Powerful spot filtering
Filter by band, mode, continent, DX entity, spotter entity and custom distance-based spotter selections.
A native macOS DX Cluster client
DX spots without the clutter.
QCluster is a fast, focused Mac app for connecting to a DX Cluster, filtering the noise and showing the spots that matter to you.
Built for macOS 14 Sonoma and later. Apple Silicon and Intel.
Designed for everyday cluster use
Useful filtering and clear alerts.
Flexible alerts
Create alerts by DXCC, band, mode or callsign, with row highlighting and optional sound notifications.
Club Log integration
Build alert lists from your Club Log DXCC matrix, including not-worked and not-confirmed entities.
RBN control
Control Reverse Beacon Network spot types directly from QCluster without leaving the app.
Local telnet output
Pass the filtered spot stream to logging or other radio software through QCluster's local telnet server.
Native Mac experience
A proper SwiftUI macOS app with persistent settings, local and UTC time display, QRZ lookup and a responsive spot table.
LoTW upload status
See who's active on Logbook of the World without leaving the spot table. A tick in the LoTW column means the station has uploaded within the last year — hover over it for the exact date.
Spot and command console
Send your own spots to the cluster, or drop into a dedicated raw console for direct commands. It's kept cleanly separate from the spot table so nothing gets in your way.
Multiple, rate-limited alerts
Set up to five alerts. Four by DXCC entity, band and mode, plus one dedicated to callsigns with wildcard support. Each with its own highlight colour, optional sound, and a "maximum once every" limit so a busy band never floods you with pings.
Built to stay out of the way
Keep the spots moving, even when the display is paused.
QCluster continues receiving and filtering spots while the display is frozen, so you can scroll through the table without it jumping underneath you.
When you return to the top or resume the display, queued spots appear and alerts are processed normally.
Screenshots
See QCluster in action.
Requirements
What you need.
- macOS
- 14 Sonoma or later
- Mac
- Apple Silicon or Intel
- Connection
- Access to a DXSpider-compatible cluster
- Optional
- Club Log account for DXCC matrix imports
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is QCluster free?
Yes. QCluster is free to download and use.
What is a DX Cluster?
A DX Cluster is a network of radio amateurs sharing real-time spots of stations they've heard or worked, so other operators can find rare or distant contacts as they appear.
Which clusters does QCluster connect to?
QCluster connects to any DXSpider-compatible cluster over telnet, and can control Reverse Beacon Network spot types directly.
Does QCluster run on Intel Macs?
Yes. QCluster is a universal app that runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Why do I keep getting disconnected?
Most DX cluster nodes only allow one connection per callsign at a time, so if you've got other software also connected with the same callsign, the cluster will keep dropping one of the connections. The fix is to add an SSID to your callsign in QCluster's setup — for example, if your callsign is G9ABC, change it to G9ABC-22.
Support
Get help from other QCluster users.
Connection trouble, feature requests, bug reports — there's a free groups.io community for QCluster where you can ask questions and hear about new releases first.
Download
Get QCluster for macOS.
QCluster.dmg · Universal (Apple Silicon & Intel) · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Installing QCluster
Open the downloaded qcluster.dmg, then drag the QCluster icon onto the Applications shortcut in the window that opens. Once it's copied across, you can eject the disk image and launch QCluster from your Applications folder as normal.
First launch
QCluster is notarised by Apple, so on first launch macOS will simply ask you to confirm you want to open an app downloaded from the internet — click Open and you're in. After that, it launches normally like any other app.
First session setup
Get up and running in ten minutes.
Follow these steps once, in order, and you'll finish with a filtered, working feed and one working alert.
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1
Install QCluster
Copy the app from the downloaded DMG into Applications.
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2
Add your callsign
Open Settings and enter it. The primary and secondary cluster nodes are already configured.
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3
Club Log (optional)
Add your Club Log details if you want that integration — otherwise there's nothing else essential before connecting.
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4
Automatic connection
Turn this on if QCluster should be running whenever the shack Mac is on.
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5
Connect
Let QCluster complete its initial status checks.
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6
Clear server-side filters
If DXSpider filters are reported, review and normally clear them so QCluster gets the full feed it expects.
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7
Choose RBN feeds
Open the RBN controls and select only the skimmer feeds you actually want.
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8
Set bands & filters
Choose the bands and local hide-mode filters that suit your current session.
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9
Check CTY & LoTW files
Update them if QCluster reports they're out of date.
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10
Create one alert
Start with something simple, like a wanted DXCC or callsign, and confirm the highlight, sound and notification behaviour before building more.
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11
Share the feed locally
If another program needs the same spots, use the local telnet server or UDP output rather than opening a second cluster connection.
Three useful habits
Keep it simple upstream
Do your fine filtering in QCluster rather than on the server side.
Leave the defaults alone
The pre-configured primary and secondary cluster nodes rarely need changing.
Keep RBN and display filters separate
RBN selection decides what the node sends; local filtering decides what you see.
Contact
Get in touch directly.
For anything that isn't a good fit for the support group — press enquiries, bug reports with attachments, or anything else — email G6NHU directly.
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