User Guide

New to amateur radio?

Amateur ("ham") radio is a licensed, non-commercial radio service used by millions of people worldwide to communicate across cities, countries, and continents using radio waves. Many operators take portable stations to parks, mountain summits, nature reserves, and islands.

ARO Field Atlas maps these outdoor locations. You do not need a license or any radio knowledge to explore the map, read activation histories, or check propagation conditions. If you see unfamiliar terms, look for the ? buttons next to them for a short explanation.

Interested in getting licensed? Visit your country's amateur radio association or search "amateur radio license" for your region.

Quick Start

1. Enter your callsign (your unique radio operator ID) in the nav bar. This unlocks personalized features: your visited locations highlighted in green, operator profile, badge progress, and spot alerts for your bands.
2. Explore the map. Every dot is an outdoor amateur radio entity (POTA park, SOTA summit, WWFF reserve, WWBOTA bunker, GMA peak, or IOTA island). Click any dot to see details, program references, weather, and activation history.
3. Check propagation. The solar widget in the nav shows current SFI and K-index. Click it for the full solar dashboard. Open the bandmap to see what frequencies are active right now.

Interactive Map

The map is the primary interface. It shows all entities from 6 programs across all registered countries. Controls live in a collapsible sidebar: click the hamburger (☰) at top-left to open, click the backdrop or press Esc to close.

Toolbar

Collapse/expand

Toggle all map panels on or off.

Clustering

Group nearby entities into clusters at low zoom levels. Disable for individual dots.

Spots toggle

Show/hide live on-air activity dots (pulsing). Badge shows count.

Nearby

Find entities closest to your location or the map center.

Locate

Center the map on your GPS position.

GPX export

Download all visible entities as a GPX file for your GPS device or hiking app.

Layers Panel

Toggle geographic overlays on top of the basemap. Layers are country-aware: Swiss-specific overlays (hiking trails, BLN, moors, wildlife reserves) appear only when the map viewport is over Switzerland.

• Protected areas: Boundary polygons for national/regional parks and nature reserves. Available for Switzerland (BAFU inventories) and France (INPN/PatriNat). Click any area for its name and datasheet link.
• Hiking trails (CH): Swiss national trail network (Wanderwege). Click for route name and number.
• BLN, Moors, Wildlife, Dry meadows (CH): Swiss federal inventories from BAFU.

Basemap options: Dark and Light are available everywhere. SwissTopo (topographic) and SwissImage (aerial) appear only when viewing Switzerland.

Filters Panel

Filter the entity dots by:

• Program: POTA, SOTA, WWFF, WWBOTA, GMA, IOTA. Click to toggle; double-click to solo.
• Match mode: "Any" (union) shows entities in at least one selected program. "All" (intersection) shows entities in all selected programs.
• Advanced: Country, region, entity type, SOTA points range, altitude range, IUCN category, cross-program only, recently added, ATNO (all-time new ones).

Entity Card

Click any entity dot to open its card showing: name, programs, coordinates, grid locator, weather, program-specific stats (SOTA points, POTA activations), and links to the full entity page.

Live Spots

ARO aggregates live on-air activity from 5 sources into a single view:

POTA

Parks on the Air activator spots. Shows callsign, park reference, frequency, mode, QSO count.

SOTA

Summits on the Air spots from SOTAwatch. Shows summit reference and activator.

PSKReporter

Digital mode reception reports (FT8, FT4, JS8). Shows sender grid, mode, SNR. Signal path lines drawn on map.

RBN

Reverse Beacon Network CW/RTTY skimmer spots. Shows best SNR from multiple skimmers. Table-only (no map position).

DX Cluster

All-mode DX spots from the global cluster network. Includes spotter comments with WWFF/POTA references when available.

Spot Filters

Click the "Live Spots" panel title to expand filters: program, band, mode, age, and color mode (band/SNR/mode). Enable alerts (bell icon) for browser notifications on new spots matching your filters.

Bandmap

The bandmap plots all live spots on a frequency vs. time scatter chart. At a glance, you can see which bands are active and where the clusters of activity are.

• Color by: Source (POTA/SOTA/PSK/RBN/DXC), Mode (CW/SSB/Digital), or Band.
• Band filter: Zoom into a single band.
• Hover: See callsign, frequency, mode, and source for any dot.
• Auto-refreshes every 60 seconds.

Solar & Propagation

The solar dashboard shows real-time space weather from two sources (N0NBH/hamqsl.com + NOAA SWPC).

Solar Flux (SFI)

10.7 cm radio emission. Above 100 = good HF. Below 70 = higher bands may not open.

K-Index

Geomagnetic disturbance (0-9). K ≤ 2 quiet, K ≥ 5 storm (HF blackout risk).

Sunspot Number

Tracks the 11-year solar cycle. More = stronger ionosphere.

Band Conditions

Day/night assessment per band pair (Good/Fair/Poor/Closed).

Storm Scales

NOAA G (geomagnetic), S (solar radiation), R (radio blackout) scales. Shown as badges when active.

Live Activity

Bar chart of spots-per-band from all sources. Shows where operators are active right now.

The solar strip in the top-center of the map gives you instant propagation context: SFI, K-index, A-index, X-ray class, and a Go/No-Go traffic light. A storm chip appears next to it when geomagnetic conditions threaten HF propagation. The nav bar widget shows the abbreviated SFI + K-index for the same source, sized to fit the header.

Both surfaces click through to the full /solar dashboard for depth: per-band conditions, NOAA G/S/R storm scales, aurora forecast, proton and electron flux, and historical context. Use the strip and widget for in-flight decisions; use /solar to plan.

Activator Profile

Enter your callsign, then visit your activator page (click your callsign in the nav). Shows:

• Activation stats: total entities, QSOs, programs
• Heatmap calendar of activation days
• Per-program tabs with activation lists
• Badge progress (Explorer, Ranger, Century, Legend, etc.)
• Clickable badge diplomas (SVG certificates)
• Nearby unactivated entities for planning
• Shareable profile card image

Supports aliases: if you operate under multiple callsigns (e.g., HB9HJU + HI8ILO/P), add them with the (+) button to see combined stats.

Coverage Audit

The coverage page shows gaps in the global registry:

• R1: POTA parks without WWFF designation
• R2: WWFF reserves without POTA designation
• R3: SOTA summits inside protected areas
• R4: Protected areas not yet in POTA (potential new parks)
• Off-radar: Federal inventory features no program tracks yet

Filter by program, rule, or country. Each finding links to the entity page and the map.

Regions

The regions page lets you browse entities grouped by country and administrative region. See entity counts, active/inactive status, altitude distribution, and quick links to the map filtered by region.

Callsign & Aliases

Your callsign is stored locally (never sent to a server unless you view your activator page). It enables:

• Green highlighting on the map for entities you've activated
• Personal PSKReporter paths (who hears you, who you hear)
• "You activated this" banner on entity pages
• Spot alerts filtered to your bands

Aliases: Operators with multiple callsigns (home + portable, different countries) can add aliases. All activations are aggregated.

Your preferences

ARO splits operator preferences across three tiers, each living where you use them. This avoids a single giant settings page no operator ever finds.

Layout chrome: language, theme, and callsign live in the header tools menu and apply to every page.

Map controls: buddy callsigns, the greyline toggle, the roster sort, and the Needed-only entity filter all live on the map page itself, next to where you use them. They persist on your device across visits.

Device storage: offline map packs, the entity cache, and the offline-message outbox live at /settings/offline. This is the one place to manage what ARO stores on this device.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The map page supports full keyboard control. Press ? on the map to see the shortcut overlay.

The sidebar panel can also be opened by clicking the hamburger button at the top-left, and closed by tapping the dark backdrop or pressing Esc.

FAQ

Where does the data come from?

Entity registry data from POTA, SOTA, WWFF, WWBOTA, GMA, and IOTA program APIs. Spots from POTA, SOTA, PSKReporter, RBN (via HamQTH), and DX Cluster (via DXWatch). Solar from hamqsl.com + NOAA SWPC. Boundaries from BAFU (CH), INPN/PatriNat (FR), and WDPA (DO).

How often is data updated?

Spots refresh every 60 seconds. Solar data caches for 30 minutes. Entity registry syncs weekly via automated scraper. Boundary data is static (updated when programs add new areas).

Do I need an account?

No. ARO Field Atlas is fully open, no login required. Your callsign is stored in your browser's localStorage only.

Can I add or correct an entity?

Entity corrections open in Phase 2C. For now, report issues via the contact form on the about page.

Which countries are supported?

Currently Switzerland (CH), France (FR), Liechtenstein (LI), Dominican Republic (DO). Wave 1 expansion (Germany (DE), Italy (IT), France (FR)) is in progress.

Does it work offline?

Not yet. Offline-first (PWA + local SQLite) is planned for the pilot phase.

Is the code open source?

The project is on GitHub. See the about page for the repository link.

Country Information

Regulatory notes for portable amateur radio operation in each active country. Always verify current regulations with the national authority before operating.