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kQSO — manual

A ham radio log for SOTA/POTA/WWFF/GMA/TOTA/BOTA activations, VHF contests, satellites and everyday operating, on the web, Android and iOS. The quick reference for entering QSOs is in the app under ? (How to log); this is the whole story, with pictures.

New to kQSO? Go through the First steps: a VHF contest and a SOTA activation, step by step.

1. Getting started

kQSO is a one-line log: you type the whole QSO as text (OK1ABC 59 JN79US) and the app recognizes each part by its shape. It needs no account and no network; everything stays on your device.

• Android: Google Play, or the APK from GitHub.
• iPhone and iPad: the App Store.
• Web: kqso.ok1cdj.com in a browser on a computer, tablet or phone. After the first load it works offline too. On iPhone and iPad add it to the home screen (Share → Add to Home Screen), otherwise Safari may clear its data after a while.

The first screen is the log list. At the top: + New log, ? (how to log) and ⚙ (Settings). Each log has export, a VHF contest also EDI, and delete.

2. Logs and profiles

+ New log creates a log. Fill in the name, your callsign and locator (the crosshair button fills it from your position), the starting band and mode. The callsign and locator are remembered for the next log. The main choice is the profile, which decides what is exchanged and how the log is exported:

• Activation (SOTA, GMA, POTA, WWFF, TOTA, BOTA): reports and references. Type one or more references, separated by spaces, into My reference, e.g. OK/ZC-001 CZ-0123; POTA parks and BOTA bunkers can be several. The locate button offers the nearest references within 25 km (only the programs chosen in Settings → Offline references); tap to add.
• General: everyday operating, plus the other station's name.
• VHF contest: serial numbers, locators, points per km, EDI export. You choose the contest (IARU R1, VKV PA, FM pohár) and the entry (whole contest or 6 hours). The locator is required, 6 characters.
• Satellite: one log per pass. The satellite sets the uplink and downlink.

Tap a log in the list to get back to logging, even into an unfinished QSO: kQSO writes every QSO at once, so a crash or restart loses nothing.

3. Logging a QSO

From the top, the logging screen has:

• the header: back to the logs, band and mode (how to change them), in a VHF contest your next serial (boxed) and the azimuth to the other station, ? help and QSO n › the QSO list (just n › on a narrow phone; what doesn't fit on one row wraps to a second);
• the input line you type into;
• chips with what the app has recognized so far (CALL, RST, NR, LOC, QRB…), dashed for what is still missing;
• the strip with call and locator suggestions, or the last saved QSO;
• the kQSO keyboard: alphabetical 6×7, big keys that work with gloves.

The whole QSO on one line

Type what you hear and press Enter. Enter with text adds the parts to the QSO and clears the line; an empty Enter saves the QSO. Only the callsign is required (in a VHF contest also the received number and the locator). With a hardware keyboard Ctrl+Enter saves the QSO too, straight with whatever is on the line.

You don't have to type the report. In a VHF contest a bare number after the call is the received serial, and the report stays the default 59 (599 in CW). So OK2KZR 123 is enough. Put another report in front of the number: 57123 or 57 123.

Reports

Outside a VHF contest, a bare number after the call is the received report: OK1ABC 57. The sent report defaults to 59 (599 in CW) and you usually don't type it. When you give another one, type it with a T in front: OK1ABC 57 T55 = received 57, sent 55. If you don't type the received report at all, 59 / 599 is saved too. The chips show RST (received) and TX-RST (sent).

In a VHF contest a bare number after the call is the serial; a report goes in front of it (57123), see above.

Scatter and aurora: a report with a letter after the call, OK1ABC 59S (rain / aircraft scatter) or 59A (aurora, 599A in CW). In a VHF contest also joined with the serial: 59S012 or 59S 012. A sent report with a letter goes after the call as T59S. EDI and ADIF get it as it is (59S).

Piece by piece, as you hear it

A QSO doesn't have to be on one line. Send each part with its own Enter, the way the other station gave it: the call, then the number, then the locator. The chips show what you have and what is missing. In a VHF contest an empty Enter saves the QSO only once it has the call, the number and the locator; until then it stays open.

To fix a mistyped call, type the new one: a new call replaces the earlier one, the report and locator stay. In a VHF contest you can also start with the locator when you hear it first; the strip then offers the calls the ON4KST chat (when connected) and the database know at that locator.

Suggestions, locator from the database, dupes

After two characters the strip offers calls from the database (the bundled list for the log type plus the stations you have worked). A tap fills the call in. When the station's locator is known, it offers it as + locator: a tap (or Alt+X) takes it. It comes from this log (the station is already in on another band), then in a VHF contest with the chat connected the locator the station has set in ON4KST (today's), and last from the database.

In a VHF contest the QRV chip shows the other bands the station is usually on (from the database). Bands where you already have a QSO with it are struck out, so you see at once where to move it next.

A dupe turns the whole line black. A dupe is the same call on the same band and mode; in a VHF contest on the same band (any mode), in a satellite log on the same satellite. It can still be logged; in a VHF contest it scores 0 points. In a VHF contest kQSO asks before logging a dupe; confirmed, the new QSO counts and the earlier one on the band becomes ERROR (see VHF contest).

Changing band and mode

The current band and mode are in the header (2m SSB). You pick the starting ones when you create the log; a reopened log carries on with the band and mode of its last QSO. There is no menu for it: band and mode are switched by typing, just like a QSO.

• Type a band or a mode on the line and press Enter: 70cm ⏎, cw ⏎, or both at once 70cm cw ⏎. The header changes right away.
• Band and mode stick for all the following QSOs until you change them again. Saving a QSO or W doesn't change them.
• It also works on the same line as the QSO or in the middle of an unfinished one: 70cm OK1EM. The QSO gets the band and mode in force when it is saved (empty Enter); the dupe check and the QRV chip already use the new band.
• Bands: 160m 80m 60m 40m 30m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m 6m 4m 2m 70cm 23cm 13cm 9cm 6cm 3cm 1.25cm 6mm 4mm. The kQSO keyboard has no dot, so microwaves can also be typed in GHz: 1G = 23 cm, 2G = 13 cm, 3G = 9 cm, 5G = 6 cm, 10G = 3 cm, 24G = 1.25 cm, 47G = 6 mm, 76G = 4 mm.
• Modes: cw, ssb, fm. Case doesn't matter. With a hardware keyboard, Alt+M also switches the mode (CW → SSB → FM), and Alt+N / Alt+P the band (next / previous).
• A QSO saved on the wrong band or mode is fixed in the QSO list (tap the QSO), the last one with the E command.

• VHF contest: the serials are shared by all bands, so they carry on after a switch. Dupes and points are per band; the recent QSOs and the contest panel show only the current band. For a station you already have from another band, kQSO offers the locator from the log.
• Satellite: the bands are set by the satellite chosen when the log was created; a typed band is ignored. On linear birds you can switch ssb / cw.
• With a radio (CI-V) band and mode come from the radio, so switching on the radio is enough. A typed band or mode tunes the radio instead, see Radio.

QSO time

The time is taken in UTC at your first keystroke. To set it by hand (e.g. from paper), type it as the first part of the line: 1832 OK1ABC.

Commands

A single letter alone on the line, then Enter. The preview under the line shows what will happen before you press Enter.

Esc clears the line being typed (e.g. a call you only looked up).

QSO list and editing

QSO n › opens the QSO list, newest first. Tap a QSO to edit or delete it (in a VHF contest, strike it out). In a VHF contest the list has a band switch, points per QSO and the band's score line; at the top are Map and Statistics.

The search line above the list filters the QSOs by part of the call, locator or a serial (sent or received): OK1, JN6, 018. With a hardware keyboard the cursor is already in it; Enter with one QSO left opens it for editing, Esc clears the search. It stays when you come back from the edit.

Keyboard: kQSO, system, none

In Settings → Keyboard for logging choose:

• kQSO: our own alphabetical keyboard (default);
• System: the phone's keyboard (tap the line to open it); the line is at the top with the recent QSOs below;
• None: a hardware keyboard only (computer, tablet with a keyboard); the space goes to the recent QSOs and, in a VHF contest in landscape, the contest panel.

4. VHF contest and ON4KST chat

A VHF contest log scores the QSOs (1 point per km between locator centres, IARU R1; VKV PA and FM pohár by large-square rings), checks dupes per band and numbers your QSOs. The next serial to give is boxed in the header; the numbering is shared by all bands.

A VHF contest never deletes a QSO. The D command or Strike out (ERROR) in the QSO edit crosses it out: it stays in the log with its sent serial and 0 points, is an ERROR row in the EDI (so the sent serials stay in sequence, as REG1TEST wants) and counts for nothing — points, dupes, statistics, map, the 6-hour window, the ADIF export and Wavelog. Restore brings it back. A confirmed dupe does the same to the earlier QSO: the repeat counts.

In the 6 hours entry (on 2 m, 70 cm, 6 m and 4 m) kQSO keeps the six-hour window for each band separately:

• the window starts with the band's first QSO and the header shows the time left (6H 0:29);
• a gap of 2 hours or more between QSOs is the break: the time stops and shows in brackets (6H (2:15));
• the first QSO after the break starts part 2 with what is left of the six hours, and kQSO says so;
• when the six hours are up, kQSO says so and the header shows 6H 0:00. You can still log QSOs, but they don't count for the 6H entry (the log is sent whole).

The statistics show which QSOs fall into the window.

Contest panel

On a tablet or computer in landscape, with the system keyboard or none (Settings → Keyboard for logging → None), kQSO shows the contest panel on the right: the number to give in big digits, the UTC clock, the band's QSO count, the rate, points, the average and the ODX. The rate is live: first the QSOs per hour from the band's last 10 (from the oldest of them to now, so it falls while nothing is worked), then the QSOs of the last 60 minutes. With a hardware keyboard the recent QSOs beside the panel also show each QSO's distance in km and azimuth, when the row fits.

Statistics

QSO list → Statistics shows, for each band separately (bands are never mixed):

• a summary: QSOs, points and points per QSO, with several bands also the Total;
• Per hour (UTC): QSOs and points in each hour with running totals, so you see when it went well and when it stalled;
• Large squares: how many stations from each square, distance and bearing; tap a square for its stations;
• Top 10: the band's longest (most valuable) QSOs.

In a 6-hour entry the statistics show when the six-hour window ran, and the per-hour table has an out of 6 h column for the QSOs that don't count for the entry.

Map

QSO list → Map: a dot per worked locator, the locator grid and your QTH. Drag to move, − + to zoom, the corners button fits everything. In Settings you can hide the calls next to the dots.

Tap the map and the top left shows that spot's locator, distance (QRB) and azimuth from you, as in the log. Handy to see where to turn the antenna for a rain cell or a station you haven't worked yet. The × closes it.

Rain radar (Settings → Rain radar on the VHF contest map, off by default) adds the current RainViewer precipitation frame under the map. It is a tool for rain scatter on 3 cm: it shows where the rain cells are, and a tap into one gives the azimuth to turn the antenna to. The frame refreshes while the map is open; its UTC time is at the bottom left. The radar is for VHF contests only and is the only time the map uses the network (no log data is sent). In E-ink it is drawn in greys.

EDI export

The EDI button in the log list prepares the files for the contest manager: one file per band (e.g. 02OK1KPA.edi). At the top check the contest name, the contest, the entry and the category (SO, MO, CHECK); for MO add the other operators. The station (name, e-mail) is the same on every band.

Each band has its own power, antenna, antenna height and equipment; kQSO remembers them for the next contest. On 145 and 435 MHz the power decides the section: up to 100 W it is LP. VKV PA offers sending to the robot, FM pohár a summary for its web form.

The ADIF from the export button has all bands in one file, e.g. for Wavelog.

ON4KST chat

The ON4KST chat is where skeds are arranged in VHF contests. kQSO has it right in a VHF contest log on 6 m and up; it picks the room (50/70 MHz, 144/432 MHz or Microwaves) from the log's band. You need your own ON4KST account (licensed radio amateurs only); without one, try the chat with the call DEMO (see below).

1. Settings → ON4KST chat: the ON4KST call (empty = the log's call), the password and Save and connect.
2. Before the first connection kQSO shows the chat rules: ON4KST runs the chat, abusive content isn't tolerated, a station can be muted and a message reported. I agree connects; it doesn't ask again.
3. In a VHF contest log the chat opens from the bubble in the header, O ⏎ or Alt+O. Back in the list of logs the chat disconnects.

Messages: newest at the bottom; messages to you are bold with a bar on the left, and Only to me shows just those. Messages of stations you already have on the log's band are grey. A tap on a message puts the sender's @CALL into the line at the bottom: add the text and press Enter. @OK1ABC text goes to that station, text without @ to everyone in the room. The line also takes ON4KST commands as typed: /SETNAME Ondra 2/70/23 (the name, often with the bands), /SETLOC JN79US.

Stations: locator, distance and bearing from the log's locator. Sort by call, km or bearing; tapping the same sort again reverses it (▲ / ▼). Hide worked hides the stations you already have on the log's band, Hide away those who are away. Up to … km shows only the stations within that distance (900 km by default; an empty field = no limit, stations without a locator stay); it applies to the list under the contest panel too. A station that just joined is underlined. After the bearing come the bands the station is QRV on (except the log's band; struck out = already worked): kQSO reads them from the name (Bert 2/70/23, 6&2m), from the station's messages (qrv 1296.150, no 23) and from skeds sent to it, and adds those from the callsign database. The list under the contest panel and the QRV chip while logging show them too. Sked puts the sked request into the line, Log goes back to the log with the call and locator typed in. On a narrow screen the names are left out.

Station details: ⋯ on a station, or a long press on a station or a message. It shows the station, whether you have it on the band, Sked and Log and under them a line for a message to this station (just the text and Enter, it goes as @CALL text), then its messages and your conversation. At the bottom, away from the contest buttons:

• Mute: hides the station on this device (in the chat, under the contest panel and in the suggestions), and its messages to you are not counted. Muted stations, and unmuting, are in Settings → ON4KST chat.
• Report: opens an e-mail to the kQSO author with the station and its messages (the long-pressed message first); abuse is passed on to ON4KST.

The sked request comes from the template in Settings (default pse sked {QRG} {MODE}?; {LOC} works too). {QRG} is the radio's frequency, or the sked QRG you set for the band: G 144.290 ⏎ in the log. It can be any text, e.g. G 432.210 cw; digits without a dot are kHz as with F, so on the kQSO keyboard G 144290 is enough. G ⏎ shows it, G - ⏎ clears it, and Alt+G puts G with the current QRG into the line to change it. kQSO keeps it per band.

The chat in the log: the last message to you is under the header; tap it to answer. You can write straight from the log's input line: @OL0M pse sked 144.290 ⏎. The preview shows where it goes (→ OL0M), and no QSO is logged. After @OK1 the strip offers the chat's stations.

Active stations under the contest panel: on a tablet or computer in landscape, kQSO lists the stations that wrote in the chat in the last 30 minutes under the contest panel, sorted and filtered as the chat's station list. A tap writes @CALL, S the sked request.

Locator: the QRB and bearing the others see come from your ON4KST account's locator. When it differs from the log's (portable), the chat and the list under the panel offer Set JN89AB, which sends /SETLOC. Nothing is sent by itself.

Apps and web: the Android and iOS apps connect to ON4KST directly. A browser can't, so the web version goes through the kQSO relay, which only passes the data on and stores nothing. The ON4KST protocol sends the password unencrypted; it is stored only on your device.

DEMO: with the call DEMO and no password kQSO doesn't connect to on4kst.org but runs a simulated chat with stations, messages, answers to @CALL and /SETLOC. The pictures in this part come from it. Afterwards choose Forget account in Settings and enter your own.

5. Activations and satellites

Activations

An activation exchanges reports: DD2TC 55 is a received 55, the sent report stays 59. Give another sent report with T: DD2TC 55 T57 (see Reports).

Summit-to-summit (S2S), park-to-park (P2P) and QSOs with another reference: type the other station's reference on the line after its call, after the report too if that's when you hear it: OK1ABC/P 55 OK/ZC/001. The keyboard has no dash, so it is typed with a slash and the last slash becomes a dash (the REF chip shows OK/ZC-001). kQSO tells the kind of reference by its shape:

A QSO has one reference of the other station; typing another replaces it. In the ADIF, SOTA goes to SOTA_REF, POTA to POTA_REF, WWFF, GMA and TOTA to SIG / SIG_INFO, BOTA with SIG WWBOTA (as wwbota.net asks, also MY_SIG for your bunkers, several comma-separated), so an S2S is counted after the upload to sotadata.org.uk.

When an activation has several own references (a summit + a park), export offers the whole ADIF plus one file per reference, as each program wants its own upload.

General log, e.g. portable

The General profile is for portable operation without an award programme, an outing, or a Field Day outside a VHF contest. You exchange a report and, when the other station gives them, a locator and a name: OK1ABC 57 JN79US PETR. The locator is taken after the call (4 or 6 characters); a word that is neither a call nor anything else is the name. Your own call can have a slash (OK1CDJ/P), and so can the other station's (OK1ABC/P, HB0/OK1MCS/P). A General log can be pushed to Wavelog.

Satellites

A satellite log is one pass. You pick the satellite when creating the log; it sets the uplink and downlink bands and SAT_NAME. The exchange is a report and a locator: 9A2U 59 JN75RO. On linear birds you can switch ssb and cw.

QSO list → Map shows the locators of the stations from the pass, like the VHF contest map (without the rain radar). The QSOs carry the uplink and downlink frequencies (ADIF FREQ / FREQ_RX), so Wavelog knows them after the push.

6. Export and Wavelog

kQSO has no log import and syncs nothing: a log is sent or exported, and that's it.

• export in the log list saves an ADIF (in the apps through share or to files, on the web as a download).
• EDI for a VHF contest, see VHF contest.
• Wavelog: in Settings enter your Wavelog's URL (https only) and an API v2 token with the scopes qso:write and station:read (Wavelog 3.1 and newer), tap Connect and pick the station profile. General, Satellite and VHF contest logs then get a Wavelog button; after a tap it shows how many QSOs were new and how many dupes. Activations are not pushed to Wavelog (they go to SOTA, POTA… through their own uploads).

7. Callsign database and offline references

The callsign database gives suggestions and locators. It is made of the bundled set for the log type and your own worked stations, which grow with every QSO. In Settings you can switch it off, export it, import (merges) and delete your own part.

Your own QSOs go into the database from every log; working a station on a new VHF band adds that band to its QRV.

Offline references: the SOTA, POTA, WWFF, GMA, TOTA and BOTA lists (bunkers from WWBOTA) for the nearby references offer. Choose there which programs are offered nearby; a reference of any program can always be typed. The area around you downloads by itself when online; before a trip download an area (field JN or locator JN69).

8. Radio (CI-V), the CW keyer and decoder

Both are beta. Please report bugs on GitHub Issues.

Radio – CI-V

kQSO reads and tunes Icom radios. Known models: IC-705, IC-706 / MkII / MkIIG, IC-910 (optional 23 cm unit), IC-9700, IC-7300, IC-7610, IC-7100; another radio with an unknown address is driven as a generic CI-V radio (band, mode, frequency).

• IC-705 over its Bluetooth (Android and iOS apps): Settings → Radio → IC-705 Bluetooth → Connect. The first time open MENU → SET → Bluetooth Set → Pairing Reception on the radio.
• Any Icom on a USB cable or a CI-V interface (Chrome / Edge on a computer): Settings → Radio → USB / serial → Connect. Details under Radio on a computer.
• Any Icom through the M5-ESP32-keyer on the radio's CI-V jack (firmware 2.1.0 and newer; apps and Chrome / Edge): Settings → Radio → Via the keyer. Switch CI-V Transceive on in the radio.

Band, mode and the exact frequency then come from the radio. A typed band or mode tunes the radio, F28300 tunes it to 28.300 MHz. A band the radio can't do switches only the log. The radio model goes by its CI-V address; choose it by hand if the address was changed.

CW and voice through the radio: the IC-705, 9700, 7300 and 7610 send the CW macros with their own keyer over CI-V (the IC-7100 too), so no M5 keyer is needed; in SSB and FM the strip offers the radio's voice memories T1–T4 (record e.g. a CQ in the radio; F5–F8 on a keyboard, Esc stops). Older radios (IC-706, 910) are keyed by the M5 keyer's wire.

Transverters (XVERT): per band the RF frequency and the IF on the radio. Tap a band to switch its transverter on. A typed band then tunes the radio to the IF and the log gets the RF frequency (XV in the header).

Radio on a computer: USB or a CI-V cable

In Chrome or Edge on a computer (Windows, Linux, macOS) the radio connects straight by cable, no keyer needed. Firefox and Safari have no serial port, nor do the Android and iOS apps.

• A radio with USB (IC-7300, 9700, 705, 7610, 7100 …): a plain USB cable into the radio. Windows needs Icom's USB driver (Silicon Labs CP210x); Linux and macOS have it built in.
• An older radio (IC-706, 910 …): an interface on the CI-V / REMOTE jack (3.5 mm) — Icom's CT-17 or a USB–CI-V cable.

Connecting: Settings → Radio → Yes → USB / serial → Connect, and pick the port in the browser's list (Windows COMx, Linux ttyUSB0, macOS cu.SLAB… / cu.usbserial…). kQSO finds the bus rate (115200, 19200, 9600, 4800) and the radio's CI-V address by itself and tells the model by the address. The status line then shows e.g. IC-7300 · 14.030 MHz · CW · 115200 Bd. The port, rate and address are remembered: next time kQSO connects by itself, quickly.

• CI-V Transceive on in the radio makes kQSO follow the dial at once. Without it the frequency and mode are read every second.
• The IC-9700 and IC-705 have two USB ports; if the radio isn't found, disconnect and pick the other one.
• Only one program can have the port open — close another logger or CAT program, and keep kQSO open in one window or tab only.
• DTR and RTS are held low by kQSO, so a radio keying on them (USB SEND / USB Keying) doesn't transmit because of kQSO.
• Radio switched off or the cable out: kQSO shows it disconnected and connects again by itself when the radio is on (the cable back).
• Linux: your user must be in the dialout (or uucp) group. If the radio keys for a while when it is switched on, ModemManager is probing its port; a udev rule keeps it away, e.g. /etc/udev/rules.d/99-icom.rules: ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", ENV{ID_MM_DEVICE_IGNORE}="1" (then sudo udevadm control --reload-rules and plug it in again).

Tuning from the line, CW macros through the radio and voice memories work as with the other connections (see above).

M5 CW keyer

The M5-ESP32-keyer is a home-built keyer; parts, schematics and the firmware flasher are at keyer.ok1cdj.com. It connects over Bluetooth (Android and iOS apps, Chrome / Edge): Settings → M5 keyer → CW keying Yes → Connect. In CW the strip then offers the macros CQ, EX, TU, ?, MY and LOC/REF (in the order of F5–F8, F11, F12; with a hardware keyboard each button shows its F key in its corner), and the header shows RUN or S&P and the speed. With a radio that keys CW over CI-V you don't need the M5 keyer (see Radio).

• Each profile has its own macros for RUN (I call CQ) and S&P (I answer). Variables: {CALL} {MYCALL} {MYLOC} {MYREF} {RST} {NR} {LOC} {REF} {HI} (GM / GA / GE by local time). The report and serial go out as cut numbers: {RST} 599 → 5NN, 559 → 55N, {NR} 018 → T18; the log and the EDI keep the digits.
• CQ repeat (RUN): A3 sets a 3 s gap after each CQ ends (A1–A30, remembered); F5 or CQ then calls round until Esc, STOP or another macro. The header shows RUN ↻3, inverted while calling. A0 turns it off, A shows it.
• ESM (as in N1MM): Enter sends the macros by the state of the QSO. Switch it on in Settings or with the ESM command.
• On the line: R / S RUN / S&P mode, S20 speed 20 WPM, C reconnect, K PSE QRS sends the text, K alone starts the CW keyboard (what you type goes on the air). Esc or STOP stops sending.

CW decoder

kQSO decodes CW from the radio's audio with DeepCW, a neural network (by e04, MIT licence). The decoded text runs under the log's header, and a tap on a call, report, serial or locator puts it into the line. It runs in the Android and iOS apps and on the web in Chrome or Edge on a computer; Firefox and Safari don't have it.

• Turning it on: Settings → CW decoder → Download (about 14 MB once, then it works offline) → Turn on. The decoder listens only while a log is open in CW; in SSB, FM and in the list of logs the audio and the decoder rest. In a log Alt+U turns it on and off.
• Audio input: the radio's USB sound card (the IC-7300, 9700, 705 … have audio on the same USB cable as CI-V) or the computer's line input. On a phone or tablet the microphone next to the radio's speaker or headphones is enough, or a USB audio input. The first time the browser or the app asks for the microphone permission; Show the audio inputs in Settings asks earlier, so the input can be picked by its name. The audio is decoded on the device and never sent anywhere.
• Another browser tab (WebSDR, KiwiSDR): pick it as the input, in the log tap Pick the tab with the SDR and in the browser's dialog tick Also share tab audio. You keep hearing the SDR.
• CW pitch in Settings should match the radio's CW pitch setting (often 600–700 Hz). The narrow model (default) decodes the station right at that pitch and is light on the CPU. The wide model (another 15 MB) hears everything between 400 and 1200 Hz, or only within a filter around the pitch; for a weak or drifting signal.

The decoder's line shows the pitch the decoder listens at, the input level (▮▮▮▮▯, on a phone one bar ▆ before the tuning indicator; when it's empty or full, set the USB audio level in the radio or the system) and the tuning indicator: ● 700 = the signal is at your pitch, ◀ 650 / 750 ▶ = the strongest CW signal is below / above. A tap on the indicator makes the decoder listen where the signal is, until you close the log or change the mode; the pitch in Settings stays. The not-yet-final end of the text is grey.

Linux: when the radio is missing among the audio inputs, its USB card has an output-only profile in PipeWire / PulseAudio. Switch it to input (pavucontrol → Configuration, or by command; pactl list short cards shows the card's name):pactl set-card-profile alsa_card.usb-Burr-Brown_from_TI_USB_Audio_CODEC-00 input:analog-stereoFor digital modes (audio to the radio) set it back to output:analog-stereo, or pick a duplex profile if the card offers one.

9. Hardware keyboard

With a keyboard (computer, tablet) these shortcuts work. A shortcut with nothing to do right now leaves the key alone.

10. Settings

⚙ in the log list. The parts in order:

Display

Standard or E-ink (black and white only, no shadows or animations, for e-ink screens such as the Mudita Kompakt). In Standard the theme System, Light or Dark.

Keyboard for logging

kQSO, System, None; see Logging a QSO.

Station calls on the map, Rain radar

Labels next to the map dots; the RainViewer radar on the VHF contest map (off by default, the only time it uses the network).

Wavelog

URL, token, station profile; see Export and Wavelog.

Callsign database, Offline references

See Callsign database.

Radio – CI-V, M5 keyer

See Radio and keyer.

ON4KST chat

Account, sked request, muted stations; see ON4KST chat.

CW decoder

Model download, on / off, model, pitch, audio input; see CW decoder.

Storage

Where the data is and whether it is persistent. In the web app, adding it to the home screen and the first QSO make the storage persistent.

Check for updates / Anonymous usage statistics

Android from GitHub: once a day asks for a new version. Web: anonymous counts of screens and features (never log content); both can be switched off.

About

Version, licence, links, How to log, Manual and What's new.

11. Questions and problems

Where is my data?

Only on your device: on Android in the app's storage, on iOS in its Documents folder (visible in the Files app), on the web in the browser's private storage. No server sees it. See the privacy policy.

My logs disappeared in the web app.

A browser may clear a site's data without persistent storage. Add kQSO to the home screen and check Settings → Storage. Export important logs.

The keyer or the IC-705 won't connect.

On Android allow Bluetooth for the app (on Android 11 also location, which the system requires for a device scan). On the web only Chrome or Edge. When the link drops, tap ✕ in the header or type C.

I got my locator or call wrong when creating the log.

The log header (call, locator, references) can't be changed after the log is created. If the log is still empty, delete it and create it again. Otherwise create a new log with the right data and log the next QSOs there; in a VHF contest check it right after the first QSO, as the points are counted from your locator.

I'm copying QSOs from paper from another day.

A time typed at the start of the line (1832 OK1ABC) is for today's UTC date. Log a QSO from another day and fix its date in the QSO list (tap the QSO, the Date UTC field).

How do I move my logs to another phone or computer?

kQSO has no import and no sync: logs are exported (ADIF, EDI) or pushed to Wavelog, and that's it. A new device starts with an empty list. The callsign database moves with Settings → Callsign database → export / import.

How do I switch the language?

kQSO is in Czech or English by the system language (the browser's on the web). There is no separate switch in the app.

The app didn't take a call or a locator.

Look at the chips under the line: they show what kQSO recognized. A locator counts only after the call (in a VHF contest a full locator any time). If something looks wrong, please write to GitHub Issues.

I have no ON4KST account.

ON4KST accounts are for licensed radio amateurs only (sign up at on4kst.org). Without one, try the chat with the call DEMO, see ON4KST chat.

The chat doesn't connect, or I don't see it in the log.

The chat is only in a VHF contest log on 6 m and up. Why it doesn't connect (wrong password, no account) shows in the chat's status and in Settings → ON4KST chat. When the link drops, kQSO connects again by itself.

The CW decoder doesn't see the radio or decodes nothing.

The decoder is only in Chrome / Edge on a computer and listens only in a log in CW. Pick the radio's input in Settings → CW decoder (on Linux see the card profile under CW decoder), watch the level in the line and set the pitch to the radio's CW pitch.