Claude
5bff7a119e
Splits the teardown out of stop() into a reusable, idempotent shutdownRuntime() and adds File - Switch operator profile..., which tears the current runtime down and builds a fresh one for the selected profile. The new runtime is a new application instance rather than a second start() on the existing one. Many controls are instance fields created once, so reusing the instance would re-parent mounted nodes and register every listener twice. A fresh instance is safe because the class keeps no mutable static state. Closing every window during a switch would end the process under the JavaFX default, so the application takes over the exit decision: implicit exit is turned off, the main window gets an explicit close handler, and every exit path runs through the launcher. That also fixes losing the window layout on exit after a switch, because JavaFX only calls stop() on the instance it launched. The two view timers are now cancelled null-safe; stop() used to dereference them unguarded, which would fail if shutdown happened before they were created. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Hpa6bjie5qkeNG62y6FmXm
KST4Contest
KST4Contest is a Java-based client for the ON4KST chat, developed for coordinated VHF, UHF and microwave contest operation.
The application is developed by Marc Fröhlich (DO5AMF) and since 2026 Philipp Wagner (DN9APW).
Start here
- Project website
- Download Stable, Beta and Nightly builds
- Online manual
- GitHub wiki
- Issues and bug reports
- Development roadmap
What KST4Contest does
KST4Contest combines the ON4KST chat with information that is useful when coordinating contacts during a contest.
Among other things, it can:
- display and filter stations from the supported ON4KST chat categories;
- derive band and frequency information from chat messages and station names;
- maintain Worked and NOT QRV information for the available bands;
- calculate station priorities from distance, activity and other available information;
- manage internal skeds and received Win-Test skeds;
- use AirScout information when evaluating possible aircraft-scatter contacts;
- display stations, paths and additional propagation information on maps;
- exchange information with supported logging programs, Win-Test, PSTRotator and a local DX Cluster interface;
- provide configurable automatic replies for recurring chat requests.
Calculated scores, aircraft-scatter information and path assessments are operating aids. They depend on the available data and should not be treated as guarantees that a contact is possible.
Installation
Ready-to-use packages are available for Windows, Linux and macOS. These packages include the required Java runtime, so a separate Java installation is normally not necessary.
Use the central download page to select the appropriate build:
- Stable is intended for normal contest operation.
- Beta contains changes that are being prepared for a stable release.
- Nightly contains the latest automated development build and is mainly intended for testing.
Documentation
The documentation is available in German and English:
The Markdown sources used for the wiki and the generated PDF manuals are stored in github_docs.
Changes to operating behaviour should be documented together with their purpose and limitations. This is especially important for functions whose result depends on external data, heuristics or information derived from chat messages.
Building from source
Building KST4Contest requires JDK 21. The Maven Wrapper included in the repository should be used, so a separate Maven installation is not required.
Linux and macOS:
./mvnw clean test
./mvnw -B -DskipTests compile
Windows:
mvnw.cmd clean test
mvnw.cmd -B -DskipTests compile
Repository structure
src/main/java/– application source codesrc/test/– automated testsgithub_docs/– German and English manual sourceswebsite/– project website sourcespackaging/– platform-specific packaging files
CI status
Documentation
Builds
License
KST4Contest is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.