# Bookmarks RF Analyzer offers a comprehensive bookmarking feature which lets the user bookmark various information about stations and bands: - Station: The word station is used for a generic RF transmitter or signal. Examples are broadcast radio stations, ham radio operators, ... - Band: A band is a frequency range with a description (e.g. a ham radio band) Station and band bookmarks can be sorted into lists and viewed as list or as overlay elements directly inside the FFT plot. In both cases filtering can be done based on frequency range, mode or search terms. Stations and bands can also be marked as favorites which are quickly accessible from the [Demodulation Tab](./demodulation.md#bookmarks). Additionally, it is possible to access online station lists. Currently supported are: - **EiBi Database** (Shortwave Broadcast Radio Stations) - **POTA** (Parks-on-the-Air) Spots - **SOTA** (Summits-on-the-Air) Spots ## Bookmark Manager The Bookmark Manager is the main screen to access all bookmark-related features of RF Analyzer. It can be entered via the Bookmark button which is floating above the control drawer. It is also available from the Bookmark Favorites dialog which can be entered via the button from the demodulation tab. The screen is divided into three primary pages and a settings page, accessible via the bottom navigation bar: * **Lists**: Logical folders used to group both Stations and Bands. Also contains special **Online Lists** (EiBi, POTA, SOTA) with automated update settings. * **Stations**: Lists all station bookmarks (including stations from online lists). Can be filtered for lists, online lists, frequencies and more. * **Bands**: Lists all bands. * **Settings**: Configure display of stations and bands inside the FFT. Manage backups, imports and exports of bookmarks. ## Bookmark Favorites Dialog The Bookmark Favorites Dialog provides quick access to your most important bookmarked stations and bands without leaving the main screen of the app. It displays a list of stations and bands that you have marked with the Heart icon (your Favorites). Tapping a station in this dialog immediately tunes the radio to the stored frequency and applies the saved demodulation settings. Tapping a band moves your viewport to exactly the start and end of the band if your SDR bandwidth (sample rate) supports it. ## Lists Lists are used to keep your database organized (e.g., "Airband", "Local Repeaters", "Marine", "Amateur Radio Bands", etc.). To display the stations or bands of a specific bookmark list (or online list), use the arrow-button on the right hand side of the list card. This will automatically navigate to the station or band page and select the selected list as filter. Note that other filters (such as frequency range, etc.) are untouched. ### Create and Edit Lists You can create a new list using the plus icon on the Lists page. Lists are specific to a type: they contain either Stations or Bands, but not both. Lists have a color setting which is applied when displaying stations or bands inside the FFT plot. ### Actions on Lists By tapping the three-dot menu on a list card, you can perform the following actions: - **Delete**: Remove the list and all its contents. - **Edit**: Rename the list or change its color. - **Export**: Save the contents of this specific list to a JSON file. - **Copy/Move**: Batch process the stations or bands within the list to organize them into a different list. ### Manage Online Lists Online lists are displayed as cards in the Lists page. Each card provides the following actions: - **Manual Download**: Trigger an immediate update from the provider's server. - **Periodic Background Updates**: Enable the "Autorenew" toggle and use the slider to set a periodic update interval (e.g., every 24 hours). - **Clear Cache**: Remove downloaded items. The card also displays the time of the last successful download. !!! note "Stations from Online Lists" Stations which were downloaded from online lists are handled like locally created bookmarks. However, they cannot be edited or deleted individually (because this would be overwritten with the next periodic update or manual download). If you want to edit a downloaded station, copy it into another list first. ## Stations ### Create and Edit Stations To create a new station bookmark, either press the floating Plus-Button on the bottom right cornor of the station page of the bookmark manager or the action "Add Station Bookmark" from the menu that pops up when you press the bookmark button on the main screen of the app. To edit a station, first expand a station entry by tapping on it once, then press the three-dot menu button on the bottom right corner of the station card. From there choose the option "Edit". In either case you will get to the "Edit Station" Dialog which has the following sections: - Name - Favorite Toggle - List - Station Frequency - Demodulation Mode - Station Bandwidth - Notes - Address (incl. Country) - Coordinates - Callsign - Language - Squelch - Schedule Note that not all sections are enabled by default for simplicity. You can always add sections from the bottom of the "Edit Station" dialog if they are missing. Sections which are empty are not saved. Some section require additional explanation: #### Station Frequency, Bandwidth and Mode When tuning in on a station, these values will be applied to the demodulation settings. For further information about these parameters refer to: - Station Frequency = [Channel Frequency](./demodulation.md#channel-frequency) - [Bandwidth](./demodulation.md#zoom-and-bandwidth) - Mode = [Demodulation Mode](./demodulation.md#demodulation-mode) #### Address The address section contains a field for the country and the address line of a station. The address line can hold arbitrary text but is meant to be an address which you would find on a map. In case of POTA or SOTA stations it holds the name of the park or summit. If the station bookmark has an address set, you can view the location on a map by pressing the "Open in Maps" action from the three-dot menu of the station card. Note that this action will only take the address fro this section if no Coordinates section is available, otherwise it will use the exact coordinates. #### Coordinates In the coordinates section you can enter classic coordinate (latitude and longitude). It is also possible to specify a Maidenhead Locator. Entering either the locator or the coordinates will fill in the other property automatically. If the station bookmark has coordinates set, you can view the location on a map by pressing the "Open in Maps" action from the three-dot menu of the station card. #### Call Sign This field is intented to hold an (amateur radio) callsign. In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. ITU prefix is usually used to identify a country, and the rest of the call sign is an individual station in that country. #### Squelch With this section you can specify whether the [Squelch Setting](./demodulation.md#squelch-control) will be enabled or disabled when tuning in on this station. The following options are available: - **Squelch Enabled**: The squelch setting will automatically *turn on* and be set to the specified value when the station is selected and tuned. - **Squelch Disabled**: The squelch setting will automatically be *turned off* when this station is selected (if it was previously enabled). - **Squelch Section not selected**: If the squelch section is not selected, the squelch setting of the demodulator is untouched when selecting and tuning to this station. Note that the squelch threshold is specified in [dbFS](./advanced.md#understanding-db-dbm-and-dbfs). Therefore the threshold might be different depending on the SDR, gain and antenna. RF Analyzer does not (yet) automatically compensate for that. #### Schedule The schedule provides information about when this station is usually active and transmitting. It is mainly used for broadcast radio stations which are imported from the [EiBi Database](./bookmarks.md#eibi-database). Select a start and end time (in UTC) and (if applicable) the weekdays on which the station is active. The bookmark manager contains a filter which lets you only display stations which are actually active at the current day and time. If the schedule is not set (all values empty), it is assumed to be active all the time. ### Filter Stations The filter row allows you to narrow down the listed bookmarks: - Search: A text search (matches text inside the fields: name, notes, country, language, callsign). - Lists: View only specific lists. - Frequency Range: View only stations between a specified start and end frequency. You can leave either start or end frequency empty (0 Hz) to create a "higher than" or "lower than" frequency filter. - Modulation Mode: Filter for specific modes like "USB" or "NFM". - Favorites: Toggle to see only your favorited (hearted) stations. - Currently On-Air: Filters based on the stored [Schedule](./bookmarks.md#schedule) and the current time. ## Bands ### Create and Edit Bands Bands represent chunks of the spectrum. The editor allows you to define: - Name - List. - Start Frequency - End Frequency - Notes - Sub-Bands #### Start and End Frequency These values (in Hz) describe where the band starts and ends. When choosing to view a band bookmark, the screen will be moved so that the start frequency is exactly on the left edge and the end frequency on the right edge of the visible screen in the FFT. #### Notes In the notes field you can put any text that you like to be associated with the band. Note that this field is also searched via the search field in the [Band Filter](#filter-bands). #### Sub-Bands You can divide a band into smaller segments (e.g., the "CW" or "Data" portion of a Ham band): - Adding: Enter the name and range in the sub-band editor and press the Checkmark. - Editing: Tap an existing sub-band to load its values into the editor. - Removing: Use the Trashcan icon to remove a segment. ### Filter Bands Bands can be filtered by their parent List, their Frequency Range, or their Favorite status. There is also a search field which lets you search for text inside the band name or notes field. ## Settings ### Display Stations and Bands in FFT You can control how bookmarks appear as visual overlays on the waterfall: - **Show/Hide in FFT**: Toggle the visibility of station or band labels in the FFT plot. - **Custom Filter for FFT**: If enabled, you can specify a filter setting for labels in the FFT. This is enabled by default and initialized with an empty filter which means that all bookmarks are drawn as labels in the FFT screen. If the option **Custom Filter for FFT** is disabled, the filters you set in the Bookmark Manager's station and band screens are automatically applied to the FFT labels. ### Backup and Restore - **Export Database**: Creates a full backup of all your lists, stations, and bands into a single file. - **Restore**: Overwrites your current database with a backup file. !!! warn "Warning: Data Loss" The restore action is irrecoverable; always create a fresh backup before restoring. ### Import and Export With the option **Import stations/bands** it is possible to import bookmarks from a file. Supported import formats/sources are: - **RF Analyzer JSON**: Import from a JSON file that was created via an export from RF Analyzer. - **SDR# Frequencies**: Import the `Frequencies.xml` file usually found in the SDR# root directory. - **SDR++ JSON**: Import the `frequency_manager_config.json` file from the SDR++ root directory. With the option **Import Default Band Plans**, a set of prepared band plans can be imported: - Amateur Radio Band Plans (IARU Band Plans for your specific region) - ISM, Maritime and Air Bands Finally, if you upgraded from RF Analyzer version 1.13, the option **Legacy Import** will be available to migrate your old bookmark database into the new system. #### Import Mode When importing stations and bands, they must be placed inside a list. The way this is handled can be selected with the *Import Mode*. This can be set after the imported file was chosen and parsed: - **Import as is**: Import as is. If the imported file contains names of lists for bands and stations, they will be sorted into those respectively. Should a list not yet exist, it is created automatically. If there are stations or bands which do not have a list name set, a new list with a default name will be created for them. - **Import into single list**: This mode lets you chose an existing list for stations and another existing list for all bands which are imported. All list information from the imported file are droped and not used. - **Import with prefix**: Imported stations and bands will be placed into lists as specified in the imported file (just as with option *Import as is*). But all list names will be prefixed with a tag you can enter. ## Available Online Lists ### EiBi Database A highly respected community database for international shortwave broadcasting. It includes station names, languages, and complex seasonal schedules. Visit [eibispace.de](http://eibispace.de) for more information. For configuration of periodic updates and other general instructions about online lists see [Online Lists](./bookmarks.md#manage-online-lists). ### POTA Spots Real-time "spots" for the Parks-on-the-Air program. These bookmarks are dynamic and will update as amateur radio operators move between different parks and frequencies. Enable a reasonable periodic update to keep up with the latest activity and be able to match transmissions from activators to their spot data. For configuration of periodic updates and other general instructions about online lists see [Online Lists](./bookmarks.md#manage-online-lists). ### SOTA Spots Real-time activity for Summits-on-the-Air. Similar to [POTA](./bookmarks.md#pota-spots), these entries help you find "activators" transmitting from mountain tops around the world. For configuration of periodic updates and other general instructions about online lists see [Online Lists](./bookmarks.md#manage-online-lists).