I like to operate as assisted to maximize QSO count.This does not always work well with spots from public clusters because 1) many spots have wrong calls, 2) some spots are outside of local propagation, and 3) attractive spots create pileups.
I used CW Skimmer via SDR-IQ radio, lately with a wideband Wellbrook loop antenna some 200m away from the main antennas. The loop is oriented perpendicular to my transmit antennas so that the skimmer receives even when transmitting at a KW level. The Skimmer workes OK but weak signals are not copied and band changes require a corresponding change in SDR-IQ.
CW Skimmer can work directly with Flex radio via the DAX audio, and apps like SliceMaster or SDR-Bridge allow automatic setup. However, CW Skimmer produced many false spots and crashed often, especially in contests. Also combining spots with a spot cluster was unreliable.
Ron WV4P alerted me to a program from Ukraine called SDC. It is available via donations; I paid $50. This program combines CW Skimmers, CW decoder and an aggregator allowing to combine spots from several sources. Spots from the SDC program are very reliable, and the program never crashes.
I used SDC in CQ 160m combining its spots with those of VE7CC and my other Skimmer. SDC found multipliers that I have trouble copying. Once it finds a multiplier, I can call right away before a pileup. In the end, I turned off spots from the Skimmer via SDR-IQ and the VE7CC cluster because they did not add anything useful.
The SDC is a bit complex the first time it is setup up. It has many layers of menus and popups, and initially I was overwhelmed. Ron helped greatly with the initial setup. Also Yuri UT4LW, the author of SDC, responds quickly.
Thank you Ron WV4P and Yuri UT4LW
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