The DXLab
Launcher automates the installation of new DXLab applications and the
upgrading of already-installed DXLab applications. If you're an aspiring DXLab
user who has not installed any DXLab applications on your PC, or if
you're a long-time DXLab user who has never installed the Launcher, then
installing the Launcher will make it easy to install new DXLab applications and
keep them up to date as upgrades are released. Clicking the Install Launcher button below will
download and install the DXLab Launcher on your PC. Step-by-step guides to
installing the Launcher are available in HTML
for browsing and in PDF
for printing.
Do not click the Install
Launcher button if the Launcher
is already installed on your PC. If you're not sure, here's
how to check.
With the latest version of the DXLab Launcher installed on
your PC, you can install
an uninstalled DXLab application by following these steps:
start
the Launcher
click the
Launcher's Config button to open its Configuration window
click the
Configuration window's New ? button to update the installation status
and release availability of all DXLab applications
click the
appropriate Install button on the DXLab Apps tab
The Launcher will confirm your intention to install the
application, and display the pathname of the folder into which the application
will be installed so you can confirm or correct it. The Launcher will then
initiate a Setup program that registers the application and its components,
prompting you for additional installation decisions such as the creation of
start menu entries, desktop shortcuts, and the installation of optional files
like country maps or audio announcements. A step-by-step guide is available.
With the latest version of the DXLab Launcher installed on
your PC, you can upgrade
an installed DXLab application to its latest release by following these
steps:
start
the Launcher
click the
Launcher's Config button to open its Configuration window
click the
Configuration window's New ? button to update the installation status
and release availability of all DXLab applications
click the
appropriate Upgrade button on the DXLab Apps tab
The Launcher will inform you when the upgrade is complete.
A step-by-step guide is available.
If you installed a DXLab application at some time in the
past but haven't been installing its upgrades, you can obtain all subsequent
defect repairs and enhancements by upgrading to the latest release, as described
above.
Cleanup
After upgrading a DXLab application, the DXLab Launcher does not automatically
delete the previous version of that application; the previous version is
retained in the application's folder in a file named AAAXXX.exe , where AAA is
the name of the application, and XXX is a version number, for example
CI-V Commander1224.exe
Pathfinder541.exe
After the Launcher successfully upgrades an application, you should retain the
previous version of that applicationjust
in case;
older versions can be manually deleted.
All DXLab applications are produced using a software engineering process known as iterative development, characterized by frequent releases. To facilitate this process, two kinds of releases are
provided: a full release containing all software and documentation
components, and an incremental release that contains only those
components that have changed since the most recent full release. A full release is installed once; from then on, only
lighter-weight incremental releases need be installed. It is not necessary to
install every incremental release of an application; installing the most recent
incremental release is sufficient to bring an application up-to-date, no matter how
many incremental releases may have previously been skipped.
When the DXLab Launcher installs
a new DXLab application, it first installs the application's most recent
full release; if a later incremental release is available, the Launcher
automatically performs the upgrade. Subsequently, the Launcher can
report the
availability of new incremental releases and, at your direction, download and
install them.
If you installed a DXLab
application at some time in the past but haven't kept up with subsequent releases,
directing the Launcher to upgrade that application will obtain all subsequent defect repairs and enhancements.
You can configure the Launcher to automatically check for
new application releases at startup and daily thereafter; if releases are available that are newer than what you have
installed, a "new app upgrades" message will appear on the Launcher's Main window,
as shown above.
On the Launcher's Configuration window, available DXLab application releases that are newer than what's
installed on your PC are highlighted in red font. Double-clicking any version number will display the
Release Notes for that version.
New releases of DXLab applications are also announced on the DXLab Reflector, an open forum that you are encouraged to
join. This reflector plays a major role in driving the development of DXLab -- suggestions are refined, alternatives are considered, and releases are critiqued; the result is a powerful flow of ideas whose implementation benefits all participants. At your option, messages posted to the reflector can be delivered via email -- either individually, or in a daily digest.
For step-by-step help with common
installation and usage scenarios, see Getting
Started with DXLab. The table below provides links to feature summaries,
online reference documentation, and printable documentation for each DXLab application:
Summary
Online Reference Documentation
Searchable & Printable English Reference Documentation
Searchable & Printable German Reference Documentation
Release Notes, Defect Logs, and Enhancement Logs
are helpful in identifying changes made over time; links to this
information for each DXLab application are provided in the Available
Releases table below.
DXLab applications can be manually downloaded via hyperlinks in
the table below, or via any of several worldwide distribution
sites; if you do this (instead of directing the
Launcher to
install and upgrade a DXLab application you seek),
first download and install the
application's Most Recent Full Release
then download and install the
application's Most Recent Incremental Release
DXLab applications can
interoperate using
several protocols. This has stimulated the development of new applications that
work in concert with some or all members of the DXLab Suite:
takes
local spots created in SpotCollector
and posts them toPSKReporter;
specifically
intended for local spots created by WinWarbler's
PSK broadband decoder
a
windows control program for the Elecraft K3 and KX3 transceivers
that supports the secondary receiver, the antenna tuner, the KPA500
Amplifier, the KAT500 Antenna tuner and the P3 Panadapter.
WSJT-Ximplements
FT8 and JT9, new modes designed especially for the LF, MF, and HFbands,
as well as the popular mode JT65. All
three
modes were designed for making reliable, confirmed QSOs under
extreme weak-signal conditions. Interoperates
with Commander
and DXKeeper
.
