Attribution and responsible use
Data sources and terms
dalMap combines records from independent community and public services into one map.
What “live” means on this map
Freshness, not operator presenceOn dalMap, “live” means the latest observations the map has received, not that a local or remote operator is active, available, or taking an action now. Source reporting, application processing, and network transit can delay, omit, or reorder reports; use a marker's observation age to judge its freshness.
What is calculated, and what it does not prove
Each entry says what its reading coversCalculated and reference values
Satellite locations, satellite look angles, grayline geometry, beacon activity, propagation indicator overlays, CQ and ITU zone overlays, DXCC entity reference points, the Maidenhead locator grid, beam headings, range rings, and general space-weather band conditions are calculated or static reference values rather than direct observations.
Moon pointing and EME
Moon pointing and EME orientation are approximate calculations from the center of the visitor's coarse grid.
Solar eclipses
Eclipse dates, types, and greatest-eclipse times are NASA's published predictions; the shaded footprint and any grid circumstances are calculated in the browser and are accurate to roughly 50 km on the ground. They show how deep an eclipse is somewhere, not whether a station falls inside the path of totality, and an eclipse is a geometric event rather than a propagation forecast.
Band Reach
Band Reach groups recent PSK Reporter and WSPR paths by remote grid for one band and can summarize them as live direction-and-distance sectors, or list every band with evidence toward each direction. Its cells and arcs describe observed evidence with each path counted once, not signal strength, predicted coverage, predicted range, or proof of a two-way path. Bands are listed in band order and are not ranked against each other: report volume differs sharply by band, and both feeds cap at a fixed number of reports across all bands.
Path Planner
Path Planner calculates current short- and long-path geometry and solar context locally, then keeps NOAA indicators and target-grid PSK Reporter/WSPR evidence visibly separate; it is not an MUF or path forecast. With a selected target, it also compares browser-local Moon geometry and active meteor-shower radiant elevation at both endpoints; those Moon/EME and meteor values are geometric or recurring-calendar context, not a shared window, live activity, or a contact forecast. Its IARU/ITU region label links advisory band-plan context and does not state permission; national rules control.
Lightning
NOAA GOES GLM and EUMETSAT MTG LI markers represent satellite-observed total-lightning flashes, not ground-strike locations.
Terrain Clearance
Terrain Clearance uses the saved grid center and explicit local and remote antenna-height assumptions, except that Path Planner uses a mapped target's published height when available. It is a surface-model planning estimate, not repeater coverage or proof of access.
Sources and interpretation
Provider context and use conditionsOpenStreetMap
Basemap tiles and labels. © OpenStreetMap contributors; browser requests follow the standard tile usage policy. Light appearance shows the tiles as OpenStreetMap serves them; dark appearance dims and desaturates them so the map sits behind the layers drawn on it, without shifting any feature's hue.
Provider information about OpenStreetMapU.S. Geological Survey
Recent USGS earthquakes provide optional situational context: M4.5+ events worldwide and M2.5+ events within 500 km of the saved coarse grid. dalMap displays supplied magnitude, location, depth, review status, PAGER color, and tsunami flag for at most 24 hours. This public-domain government information is not an alert, damage estimate, tsunami warning, or operating recommendation.
Provider information about U.S. Geological SurveyNOAA National Hurricane Center
Current official tropical-cyclone centers show the latest supplied classification, maximum wind, pressure, movement, and public-advisory link, retaining NHC's published units. dalMap does not derive forecast tracks, cones, watches, or local impacts. NHC basin scope, advisory latency, and provider outages can make the layer incomplete; it is supplemental context, not a replacement for official warnings or local authorities.
Provider information about NOAA National Hurricane CenterNASA Earth at Night
Optional nighttime-light imagery is the static 2016 Suomi NPP/VIIRS annual composite supplied as transparent browser tiles by NASA EOSDIS GIBS. It is qualitative reference imagery, not current lighting, an outage report, or live conditions. Tiles have native detail through zoom 8 and may appear enlarged at closer zooms. NASA receives ordinary network request metadata only while the layer is enabled.
Provider information about NASA Earth at NightNCDXF/IARU International Beacon Project
Beacon activity is calculated locally from the published International Beacon Project schedule.
Provider information about NCDXF/IARU International Beacon ProjectMoon visibility and EME orientation
Moon visibility and grid-relative EME orientation are calculated locally. When enabled, the layer shows the current geometric Moon-visible region; selecting the Moon with a saved grid provides approximate azimuth, elevation, relative track, local horizon context, and two-way 432 MHz receive-offset/transmit-correction guidance. Path Planner uses the same browser-local geometry to compare its saved-grid and transient-target endpoints. It does not predict shared operating windows, path viability, range, light time, or band activity.
Provider information about Moon visibility and EME orientationEclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC Emeritus
Which solar eclipses are coming, when each is greatest, and whether it is total, annular, or partial are reviewed values from NASA's Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses, bundled with dalMap and used with the acknowledgment the catalog asks for. Where the shadow falls and how much of the Sun is covered are calculated in the browser at the moment of asking; no eclipse request leaves the browser and nothing about the visitor's grid is sent anywhere. Shaded obscuration levels are accurate to roughly 50 km on the ground, so they show how deep an eclipse is in an area rather than which side of a path edge a station stands on. Published totality and path width are quoted from the catalog. An eclipse is a geometric event, not a propagation forecast: the layer does not predict a band opening, a D-layer response, or a contact.
Provider information about Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC EmeritusPSK Reporter
Recent submitted spots come from PSK Reporter's published amateur-radio reporting service. Their timestamps identify reported activity, not current station availability; source reporting and network transit can delay their arrival in dalMap. Individual pins begin aging after 10 minutes and leave the map after 20 minutes; the broader Band Reach summary may retain freshness-weighted evidence for 30 minutes. dalMap shows paths involving the selected coarse grid by default; an explicit station-only scope can limit activity to the entered callsign within that grid.
Provider information about PSK ReporterHamDB
Callsign-to-grid lookup checks HamDB only when a visitor asks dalMap to look up a published station grid or find a callsign on the map. The same request also reads the amateur license class HamDB publishes for a United States callsign, to mark that operator's own row on Frequency Privileges.
Provider information about HamDBeCFR 47 CFR 97.301 & 97.305
Frequency Privileges draws United States amateur license-class allocations and authorized emission types from a snapshot of eCFR 47 CFR 97.301 and 97.305, bundled with dalMap rather than fetched live. The regulation's frequency edges are shown as stated; where CW, digital, and phone conventionally sit within a band is voluntary guidance published separately by ARRL and the IARU societies and is not reproduced here.
Provider information about eCFR 47 CFR 97.301 & 97.305IPWHOIS.IO
Only after a visitor explicitly chooses an approximate location, dalMap sends the IP address its server sees to IPWHOIS.IO and immediately reduces the response to an approximate four-character Maidenhead grid. It does not retain the IP address, source coordinates, city, or full response. IP-derived locations can be inaccurate or drift, so an IP-derived grid is orientation only and never a precise station location.
Provider information about IPWHOIS.IOQRZ
When HamDB has no published grid, dalMap may check QRZ and accepts only a user-supplied station location or grid, not a generic DXCC location.
Provider information about QRZWSPR.live
WSPR observations come from WSPR.live under its freely accessible, noncommercial-use terms. They report reception at a stated time, not current station availability; source reporting and network transit can delay their arrival in dalMap. Pins begin aging after six minutes and leave the map after 15 minutes. RX shows remote transmitters heard in the local grid; TX shows remote receivers that heard transmissions originating there.
Provider information about WSPR.liveSpothole · DX Cluster
Recent generic operator-entered DX Cluster spots begin aging after seven minutes and expire after 15 minutes. dalMap preserves the reporting callsign and region and labels DXCC-derived coordinates as representative rather than reported station locations. Spots are unverified and may be wrong or stale. Reference-bearing outdoor-program records appear only in the separately attributed xOTA layer.
Provider information about Spothole · DX ClusterSpothole · xOTA
Recent reference-bearing outdoor-program spots come from Spothole's public API, begin aging after 15 minutes, and expire after 30 minutes or when reported QRT. dalMap relies on the Spothole project's express invitation for other software to use its data and API; that invitation does not establish a separate agreement with, endorsement by, or official status from POTA, SOTA, or any other represented program. dalMap requires a source location marked suitable for mapping, preserves multiple program references, and offers program, band, and mode filters. These are unverified spots reported through Spothole, not official program records or proof that an activator is still operating.
Provider information about Spothole · xOTAAPRS-IS
Regional APRS objects and position-bearing stations are shown within approximately 250 km of the visitor's coarse grid. Layer labels reflect submitted APRS metadata and are not operational-status claims. Selected details may summarize how a packet entered APRS-IS and its reported repeated path; that metadata can be incomplete and does not prove direct reception, RF coverage, or every over-the-air hop. While a callsign is saved, dalMap listens for APRS messages addressed exactly to that callsign and shows at most 20 queued, manually dismissible pop-ups for five minutes; APRS bulletin messages are ignored. Station-submitted weather reports appear only in the separate APRS weather control; their values are not independently verified by dalMap. Moving or airborne stations and objects begin aging after five minutes and expire after 10 minutes; weather reports age after 10 minutes and expire after 15. Stationary stations, objects, items, and repeaters begin aging after 30 minutes and expire after two hours unless refreshed; explicit APRS kills remove objects and items immediately.
Provider information about APRS-ISAMSAT
Orbital elements are refreshed daily and retain their source epoch. dalMap uses them to calculate positions, ground tracks, altitude, speed, the selected satellite's geometric horizon footprint, and upcoming AOS, peak, and LOS times. Footprints and passes use an ideal geometric horizon, not guaranteed radio coverage. Grid-relative look angles and pass geometry are approximate calculations from the center of the visitor's coarse grid.
Provider information about AMSATSatNOGS DB
Amateur-radio transmitter metadata supplies paired modes, uplinks, downlinks, and the stable SatNOGS satellite identifier used for optional reception evidence. dalMap preserves those pairings and converts frequency units for display. Approximate Doppler values, including pass-phase guidance at AOS, peak, and LOS, are calculated from the center of the visitor's coarse grid using the midpoint of a published frequency range. Modes and frequencies can change; listen and confirm current conditions before transmitting.
Provider information about SatNOGS DBSatNOGS Network
When a visitor selects a mapped satellite, dalMap may request vetted-good completed SatNOGS observations from the preceding 24 hours. It displays only the aggregate observation count, distinct station count, and latest completion time; it does not expose station identities, recordings, or observation rows. Reception evidence is historical confirmation of recent community observations, not current audibility, footprint coverage, transmitter status, or a pass prediction.
Provider information about SatNOGS NetworkNOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
Space weather context uses public-domain NOAA SWPC products for current NOAA scales, radio-relevant bulletins, solar radio flux, planetary K index, solar-wind speed, total magnetic field and Bz, the near-term geomagnetic forecast, the first seven days of the 27-day solar and geomagnetic outlook, the daily Solar Region Summary, the OVATION auroral-intensity forecast, and D-RAP modeled D-region absorption. dalMap reduces model grids to coarse current regions and labels its derived guidance separately. The outlook is broad planning context, while solar regions describe observed solar-disk features; neither predicts a flare, blackout, band opening, or station-specific path. D-RAP values are the modeled highest frequency affected at the 1 dB absorption level, not measured MUF or proof that a frequency is unusable. Auroral intensity is modeled HF/VHF disturbance and scatter context, not propagation probability, coverage, or proof of an opening; none of these products is a station-specific propagation prediction.
Provider information about NOAA Space Weather Prediction CenterNOAA/NCEP Global Forecast System
Tropospheric-enhancement potential is derived by dalMap from a NOAA/NCEP weather-model profile and summarized into broad regions. This is modeled guidance for possible VHF/UHF enhancement, not an observed duct, station-specific path prediction, or coverage guarantee. NOAA does not endorse dalMap or this derived display.
Provider information about NOAA/NCEP Global Forecast SystemCopernicus DEM GLO-90
On-demand Terrain Clearance samples only the public 90 m surface-model tiles crossed by one selected path of at most 300 km. It calculates from the center of the saved Maidenhead grid using visitor-supplied antenna heights, standard 4/3-Earth refraction, and 60% first-Fresnel-zone clearance. The surface model can include vegetation and structures; results do not model equipment, antenna patterns, local clutter, diffraction, station status, signal strength, or guaranteed coverage. Produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-90 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved.
Provider information about Copernicus DEM GLO-90NOAA/NESDIS GOES Geostationary Lightning Mapper
Recent total-lightning flashes use NOAA Level 2 data from GOES-18 West and GOES-19 East. Sparse markers are quality-controlled, radiance-weighted flash centroids; dense activity is summarized into count markers until the map zooms in. Individual details show observation time, duration, area, optical energy, optical-group count, and sensor-event count. GLM does not classify the flash type or locate a ground strike, and this layer is not a warning service. NOAA outages, field-of-view limits, viewing geometry, detection efficiency, product latency, and quality filtering can make the overlay incomplete.
Provider information about NOAA/NESDIS GOES Geostationary Lightning MapperNASA FIRMS · VIIRS NOAA-20, NOAA-21, and Suomi NPP
Optional satellite fire-detection context requests the three documented near-real-time 375 m VIIRS products only around the saved four-character Maidenhead grid and retains only the latest response. A point is the center of a pixel flagged for one or more fires or another thermal anomaly, not the exact fire location or size, or confirmation of a wildfire, incident perimeter, spread, containment, evacuation status, or safety warning. Volcanoes and gas flares can appear; cloud, smoke, tree canopy, coverage gaps, processing latency, and false or missed detections can make the display incomplete.
Provider information about NASA FIRMS · VIIRS NOAA-20, NOAA-21, and Suomi NPPNOAA Aviation Weather Center
Recent official METAR point observations are requested from the Aviation Weather Center only while Official observations is enabled within the approximately 250 km context around the saved coarse grid. dalMap displays current temperature, wind, gust, and pressure fields with separate provider attribution. METAR is aviation surface weather context, not an amateur station report, area-wide conditions, a forecast, or a correction to APRS measurements.
Provider information about NOAA Aviation Weather CenterNOAA National Data Buoy Center
Nearby current buoy and Coastal Marine Automated Network observations are requested only while Official observations is enabled and a saved coarse grid is available. dalMap uses NDBC-owned stations only, retains current wind, gust, air temperature, and pressure values for at most two hours, and may summarize supplied wave and water-temperature values in the observation detail. This is marine surface-weather context, not a forecast, safety warning, or proof of local operating conditions.
Provider information about NOAA National Data Buoy CenterEUMETSAT MTG Lightning Imager
dalMap adds operational MTG-I1 Level 2 Lightning Flash points from the CC BY 4.0 EO:EUM:DAT:0691 collection. It normalizes and adapts supplied flash time, duration, centroid, group/event counts, and footprint pixels for display, without inventing a physical area. Flashes expire after 10 minutes. Coverage, viewing limits, latency, and source outages can make the layer incomplete; it is recent activity context, not a warning service.
Provider information about EUMETSAT MTG Lightning ImagerU.S. National Weather Service alerts
Active warnings, watches, and advisories are requested only for the center of a saved four-character Maidenhead grid. Supplied alert polygons are shown as published. When NWS identifies affected counties or forecast zones instead, dalMap resolves the linked authoritative NWS boundaries within stated request and geometry limits and draws them only when the complete affected area is available. Alerts that cannot be mapped completely remain listed. Coverage is limited to U.S. NWS areas. This is supplemental context, not a replacement for NOAA Weather Radio, Wireless Emergency Alerts, or local authorities.
Provider information about U.S. National Weather Service alertsNOAA Pacific and National Tsunami Warning Centers
Current tsunami warnings, watches, and advisories are read from the public PTWC and NTWC product feeds and shown as the supplied severity, urgency, and certainty. dalMap retains only currently listed messages and drops one once its own stated expiry passes. No station grid, callsign, or location is sent to request them. Coverage is strongest for the Pacific, U.S., and Caribbean coasts these centers serve directly; other ocean basins have their own warning centers dalMap does not yet carry. This is supplemental context, not a replacement for official local tsunami warnings or authorities.
Provider information about NOAA Pacific and National Tsunami Warning CentersNOAA Storm Prediction Center
Current-day preliminary tornado reports are read from the public Storm Prediction Center report feed and displayed as the supplied report points. Reports can be added, corrected, or removed during the reporting day and do not establish an active warning, confirmed tornado track, damage assessment, or safety instruction. dalMap retains only the current report snapshot; use the separate NWS alerts layer and official local alert channels for active safety information.
Provider information about NOAA Storm Prediction CenterNASA Meteoroid Environment Office
Meteor shower radiant visibility is calculated locally from NASA-published activity windows, radiants, typical peak rates, and speeds, with NASA/JPL parent-stream context. Path Planner can compare active-shower radiant elevation at its saved-grid and transient-target endpoints. NASA is acknowledged as the source; dalMap does not reuse NASA branding or third-party imagery. This is recurring planning context, not a live observation feed, meteor-scatter evidence, or a year-specific visibility forecast.
Provider information about NASA Meteoroid Environment OfficeHB9HIL hamradio-zones-geojson
CQ and ITU amateur-radio zone overlays use MIT-licensed GeoJSON from HB9HIL. dalMap renders them as reference boundaries for operating context; near borders, islands, and special entities, confirm the exchange against the relevant contest or award rules.
Provider information about HB9HIL hamradio-zones-geojsonAD1C Country Files
The DXCC overlay packages one representative point for each of the 340 current entities in the July 14, 2026 BIG CTY release. Callsign flags use that release's exact-call exceptions before its longest matching prefix and identify themselves as DXCC hints; they are not station-location or license-address claims. Entity points are lookup locations, not boundaries, operating sites, political claims, or award-credit determinations. Confirm callsigns, dates, portable designators, and eligibility against current DXCC rules.
Provider information about AD1C Country FilesMaidenhead locator grid
Locator fields, grid squares, and subsquares are calculated locally for the visible map area. The displayed detail follows map zoom, and the configured station locator is highlighted.
Provider information about Maidenhead locator gridtimezone-boundary-builder civil time zones
Civil time zone boundaries come from the timezone-boundary-builder 2026c release, © OpenStreetMap contributors under the Open Database License, and are simplified for map reading rather than survey use; dalMap serves the simplified database it draws. Each zone is labeled with its current offset from UTC and the time now in that zone, following summer time where a zone keeps it. The release merges regions that currently keep the same rules, so a boundary marks where civil time changes rather than where one named zone ends. A selected station reads the civil time where it stands from the same boundaries, with its weekday, and says so when an area keeps more than one. It is reference context, not a claim about a station's operating hours or willingness to be called.
Provider information about timezone-boundary-builder civil time zonesBeam headings and range rings
Approximate great-circle bearings and zoom-appropriate distance rings are calculated locally from the center of the configured Maidenhead grid. They are orientation aids, not surveyed antenna headings, path predictions, or range guarantees.
Provider information about Beam headings and range ringsManage local data
This browserSaved callsign lookup
Set a callsign in My station to remove its temporary published-grid lookup from dalMap.
Your station settings and browser preferences remain unchanged.
Bring your own key
This browserYour NASA Earthdata key
Fire detections come from NASA FIRMS, a service inside the Earthdata ecosystem. This dalMap may carry a shared key with its own request limit; adding your own draws on your limit instead. Sent to dalMap once to be checked with FIRMS, then kept only in a browser cookie this map cannot read back — never stored on the server, never logged. Get a free NASA Earthdata key for FIRMS
Your EUMETSAT key
The lightning overlay's EUMETSAT MTG Lightning Imager coverage is optional context alongside NOAA GOES GLM, which always works with no setup. This dalMap may carry a shared EUMETSAT credential with its own request limit; adding your own draws on your limit instead. Sent to dalMap once to be checked with EUMETSAT, then kept only in a browser cookie this map cannot read back — never stored on the server, never logged. Get a free EUMETSAT API key