-
The operating problem
-
The useful station is rarely the only station in the chat
+
Practical tasks
+
From chat traffic to the next operating step
- During an active contest, messages, sked requests, frequency information
- and band changes arrive continuously. The task is to identify which part
- of that traffic matters now, which candidate should be monitored and
- which contact is better scheduled for later.
+ Messages, station activity and station interfaces provide different
+ pieces of the same operating situation. KST4Contest brings them together
+ where they are needed.
- Observe
+ Keep track of chat and active stations
- Messages, locators, detected frequencies and known band activity are
- assigned to stations across as many as two ON4KST chat categories.
+ Follow messages across two ON4KST categories, see active bands and keep
+ recognised frequencies attached to the callsign that sent them.
- Evaluate
+ Select and plan contacts
- Direction, distance, worked status, NOT-QRV information, chat activity,
- sked context and aircraft scatter data feed filters and candidate scores.
+ Use filters and priorities to find candidates, schedule skeds and keep
+ their timing visible in the timeline together with AirScout data.
- Act
+ Connect logger and station components
- Candidates can be contacted, scheduled or monitored. Skeds remain
- visible, while supported loggers and station interfaces receive the
- information required for the next operating step.
+ Synchronise Worked status with supported loggers and pass useful context
+ to the TRX, rotator and local DX Cluster interfaces.
@@ -94,25 +108,77 @@ visitorCount: true
-
Functions
-
One workflow, shared context
+
What the chat data showed
+
Useful detail makes a reply easier
- The individual functions are not isolated tools. They use the same
- station, message, band and timing information, so that a change in one
- part of the workflow can also affect filters, priorities and reminders.
+ Archived ON4KST chat logs from several IARU contests in the preceding two
+ years were analysed. The concrete example comes from the July 2025 contest
+ and combines the 144/432 MHz and Microwave categories. It compares sked
+ requests with the replies and sked windows they produced.
+
+
+ The text analysis considered action and sked words, frequency, timing,
+ beam direction, aircraft-scatter information, locator, mode and courtesy
+ or anchor words. Within this sample, requests containing AP and beam
+ information were associated with an almost 30% higher chat reply rate
+ than short, unspecific requests such as “Hi noname, try 2m?”.
+
+
+ This measures chat replies, not completed QSOs. It is a correlation within
+ the investigated sample, not general proof of causation and not a promise
+ that an individual sked will succeed. The practical point is modest:
+ information that can be used immediately saves the other operator from
+ having to ask for it first. KST4Contest supplies part of that context when
+ preparing messages and skeds.
+
+
+ Source: Marc Fröhlich, “Chat-Mining: Jagdinstinkte wecken mit KST4Contest”,
+ conference paper for GHz-Tagung Dorsten 2026, section “Erfolgsrezept”.
+ Read the background and download the paper.
+
+
- KST4Contest can only evaluate the information it knows. Scores, AP
- windows, filters and path profiles support the operator's decision; they
- do not guarantee a contact. If the input data is incomplete or outdated,
- the result can be incomplete or outdated as well.
+ Priorities are not a propagation forecast. Scores, filters and AP windows
+ depend on the data available to the client. They help with sorting and
+ timing, but they do not guarantee a QSO.
@@ -139,11 +204,9 @@ visitorCount: true
Project status
Stable for operation, Nightly for testing
- KST4Contest is open-source software. The current stable release is the
- normal choice for contest operation. Nightly builds follow ongoing
- development and are useful when a particular fix or feature needs
- testing. A few minutes before a contest is not the ideal time to discover
- what changed.
+ Stable is the normal choice for contest operation. Nightly contains the
+ latest development state and is intended for testing. Changing versions
+ immediately before a contest is still not recommended.
diff --git a/website/test/homepage.test.js b/website/test/homepage.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a333f4a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/website/test/homepage.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+const assert = require("node:assert/strict");
+const fs = require("node:fs");
+const path = require("node:path");
+const test = require("node:test");
+
+const eleventyConfig = require("../.eleventy.js");
+
+test("selects the newest news article without relying on a version", () => {
+ const older = { date: new Date("2026-08-22"), data: { title: "Older" } };
+ const newest = { date: new Date("2026-09-03"), data: { title: "Newest" } };
+
+ assert.deepEqual(
+ eleventyConfig.selectLatestNews([older, newest]),
+ [newest]
+ );
+});
+
+test("an empty news collection omits the latest-news item safely", () => {
+ assert.deepEqual(eleventyConfig.selectLatestNews([]), []);
+ assert.deepEqual(eleventyConfig.selectLatestNews(), []);
+});
+
+test("homepage keeps the statistical result tied to its limits", () => {
+ const source = fs.readFileSync(
+ path.join(__dirname, "../src/index.njk"),
+ "utf8"
+ );
+
+ assert.match(source, /almost 30% higher chat reply rate/);
+ assert.match(source, /chat replies, not completed QSOs/);
+ assert.match(source, /correlation within[\s\S]*not general proof of causation/);
+ assert.match(source, /July 2025 contest/);
+ assert.match(source, /144\/432 MHz and Microwave categories/);
+});
+
+test("background page links all public papers and no ODT source", () => {
+ const source = fs.readFileSync(
+ path.join(__dirname, "../src/background/index.njk"),
+ "utf8"
+ );
+
+ for (const name of [
+ "kst4contest-ghz-tagung-2025-de.pdf",
+ "kst4contest-ghz-tagung-2025-en.pdf",
+ "kst4contest-ghz-tagung-2026-de.pdf",
+ "kst4contest-ghz-tagung-2026-en.pdf"
+ ]) {
+ assert.match(source, new RegExp(name.replaceAll(".", "\\.")));
+ }
+ assert.doesNotMatch(source, /\.odt\b/i);
+});
+
+test("homepage contains one selected function grid and a complete-overview link", () => {
+ const source = fs.readFileSync(
+ path.join(__dirname, "../src/index.njk"),
+ "utf8"
+ );
+
+ assert.equal((source.match(/
The parts most often used during a contest<\/h2>/g) || []).length, 1);
+ assert.match(source, /href="\/features\/"[^>]*>Open the complete function overview/);
+ assert.doesNotMatch(source, /Observe|Evaluate|>Act<|One workflow, shared context/);
+});