DL2CC Studio is now OpenShack.

Version 1.1.183

Fixed: the Remote Station host no longer stops accepting connections after repeated failed attempts, and a duplicate connection attempt from an already-connected client can no longer disrupt your live session. A new "Relay via TLS only" option helps when your network blocks the encrypted media connection, and Keyer paddle/mode settings no longer get corrupted after closing the Keyer or when controlled by a host app.

August 19, 2026

Remote Station host stays available after failed connections

• Fixed: after a few failed remote connection attempts, the Remote Station host could stop hosting entirely and require a manual restart. The host now keeps waiting for a new client instead of giving up, and each new connection attempt gets a fresh chance to succeed instead of inheriting failures from an earlier session.

August 18, 2026

Duplicate-connection protection, TLS-only relay option

• Fixed: a duplicate connection attempt from an already-connected remote client could disrupt your live rig-control link mid-session, and a rejected second client's audio/jitter settings could leak into your active session. Remote sessions now strictly ignore anything not coming from your accepted peer.
• New "Relay via TLS only" option (Remote Connect, Advanced) for client networks whose firewall silently blocks the encrypted media connection even though the link looks fine at first — routes everything through the relay server over TLS/443 instead.
• Fixed: repeated dropped-audio log entries during a brief network hiccup recovery could flood the log; these are now summarized instead.

August 16, 2026

Keyer paddle/mode settings fix

• Fixed: after closing the Keyer, the box's paddle/mode settings could end up altered or reversed (for example, stuck in Ultimatic mode) the next time it was used. A leftover Keyer session could re-send stale settings while shutting down; this no longer happens.

August 16, 2026

OpenShack Box firmware 1.58

• Fixed: keyer settings (paddle mode, reversal, and similar) could be corrupted or lost when a host app controlled the box.

August 14, 2026

Keyer fix, Pileup Decoder pinned lane, finer waterfall

• Fixed: the Keyer did not key the remote transmitter when run as a client without your own box on that PC. It now reaches the remote station again, with sidetone in your headphones as usual; TUNE and PTT in the Remote Control window key the remote station without a local box too.
• Pileup Decoder: click a station's line in the waterfall to pin it, keeping that station always visible even through quiet stretches or a messy pile. Click near the pin again (or right-click) to release it.
• Pileup Decoder waterfall: four times as much display detail, so close-together stations are easier to tell apart.
• Fixed: slow two-finger scrolling on laptop touchpads now tunes in the Remote Control window instead of being ignored until you flicked hard enough.

August 14, 2026

SOTA/POTA modes, patient stations, quieter QRN

• SOTA/POTA now has just two modes: Activator and Hunter. As Hunter you chase real current activations from the live spots, sending their real reference. As Activator you put your own reference in MY REF, call CQ, and chasers come to you.
• Stations no longer wait forever. If you go quiet mid-QSO, the station repeats itself a few times over about a minute and then signs off or goes back to calling CQ, with a note in the log so you can see it left.
• Fixed: a station you were working repeated itself far too eagerly and, in the VHF contest, sent the identical text every time. It now gives you room to write the exchange down and varies what it re-sends.
• QRN sounds like a real band again, with long calm spells and occasional properly crackly stretches instead of a constant steady rasp.
• Fixed: the mouse wheel works again over the spectrum and waterfall for one-step tuning, without needing to click the window first.

August 13, 2026

New Marconi VHF contest, PREFILL and real SOTA/POTA chases

• New contest: Marconi VHF, the European VHF/UHF contest format, scored by summed QSO distance from real Maidenhead locators. Callers are real, downloaded from the latest DARC VHF contest results.
• New PREFILL checkbox — the N1MM workflow: type the callsign, press Space or Tab, and the exchange fields fill in automatically when the station is known.
• SOTA/POTA style: your chases are now real. The app fetches live CW spots from SOTAwatch and the POTA network, so the activators you work carry their real callsign, reference, and name.
• Simulated stations now send their real first names, drawn from six CW club membership lists refreshed weekly, and DX Arena callers now tail-end your QSOs like a real pile-up.

August 7, 2026

Hardware Settings, Remote Station and shortcuts

• Hardware Settings: the SSID field can now be typed into, not only picked from the scan list. That lets you set up a hidden network, or prepare the Box at home for the network it will run on later, without that network being in range.
• Fixed: WiFi network names containing a space, such as "My Home Net", appeared shortened to the first word in Hardware Settings and could overwrite a working WiFi configuration. Such names are now shown and stored in full. Update your Box firmware to get it.
• Remote Station: each rotator can now be given a park position that the station turns it to when the PC is shut down remotely or after automatic inactivity shutdown, so your beams do not sit pointing wherever the last contact left them.
• Remote Station: a newly installed client now starts every service it can, including CAT, and follows the station's web-listening switch until you set it yourself.
• Fixed: users who originally installed under the old DL2CC-REMOTE-CW name kept a leftover shortcut in the Start menu and on the Desktop alongside the current OpenShack one. Setup now removes those original shortcuts too.

August 6, 2026

Box firmware, Morse Trainer and Paddle Analyzer

• OpenShack Box firmware: improved WinKey compatibility with logging programs, including reliable backspace handling, more natural keying weight and ratio, and better behaviour at low speeds.
• Remote Station: improved compatibility with MSHV when it sends longer rig-control commands.
• Morse Trainer: the sent-versus-copied feedback now appears beside the answer box, so it stays readable instead of covering what you are typing.
• Paddle Analyzer: straight-key sessions now use dedicated timing analysis, display the actual key-down contact, and keep all toolbar controls visible on high-DPI or narrow displays.

August 3, 2026

Clearer CW Link and Winkey setup

• Your personal settings — chat callsign, audio device choices, trainer and competition preferences — now survive program updates. Because of where Windows stored them, every update silently reset them in the past; they now live in the OpenShack data folder, and the first start after this update automatically brings back the most recent values from your previous version.
• CW Link: setup is now organized around the equipment in front of you — an operator computer, a computer at the radio, or a standalone OpenShack Box. Clearer choices, labels, instructions, and status information guide you through Windows-to-Windows, mixed Windows/Box, Box-to-Box, FlexRadio, and logger setups without requiring you to translate client/host terminology.
• CW Link and Remote Station: when the OpenShack installer created the Winkey virtual COM-port pair, OpenShack now selects its own port automatically for existing profiles that still have no port selected and tells you exactly which matching port to choose in N1MM+, Win-Test, or another logger.

August 2, 2026

Remote Control, Paddle Analyzer and Box firmware

• Remote Control: copying VFO A to B, B to A, or swapping them now carries the mode and filter width together with the frequency. The VFO B display also shows its own mode and width, making split operation easier to verify.
• Paddle Analyzer: correction signs and the <CH> prosign are now decoded in the live text, so sent corrections are shown accurately.
• OpenShack Box firmware 1.55: the PTT safety timeout is now 120 seconds instead of 60 seconds, matching the current Windows app default.

July 30, 2026

Remote Station, Remote Control and Personal Best

• Remote Station: voice PTT now confirms that the station rig has returned to receive after unkeying and promptly corrects the control display when it has not. This prevents a stuck transmission from appearing as receive.
• Remote Control: voice-mode USB and LSB filter choices now omit impractically narrow widths below 2.4 kHz, while CW, digital and other modes keep their narrow filters.
• Remote Control: the external VFO knob now uses one Win+Alt+F1 to F7 mapping for reliable operation over USB and Bluetooth. The ADV tab shows the exact button assignments.
• Personal Best: each card now names the game settings a result was played with, for example "10 bursts/level" in Balloon Burst or the speed steps in CW Summit. Runs played with settings that make the game easier or harder get their own top 10, so a relaxed practice run no longer pushes a standard run out of the list. CW Summit also keeps Koch set and full set apart.
• Balloon Burst and CW Summit: the HIGH SCORE on the front panel now belongs to the settings you have set up, matching the Personal Best card for that setup. Change the character set, the targets, BURSTS / LEVEL, the listen speed or the CW Summit speed steps, and the record shown changes with them, so you always see the mark you can actually beat.

July 18, 2026

Remote Station and Box firmware

• Remote Station: new support for OM Power amplifiers (OM2000A+, OM1700A+, OM2501A, OM3501A, OM4001A and OM4001C) connected over the network.
• Remote Station: you can now set up as many as four antenna rotators, each with its own PSTRotatorAZ connection and a name of your choice.
• Balloon Burst: Listen Mode now has a front-panel WPM control that can be adjusted while playing. A new WPM Ramp per Level setting from 0 to 5 lets you keep a fixed speed or choose how quickly the game accelerates.
• OpenShack Box firmware: Box-to-Box relay mode now uses relay.openshack.com and establishes its low-latency UDP path more reliably, while retaining automatic TCP fallback.

July 17, 2026

DL2CC Studio is now OpenShack

• The program, its shortcuts, and the installer all carry the new OpenShack name and icon. In Windows, search for OpenShack instead of DL2CC Studio or DL2... names.
• Your settings, license and virtual COM port configuration are taken over automatically on first start; no re-activation and no manual uninstall of the old version are needed.
• OpenShack Box firmware now uses the OpenShack Box Bluetooth device name, matching the new product name.

July 13, 2026

Remote Station memory, Paddle Analyzer and CW Link

• Remote Station now remembers band stacks, frequency memory, filters, CW/CWR choice and per-band power profiles per station and operator.
• Paddle Analyzer is available from Settings, with clearer timing history, conversion metrics, switchpoint guidance and tooltips.
• CW Link adds an Advanced tab for a desktop launcher and Windows autostart; Force P2P now reports direct-connection failures more clearly.

July 9, 2026

OpenShack Box firmware refresh

• OpenShack Box firmware: WebFlash now carries the current July 9 build with the latest timing and slip-handling fixes for authenticated WiFi and Box-2-Box operation.

July 1, 2026

Box-2-Box status and controls

• Box-2-Box: peer status is now visible in the app.
• Remote Station: a new command-center window switcher makes it easier to switch between remote-session windows.
• Balloon Burst: Words, Groups and Callsigns can now be used as keying targets.
• Box-2-Box: connection controls and status fields were expanded.
• Box-2-Box: the B2B tab is easier to use, with relay controls guarded by station mode, RHC days shown, and the tab placed before Log.

June 29, 2026

WiFi authentication and firmware safety

• IMPORTANT — Remote Station: connecting to the OpenShack Box over WiFi now requires authentication for your protection. WHEN UPGRADING TO VERSION 162 OR HIGHER, THE OPENSHACK BOX FIRMWARE MUST BE UPGRADED AS WELL IF WiFi IS USED! The box now verifies the app before it accepts any keying or settings, so a box whose port is reachable from the internet can no longer be operated by anyone else. A box still running older firmware will not connect over WiFi until it is updated with WebFlash — USB connections are not affected.
• OpenShack Box firmware: a lost WiFi connection now drops the transmitter out of transmit immediately instead of waiting for a timeout, improving on-air safety.

June 27, 2026

Remote Connect restore

• Remote Connect: the TX Decoder window is now remembered and reopened automatically across reconnects.
• Hardware Settings: paddle keyer mode labels now use the short S/A/B/U codes consistently.

June 25, 2026

Competition workflow

• Competition mode: pressing Enter in the competition window now starts the selected discipline, new competitors reset the current discipline state automatically, and Pile-Up competition attempt limits are enforced consistently.

June 23, 2026

Remote CW timing and support tools

• Remote Station: the built-in remote log collector can request a support bundle from the other side of a session, making remote troubleshooting easier.
• Remote CW: box-less client operation has improved RTT measurement and adaptive jitter-buffer handling, reducing choppy CW/audio timing in remote sessions.
• Remote CW: routine Clear Buffer handling no longer flushes the host box unnecessarily, avoiding shortened or dropped elements during live keying.
• WinKey Emulator: replies and status bytes are queued off the keyer thread so slow virtual COM writes cannot disturb keying timing.
• OpenShack Box firmware: host-open escape detection is more robust when 0x00 bytes arrive split across serial chunks.
• Installer: the CP210x FIFO latency tweak now uses 5 ms instead of 1 ms, reducing USB chunking while still lowering latency versus the driver default.

June 22, 2026

Important settings note

• IMPORTANT: The product name has changed to OpenShack. Some settings are not migrated; please verify your settings when you use the app. The local data directory is now %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenShack.
• Installer: setup now applies the CP210x low-latency FIFO registry tweak when the Silicon Labs driver is already installed.

June 19, 2026

Winkey Emulator and bundled virtual ports

• Remote Station: Winkey Emulator and Winkey Proxy now give contest loggers a Winkey-compatible virtual COM port. With an OpenShack Box connected, Winkey traffic is proxied to the Box; without a client-side Box, the software emulator turns logger Winkey commands into remote CW keying over the protected remote connection.
• Installer: optional driver setup now includes VB-Audio VB-CABLE and com0com virtual COM ports for CAT, TRX Emulator, and Winkey.
• Installer: the driver task page now checks for existing CP210x, VB-CABLE, and DL2CC com0com setup and preselects only missing items.
• Installer: setup now writes support notes and diagnostics under LocalAppData and opens the selected-driver summary in Notepad after installation.

June 13, 2026

Web listening, Stations grid and Remote V2 split handling

• Web listening now keeps the enable checkbox synchronized across host and client, remembers per-side settings and shows clearer listen-in actions in the Stations tab.
• CW sidetone latency in the browser listener is reduced, including the replayed-idle-gap case that could accumulate delay.
• Remote V2 split and VFO handling is more reliable, with faster TS-2000 emulator behavior and restored RX/TX badges.
• The Stations grid now uses clearer status LEDs and shows the listen-in headphone on the active-session row.
• Remote Control documentation now includes the Icom transverter (X-VERTER) switch.

June 9, 2026

Waterfall controls

• Icom scope mode and edge controls are clearer, and spot-click QSY is more reliable.

June 9, 2026

Flex Keyer and FlexRadio waterfall

• A new Flex Keyer is available under Tools -> Flex Keyer for FlexRadio network CW operation.
• The Flex waterfall now follows the radio VFO more accurately, including click-to-QSY, bandwidth switching and frequency-axis alignment.
• The Flex Keyer window is more polished, uses the app icon, has clearer card-style controls and is covered by new user documentation.

June 8, 2026

Listen Mode and Remote Station radio details

• Listen Mode decoded characters are no longer spoken twice while a message balloon is active.
• Elecraft K3 power output is now shown correctly on the remote side.
• Icom radios now show the actual CW and SSB filter width on the remote side.

June 7, 2026

Waterfall display, Winkey proxy and firmware

• Waterfall frequency-axis labels now stay readable on top of the QRG marker, while the own-QRG marker is bolder and no longer hides spot information.
• The DX cluster spot overlay adds an own "Last seen" age filter and an All/Filtered toggle.
• The remote Winkey proxy no longer drops the inter-character gap at macro boundaries.
• The included WebFlash firmware image is updated to the June 7, 2026 OpenShack Box build.

June 5, 2026

Remote release flow, audio reliability and keyer docs

• Hosts can release the current operator while staying online; the client receives the reason and reconnects cleanly without phantom log rows.
• Remote audio session setup and its default mode were improved for more stable connections.
• The startup hardware/license splash now shows the installed application version.
• The keyer documentation adds Iambic mode diagrams and clarifies the Pause Memory / Iambic A behavior.

May 28, 2026

Session Log, installer icon, branding and recent fixes

• Remote Connect now includes a Session Log in the Log tab with start/end time, partner, role, state and comments, making recent connections and support cases easier to review.
• The installer EXE now shows the OpenShack logo as its Windows Explorer file icon.
• OpenShack now uses the new OpenShack logo across the app, installer, website and documentation.
• Windows taskbar icons use a transparent background, while Start, Store and Splash assets keep the dark rounded tile.
• The browser tools now ship matching favicons and touch icons.
• Remote Connect session cleanup and shared-window ownership were tightened to avoid stale connected states and duplicate tool windows.
• Host-side rigctld startup, band tracking and launcher setting changes are handled more robustly.
• Line-In Mix-Through now leaves the audio path quiet when disabled.

May 23, 2026

RufzXP Classic

• Typed-ahead input is kept across rounds.

May 22, 2026

Trainer and hardware settings

• Hardware refresh now re-scans COM ports while disconnected.
• Advanced Trainer input and default profile behavior were refined.

May 21, 2026

Remote Connect

• Host selection is clearer, auto-selects new hosts and keeps sessions alive during peer re-offers.

May 20, 2026

Remembered host selection

• The Remote Connect client remembers the selected host.

May 19, 2026

Privacy and stability

• Browser tools now document local storage and JSON import/export.
• Remote Station secret editing and host-side window restore are more robust.