First, a bit of history:

JS8Spotter was designed and developed by Joe Lyman, KF7MIX, with the first release in 2021. Beginning in February 2026, the MCForms repository was moved to SitRepNet.com, and then in August 2026, maintenance of JS8Spotter was transferred from Joe Lyman, KF7MIX to Stephen Clay McGehee, KN4AM – @SitRepNet.

Plans and Objectives

The objective here is to make continual improvements to JS8Spotter as the need arises. Don’t look for any dramatic visible changes – it is a stable program in wide use, and there is good reason for that. There is at least one fork of JS8Spotter that features a completely redesigned user interface, and we support the idea of building software that meets your needs. We will gladly include links here to forks of JS8Spotter if requested by the fork developers. Find what works best for you.

Program Overview

(from the User Manual) JS8Spotter is an API (application programming interface) based companion application for JS8Call. It has been tested with JS8Call (and -improved) versions 2.2.0 through 2.5.2. It communicates with your running JS8Call instance over TCP (transmission control protocol; on your local machine or optionally over a network). JS8Spotter is not a standalone application. It requires a running instance of JS8Call to operate. JS8Spotter provides several useful features in a single Python application (with supporting files). Information gathered by JS8Spotter is stored in an SQLite3 database, and can be accessed through freely available third-party software.

The primary function of JS8Spotter is to apply automatic keyword searches to incoming JS8Call traffic, so that operators can more easily store and track traffic that interests them. Additional features include expanded auto-responders, micro forms, APRS commands, as well as map and waterfall visualizations.

 

Downloads

See the Change Log for what’s new in this version – 1.20

 

⚑ See the Problem Solving and Bug Band-aids page for more tips on installing and using JS8Spotter.

Videos about JS8Spotter can be seen here – https://www.youtube.com/@tfurrows

Older versions can be downloaded here – https://kf7mix.com/files/js8spotter/

 

Installation / Update Notes from KF7MIX

  • Normally if your database version is incorrect, the program should start with an error. However, v1.16 users will find that if they don’t update their database, the application will not load. The solution is to update your database using the provided database tool. This error has been handled for the next update.
  • Complaints and confusion about why I was offering a pyinstaller version, so I just stopped building it. The DB Upgrade tool is now a separate download, and all binaries are made with cx_freeze.
  • Many novice Linux users contact me with questions about installing libraries. These are usually installed with pip or apt, as is noted in the readme files. Google also has a lot of information on how to install python libraries. I don’t mind helping, but keep in mind there are many resources for this basic python question.
  • Thank you to Ed, WG5F and Mike, AD0YM of the 4SQRP group for noting that if you receive an error related to a missing vcruntime140.dll file, the fix is to install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 package (Direct Download).
  • Some users have attempted to manually copy JS8Spotter into the C:\Program Files\ folder. This will usually create file access issues resulting in errors opening the js8spotter.db file when loading the program. It is recommended that you keep your install outside system-controlled locations.
  • If you attempt to double-click the .zip file after downloading, and then double-click the .exe file to run, the supporting library files won’t be available to the program. You must extract / unpack the zip file before running the program. The same is true for the database update tool.
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