Protocols and external integrations

This file records stable rules plus historical context. For exact current wire formats, ports and frequency strings, inspect the current code and authoritative upstream documentation.

ON4KST

KST4Contest depends on long-lived server communication where malformed commands or framing can lead to disconnects.

Rules:

preserve exact protocol framing;
treat CR/LF changes as protocol changes, not formatting cleanup;
do not append extra line terminators without verification;
detect actual socket/server disconnects reliably;
initial connection failure must not create an uncontrolled infinite loop;
reconnect logic must tolerate unstable Internet access;
the UI should make disconnected state clearly visible where implemented.

If Windows-specific behaviour is suspected, do not assume Win10/Win11 line-ending semantics explain it without reproducing or tracing the bytes.

UCXLog / DXLog UDP XML

contactreplace must be handled equivalently to contactinfo for whole-log broadcasts where applicable.

Historical raw-packet XML start detection included:

<?xml
<contactinfo
<contactreplace
<RadioInfo

DOM handling also included a fallback to contactreplace.

Before changing this path, inspect the current parser because the code may have been refactored since this behaviour was introduced.

Preferred layering:

UDP receiver -> parser -> DTO -> service/domain/DB -> controller -> UI

Win-Test

Historical integration uses UDP port 8721 for Win-Test information.

Do not hardcode this fact into unrelated logic. Verify current configuration before changing listener setup or band mapping.

Changes involving 50/70 MHz, worked state or frequency mapping must be consistent with other logging inputs.

AirScout

KST4Contest integrates with AirScout path/airplane-scatter information.

Stable principles:

propagation/path queries must reflect the current relevant frequency/band;
do not fall back to 144 MHz merely because older code did;
unsupported chat categories must fail safely;
frequency-string formatting is an external API contract and must be checked, not guessed.

Historical work included a temporary 430 MHz approximation for ambiguous higher-band handling. Treat that as historical context, not a permanent invariant. Inspect the current implementation before using or changing it.

PSTRotator

The integration has evolved.

Historical project notes mention more than one control approach, and recent work included UDP control/feedback behaviour around a configurable control port and feedback on the next port, including SPID movement retry logic.

Therefore:

inspect the current implementation before assuming TCP vs UDP;
inspect current settings/defaults;
do not copy an old port/transport assumption into new code;
preserve asynchronous JavaFX-safe handling;
preserve any verified retry sequence only if it still exists in current code/tests.

If current code and historical notes conflict, ask Marc after showing the conflict.

DXCluster

DXCluster is integrated into the contest workflow.

Preserve:

copyable/usable cluster lines;
correct sender/receiver locator semantics;
safe handling of missing locator data.

A historical bug copied sender and receiver locators as equal; do not reintroduce that behaviour.

Protocol-wide error handling

External data is not trusted to be complete.