# Maps and Antennas

## Main view

The Main view is **two configurable panes** (per profile, Settings → General →
*Main view*), with a **draggable divider** between them (double-click it to
even them out). Choose from: great-circle map, locator (street) map, the
cluster grid, the worked-before grid, recent QSOs, the **FlexRadio** controls,
the **Icom** or **Yaesu** console, or the **Net control** panel.

## Great-circle map

- Short/long-path **distance & azimuth** to the worked station.
- Selectable, **key-free** basemaps: Light / Voyager / Street / Satellite.
- The **antenna beam lobe(s)** are drawn from the rotor azimuth.
- **Day/night terminator** and twilight band (button at the top right).

## Locator (street) map

An OSM street map centred on the contacted grid square — handy for local /
portable contacts. No API key.

## Rotators

An azimuthal-equidistant **click-to-turn** compass; the current heading and
target are shown. The needle follows a turning antenna smoothly — OpsLog polls
faster while the position is changing and backs off once it is parked.

**Two rotors** can be configured (two towers, or a Rotator Genius driving two).
A Rotor 1 / 2 selector appears on the compass; OpsLog turns and displays the
one you pick.

### Types (Settings → Rotator)

| Type | Connection | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **PstRotator** | UDP | Enable PstRotator's UDP listener (Setup → Communication → UDP). |
| **Rotator Genius** (4O3A) | TCP, port 9006 | Native. *Rotator #* picks which of the two the box drives; *Two rotors* adds the second as its own rotor. |
| **microHAM ARCO / GS-232A** | LAN or USB | Set the controller's CONTROL PROTOCOL to *Yaesu GS-232A*. An **ERC** must be in GS-232 emulation, **not** Hy-Gain DCU-1. |
| **Hy-Gain DCU-1** | COM port or serial-over-IP | RotorCard DXA, Idiom Press Rotor-EZ, Green Heron. Azimuth only. A DCU-1 is 4800 baud; others may differ — match the controller. |
| **SPID / AlfaSpid** | COM port | Native, so PstRotator is not needed in between. See below. |

### SPID / AlfaSpid

Pick the dialect to match the controller — they are not interchangeable:

- **Rot2Prog** — RAS, BIG-RAS/HR, MD-01, MD-02. Azimuth **and** elevation.
  600 baud.
- **Rot1Prog** — the older azimuth-only controllers (RAK, RAU). 1200 baud.

The two use different frame lengths, so a wrong choice shows up at once: the
**Test** button reports a reply of the wrong length rather than leaving you to
find out when the antenna turns oddly.

Two towers means two controllers, each on its own COM port and each a separate
rotor in OpsLog.

> **The Test button on a SPID, an ARCO or a DCU-1 only READS the heading** — it
> confirms the port, the speed and the dialect without moving anything, and
> says so. (PstRotator and a Rotator Genius are instead sent a move to 0°.)

## Motorized antennas (Ultrabeam / SteppIR)

Both follow the **rig frequency** (band change → retune) and retune immediately
when you click a spot, with three modes — **Normal**, **180° reverse**,
**Bidirectional**:

- The **radiating direction** is shown in green and the **mechanical boom** in
  grey, on both the compass and the map.
- On a FlexRadio, transmit is **inhibited while the elements move**, and
  released as soon as the antenna is tuned.
- **SteppIR — Tunable range** (Settings → Hardware → Antenna, default
  13–54 MHz): outside it OpsLog leaves the antenna and the TX interlock
  completely alone, so tuning to 30 m on a 20 m–6 m SteppIR does nothing.

Related hardware: [[Amplifiers and Switches]] (Antenna Genius switch, Tuner
Genius, relays).