Development Log

[helioclock]

**Project start – April 20, 2026**

Helioclock development began. Started under a different working name,
rewritten early on and settled on Helioclock. Built from scratch in
HTML5 and JavaScript, running on Ubuntu – a deliberate choice to avoid
any dependency on a central Helioclock server ever going away, the way
HamClock’s backend situation played out earlier this year.

—

**Early build-out (v2.x foundation)**

Core panels came online in roughly this order: solar flux/SSN/Kp/G-scale/
S-scale/R-scale readouts with NASA SDO imagery and ACE IMF plotting,
greyline and solar terminator rendering, band conditions, DX Cluster
feed, WWV markers, auroral data, satellite pass predictions, NCDXF
beacon tracking, the Azimuthal (DX bearing) view, CW Trainer, seasonal
map imagery, World Time Zone layer, and the Font Contrast Audit pass
for display legibility. A Remote Update System was also built early,
pulling from GitHub Releases so units in the field can update without
manual intervention.

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**Best Band Now – Phase 1 (v2.12.0)**

QTH-anchored MUF calculation cross-checked against live confirmation
sources, with four states: CONFIRMED, LIKELY, SURPRISE OPEN, and
CLOSED. This was the first version – a real MUF number compared against
what was actually being heard, not just a theoretical prediction.

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**Best Band Now – Phase 2 (v2.13.0 / v2.14.0)**

Added a live Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) telnet connection alongside
the existing DX Cluster feed, so confirmation draws from two
independent real-world sources instead of one. Went through several
rounds of tuning after watching how it behaved against real traffic –
the beacon-matching logic was loosened, PSK Reporter was tried and then
removed as a confirmation source (it only populates while someone’s
actively transmitting a digital mode, so it read zero for most
operators most of the time even when conditions were fine), and POTA
was tried and removed from Best Band Now for a similar reason – not
enough simultaneous nearby activity to be a reliable signal, even
though the data itself was working correctly.

—

**Best Band Now – hysteresis tuning (v2.14.2 / v2.15.1)**

The confirmation logic was flapping between states more than it should
under real traffic. Went through a few different fixes before landing
on a single shared 20-minute time-based hold across both confirmation
sources, tested against a real 36-hour log of actual band activity
before shipping.

—

**Dst Index panel**

Added a geomagnetic Dst index panel sourced from USGS’s public
Geomagnetism Program data (not Kyoto WDC, which restricts commercial
use) – 48-hour rolling history with a sparkline and severity threshold
markers.

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**POTA / SOTA panels and map layers**

Added live Parks on the Air and Summits on the Air spot tracking, with
map markers on the Mercator, Globe, and USA views.

—

**Lightning Scope**

Originally built on a different lightning data feed, later replaced
with NOAA GOES GLM (Geostationary Lightning Mapper) data – live, though
coverage is limited to the western hemisphere by the satellite’s own
footprint.

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**WWBOTA (Worldwide Bunkers on the Air) – week of July 19, 2026**

Added a live spot panel and map layer pulling from WWBOTA’s own public
API, matching the same pattern already used for POTA/SOTA/WWFF.

—

**WSJT-X / JTDX live integration – week of July 19, 2026**

Added a real UDP listener that reads WSJT-X’s or JTDX’s own network
broadcast protocol directly – live FT8/FT4 decodes show up in a
dedicated panel with signal reports, frequency offsets, and station
status, without needing any separate logging software in the loop.

—

**FAA Aviation Weather Cameras – Phase 1**

Added a searchable directory of FAA aviation weather camera sites
across the US and Canada, with an embedded live camera viewer.

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**Display Test Patterns (v2.19.0 – v2.19.3)**

Added a set of broadcast-standard test patterns (SMPTE color bars,
crosshatch, grayscale ramp, HD SMPTE RP 219 color bars, solid colors,
and geometry patterns) for anyone setting up or calibrating a display –
a small feature, but one no other ham situational-awareness display
has.

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*(Future replies to this thread will cover new releases as they ship.)*

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