DX Reminder Wanted List: Turning DXCC Needs Into Callsigns

Every DX chaser has a list. It may be a spreadsheet, a sheet of paper on the wall or the “needed” view of a logging program, and it says which DXCC entities, which bands and which modes are still missing. The problem is that a list of entities does not ring when something happens. An alarm needs a callsign. This article shows how to build a DX Reminder wanted list: how to translate the needs in your log into the short list of callsigns that the app can watch, which bands and modes to tick for each, how to keep the list useful and how to remove entries when the QSO is in the log. The method is simple, but the details decide whether the phone rings for the contacts you want or for everything that moves.

What the App Watches: Callsigns, Not Entities

LY4A DX Reminder works from a callsign that you type in. You tell it which callsign you are waiting for, on which bands and in which mode, and from then on it watches five DX services in the background and raises an alarm when that callsign is reported. It does not know the DXCC list as a set of needs, and it does not decide for you which entity is new. That is a strength, because the app stays predictable, but it means that the work of choosing the callsigns is yours.

The difference is large for entities with a single regular station and small for entities with many. If you need an uninhabited Pacific atoll, there may be exactly one operation per decade, with a special callsign announced a few weeks before. If you need a populated country with fifty active stations, there is no single callsign to wait for, and an alarm for one of them would miss the others. In that case you rely on the DX cluster and the beacons, and use the app only for stations that are hard to catch. The first rule of the wanted list is therefore this: put a callsign in the list only when you know that the station is the realistic way to get the slot.

Step One: Know Exactly What You Need

Start with the data. A logging program or an online service can show the entities you have not worked, worked but not confirmed, or confirmed on some bands but not others. The article on Club Log describes the most wanted list, which ranks entities by how many operators still need them, and the article on confirming contacts explains how to see which of your QSOs are confirmed. Which kind of need you have decides the strategy:

• New entity: you need any band and any mode. Every contact counts, so tick as many combinations as you can work.
• New band slot: you have the entity on some bands, but not on the one you are working towards, for example 160 metres or 6 metres. Tick only that band.
• New mode slot: you have the entity in CW, say, and you need it in FT8 for a digital award. Tick only that mode on the bands where it is realistic.
• Confirmation only: you worked it but have no confirmation. A reminder does not help here, because the contact exists, and the work is in the QSL system rather than on the air.

The table of the app, with thirteen bands and five modes, is built for the band-slot case. Every pair of band and mode is a separate cell, and a cell rings only for its own combination. For a callsign that you need only on 30 metres CW and 12 metres FT8, you tick two cells and the other sixty-three stay silent. That precision is the difference between an alarm you trust and an alarm you silence. The article on the bands and modes table explains how each cell works.

Step Two: Find the Callsign

For a planned DXpedition, the callsign is announced in advance, usually weeks before the trip, with the dates, the bands and the modes. The sources are the DX news bulletins and calendars described in the article on DX news bulletins, and the pages of the DXpedition team. Write down the exact callsign, including any special prefix or suffix, and check it against two sources before you enter it. A single wrong digit means an alarm for a station you do not want, or silence for the one you do.

For entities without a planned operation, the callsign is the one that the local operator uses. Look at the history of the entity in the most wanted list, at the callsigns that were active on the bands you need during the last season, and at the habits of the operator: some are active only on weekends or during a contest, some mostly on FT8. When you find such a regular, add the callsign and the band and mode in which that person is usually heard, and then wait for the alarm instead of watching the cluster all day.

One more category deserves attention: stations that appear for a short time with a new callsign every time. A special event station, a holiday operation or a contest team may use a callsign that did not exist last month. The alarm cannot help until you know the callsign, so the announcement channel remains your first alert, and the app is the second, closing the gap between the announcement and the actual appearance on the air.

Step Three: Choose the Combinations With Honesty

A wanted list works only if every tick is realistic. Ask for each callsign and each cell: can I hear this signal from my location, with my antenna, at the time of day when it will probably be on? A station in the South Pacific on 160 metres from a home with a short wire is a nice dream, but the alarm will ring and you will not be able to work it. It is better to leave that cell empty than to train yourself to ignore the phone.

The sources the app watches are DXScape, DXSummit, DXHeat, PSK Reporter and the Reverse Beacon Network. Human spots and automatic reports arrive at different speeds, which the article on the five sources explains. For a wanted list this means that a rare callsign reported by a skimmer on CW or by a receiver on FT8 can ring before a person has typed a spot. Take advantage of this by ticking the modes in which automatic reporting exists.

Step Four: Set the Alarm Behaviour

The wanted list is a list of rare events, so each alarm should be noticed and each should be allowed to repeat when it matters. The app gives one alarm per callsign, band and mode, showing the newest spot of the many that spotters send. You choose how often the same combination may ring again: on every new spot, or every 1, 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes. For a once-in-a-decade DXpedition, the best choice is a short interval, because you want to hear about the station again as soon as it returns after a break. For a regular that is on the air most evenings, a longer interval keeps the phone calm. The setting applies to the one combination, so the others still ring at once.

Check the phone before the event. The app needs permission for notifications, since without them the alarm cannot appear, and on newer Android versions it also helps to allow the alarm and reminder permission so that checks are not delayed. The app can also raise a warning if the phone is holding the alarm back. A rare callsign that appears while the phone is silenced still gets through: the alarm uses the alarm channel and can wake a locked screen. The alarm itself is the subject of the alarm settings guide.

Keeping the List Short and Fresh

A wanted list that grows without pruning turns into noise. A few habits help.

• Review once a week. Remove callsigns that you have worked, expeditions that have ended and entities whose bands the propagation does not support this season.
• Group by priority. The must-have station gets a short interval and the widest set of cells; a nice-to-have gets a single cell and a long interval.
• Add the dates in your notes. The app does not know when an expedition begins, so write the dates next to the callsign in your notes and add the callsign a day before.
• Switch off, do not delete, when unsure. Since version 4.4 of the Android app, a combination that is switched off keeps its frequency, so you can prepare a cell and enable it when conditions change.
• Log first, prune second. When the QSO is in the log, remove the cell or the callsign at once. A forgotten reminder will ring for a station that you no longer need.

Your callsigns and reminders survive an update of the app, so a carefully built list is not lost when a new version arrives. If you use more than one device, remember that each has its own list, and the one you carry or keep next to the radio should hold the entries that matter most.

Putting It Together: A Weekend Example

Suppose that you need two things: a new entity in the Indian Ocean that will be activated by an expedition next week, and a 17 metre slot for an entity that you have worked on other bands. For the expedition, you take the announced callsign, check it in two bulletins and add it with CW and FT8 ticked on 20, 17, 15 and 12 metres, plus SSB on the bands where you have an antenna with enough gain. You set the repeat interval to 5 minutes. For the 17 metre slot, you find the regular operator of the entity from the most wanted list, add the callsign with only 17 metres ticked in the mode that the operator favours, and set the interval to 30 minutes. When the expedition appears, the alarm shows the frequency and the mode, and you go to the radio. When the regular shows up on 17 metres, you work it and remove the cell. The list has two entries and rings only for situations that matter.

The Bottom Line

A DX Reminder wanted list is a short list of callsigns, not a list of entities. Start from the needs in your log, decide whether you need an entity, a band slot or a mode slot, find the exact callsign from announcements or from the history of the entity, and tick only the band and mode combinations that you can really work. Set the repeat interval to match the rarity of the station, check the notification permissions before the event and prune the list every week. With a few entries and precise cells, every alarm means that a station you need is on the air.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can DX Reminder watch a whole DXCC entity instead of one callsign?

The app works from the callsigns you enter, not from an entity list. For an entity, add the callsign of the planned operation or of the regular local operator.

How do I use it for a new band slot only?

Add the callsign and tick only the cells for that band, in the modes in which you want the contact. All other cells stay empty and silent.

Where do I find the callsign of a DXpedition?

In the announcements of the team and in the DX news bulletins and calendars, usually weeks before the trip. Check the exact callsign in two sources.

How many callsigns should I keep in the list?

As few as you can act on. A short list with precise cells is more useful than a long one that rings all day, and a weekly review keeps it clean.

What repeat interval is best for a rare station?

A short one, such as 1 to 5 minutes, so that you hear about the station again when it returns. For a regular operator, a longer interval of 30 or 60 minutes is calmer.

Should I remove a callsign after I work it?

Yes. Log the contact, then remove the cell or the callsign so that the app does not ring for a station you no longer need.