DX Reminder Version History: What Each Release Changed

A list of changes is the diary of an app. It shows what users complained about, what the author cared about and which problems were harder than they looked. The DX Reminder version history on ly4a.com is unusually readable: each entry says what was wrong, what was done and what it means for the operator. This article walks through the releases of the Android app, from 3.3 to 4.4, and of the Windows and macOS apps, from 1.3 to 1.7.0, grouped by theme rather than only by number. The aim is not to list every detail but to show how a small tool for chasing DX grew into a reliable one, and which settings and habits each release makes possible. All facts come from the public list of changes on the site, which is also where to look for newer entries.

How the Version Numbers Work

The apps follow the usual pattern of software versioning: a higher number is a newer release. Android and the computer versions have separate numbering, so Android 3.3 and desktop 1.3 appeared together in the history, and the current ones are Android 4.4 (build 35) and desktop 1.7.0, as shown on the home page. The iPhone app has its own store releases, and it shares its reminders screen with the Android app since 4.4. Several entries cover two platforms at once, such as “Version 3.4 (Android) and 1.4 (Windows, macOS)”, because the same feature was added to both in the same step.

Version 3.3 and 1.3: The Foundations of the Alarm

The release in which the app took its present shape is Android 3.3 together with desktop 1.3, and it holds more changes than any other entry. In short:

• A new band, 60 m. With it, every HF band from 160 m to 10 m is covered, plus 6 m, 2 m and 70 cm.
• A new mode, FT4. It is told apart from FT8 by its own channels, so a reminder for one does not fire on the other.
• PSK Reporter fixed. Its reception reports are published in batches and are always a few minutes old, and the app used to discard them as stale. The source looked silent while its data was fine.
• One alarm per callsign, band and mode. A single appearance on the air is reported by dozens of spotters, and you now get one alarm for the newest of them.
• A repeat interval you choose. The same station may ring again on every new spot, or every 1, 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes, and the rule applies to that callsign, band and mode only.
• An easier stop. Stop and Snooze are buttons on the notification, visible without expanding it, and closing the full-screen alarm with Back stops it too.
• A warning when notifications are off. Before, the app kept watching and alarming with nothing to show for it.
• Newest spots at the top of the list, and a smaller Android download, 2.2 MB instead of 19 MB.
• Your callsigns and reminders survive the update.

This one release explains most of what the later articles on the site describe. The settings in the article on alarm settings go back to it, and the table of bands and modes, with its separate FT4 channel, is explained in the guide to bands and modes.

Version 3.4 and 1.4: Fifteen Languages and Portable Builds

The next step was reach. Version 3.4 for Android and 1.4 for Windows and macOS added Polish, Italian, Ukrainian, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Latvian, Estonian and Hungarian, alongside the existing English, Lithuanian, German, French, Russian and Spanish. That makes fifteen languages. An important detail is that the language is the app’s own: you pick it in the app or on the title screen, and it does not depend on the system language of the phone. A radio amateur with an English phone can read the app in Lithuanian or Japanese, and the reverse.

The same release introduced portable versions. The Windows and macOS builds are offered as a no-install download under each button, which is useful for a club computer or a shack machine on which you prefer not to run an installer.

Version 3.5: Small Screens and Long Callsigns

Android 3.5 is a good example of a fix that looks minor and matters a great deal. The title screen did not work with the phone turned sideways: there is about half the height then, and the “Enter the app” button ended up below the edge of the screen, leaving no way past the title screen at all. It now scrolls. The alarm screen had a similar problem, because a long callsign could push Stop out of sight just when the alarm was ringing. Both are fixed. For an operator who keeps the phone in a holder in landscape mode, such fixes decide whether the app is usable.

The Speed Releases: 1.5, 3.7 and 3.8

A DX alert is worth the most when it is fast, and three releases deal with speed. In desktop 1.5, PSK Reporter began to arrive live. Its reception reports used to be requested every few minutes, and they are published in batches, with nothing under a minute old and typically around thirteen minutes. The computer app now listens to the same reports over MQTT and hears a callsign within seconds of a receiver reporting it. If the connection is unavailable, the queries return on their own. The same release made the alarm interval work on the computer: the setting existed but had no effect there, because the record of what had already rung was discarded after every check, so a station that was spotted repeatedly kept ringing.

Android 3.7 brought the live feed to the phone. PSK Reporter reports reach the phone the moment a receiver hears the callsign, and the alarm goes off at once instead of waiting for the next check, where before it could be a quarter of an hour behind. The feed can be switched off under the sources in the settings. Android 3.8 added a small but valuable touch: the status line says “PSKR live” while the connection to the broker is up. Without it there was no way to tell whether the feed had connected or had quietly fallen back to queries. The background to the feed is in the article on the live PSK Reporter feed.

Staying Current: 3.6, 1.6, 4.3 and 1.7.0

Two entries concern the life of the app itself. In Android 3.6 and desktop 1.6, the app learned to tell you when a new version is out. It asks ly4a.com at startup and, if there is a newer release, offers to download it, so that an update no longer depends on happening to visit the page. A button in the settings does the same on demand. This matters most for an app that is installed from a download rather than from a store, where no one else will remind you.

Version 4.3 for Android and 1.7.0 for Windows and macOS went a step further: the app now knows when it has grown too old. Until then it could say only that a newer version exists. It now also learns from ly4a.com whether the version in use is still supported. A version that has fallen behind is asked to update at every start, and one that is no longer supported shows only the download screen until it is updated. The entry says plainly that nothing changes today, because the limits are set on the site when they are needed, and that your callsigns and reminders survive the update either way.

Keeping Up With the Platform: 3.9 and 4.2

Android 3.9 was built against Android 16, which Google Play now requires of every new release. Nothing changes in use, and the app still runs on Android 8.0 and newer. The entry is a reminder that mobile platforms move yearly and that an app must follow them.

Android 4.2 is richer. It added your own alarm sound: you can choose one of the system alarm sounds or any music file on the phone, and if the file is later deleted, the system sound comes back instead of the alarm falling silent. It added a warning when the phone is holding the alarm back, since Android 14 and later give full-screen alarms only to apps they treat as alarm clocks and battery saving can pause the watching, and neither says so. The settings now check both and lead straight to the right system screen. And it made the spotter appear on a paired watch: the alarm notification draws its own buttons so that Stop and Snooze are reachable without opening it, a watch skips that drawing, and the spotter and the source now travel with the notification itself.

Version 4.4: The Table Returns

The latest entry on Android is 4.4. Every combination of band and mode had become a chip of its own, four to a row, with the band name repeated on each and the row breaking in the middle of a band. At twelve bands and four modes that still read, but with 60 m and FT4 there are sixty-five combinations, and the screen became a wall. The band is now named once on the left and the five modes stand in columns, so a single line answers what is on for twenty metres. It is the same screen the iPhone version has. A second change in 4.4 fixes a trap: unticking a combination in the edit window used to delete its exact frequency and tolerance, and it now only switches it off, so turning it back on brings the frequency back.

The Releases at a Glance

What the History Teaches

Reading the list from start to end, four themes are visible. The first is precision: the app moved from “tell me about this callsign” to “tell me once, for this band and this mode, as often as I choose”. The second is speed, from queries every few minutes to a live feed with the alarm within seconds. The third is respect for the phone: warnings when notifications are off, when the system holds the alarm back, and when the screen is too small for the buttons. The fourth is longevity: version checks, supported-version limits and the promise that your list survives every update. For an operator the practical lesson is to keep the app current, since the fixes are real, and to read the entries for the platform you use, because Android, desktop and iPhone differ in what they can do. The article on the desktop version shows the Windows and macOS side in practice.

The Bottom Line

The DX Reminder version history is a record of steady, practical improvement. Release 3.3 and 1.3 set the foundations with 60 m, FT4, one alarm per callsign, band and mode, and the repeat interval. Releases 3.4 and 1.4 added fifteen languages and portable builds. Desktop 1.5 and Android 3.7 and 3.8 made PSK Reporter live, 3.6 and 1.6 added update notices, and 4.3 and 1.7.0 added the supported-version check. Android 4.2 gave your own alarm sound and warnings for the system settings, and 4.4 brought back the table of bands and modes. Keep the app updated, and use the list of changes on ly4a.com as the first place to look when something behaves differently.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the latest version of DX Reminder?

The home page of ly4a.com shows Android 4.4 (build 35) and Windows and macOS 1.7.0 at the time of writing. Check the page for newer numbers.

Why do Android and desktop have different version numbers?

They are separate apps with their own numbering. Some changes are released to both at the same time, and the list of changes names both versions in such entries.

When did the live PSK Reporter feed arrive?

On the desktop in version 1.5, and on Android in version 3.7. Android 3.8 added the “PSKR live” status line.

Will an update delete my callsigns and reminders?

No. The list of changes states that your callsigns and reminders survive updates, and that the same holds when a version is asked to update.

Which Android version does the app need?

Android 8.0 or newer, as stated for build 3.9 and on the home page of the site.

Where can I read the full list of changes?

On ly4a.com, in the “What’s new” page of the app, which is available in fifteen languages.