Own engine
FT8, FT4, JT65 and JT9 receive and transmit, with a7/a8 decoding and multithreaded FT8. Parity with JTDX is checked against the original. Plus JT4, Q65-30A and MSK144.
- Aurora is constantly evolving: new features and improvements all the time.
- Found a problem? Report it on GitHub (Issues): I read every report and fix it.
- Have a suggestion or an idea to make Aurora better? Always write it on GitHub.
- Always keep Aurora up to date with the latest version: every release fixes bugs and adds new features.
Features
What Aurora does
Only what is really in the program: the list below follows the project's own documentation and release notes.
Transmitting with a real radio is still being tested by the author.
Spotlight
Dual screen & multi-monitor
Aurora's windows are not locked to one screen. Detach what you need and move it wherever it is most useful.
Main monitor
Second monitor
DX map
Detach a panel
Any panel, or several in a row or column, opens in its own borderless window that you drag by its grip.
Radio display on its own
The radio display can live alone on another screen, with a grip for moving it and a button to send it back.
DX map on the second monitor
The DX map can be detached and left open on another screen while you work on the main one.
Put everything back
One ⤓ button brings every detached window back into the main window.
Available in the desktop program (Windows and Linux). The block dashboard stays a normal window.
Spotlight
Fox for DXpeditions
A full Fox page, compatible with WSJT-X 3.3, to run a pile-up from a single screen.
Fox mode
Queue of Hounds, up to five stations in the same transmission, the combined «RR73; …» message, CQ in the free slots and QSOs logged by themselves.
One-screen control
Status, on-air list, QSO in progress with its steps, caller table with coloured SNR, received messages and a resizable waterfall.
Hound too
Automatic Hound with a FOX label on DXpedition messages, frequency hops and a filter; DXpeditions highlighted in the DX cluster.
UltraFOXExperimental
All stations of the period in a single wide signal (750–2260 Hz, about 13 s), compatible with WSJT-X 3.3 SuperFox. Aurora also decodes SuperFox/UltraFOX Foxes in Hound mode.
Fox verification
OTP verification of the Fox, as introduced in WSJT-X 3.
⚠ UltraFOX is in testing and the digital signature is not handled yet.
WebGPU waterfall
WebGPU with WebGL2 fallback, Rx/Tx bars, cluster spots on the spectrum and a width that follows your radio's filter.
DX map
GridTracker-style map: NASA backgrounds only (Blue Marble by day, City Lights by night), automatic night map, greyline with twilight, Sun and Moon, on-air stations, animated arcs and PSK Reporter propagation.
DXpedition calendar
NG3K calendar next to the CQs: on the air, heard now, upcoming and history.
QSO automation
AutoSeq, caller queue, «reply to all», Wait and Pounce, wanted list. Automations start switched off and in dry-run, with caps, dead-man and STOP.
DXCC card & statistics
New country, zone, grid or band shown on every message; awards progress, QSOs per band and missing countries.
CAT & radio display
Hamlib (300+ models) or OmniRig, named profiles, Yaesu and Icom style displays with extended meters, SWR, TUNE and power.
Phone remote
A PWA on the same network with finger-sized buttons; pairing by 8-digit code or QR, revocable per device.
Log & integrations
Direct upload to Wavelog/Cloudlog, ClubLog, QRZ.com and LoTW; UDP integrations, N1MM XML, ADIF export and Log4OM2 read-only.
Alerts & diagnostics
Sound and visual alerts, automatic diagnostics, a «Check everything» page, settings backup and signed updates.
Open source
GPL-3.0, with its own engine written in Rust. Read it, fix it, improve it.
Six languages
Italian, English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese, with a tooltip on every control.
Block-based page
Fixed-size windows that swap places when you drag the title bar; a divider narrows one window and widens its neighbour.
Open bands
Day and night propagation by band group, with the one you are on highlighted, and the three farthest stations that heard you (PSK Reporter).
Cleaner decodes
A priori analysis (AP) in FT4 too, a list of known callsigns and a locator check discard weak false decodes.
Recovers by itself
If the radio is switched off and on again, receive and transmit restart without restarting Aurora; a freeze report says what was going on.
Agent next to the clock
It stays next to the clock even when Aurora is closed: one click opens Aurora, and a sound announces new versions and the author's messages; optionally also propagation and DXpeditions.
DXpeditions on air
DXpeditions just spotted rise to the top with a flashing orange row; the ones you heard show frequency, mode and signal, and a double-click calls them.
Instant log
The QSO you just made shows up at once in the Log panel, with a flash, a sound and an aurora effect on the row («A LOG»). As in WSJT-X, RRR does not log: the QSO is logged at the other station’s 73 or at the last closing attempt; with RR73 it is logged at once.
Works without CAT too
In Settings > Radio choose “None”: Aurora still decodes and transmits, and the band buttons set Aurora’s own frequency, remembered at restart. You tune the radio by hand.
Log by hand
“Add QSO” writes a contact by hand (callsign, UTC date and time, band, mode, reports, locator) and logs it like any other; you can also delete the selected ones or clear the log, with a confirmation.
Bigger text
The text size of the whole interface can be set from 90% to 160% in Settings > General, or with Ctrl +, Ctrl - and Ctrl 0; it applies to each device separately.
New DXCC alert
A new DXCC entity, or a new one on the band, opens a flashing card at the top right with flag, callsign, country and the time of the last reception, with its own sound. Set it up in Settings, Notifications.
New modes: JT4, Q65 and MSK144
Q65-30A for 6 m and 2 m, with the EME frequencies in the drop-down; MSK144 for meteor scatter, with short messages and real-time decoding; JT4 with sub-modes A to G, chosen next to the mode selector.
From 2200 m to 24 GHz
Every band with the WSJT-X frequencies in a single band and frequency selector (right-click: Band Hopping). At start-up the radio goes to the main frequency of the band for the mode in use.
Update downloaded in advance
Aurora downloads the new version in the background and checks its signature; a small bar in the header and the tray card show percentage and time, then just “Install and restart”. Now on macOS too. If GitHub is down it retries on its own.
CQ with country and time
Every CQ box shows the country and the time of the last reception, and new DXCC entities flash. “R” followed by the locator counts as a confirmation, as in JTDX.
A clearer station
The receive switches sit in a segmented bar (on = green); mode, frequency and switches on one row. Handles resize neighbouring windows together; the window opened from the tray comes on top of all others.
TCI for SDRs
Network control and audio for SunSDR/ExpertSDR and ANAN with Thetis, as in WSJT-X: RX1 or RX2 receiver, commands confirmed by the server, audio at 48, 24, 12 or 8 kHz, power and TUNE from the display, “Power on” and “Power off” the SDR.
QMAP and full Q65
Decodes up to 90 kHz at once from an SDR (I/Q over TCI or a WAV file) and “QSO” tunes the radio to the signal. Q65 with periods from 15 to 300 s and sub-modes A to E.
Full Fox for DXpeditions
OTP check like WSJT-X, Hound sorting, QSO rate and caller filters, Fox log saved as ADIF and Cabrillo.
More sensitive, faster Q65
Decoding follows WSJT-X: on test signals up to 1 dB better without Doppler, and 0.04–0.9 s per period instead of several seconds.
Yaesu FT-991/FT-991A with FT-991(A) Link
New control system over UDP for Yaesu FT-991 and FT-991A radios connected to the FT-991(A) Link program: frequency, mode, PTT and S-meter, “Power on” and “Power off”, with automatic reconnection. VFO A only, simulated split.
DX Cluster spots on the waterfall
Small, compact labels at the top of the waterfall, on at most three rows without overlapping; one click tunes reception to that frequency.
Contest page (beta)
17 rule sets ready (WW Digi, ARRL Digi, Field Day, VHF…), exchange sequence like WSJT-X’s “Special operating activity”, decodes sorted by value, dupes, points and multipliers, a separate log with Cabrillo, EDI and ADIF export.
More complete automations
Dry-run / Live switch with a warning, “Enable Tx” handled for you, new country and new mode rules, hourly QSO limit, time window, excluded countries and continents, self CQ after a quiet spell. Everything is off by default; STOP and dead-man stay.
Dual screen & multi-monitor
Aurora's windows are not locked to one screen. Detach what you need and move it wherever it is most useful.