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SWL Schedule Tool User Guide

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Python >=3.10
  • rich — pip install rich or pacman -S python-rich
  • textual — pip install textual or pacman -S python-textual
  • A Nerd Font in your terminal (for powerline glyphs)

Configuration

On first run, a config file is created from the sample. For a dev install it lives at src/eibi_swl/swlconfig.conf; for a system install at ~/.config/eibi-swl/swlconfig.conf. Edit it with your location (QTH) and optional radio connection:

[qth]
lat = 45.5017
lon = -73.5673
name = Montreal, QC

[radio]
host = localhost
port = 4532

The [qth] section is used to calculate great-circle distance and compass bearing to each transmitter site. The [radio] section configures the connection to the EladSpectrum CAT server for the t (tune) key. You can also set the radio host and port via command-line flags:

swl-sched --host 192.168.1.50 --cat-port 4532

These values are saved to the config file automatically, so you only need to pass them once.

Downloading Schedule Data

Before using the tools, download the current EiBi schedule:

updatesked b25
  • b = winter season, a = summer season
  • 25 = year (2025)
  • Example: a26 for summer 2026

This downloads schedule files into swl-schedules-data/ and extracts transmitter site coordinates.

Interactive TUI Dashboard

Launch with:

swl-sched

Screen Layout

  • Title bar — App name, live UTC clock, your QTH location
  • Input prompts — Starship-style powerline prompts for QTH, Frequency, Station, and Update
  • Schedule table — Search results with broadcast details
  • Status bar — Data stats and hints

Searching for a Frequency

  1. Type a frequency in kHz in the Frequency input (e.g. 6070)
  2. Press Enter
  3. The table shows all broadcasts on that frequency
  4. The Station field auto-fills with the first matching station name

Searching by Station Name

  1. Type a station name (or part of it) in the Station input
  2. Press Enter
  3. Case-insensitive substring match across all stations
  4. The Frequency field auto-fills with the first matching frequency

Understanding the Results

Column Description
kHz Frequency
UTC Broadcast time range (HHMM-HHMM)
Pays Country code (ITU 3-letter)
Site Transmitter site code
Station Station name
Lng Language code
Cible Target area
Dur. Broadcast duration
Dist. (km) Distance from your QTH
Bearing Compass bearing from your QTH
Status ON AIR or NEXT indicator

Status Indicators

  • ◄ ON AIR 02h15 (bold green) — Station is currently broadcasting, 2h15m remaining
  • → NEXT 05h30 (light grey) — Station is off air, next broadcast starts in 5h30m
  • Zoom rows (bold blue) — Nearest on-air neighbors inserted by pressing z

Station Detail View

Press Enter on a table row to open a detail modal showing:

  • Frequency, station name, schedule, status
  • Country name, transmitter site with coordinates
  • Distance and bearing from your QTH
  • Language and target area (resolved to full names)

Press Escape to close the detail view.

Updating Schedules

  1. Type a schedule period in the Update input (e.g. b25, a26)
  2. Press Enter
  3. The update log appears showing download progress
  4. Data reloads automatically on completion

Or press F5 to trigger an update using the current period input value.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key Action
Enter Search (in frequency/station input) / Update (in period input) / Detail (in table)
F5 Update schedules
Tab / Shift+Tab Navigate between widgets
/ (slash) Focus frequency input
t Tune radio to selected frequency via CAT server
m Show transmitter on azmap-gtk azimuthal map
z Zoom — show nearest on-air stations above/below current frequency
l Log — open SWL log entry form for selected station
Escape Unfocus input / close modal
q Quit
Arrow keys Navigate table rows

SWL Logging

Press l on a selected station row to open the log entry form. The form is pre-filled with the station name and frequency from the selected row. Fill in Mode, BW (bandwidth), SINPO rating, and remarks, then press Enter to save.

Log entries are appended to ~/Documents/swl-log.csv (CSV format, same file used by SWLDemodTool). The listener name persists across sessions via the config file ([logging] section).

[logging]
listener = Your Name
log_file = ~/Documents/swl-log.csv

CLI Schedule Check

For a quick check without the TUI:

checksked 6070

Displays a formatted table with all broadcasts on that frequency. Active stations are highlighted in bold green with ◄ ON AIR and remaining time.

Schedule Period Format

Period Season Example
a25 Summer 2025 March–October
b25 Winter 2025 October–March
a26 Summer 2026 March–October
b26 Winter 2026 October–March

Common Language Codes

Code Language
E English
F French
S Spanish
K Korean
J Japanese
R Russian
M Mandarin Chinese
A Arabic
P Portuguese

Common Target Area Codes

Code Area
FE Far East
SEA Southeast Asia
Eu Europe
NAf North Africa
SAf South Africa
ME Middle East
SAs South Asia
NAm North America

Data Source

All schedule data comes from EiBi (Ernst Eibert's shortwave broadcast database).