EsSense (Free Beta)

About EsSense (Free Beta) Android App

Targeted (prefix-based) E-skip, TEP and Aurora alerts for the VHF ham radio operator. From the DXrobot.

DON'T MISS THE ES OR AURORA - "STAY TUNED" EVEN WHILE YOU'RE AWAY FROM THE RIG!

VHF DX spots, posted by radio amateurs to the worldwide DX cluster, are constantly being monitored and analysed by the DXrobot server at gooddx.net. When a Sporadic E, TEP or Aurora opening is detected, the DXrobot will send targeted push messages ONLY to users in relevant countries (countries where the opening actually occurs). These users will then receive a notification message (and optionally an alarm sound or vibration) on their Android devices. Tapping the notification icon will show a comprehensive band status overview of all countries (prefixes) currently active. The overview is grouped by VHF band (2, 4 and 6 meters) and by propagation mode (Es/TEP and Au).

The notification icon indicates the current status:
X : connected to DXrobot, but no current band activity - this is the 'normal' state.
Es : Es or TEP activity on any of the VHF bands
Au : Aurora activity on any of the VHF bands
! : lost connection to DXrobot - check your network (or Wifi) connection status

An additional "!" icon will appear when a newer version of EsSense is available - tapping it will bring you to the Play Store for easy updating to the latest version.

A colour bar shows the MUF timeline over the current day. Blue: 50 MHz, Yellow: 70 MHz, Orange: 100 Mhz, Red: 144 MHz.

During a band opening, tap one of the prefixes in the band status overview to see filtered DX-spots of that prefix only. Spots involving your own country's prefix will be marked red. Tap the screen again to return to the main screen. Additional buttons are available for viewing all prefixes (unfiltered) in each band/propagation mode.

The section "Earlier Today.." shows all prefixes spotted earlier today. Tap one of them to view all DX-spots of that band/propagation mode in the past 24 hours.

When EsSense is running, and you want to switch to another app, then tap the "Hide" button. This will keep EsSense running in the background so that it keeps listening for incoming alerts (tapping the device's "HOME" or "BACK" button will have the same effect).
Note: As the app keeps running in the background the battery consumption may slightly increase - If you want to completely close the app then press the "Quit" button. EsSense will then stop completely and disconnect from the server - so you won't receive any further status updates or alerts.

Tip: On some devices (tablets) the Wifi radio will be automatically switched off when the device goes into sleep mode. The connection to the DXrobot server will then be lost and no alerts will be received. To prevent this you can install an app that keeps Wifi alive even when the device goes into sleep. Several free apps are available for this on the market (search for "keep wifi alive" or "keep wifi on")

The EsSense icons were made by my daughter Suze.

This is a free experimental version and it will likely remain beta forever. However, in a future version this may change depending on the volume of push messages that are sent. I may then have to charge a small amount to cover the cost for 3rd party push messaging services.

If you have any suggestions for further improvement, please email me at [email protected]. Your feedback is appreciated!

73 de Allard PE1NWL
www.gooddx.net