KST4Contest 1.42 released – changes since 1.40 and a call for support
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Philipp Wagner
Aug 23, 2026, 5:27:23 AM (4 days ago) Aug 23
to kst4Contest
Hello everyone,
three versions have appeared since the big 1.40 feature release (score system,
AP timeline, Win-Test, PSTRotator): 1.41, the 1.41.1 hotfix and now 1.42.
Here is the summary.
TLDR – the short version of 1.42:
https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/news/2026-08-22-version-1-42/
Donations here:
https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/support/
=== A word about funding ===
KST4Contest is an open-source project we develop in our spare time and give
away for free. Free to you does not mean free to run, though – there are real
costs behind the last few releases:
- Servers and hosting for the website, the downloads and the map API, plus
server-side calculations to come, such as the planned tropo server.
- The Apple Developer licence and suitable Apple hardware. Without both there
would be no signed and notarized macOS packages in 1.42, and without a real
Mac there is no way to test them either.
- Hardware, licences and test setups for the interfaces – PSTRotator,
Win-Test, DXLog and whatever comes next.
- Feature requests and working hours. Time is by far the biggest item: 1.42
consumed plenty of it, from rebuilding the ON4KST connection to checking
both manuals against the source code line by line.
If you would like to support that, the options are here:
https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/support/
One more thing is planned: everyone who donates should in future be listed by
name in the README of the GitHub repository – if they are happy with that.
Just add a short note to your donation saying which callsign or name you would
like to see there. Nobody gets listed without saying so explicitly, so
donating anonymously is entirely fine.
Every contribution helps, and with a bit of tailwind we can fund rather more
in future than we have so far. If donating is not for you: good bug reports,
solid test feedback and above all pull requests are just as valuable. Anyone
contributing code gets listed in the README as well.
=== v1.42 (2026-08-22) – current Stable ===
The focus is on a shared band context, a dependable ON4KST connection and
signed macOS packages.
Band information brought together
- One central resolver evaluates recent QRGs, band designators in station
names, callsign variants, Worked data and NOT-QRV marks together. The user
list, "New bands", the band-upgrade hint, the Priority Score, the station
map and the automatic band selection all work from the same basis now.
- The band columns distinguish: X = worked on this band, a = an offered,
unworked band of a completely new callsign, B+ = an offered, unworked band
of a callsign already worked elsewhere, o = a locator square already worked
on this band. Combinations such as "ao" or "B+o" are possible, and a and o
can be hidden separately.
- 50 MHz and 70 MHz are now supported throughout: station settings,
Worked/NOT-QRV, user list, filters, the internal database, UCXLog
processing and the Win-Test listener. Existing databases are extended
automatically.
- The Priority Score no longer offers stations with no common band, or
stations marked NOT QRV.
ON4KST connection rebuilt
- Socket, reader, writer, message bus and queues now belong to one explicitly
identified connection session. Leftover threads from a replaced connection
can no longer interfere with the new one.
- ONLINE is reported only after the login has been accepted and the user
lists have been received completely. Timeouts, heartbeats, EOF and read or
write failures are monitored, with controlled reconnect backoff.
- A LINK indicator in the main window shows what the connection is actually
doing: green = logged in and synchronised, yellow = setup/sync, red =
disconnected, an error, or the wait before the next attempt.
- Fixed: the user list disappearing after login, broken UA0 records no longer
taking the whole list down with them, the endless/busy-wait loop after a
failed initial connection, phantom chat members from UM3, and the ON4KST
password no longer being written to the log in clear text.
QRG and frequency handling
- Bare three-digit numbers count as a QRG only when there is a recognisable
frequency context – fewer false hits from signal reports or band
designators.
- Relative QRGs first use a band context for the same station that is at most
30 minutes old, and only then the global fallback band (now a dropdown of
valid band values).
- AirScout, "Calc selected" and the map path analysis use the same frequency
derivation. The old 430 MHz placeholder is now 432 MHz.
- Frequencies are shown consistently with at least three decimal places.
Callsigns with suffixes
- Active chat members are distinguished by the complete callsign including
suffix and by chat category. DN9APW and DN9APW-2 stay separate message
targets, while Worked data and the score are still evaluated jointly across
the base callsign. (Issue #73)
- Skeds and reminders also go to the exact variant.
Operation
- Global message tabs in the main window for public messages, DX cluster and
directed messages between other stations. The separate monitor window
remains available and uses the same message stores.
- Manual QTF input, also without PSTRotator.
- A reset button for the filters, and a more compact filter bar.
- Map clustering at low zoom levels; the terrain profile and analysis section
of the map can be hidden, and the choice is remembered.
- Tooltips with the full text on truncated messages, and recognised links
open in the system browser.
Skeds and loggers
- The sked band comes from the locally enabled bands, and SSB/CW is chosen
explicitly instead of being guessed from the band. Win-Test ADDSKED with
correct timestamps and a matching QRG; a failed handover no longer deletes
the internal sked.
- The UCXLog-compatible UDP listener now also understands "contactreplace" –
which means a complete log broadcast by DXLog.net can be imported.
- Beacon and automatic replies: one shared timer, separate switches and
texts, minimum interval two minutes, maximum 120 characters.
- DX cluster: the spotting and the spotted station no longer end up with the
same locator. (Issue #48)
Packages and documentation
- The macOS DMGs (Apple Silicon and Intel) are signed with an Apple Developer
ID and notarized, with the ticket stapled into the DMG. First launch works
by double-clicking, offline too – the detour through "Open" in the context
menu is gone. The Windows packages remain unsigned.
- macOS now identifies the application as de.x08.KST4Contest with the real
version number in the bundle (Finder previously always reported 1.0). Your
settings are unaffected – they still live in ~/.praktiKST/.
- Arch Linux users get kst4contest-bin, kst4contest and kst4contest-git from
the AUR.
- The German and English manuals have been checked against the source code
in full, extended and re-screenshotted.
=== v1.41.1 (2026-07-08) – hotfix ===
- The message input field was unexpectedly cleared after some time, or during
certain UI updates.
- Filtering or selecting a station moved the input focus back to the send
field unintentionally.
=== v1.41 (2026-07-01) – station map ===
- An interactive OpenStreetMap map showing every active chat member with a
usable locator.
- Display of your own QTF, the configured antenna beamwidth, the maximum QRB
and the path to the selected station.
- A Maidenhead grid matched to the zoom level.
- Terrain profile via the Open-Meteo Elevation API (Copernicus GLO-90, at
most 100 samples per path) with a geometrical path analysis: line of sight,
Earth curvature with k = 4/3, radio and terrain horizons, the first Fresnel
zone and a rough obstruction estimate.
- Leaflet is bundled and the tiles go through a local proxy – no external
JavaScript is loaded at runtime. Tiles and elevation data still need an
internet connection.
- Bounded message stores: chat is trimmed from 30,000 entries down to 25,000,
the DX cluster store from 10,000 down to 8,000.
- The startup size of the main window is checked against the visible area of
the primary screen and adjusted if needed; several sections are more
compact for small displays.
=== Known limitations ===
- The terrain source is Open-Meteo with Copernicus GLO-90 and at most 100
elevation samples per path.
- The atmospheric K factor is fixed at 4/3.
- An antenna height of 10 m above ground is assumed for the remote station.
- Aircraft scatter (AirScout) and the terrain analysis in the map are two
separate assessments and are not combined.
- More detailed configuration of station height, frequency and K factor is
tracked in Issue #74.
=== Downloads and documentation ===
Website: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/
Download: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/download/
Release: https://github.com/praktimarc/kst4contest/releases/tag/v1.42.0
Changelog: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/manual/en/changelog/
Issues: https://github.com/praktimarc/kst4contest/issues
Donations: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/support/
Packages are available for Windows, Linux and macOS; the download page keeps
Stable, Beta and Nightly separate.
Feedback, bug reports and wishes are welcome here in the group or as an issue
on GitHub.
vy 73
Marc, DO5AMF and Philipp, DN9APW
three versions have appeared since the big 1.40 feature release (score system,
AP timeline, Win-Test, PSTRotator): 1.41, the 1.41.1 hotfix and now 1.42.
Here is the summary.
TLDR – the short version of 1.42:
https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/news/2026-08-22-version-1-42/
Donations here:
https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/support/
=== A word about funding ===
KST4Contest is an open-source project we develop in our spare time and give
away for free. Free to you does not mean free to run, though – there are real
costs behind the last few releases:
- Servers and hosting for the website, the downloads and the map API, plus
server-side calculations to come, such as the planned tropo server.
- The Apple Developer licence and suitable Apple hardware. Without both there
would be no signed and notarized macOS packages in 1.42, and without a real
Mac there is no way to test them either.
- Hardware, licences and test setups for the interfaces – PSTRotator,
Win-Test, DXLog and whatever comes next.
- Feature requests and working hours. Time is by far the biggest item: 1.42
consumed plenty of it, from rebuilding the ON4KST connection to checking
both manuals against the source code line by line.
If you would like to support that, the options are here:
https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/support/
One more thing is planned: everyone who donates should in future be listed by
name in the README of the GitHub repository – if they are happy with that.
Just add a short note to your donation saying which callsign or name you would
like to see there. Nobody gets listed without saying so explicitly, so
donating anonymously is entirely fine.
Every contribution helps, and with a bit of tailwind we can fund rather more
in future than we have so far. If donating is not for you: good bug reports,
solid test feedback and above all pull requests are just as valuable. Anyone
contributing code gets listed in the README as well.
=== v1.42 (2026-08-22) – current Stable ===
The focus is on a shared band context, a dependable ON4KST connection and
signed macOS packages.
Band information brought together
- One central resolver evaluates recent QRGs, band designators in station
names, callsign variants, Worked data and NOT-QRV marks together. The user
list, "New bands", the band-upgrade hint, the Priority Score, the station
map and the automatic band selection all work from the same basis now.
- The band columns distinguish: X = worked on this band, a = an offered,
unworked band of a completely new callsign, B+ = an offered, unworked band
of a callsign already worked elsewhere, o = a locator square already worked
on this band. Combinations such as "ao" or "B+o" are possible, and a and o
can be hidden separately.
- 50 MHz and 70 MHz are now supported throughout: station settings,
Worked/NOT-QRV, user list, filters, the internal database, UCXLog
processing and the Win-Test listener. Existing databases are extended
automatically.
- The Priority Score no longer offers stations with no common band, or
stations marked NOT QRV.
ON4KST connection rebuilt
- Socket, reader, writer, message bus and queues now belong to one explicitly
identified connection session. Leftover threads from a replaced connection
can no longer interfere with the new one.
- ONLINE is reported only after the login has been accepted and the user
lists have been received completely. Timeouts, heartbeats, EOF and read or
write failures are monitored, with controlled reconnect backoff.
- A LINK indicator in the main window shows what the connection is actually
doing: green = logged in and synchronised, yellow = setup/sync, red =
disconnected, an error, or the wait before the next attempt.
- Fixed: the user list disappearing after login, broken UA0 records no longer
taking the whole list down with them, the endless/busy-wait loop after a
failed initial connection, phantom chat members from UM3, and the ON4KST
password no longer being written to the log in clear text.
QRG and frequency handling
- Bare three-digit numbers count as a QRG only when there is a recognisable
frequency context – fewer false hits from signal reports or band
designators.
- Relative QRGs first use a band context for the same station that is at most
30 minutes old, and only then the global fallback band (now a dropdown of
valid band values).
- AirScout, "Calc selected" and the map path analysis use the same frequency
derivation. The old 430 MHz placeholder is now 432 MHz.
- Frequencies are shown consistently with at least three decimal places.
Callsigns with suffixes
- Active chat members are distinguished by the complete callsign including
suffix and by chat category. DN9APW and DN9APW-2 stay separate message
targets, while Worked data and the score are still evaluated jointly across
the base callsign. (Issue #73)
- Skeds and reminders also go to the exact variant.
Operation
- Global message tabs in the main window for public messages, DX cluster and
directed messages between other stations. The separate monitor window
remains available and uses the same message stores.
- Manual QTF input, also without PSTRotator.
- A reset button for the filters, and a more compact filter bar.
- Map clustering at low zoom levels; the terrain profile and analysis section
of the map can be hidden, and the choice is remembered.
- Tooltips with the full text on truncated messages, and recognised links
open in the system browser.
Skeds and loggers
- The sked band comes from the locally enabled bands, and SSB/CW is chosen
explicitly instead of being guessed from the band. Win-Test ADDSKED with
correct timestamps and a matching QRG; a failed handover no longer deletes
the internal sked.
- The UCXLog-compatible UDP listener now also understands "contactreplace" –
which means a complete log broadcast by DXLog.net can be imported.
- Beacon and automatic replies: one shared timer, separate switches and
texts, minimum interval two minutes, maximum 120 characters.
- DX cluster: the spotting and the spotted station no longer end up with the
same locator. (Issue #48)
Packages and documentation
- The macOS DMGs (Apple Silicon and Intel) are signed with an Apple Developer
ID and notarized, with the ticket stapled into the DMG. First launch works
by double-clicking, offline too – the detour through "Open" in the context
menu is gone. The Windows packages remain unsigned.
- macOS now identifies the application as de.x08.KST4Contest with the real
version number in the bundle (Finder previously always reported 1.0). Your
settings are unaffected – they still live in ~/.praktiKST/.
- Arch Linux users get kst4contest-bin, kst4contest and kst4contest-git from
the AUR.
- The German and English manuals have been checked against the source code
in full, extended and re-screenshotted.
=== v1.41.1 (2026-07-08) – hotfix ===
- The message input field was unexpectedly cleared after some time, or during
certain UI updates.
- Filtering or selecting a station moved the input focus back to the send
field unintentionally.
=== v1.41 (2026-07-01) – station map ===
- An interactive OpenStreetMap map showing every active chat member with a
usable locator.
- Display of your own QTF, the configured antenna beamwidth, the maximum QRB
and the path to the selected station.
- A Maidenhead grid matched to the zoom level.
- Terrain profile via the Open-Meteo Elevation API (Copernicus GLO-90, at
most 100 samples per path) with a geometrical path analysis: line of sight,
Earth curvature with k = 4/3, radio and terrain horizons, the first Fresnel
zone and a rough obstruction estimate.
- Leaflet is bundled and the tiles go through a local proxy – no external
JavaScript is loaded at runtime. Tiles and elevation data still need an
internet connection.
- Bounded message stores: chat is trimmed from 30,000 entries down to 25,000,
the DX cluster store from 10,000 down to 8,000.
- The startup size of the main window is checked against the visible area of
the primary screen and adjusted if needed; several sections are more
compact for small displays.
=== Known limitations ===
- The terrain source is Open-Meteo with Copernicus GLO-90 and at most 100
elevation samples per path.
- The atmospheric K factor is fixed at 4/3.
- An antenna height of 10 m above ground is assumed for the remote station.
- Aircraft scatter (AirScout) and the terrain analysis in the map are two
separate assessments and are not combined.
- More detailed configuration of station height, frequency and K factor is
tracked in Issue #74.
=== Downloads and documentation ===
Website: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/
Download: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/download/
Release: https://github.com/praktimarc/kst4contest/releases/tag/v1.42.0
Changelog: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/manual/en/changelog/
Issues: https://github.com/praktimarc/kst4contest/issues
Donations: https://kst4contest.hamradioonline.de/support/
Packages are available for Windows, Linux and macOS; the download page keeps
Stable, Beta and Nightly separate.
Feedback, bug reports and wishes are welcome here in the group or as an issue
on GitHub.
vy 73
Marc, DO5AMF and Philipp, DN9APW
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