Spothole is a utility to aggregate "spots" from amateur radio DX clusters and xOTA spotting sites, and provide an open JSON API as well as a website to browse the data.
While there are several other web-based interfaces to DX clusters, and sites that aggregate spots from various outdoor activity programmes for amateur radio, Spothole differentiates itself by supporting a large number of data sources, and by being "API first" rather than just providing a web front-end. This allows other software to be built on top of it.
The API is deliberately well-defined with an OpenAPI specification and API documentation. The API delivers spots in a consistent format regardless of the data source, freeing developers from needing to know how each individual data source presents its data.
Spothole itself is also open source, Public Domain licenced code that anyone can take and modify. The source code is here. If you want to run your own copy of Spothole, or start modifying it for your own purposes, the README file contains a description of how the software works and how it's laid out, as well as instructions for configuring systemd, nginx and anything else you might need to run your own server.
Supported data sources include DX Clusters, the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), the APRS Internet Service (APRS-IS), POTA, SOTA, WWFF, GMA, WWBOTA, HEMA, and Parks 'n' Peaks.
The software was written by Ian Renton, MØTRT and other contributors. Full details are available in the README.
This server is running Spothole version {{software_version}}.
This is a tool for amateur ("ham") radio users. Many amateur radio operators like to make contacts with others who are doing something more interesting than sitting in their home "shack", such as people in rarely-seen countries, remote islands, or on mountaintops. Such operators are often "spotted", i.e. when someone speaks to them, they will put the details such as their operating frequency into an online system, to let others know where to find them. A DX Cluster is one type of those systems. Most outdoor radio awards programmes, such as "Parks on the Air" (POTA) have their own websites for posting spots.
Spothole is an "aggregator" for those spots, so it checks lots of different services for data, and brings it all together in one place. So no matter what kinds of interesting spots you are looking for, you can find them here.
As well as spots, it also provides a similar feed of "alerts". This is where amateur radio users who are going to interesting places soon will announce their intentions.
In amateur radio terminology, the "DX" contact is the "interesting" one that is using the frequency shown. They might be on a remote island or just in a local park, but either way it's interesting enough that someone has "spotted" them. The callsign listed under "DE" is the person who spotted the "DX" operator. "Modes" are the type of communication they are using. You might see "CW" which is Morse Code, or voice "modes" like SSB or FM, or more exotic "data" modes which are used for computer-to-computer communication.
It's probably not? But it's nice to have choice.
I think it's got two key advantages over those sites:
Spothole is a Progressive Web App, which means you can install it on an Android or iOS device by opening the site in Chrome or Safari respectively, and clicking "Install" on the pop-up panel. It'll only prompt you once, so if you dismiss the prompt and change your mind, you'll find an Install / Add to Home Screen option on your browser's menu.
Installing Spothole on your phone is completely optional, the website works exactly the same way as the "app" does.
Spothole's source code is licenced under the Public Domain. You can write a Spothole client, run your own server, modify it however you like, you can claim you wrote it and charge people £1000 for a copy, I don't really mind. (Please don't do the last one. But if you're using my code for something cool, it would be nice to hear from you!)
Spothole collects no data about you, and there is no way to enter personally identifying information into the site apart from by spotting and alerting through Spothole or the various services it connects to. All spots and alerts are "timed out" and deleted from the system after a set interval, which by default is one hour for spots and one week for alerts.
Settings you select from Spothole's menus are sent to the server, in order to provide the data with the requested filters. They are also stored in your browser's local storage, so that your preferences are remembered between sessions.
There are no trackers, no ads, and no cookies.
Spothole is open source, so you can audit the code if you like.