operators that have a working logging software connected to a live radio.
This is not proof the HAM is operating in this moment (it may have simply leaved his rig powered on with the logging software attached). Data quality is an indicator about the probability to find this callsign on the indicated frequency, based on how the user is working (frequency changes, hopping between bands, last QSO reported....)

It's basically a network of self spot

Why are there so few spots using log4om cluster vs. dxheat for the same filtering parameters?
Thanks,
Ray Mikula
WA9ZVF

Log4OM by default GROUP spots. If a callsign is spotted 10 times, other cluster will show informations along the cluster list, making it really long to read. Log4OM compacts all spots and still keeps all the comments in the grouped spot. In that way you will have the FULL informations of the cluster in a compact but complete list.

Hope this helps
73
Daniele IW3HMH

[NN7D]

Daniele,

Thanks for that excellent explanation of the Super Cluster. I now get it. The relevant terms of Self-spot via HRDNet makes sense! And that it is a 'network of self-spots'. I had read the Log4OM manual several times trying to understand just how it worked and that concept was not clear at all. Adding those terms to the manual might be helpful to other users.

Thanks!

Doug - W7DRM

[IW3HMH]

It's REALLY useful when countries of interest are not spotted in the usual clusters, but you still need those countries to complete awards (like WAS or similar ones)...
I made several QSO finding rare stations at their first call, before having them in the cluster, by finding them in the supercluster...

This is also why i STRONGLY recommend everyone to join hrdlog.net and enable automatic "updates" in settings.

[yt9tp]

I never use self spotting as I feel it is not ham spirit.

[IW3HMH]

It's not a self spotting on cluster.
It's something different that doesn't exist in any other software.
Reverse beacon is also a form of "self spotting" imho, but no one raised anything against that.

[KI5IO]

To expand on Ray's original post about DXHeat and clusters ...

Just how would I (as a new Log4OM user) set up the Log4OM parameters to connect to the DXHeat cluster for use within Log4OM?

URL: https://dxheat.com/dxc/


Thanks in advance.

[IW3HMH]

I was unable, at a first glance, to see if they provide a telnet url for "cluster client" connections.
If this is not available, this will be a web cluster only, not integrated / useable in any software