Idiots guide to Cluster?

[N7PHX]

Hello everyone,

Terry... Amazing program! Thanks for the time and effort you have put into this.

I am a relatively new ham on the HF bands and need a little help wrapping my head around the whole cluster feature. For the past few months I used another program that was pretty straight forward when it came to cluster. It did not present you with a list of clusters, but rather connected to whichever one came with the software. I was able to tell it to only show me spotter reports coming from my area and thats it. Log4om doesn't seem to be this straight forward. Therefor I'm kindly asking for assistance.

First and foremost, which cluster do should I connect to? Is it whichever one is closest to me? I live in Phoenix, AZ DM33xi

I've tried connecting to a few, but all ask for me to login with my callsign. How do I do that?

Is there a guide on how to set the filters to only show reports coming from a specific area?

[K7PT]

Hi Chad,
I live pretty close to you in Tempe.

I use VE7CC for my cluster as it is pretty stable and up most of the time. The list gives you the ability to change if the one you normally connect too is down for some reason. I will use any one on the U.S. if the VE7 goes down.

Hope this helps you and give me a call (480-820-1563 home or 480-695-1568 cell) if you have any questions. Happy to help.

[N7PHX]

Thanks Chuck!

What better reply than from someone down the street! I'll be calling you within the next week or so. I'm also regularly on the Metrolink Shaw Butte repeater, South Mountain 442.900 Repeater, and on the 2100 net a few times a week.

73!