rbn-digest

Query the most recently heard Reverse Beacon Network spots (past 6 hours, newest first). Submits to GET /api/spots.

API documentation

`GET /api/spots`

Returns the most recent spot per unique (DX, DE, band, mode) from the past 6 hours, ordered most-recently-heard first. Spots are ingested live from the Reverse Beacon Network CW/RTTY and FT8/FT4 telnet feeds.

Parameter	Description
`band`	Comma-separated list of bands, e.g. `band=20m,40m`. Omit for all bands.
`mode`	One of `CW`, `RTTY`, `FT8`, `FT4`. Omit for all modes.
`dx`	Single DX callsign, e.g. `dx=W4JHV`.
`de`	Single DE (skimmer) callsign. `de=DL8LAS` also matches SSID variants like DL8LAS-3.
`limit`	Maximum results, 1–500. Default 100.
`loc`	`1` → only spots where both the DX and DE stations have known locations.
`unique`	`1` → one result per DX callsign (the latest heard; strongest signal on a tie).

Invalid parameters return 400 with {"error": "..."}.

Response

{
  "count": 1,
  "spots": [
    {
      "dx": "W4JHV",            // heard station
      "de": "N6TV",             // skimmer that heard it
      "band": "20m",
      "mode": "FT8",
      "freq": 14074,            // kHz
      "snr": -11,               // dB
      "heard_at": "2026-08-13T14:39:12Z",
      "dx_grid": "EM74",        // Maidenhead locator
      "dx_lat": 34.5,
      "dx_lon": -85,
      "de_grid": "CM97AP",
      "de_lat": 37.65,
      "de_lon": -121.96
    }
  ]
}

speed (WPM for CW, BPS for RTTY) appears when present.
Each side's *_grid/*_lat/*_lon trio is omitted when that station's location is unknown. Coordinates are the center of the grid square, rounded to 2 decimal places.
DX locations come from grids in FT8/FT4 spots (and are remembered per callsign); DE locations come from the RBN skimmer node list. CW/RTTY spot lines carry no grid, so loc=1 results skew toward FT8.

`GET /up`

Returns 200 ok.