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Welcome to the new DXSpider Wiki Documentation site.  We will try and keep this as up to date as possible.  We will be adding, editing and improving the manuals as we have time so please be patient :-)

If you would like to help update and improve the DXSpider wiki, please email [mailto:g0vgs@gb7mbc.net g0vgs@gb7mbc.net] and an account will be created for you. If you have never edited pages using MediaWiki before, please take a look at the [[Help:Editing|editing help page]] for help with editing pages/articles. 

==What is a DX Cluster?==

A DX Cluster is a packet node where DX chasers on any band or mode can
post rare or interesting stations that they have worked or heard.  Of
course other people are doing the same thing too, so you can find new
DX as well as telling others about the stations you have worked.
Clusters tend to be linked to each other so that the amount of people
using them is increased, thereby increasing the amount of posted DX.
Other information can be found on clusters such as on-line call books,
mail etc.  You can talk to other stations connected to the cluster
network too, in real time, whether at the node you are logged into or
on another node connected to the network.  You can also use converse
mode, where several stations can talk to each other in the same way.
Of course, the DX is still posted to you all the while!

==So what is DXSpider?==

PacketCluster nodes have been around since roughly 1985. The original
PacketCluster idea came from Dick Newell, AK1A, and ran under DOS.  In
about 1992 Dick stopped the development of the PacketCluster software
for amateur radio. Many systems are still using this relatively old
DOS software today.

There are several new compatible cluster programs around now,
including DXSpider.  DXSpider is a clone of PacketCluster software
that runs under several operating systems including Linux and Windows.
Linux is fast becoming the choice for amateur radio stations because
of it's flexibility, reliability and the lack of the memory
limitations of DOS.  Linux supports multitasking and is also
multiuser. It has support for AX25, ROSE, NetROM and TCPIP built in,
making it the ideal choice for amateur radio.  It is also totally
free!

DXSpider was conceived and begun in 1998 by Dirk Koopman, G1TLH as an
exercise in perl programming.  It has developed rapidly and today is a
very powerful cluster program.  It was designed to be totally
compatible with the AK1A program, although several commands have been
extended to improve functionality.

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