Frequently asked questions about DXMAPS.COM 4.x propagation maps
You could also be interested in the user manual

Browser and system requirements

Data shown

Filtering

Sending spots

Browsing and viewing trouble

Other

Maps are not shown or shown partially / Maps are not updating automatically. What can I do?

First of all, make sure that Javascript is enabled for DXMAPS.COM in your browser.  Second, check the configuration of your Internet explorer and clear the cache (Internet temporary files). Sometimes can also help pressing the keys Ctrl+F5 (Shift+Command+R in MAC) to force a full reload.

You can also try these other options.

Why some callsigns are shown in different colours (blue, green, black....)?

The colour of the callsigns indicates the source of the information for a given report:

Additionally you will see some callsigns highlighted on a yellow background (like XX0XX).  These are the DXMAPS supporter users. This is, users who are contributing to keep the server running.

Callsigns highlighted on a green background (like XX0XX) are DXpeditions,

I'm not interested in WSPR, RB and APRS spots. How to do it to view only human made reports?
I'm not interested in FM-SWL spots. How to do it to view only amateur radio reports?

Simply tick the "Only DX-Cluster" option.
 
    

I am interested in digital modes, but I don't want to see the WSPR spots. How to do it?

Simply un-tick the "WSPR" option in the "Modes" options.
 
    

Can I see a listing of the contacts, instead of a map?

Yes. Simply select the "List" tab at the top-left corner of the maps.  You can also select "Graph" to get a band-scope view.
 
    

Why the DX-spots I send from DXMAPS are not shown?

That could be due to a good number of reasons. First of all you have to understand that when you send a DX-Spot from DXMAPS pages, it is not directly incorporated to the database, but sent to the DX-Cluster network.  When that spot is received back from DX-Cluster, as all spots from other stations, is analyzed by a sophisticated routine that filters out spots that apparently are not real spots.  You would be amazed to know that more than 25% of spots flowing through the DX-Cluster are not reporting a QSO, but are the result of misusing the network to cheer each other, ask questions, complain about something, etc.   There are also many spots which frequency is clearly wrong, or that the spotted grid square is outside the boundaries of the country of the reported station, etc.

Reports below a certain distance threshold are also discarded, as they are not considered DX.  The minimum distance depends on the band.

Also, you should make sure that you don't have some filtering option enabled in DXMAPS that prevents some spots from being shown in your particular case.  For instance, if you have the "Only > 2600 km" option enabled then you won't see any report of contacts below 2600 km, even if they have been spotted by you. More information about DXMAPS options in the user manual.

Some basic rules to prevent your spots from being filtered out:

  1. Don't write useless comments.  Texts like "Hello" or "Please" for instance will possibly lead your spot to be filtered out as it will not be considered the report of a QSO.
  2. Make sure that your grid square/locator is correct in the callbook
  3. Make sure that the reported data (callsign, frequency, grid square, etc.) are all correct.

Why the spots I send through the PSK-Reporter network are not shown?

That could be due to a good number of reasons. First of all you have to understand that the purpose of DXMAPS is not the same than PSK-Reporter: The purpose of DXMAPS is to show propagation conditions, not to show every single (and often wrong or useless for DXMAPS purposes) spot as PSK-Reported does.

DXMAPS takes the PSK-Reporter spots from the excellent Telnet cluster of DK1MAX, that applies a complex routine in order to filter out most of the wrong and duplicate spots (I estimate they are more than a 25%) and so it provides only those spots that are likely to be good and useful.

When the spot is received by DXMAPS, it is analyzed again by a sophisticated routine that filters out those containing wrong information (frequency is clearly wrong, the spotted grid square is outside the boundaries of the country of the reported station, etc.)

Reports below a certain distance threshold are also discarded, as they are not considered DX.  The minimum distance depends on the band.

Also, you should make sure that you don't have some filtering option enabled in DXMAPS that prevents some spots from being shown in your particular case.  For instance, if you have the "Only > 2600 km" option enabled then you won't see any report of contacts below 2600 km, even if they have been spotted by you. More information about DXMAPS options in the user manual.

Is there an historical record of the maps and QSO?

Yes. You can query the database and and also look at former 2m animated sporadic-E maps.

When I put a comment it shows both locators then my comment. How do I eliminate the locators from my comments?

Locators are the most important information you can add when sending a spot, as it shows the exact location of the stations, and allow DXMAPS to make the calculations. I don't understand any reason why you would like to eliminate the locators, but if that is really so important for you and you want to take the risk that your spot could be filtered out you can always send an unformatted spot.

The service is free, but how is it funded?  Can I make a donation to contribute keeping the service up and being improved in the future?

Yes, the service is free and it will continue being free. However it requires hiring two powerful dedicated servers and a high speed Internet connection, together with the required licenses of use of the maps, domain registrations and SSL certificates, with an approximate cost of US $415 per month.  This cost is covered thanks to the donations of supporter users and to the advertising.  If you like the service please consider some kind of donation.

What are the little red dots that I sometimes see on the lines?

They mark the estimated ground reflection points in multi-hop sporadic-E paths. They are only an estimation based on the geometry and as such should be interpreted.

What are the blue lines that appear across the world maps?

They are the geomagnetic equator and tropics. An interesting reference for north-south and TEP propagation. If you don't want to see them you can disable them in the Layer options.

How can I post FM DX spots?

Please use FMLIST to report the received FM station on-line. As soon as you spot it there it will be also shown in DXMAPS maps.

Alternatively you can also use DXMAPS form to spot FM stations, but in that case you will have to indicate the Locator of the spotted station, so that the system can locate it.

When my callsign contains a slash (/P, /M, etc) it is cut. Why?

That is an old restriction of the DX-Cluster network, not of DXMAPS.  You should understand that when you send a spot using DXMAPS interface it is sent first to the DX-Cluster and later processed when it is received back from that network. If the DX-Cluster cuts it I can't do anything.

 Can I post VOR spots?

Yes, simply use the format VOR/xxx (being xxx the callsign of the VOR).  If you don't know the Locator of the VOR leave that box blank and the system will try to take it from the VOR database. This is an example of how to spot VOR CDP (Capdepera) on 112.900 MHz.

I have an AIS receiving station. Can I post AIS spots?

Yes, simply download the AIS DX Aggregator program that will automatically upload AIS DX spots to DXMAPS.

If you have a Vesseltracker AIS receiver you can ask Vesseltracker to share with DXMAPS your DX reports without having to do anything on your side.

 I have an APRS station. Can I report the DX reception of APRS stations?

Yes, simply download the APRS DX Aggregator program that will automatically upload APRS DX spots to DXMAPS.

 I use WSJT-X and JTDX for FT8, JT65 and JT9 modes. Can I automatically send DX-Spots to DXMAPS?

Yes, simply download the WSJT DX Aggregator program that will automatically upload DX spots to DXMAPS.

 How can I see only the spots with my callsign?
 How can I see only the spots of a certain DX station?

You can filter by a certain callsign (yours or DX) entering it in the input box at the top right and clicking the filter button.

When filtering is enabled the button will show a read tick mark on it.  Click the button again to disable the filtering.

 How can hide all spots involving a certain callsign?

You can hide all spots of a certain callsign (yours or DX) entering it in the input box at the top right and clicking the hide button.

When hiding is enabled the icon will show a red tick and the input box will be disabled.  Click on the icon again to disable the hiding.

 How can I see only the spots involving stations in my own continent?

You can filter by a certain continent entering the continent code (NA, EU, SA, AF, OC, AS) in the input box at the top right and clicking the filter button.

When filtering is enabled the button will show a read tick mark on it.  Click the button again to disable the filtering.

 Sometimes the maps cover the last hour, but sometimes only the last minutes. Why does this happen? Can I configure it?

In order to keep the maps readable the number of QSO lines visible at a certain time on a certain map has to be restricted to 300.  Showing more QSO lines would end up in an unreadable and useless map.  If the number of visible contacts/reports is 300 or less then the map will cover the last hour. Otherwise the time span shown will correspond with the most recent 300 contacts/reports.

Take into account that, specially in the most popular HF bands, it is not unusual to have more than 100 QSO reported per minute, specially through the Reverse Beacon and PSK reporter networks, so it could happen that if you don't apply some kind of filtering you only see the contacts/reports of the last 2 or 3 minutes.  In those cases you should consider filtering by "DX-Cluster only", or by some mode, or restrict the map to a regional area.

 When a click on the tab of a regional map (Europe, North America, etc) it does not show that region. Why?
 When a click on the tab of a regional map (Europe, North America, etc) it does not show the same area that in older versions. Why?

When you first select a regional map it will show the default area coverage and zoom level for that area, but if you drag or zoom the map (even outside the original region) those settings will be preserved and the next time you click on that regional map tab you will see the latest coverage and zoom level you had selected.  This is done on purpose so that every user can choose the exact boundaries and zoom level he wants for a each region.

You can right click on the map a select the "Restore default map/zoom" option to restore that map to its original view.

 When I select some of the show/hide options in the right-click menu, the option is not preserved and when I change of map I have to select it again. Is this a bug?

The show/hide options in the menu that appear when you right-click on the map are only for temporarily use.  You have to select it in the corresponding option lists on top of the maps so that it is preserved.

 Options are lost.  When I access the site I have to configure the options I like every time.  Why does this happen?

Some of the parameters passed in the URL for accessing version 2.8 will force the default values of the configuration options of version 3.x.  This happens because version 3.x has much more configuration options. Please notice that if you are normally accessing DXMAPS using a favourite/maker/bookmark in your Internet Browser you MUST updated it.

In version 3.x click the "heart" icon at the right of the title to create the correct link to the corresponding new page,  Then update you bookmarks or create new ones.

If you access DXMAPS using the new URL format and your internet browser preserves cookies between navigation sessions then ALL configured option will be kept.

It is IMPORTANT to take into account that simply navigating always to https://www.dxmaps.com (without any parameter after that) you will get exactly to the map/band/options you had in the previous navigation session, so saving a long URL with all those parameters it is no longer required for 99% of us, and in fact it can be counterproductive.

If when you return to https://www.dxmaps.com you don't get the same map/band/options than in the previous navigation session then you should try the following:

 Being in DXMAPS site I open another site in another tab.  When I click again on the DXMAPS tab the map/list are not shown. Is this normal?

DXMAPS maps and QSO lists are refreshed automatically every minute. If there is something in you browser (settings, plug-ins, etc) that prevents that refresh when the tab is not in the foreground, then the refresh will fail and the map/lists won't show.  This is not a common issue but if you notice it in your system I can only suggest you try several things:

 Can DXMAPS be used on Windows XP?

Yes, it works fine with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.  The only drawback is that the tick character is not available in this operating system so it will be shown as a square. Your system must support WebGL (read below for details)

 Can DXMAPS be used with Internet Explorer 8?

No, it requires a modern browser. It works fine with modern versions of Internet Explorer and also with updated versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and others browsers.

 Can DXMAPS be used with a tablet / mobile phone?

Yes, it has been proved to work with Apple, Android and Microsoft devices.  The only requirement is that you use a modern version of the internet browser, that the processor of your device is decently fast and that the network speed is acceptable (not GPRS or so). Your system must support WebGL (read below for details)

I you are using an Apple (IOS) device read the next questions and answers.

Of course, no need to say it, for a better experience the device has to be in panoramic (horizontal) view.

 On my iPad and iPhone, using Safari, often appears the message "There was a problem with this webpage so it was reloaded" and it tries to reload the page once and once again.  Why does this happen?

Believe it or not this is not due to DXMAPS code and that message appears also when visiting many other sites.  It is a bug in the code of iOS related to memory handling starting from version 8.0, that Apple has not fixed yet (!!!).  If you don't believe me just Google the text "There was a problem with this webpage so it was reloaded" and you will see.

A way to minimize/eliminate the problem is to select the "Small map" option in DXMAPS options.

 On my iPad and iPhone, using Chrome, often appears the message "Oh, no!  Error showing this web page".  Why does this happen?

Read the same above answer and workaround for Safari.

 How can I simulate the mouse right-click in my tablet / mobile phone to get access to the contextual menu?

In the same way that for almost any other application running on this kind of devices.  Hold your finger on the map for about one or two seconds. When you release your finger the contextual menu will appear.

 I am getting propagation warning E-Mails, but when I go to the maps no spots are shown. Is there something wrong?

That is because you have some kind of filter enabled in the configuration options of DXMAPS maps. Just disable it if you want to see all spots.
For instance, you could have filtered digital modes out but still get a propagation warning triggered by digital contacts. Notice that now you have a new option to bypass digital mode spots in the propagation alerts configuration.

In the QSO lists, beside some callsigns there is a "LoTW" and/or "eQSL" indication, some in black and some in orange colour. What does that means?

The LoTW text indicates that that callsign is registered in LoTW
The eQSL text  indicates that that callsign is registered in eQSL.cc

I get a yellow warning saying that advertising is blocked. Why and what can I do?

That happens because something in your computer is preventing Google Ads from being shown.  DXMAPS depends on the incomes generated by those ads to keep the service running.  You have detailed information about this issue here.

I get a warning message saying that WebGL is not available or not configured on my system. What can I do?

DXMAPS 4.x make use of vectorial maps.  Vectorial maps load faster than traditional raster maps and are also a requirement of the development platform used.  Most modern devices and internet browsers support WebGL, but sometimes you have to enable that feature in your browser, update the graphic card drivers, etc.   You have all information about this issue compiled here.

I can't see the maps. I only get a grey background. Why?

That is because something is wrong in your Internet Browser and it can't run the code of DXMAPS.  Some possible solutions that have worked for several users:

It asks me to log in at least every day. Is there a way to stay logged in for a longer time?

That happens because your Internet Browser is deleting DXMAPS cookies every day, so the service does not have your login information when you access it later. You will have to configure your Internet Browser settings so that cookies for DXMAPS.COM and WWW.DXMAPS.COM domains are preserved between the navigation sessions and not deleted automatically.

You have detailed information about how DXMAPS uses cookies

When I hover on a callsign it shows a message box with its last report, but it cover the QSO lines. How can I disable it?

In the "Select options" menu, tick / select  the "Hide callsign info" option.

When I use the mouse wheel to zoom the map, the zoom jumps multiple times, zooming in or out too much. Why does this happen?

This is because something in your computer's configuration is sending the "Mouse Wheel" event to DXMAPS several times. Since it is something specific to your computer, I cannot help you to know exactly what is influencing it, but as an example, if you have the Logitech Options program you must make sure to have the "Smooth scrolling" option disabled.

Alternatively, you can fully disable the "Mouse wheel zoom" in the "Select options" menu of DXMAPS and use the "+ / -" signs on the top left corner to change the zoom level.

Is there some way to to show at the same time different maps, lists, etc, in a mosaic view?

Yes, but you have to use some kind of ad-on or extension in your Internet Browser that allows to do that, and of course have a monitor large enough. Below you have an example showing four different pages loaded at the same time using the Tile Tabs WE extension in Google Chrome.  This utility is also available as a Firefox ad-on

My callsign has changed.  How can I change it in my user record?

Changing the callsign is not possible because it is the user-id.  You have to unregister the old callsign using the "Cancel account" link in your user details page and then register again with the new one going to the user registration page.

Additionally, if you are a Supporter User, contact DXMAPS first, so that your Supporter User status is transferred to the new user record.

My email has changed.  Can you change it for me in my user record?

Due to the European regulation (GDPR) I am not allowed to access or change personal data of users.  You will have to change it yourself.

In order to do it, being logged in DXMAPS, click on your call at the right of the top menu and select the option "Account details", then click  the "Edit account information" link.

 Is there some tutorial on how to use DXMAPS?

You can read the user manual

   and watch some of the following tutorial videos (work in progress):
 
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