Station Compare

Compares your station's FT8/FT4 performance against all others transmitting from the same grid square right now. Same grid = same propagation conditions, so differences are down to antenna, power, and setup.

How many unique stations heard your signal in the last 20 minutes. More spots = your signal is reaching more receivers.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio in dB. Higher (less negative) = stronger signal at the receiver. A station with -5 dB avg vs your -15 dB avg likely has a better antenna or more power.

Everyone in the same grid has roughly the same propagation conditions. Differences come down to station performance — antenna, feedline, power, local noise floor. It's the fairest comparison.

We sample PSKReporter's global feed every few minutes, so spot counts here are a subset — not the total. What matters is the relative comparison: all stations in your grid are sampled equally, so rankings accurately reflect real performance differences. Run a second compare after a few minutes for more data.

You need to be actively transmitting FT8/FT4 and being received by PSKReporter. Make sure your logging software reports to PSKReporter. The first time you search a callsign, we subscribe to live PSKReporter data for that station — spots start flowing within 30–60 seconds. Refresh after a minute for full results. Subsequent searches will have data ready immediately.

We subscribe to PSKReporter's live MQTT feed for each callsign you search. On your first search, we start collecting real-time spots — this takes about 30–60 seconds to populate. Your callsign stays subscribed for 24 hours, so return visits will show data instantly. We also subscribe the top active stations in your grid so you always have nearby stations to compare against.

Antenna type/height, transmit power, feedline loss, local RF noise, and ground conductivity all play a role. Two stations in the same grid with different antennas can have dramatically different results.

Mostly transmit. PSKReporter data tells us "who heard your signal and how strong it was." It does not tell us what you can hear back. A station with an S9 noise floor from a neighbor's grow light might show great TX spots but still can't complete a QSO because they're deaf on receive. The spot counts and SNR values here reflect how well your signal is getting out, not how well you can copy the other side. Keep that in mind: just because you can be heard doesn't mean you can hear them.

Ionospheric paths aren't always reciprocal. A signal can travel from you to Europe on a completely different refraction path than the return signal. This is especially true on polar and auroral paths when geomagnetic conditions are disturbed (high K-index). The direction profile chart can reveal this: if you're being heard strongly to the northeast but stations to the northeast aren't showing up in your log, that path may be one-way at the moment.