Welcome to ECTLogger! This guide will help you get started with using the application.
- Visit app.ectlogger.us
- Enter your email address
- Click "Send Magic Link"
- Check your email and click the link to sign in
That's it! No password to remember.
After signing in, complete your profile by clicking your name in the top-right corner and selecting Profile. The profile page has three tabs: Profile, Settings, and Activity.
Basic Information
- Name — Your full name or preferred display name (required)
- Amateur Radio Call Sign — Your FCC amateur radio callsign (e.g., KC1JMH)
- GMRS Call Sign — Your FCC GMRS callsign (e.g., WROP123) for GMRS frequency nets
- SKYWARN Spotter Number — Your NWS spotter ID (e.g., DFW-1234) — auto-fills when checking into SKYWARN nets
- Default Location — Your home location or Maidenhead grid square (e.g., FN43pp) — auto-fills when NCS checks you in
Additional Callsigns
Add other callsigns you use (tactical callsigns, club calls, etc.). Type a callsign and press Enter or click Add. These appear as chips you can remove by clicking the X.
Previous Callsigns
If you update your primary Amateur Radio Call Sign, the old callsign is automatically saved here. Your full check-in history and statistics carry over — useful when upgrading your license class, requesting a vanity callsign, or changing regions. This list is read-only and managed by the system.
Display Preferences
- Display times in UTC — Show all timestamps in UTC instead of your local timezone. Useful for operators who work across time zones.
- Show activity in chat — Display check-in/out and net events as system messages in chat (IRC-style activity feed)
- Enable location awareness — Allows ECTLogger to use your browser's location to determine your Maidenhead grid square. Shows your grid in the navbar and auto-fills it on check-ins. Your browser will prompt for permission.
Email Notifications
Control which emails you receive for nets you're subscribed to:
- Enable email notifications — Master switch for all notifications (except login links)
- Net start notifications — Receive an email when a subscribed net goes active
- Net close notifications (with log) — Receive the net log when a subscribed net closes
- Use ICS-309 format — Format net logs as ICS-309 Communications Log (FEMA standard) instead of the regular format
- Net reminder (1 hour before) — Receive a reminder email 1 hour before scheduled nets start
View your participation statistics:
- Total check-ins, nets participated in, and NCS sessions
- Last 30 days activity
- Your favorite (most frequented) nets
Nets on the Dashboard and schedules on the Scheduler page are shown as cards. Every button at the bottom of a card has a text label next to its icon, so you can tell what each one does without hovering over it, and the buttons are sized for comfortable tapping on a phone.
If you help run a net, a card's buttons come in two groups:
- Management. The actions that change something: Create, Edit, Cancel, Delete, Start, Email, Archive, Export, Report. You only see these on nets and schedules you're allowed to manage.
- Everyone. The view-only actions: View, Staff, Stats, Info, and Subscribe/Unsubscribe.
If you're not staff on a net, you simply see the second group on its own.
How they're arranged depends on how wide the card is. On a wide card — say a single net stretching the full width of the page — both groups share one row, with the management buttons on the left and the everyday buttons pushed over to the right, so the space is actually used. When the card is too narrow to fit them side by side, the groups stack into two rows, management on top, both lined up on the left. Cards in a busy multi-column grid will usually stack, while a lone full-width card on the same page shares a single row.
Within the management group, buttons run from least to most consequential, with the action you want most sitting at the safe end. On a net card that means Edit, Cancel, Start — so Start is easy to hit and is not sitting next to Cancel. On a schedule card, Create leads, followed by Edit and Delete.
On a net card (Dashboard):
| Button | What it does | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| View | Open the net | Everyone |
| Staff | Show the net's NCS, loggers, and relays | Everyone |
| Stats | Open net statistics | Everyone (active/lobby and closed nets) |
| Info | Open the club or organization's website | Everyone, when an Info URL is set |
| Message subscribers before the net | Net staff, on draft/scheduled nets from a schedule | |
| Edit | Change the net's settings | Net staff, on draft/scheduled nets |
| Cancel | Cancel this net instance | Net staff, on draft/scheduled nets |
| Start | Open the net for check-ins | Net staff, on draft/scheduled nets |
| Delete | Remove the net and its data | Net staff, on active, lobby, and closed nets |
| Export | Download the check-in log as CSV | Net staff, on closed nets |
| Report | Open the printable PDF net report | Net staff, on closed nets |
| Archive | Hide the net from the dashboard, keeping its record | Net staff, on closed nets |
On a schedule card (Scheduler):
| Button | What it does | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Create | Open a net now from this schedule | Whoever is on duty or manages the schedule |
| Edit | Change the schedule's settings | Schedule staff |
| Delete | Remove the schedule | Owner or admin only |
| Info | Open the club or organization's website | Everyone, when an Info URL is set |
| Stats | Open statistics across every net this schedule has run | Everyone |
| Staff | Show the schedule's staff and NCS rotation | Everyone |
| Subscribe / Unsubscribe | Turn email notifications for this net on or off | Signed-in users |
When a net or schedule has a long description, the card shows the first three lines followed by a Show more link. Click it to reveal the rest, and Show less to collapse it again. Cards without a long description don't show the link at all.
On the net page itself, the description sits next to the net name and works a little differently: clicking it (or the More button beside it) opens the full text in a small panel that floats over the page, so the toolbar and check-in list stay put instead of being pushed down. Click away to close it.
- From the Dashboard, you'll see active nets
- Click on a net to view details
- If the net is open for check-ins, you'll see the check-in form
Every net page has a toolbar spanning the full width of the page, just below the net name. Buttons show a text label whenever there's room for one, so you rarely have to hover to work out what something does. As the window gets narrower, labels drop off one at a time and the least-used buttons move into a More menu at the end of the strip — but the main action for whatever the net is doing right now (Start net, Check in, Go live, or Close net) always keeps its label and never disappears into the menu.
The toolbar is split into two groups by a thin divider:
- Left. On a draft or scheduled net, Start net leads this group so it's not buried behind read-only actions. Search, Map, Coverage (only when Station-to-Station Coverage Logging is enabled for the net), Script, Announcements, Notes, Topics, Stats, Website, and similar follow — these don't change anything.
- Right — management. Check in, Check out, Raise hand, Step away, and the staff controls for running and closing the net.
Some buttons stay tinted to show your current state at a glance — Check in is green while you're not yet checked in, Role: NCS stays highlighted while you're acting as Net Control, and Return glows orange while you're marked away. Hovering a tinted button deepens its own color rather than turning it gray, so it never looks like it switched off.
Buttons you're not permitted to use aren't shown. Net info, Bulk add, and the option to add a historical topic are limited to NCS, loggers, and net managers. Everyone can still browse the list of prior topics.
To the right of the net name you'll find status chips — the net's status, countdown or duration, station counts, who's online, and the net's frequencies. On a phone these wrap onto extra lines instead of pushing the page sideways.
- Open an active net
- Click Check in in the net toolbar — it's tinted green so it stands out
- Fill in the check-in form that opens:
- Your callsign (auto-filled if logged in)
- Your name (auto-filled from profile or contacts directory)
- Your location (auto-filled if location awareness is enabled, or from contacts directory)
- Any additional fields the NCS has configured
- Submit the form to complete your check-in
After checking in, you can update your status:
- ✅ Checked In — Active participant
- 👂 Listening — Monitoring but not active
- 📻 Available — Ready if needed
- ⏸️ Away — Temporarily unavailable
- 👋 Checked Out — Leaving the net
The Create Net form has five tabs to configure your net:
- Name — Net name (e.g., "Monday Evening SKYWARN Net")
- Description — Purpose, scope, and any special instructions
- Info URL — Optional link to your club or organization's website
- Scheduled Start Time — Optional. If set, a countdown timer displays before the net starts
- Enable ICS-309 format — Use official FEMA communications log format for net closure emails
- Enable Station-to-Station Coverage Logging — Adds an ear icon action to each check-in row. Any station can record its own reception; NCS, Logger, and Relay can also record on behalf of any station. See "Station-to-Station Coverage Logging" below.
- Allow stations to self-report — Shown once coverage logging is on. On by default. Turn off if you want only Net Control, Logger, and Relay to record "can hear" reports; regular stations won't see the ear icon on their own check-in.
- Allow self check-in — On by default. Turn off if you want only Net Control and logging staff to add check-ins, e.g. when stations checking in both by voice and by app is causing confusion during roll call. When off, the check-in button is hidden for regular participants; staff still check stations in from the check-in list.
Community Net Features (optional):
- Topic of the Week — Ask participants a discussion question during check-in (responses collected in log)
- Participant Poll — Run a poll with predefined options; results shown as a chart in the net log
Pre-assign staff roles before the net starts:
- NCS — Net Control Station operators
- Logger — Can log check-ins for other stations
- Relay — Can check in stations they can hear
Search for users by callsign or name and assign roles.
Add the frequencies and modes for your net:
- Analog frequencies — Enter frequency (e.g., "146.520") and mode (FM, SSB, CW, etc.)
- Digital talkgroups — Select network (DMR, D-STAR, etc.), enter talkgroup ID, and description
Nets can have multiple frequencies for split operations or cross-band coordination.
Enter a formatted script for NCS operators to follow. Supports Markdown formatting:
- Use the toolbar for bold, italic, lists, and horizontal rules
- Upload a .txt or .md file with an existing script
- Script appears in a floating, resizable window during the net
Configure which fields appear on the check-in form:
- Enabled — Show the field on the check-in form
- Required — Make the field mandatory (only applies if enabled)
Standard fields include: Name, Location, Status, Remarks, etc. If Topic or Poll are enabled on Tab 1, those fields automatically appear here.
After configuring all tabs, click Create Net to save as a draft, or start immediately.
For nets that run regularly (weekly club nets, SKYWARN practice nets, etc.), create a schedule:
- Click Create Schedule from the dashboard or Scheduler page
- Configure the net details (same as creating a one-time net)
- Set the Recurrence Pattern:
- Day of the week (e.g., every Tuesday)
- Start time
- Timezone
- (Optional) Set up NCS Rotation — assign multiple operators to take turns running the net
- The system automatically creates draft nets according to your schedule
NCS Rotation features:
- Add multiple operators to the rotation pool
- View upcoming NCS assignments on the rotation calendar
- Request coverage or swap dates with other operators
- Override specific dates when needed
Backup NCS access. An active co-manager or rotation member is automatically granted acting-NCS access the moment they check themselves into any net from that schedule, even on a week that isn't theirs — so they can pick up net control if the scheduled NCS is unavailable or has to step away, without waiting on the owner or an admin to assign a role. When checking in, they'll see a Check in as NCS / Check in as Participant choice (both in the check-in prompt and the check-in form) to decide up front, and the toolbar's Acting as NCS / Acting as Standard control lets them change their mind at any time afterward. Only applies to a co-manager or rotation member checking themselves in — a station logged in by NCS or Logger (e.g. checked in by voice) is always recorded as a standard participant; they can promote themselves afterward if needed.
A schedule is also the template that nets are opened from. When the system (or you) opens a net from a schedule, the net is seeded with the schedule's name, description, info URL, stream URL, script, announcements, frequencies, check-in field configuration, ICS-309/Topic/Poll settings, self check-in and self-report coverage settings, and staff list.
After a net is opened, edits you make to the net stay on that net only by default. The schedule isn't touched unless you explicitly push your changes back to it. This keeps in-the-moment edits (a one-off frequency change, a session-specific announcement) from rewriting the schedule's defaults.
To promote net edits back to the schedule:
- Edit Net page — A second button, Save to Schedule, sits next to Save for this Net. It copies the net's editable fields (name, description, info URL, stream URL, script, announcements, frequencies, field config, and ICS-309/Topic/Poll toggles) onto the parent schedule. A confirmation dialog lists exactly what will be overwritten.
- Net Staff dialog — When opened from a net that came from a schedule, a Push staff to schedule button copies the net's NCS operators into the schedule's authorized staff list. Operators already on the schedule are skipped, so the action is safe to repeat.
Who can use these actions: the same people who can edit the schedule — its owner, an admin, an active staff member, or an active NCS rotation member. If you don't have permission, the app surfaces a clear error.
If you have multiple schedules that should be combined into one (e.g., separate schedules that were created for the same net series):
- On the Scheduler page, click the Merge floating button (merging-arrows icon) in the bottom-right corner
- Checkboxes appear on each schedule card — select 2 or more schedules to merge
- Click Merge Selected in the bottom bar
- In the dialog, choose which schedule becomes the master (the one that survives)
- Review the merge summary and any conflicting settings highlighted in yellow
- Click Merge to confirm
What gets moved to the master schedule:
- All historical nets and their check-ins, roles, and chat messages
- Subscribers (duplicates are automatically removed)
- Staff members and NCS rotation members
- Topic history and schedule overrides
Who can merge:
- Admins can merge any schedules
- Owners can merge schedules they own (all selected schedules must be yours)
This action is permanent and cannot be undone. Source schedules are deleted after the merge.
If an ad-hoc net was created outside a schedule (or was attached to the wrong schedule), you can re-attach it from the Schedule Statistics page so its check-ins count toward the schedule's history and leaderboards:
- On the Scheduler page, click Stats on the schedule's card.
- Click Link Existing Net in the page header.
- Pick a net from the list and confirm. To detach a net from a schedule entirely, choose (none).
Who can link/detach:
- The net's owner or an admin can change a net's schedule.
- When attaching to a schedule, you must also be the schedule's owner or an admin.
- Detaching only requires net ownership/admin.
Create a standardized script for NCS operators to follow:
- In the Create Net or Create Schedule form, go to the Net Script tab
- Enter your script using the formatting toolbar (headings, bold, lists, etc.)
- Click Preview to check how the formatting will look before saving, then Write to keep editing
- During the net, click the 📜 Script button to open the script viewer
The same Write/Preview toggle is available while editing Notes and Announcements, both in these forms and from their toolbar buttons during an active net.
The script viewer is a floating window that can be:
- Resized and moved
- Minimized to save screen space
- Opened in a new browser tab for printing or larger display
Example uses:
- Preamble and ID script
- Weather safety messaging (SKYWARN)
- Emergency procedures and frequencies
- Traffic handling protocols
These sound similar but are separate features:
- Announcements is your schedule's standing text — kept current and reused every time a net runs under that schedule (recurring news, ongoing repeater status, etc.). Edit it from the Announcements toolbar button; changes apply to future nets on that schedule too.
- Notes belongs to one specific net only, and doesn't touch your schedule. Use it for something you noticed just for tonight — a repeater running weaker than usual, an unusual check-in pattern — that shouldn't carry forward. Anyone checked in who can manage the net can open Notes from the toolbar and start writing, even if nothing's been added yet.
The net header displays helpful timing information:
- Countdown Timer — For scheduled nets, shows time until start (e.g., "Starts in 2h 15m")
- Duration Timer — For active nets, shows elapsed time (e.g., "Duration: 1:23:45")
If a net was opened late, closed late, or you forgot to close it until the next morning, net staff can correct the recorded times so the official log and statistics are accurate. These are the actual times the net ran — separate from the Scheduled Start Time that drives the countdown timer.
Find them under Actual Net Times, in the Basic Info tab, directly below Scheduled Start Time:
- On an active net — open Edit Net.
- On a closed or archived net — open Net Info from the net's toolbar. Even though that page is otherwise read-only, the time fields stay editable, because times usually need fixing after the net has closed.
Adjust Actual Start Time and/or Actual End Time, then click Save Times. This saves immediately and on its own — you don't need to save the rest of the form. The corrected duration flows through to the net log, statistics, and PDF report.
The fields only appear once a net has actually been started, and only to staff who can manage the net.
Click the green Start button on the net's card on the Dashboard, or Start net in the toolbar on the net page.
Lobby Mode — If you start a net before its scheduled start time, the net enters "Lobby" mode:
- Check-ins and chat are fully functional
- A countdown shows until the scheduled start time
- Status shows as "LOBBY" with a warning (orange) color
- Click Go live in the net toolbar when ready to officially begin the net
This is useful for opening check-ins early while operators are gathering, before the net officially starts on the air.
Opening the lobby automatically — A schedule can open its lobby on its own, so nobody has to be at a screen for early check-ins to begin. The control lives on the Schedule tab of the schedule editor, right after the schedule type, and what it offers depends on that type:
- Daily / Weekly / Monthly — turn on Open the lobby automatically before the net and choose how far ahead (15, 30, or 60 minutes). Every net created from that schedule inherits the setting.
- Ad-Hoc — turn on Enable lobby at start of net. These nets have no scheduled time to count down from, so there's no minutes picker; instead, whenever Net Control clicks Start, the net stages through Lobby first instead of going straight live. Click Go live when ready to officially begin.
- One-Time — a Net Start Time field appears in the same spot Daily/Weekly/Monthly show their recurrence. Leave it blank and the net is created immediately with no scheduled time, same as before. Fill it in and the lobby toggle below becomes Open the lobby automatically before the net with the same 15/30/60-minute picker as a recurring schedule; leave the start time blank and the toggle instead reads Enable lobby, behaving like Ad-Hoc (stages into Lobby the moment Net Control clicks Start).
Details worth knowing:
- It is off by default for every schedule type. Existing schedules are unaffected until you turn it on.
- Net Control can still open the lobby by hand at any time, exactly as before.
- For Daily/Weekly/Monthly, to skip auto-lobby for one week only, open that net's Edit Net page and turn the switch off there. The schedule is left alone, so following weeks still open automatically.
- The recurring case, and a One-Time net given a start time, will not open the lobby if the week's Net Control duty was cancelled or nobody is on the rotation for that date, so an unstaffed lobby never looks like a running net.
- Subscribers are not emailed when the lobby opens automatically (recurring, or a One-Time net with a start time). That notice waits until Net Control checks in or the net goes live, so nobody is told a net started that never ran. Ad-Hoc, and a One-Time net with no start time, are triggered by Net Control clicking Start, so the usual start notification applies immediately.
- If a lobby opened on its own and nobody ever checked in, it is archived off the dashboard a day later, the same as a scheduled net that was never opened.
- While waiting for it to fire, the net's page shows a live Lobby opens in countdown next to the existing Starts in countdown, so nobody has to guess whether or when it will happen. The underlying check runs every minute, so the lobby may open shortly after the countdown reaches zero.
To cancel or remove a specific net instance:
- Find the net on the Dashboard
- Click the red Cancel button (on draft and scheduled nets) or Delete button (on active, lobby, and closed nets) in the card's management row. Both appear only to net owners, NCS, and admins.
- The confirmation dialog spells out exactly what will be lost (check-ins, chat, reports). Choose:
- Cancel (blue) — back out
- Close & Archive (yellow, only on active/lobby nets) — close the net normally (the full log is emailed to you) and immediately archive it, so the record is preserved but the net leaves the active list. Best choice for finished test/training runs you want to keep.
- Archive Instead (yellow, only on closed nets) — hide the net from the active list while keeping every record
- Delete Permanently (red) — destroy the net and all its data; this cannot be undone
This deletes only the chosen net instance — the recurring schedule continues for future dates. For training and practice runs, deletion is the right choice; for real net activations, archive is almost always safer because it preserves the log.
Email Subscribers — Before canceling a draft/scheduled net, you can notify subscribers by clicking the Email button on the net's card and sending a custom message.
As NCS, you can:
- Enter check-ins for stations
- Edit or delete check-ins
- Update station status
- Track which frequency each station is on
For fast-moving nets, use the ⏩ Speed Entry button to check in multiple stations at once:
- Click the ⏩ button next to the check-in form
- Enter multiple check-ins separated by semicolons
- Format:
CALLSIGN, Name, Location, Notes; CALLSIGN2, Name2, Location2 - Press Ctrl+Enter or click the Add button to process all at once
Status shortcuts — Append a colon and shortcut to set status:
:jl— Just Listening:r— Relay:t— Has Traffic:a— Announcements:m— Mobile:o— Checked Out
Examples:
KC1ABC, John, Portland ME; N1XYZ, Jane, Boston MA:jl; W1DEF, Bob, Bangor ME:m
This checks in KC1ABC (normal), N1XYZ (listening status), and W1DEF (mobile status) in one operation.
Note: The field order matches your net's enabled fields (shown in the format hint). If "Power Source" is enabled, the format becomes:
CALLSIGN, Name, Location, Power, Notes.
NCS and Loggers can edit check-in details directly in the table:
- Click anywhere on a check-in row to enter edit mode
- The row highlights and fields become editable text boxes
- Click on the specific field you want to edit — it will auto-focus
- Press Tab to move between fields within the same row
- Press Enter to save changes, or Escape to cancel
- Click outside the row to save and exit edit mode
This eliminates the need for a separate edit dialog for quick corrections.
For multi-monitor setups or larger screens, you can pop out the Check-In list, Chat, or Activity Log into a movable panel inside the page — click the picture-in-picture icon in that panel's header (on the check-in list, it's stacked above the "open in new window" icon in the same corner, to keep the table's action column from getting any wider).
Detached windows can be:
- Resized by dragging edges or corners
- Moved anywhere on screen
- Minimized to a title bar
- Reattached by clicking the attach icon or closing the window
Your detach preferences are saved and restored when you return to the net.
Check-Ins, Chat, and Activity Log can each open in a real, separate browser window instead of a panel inside the page — click the "open in new window" icon in that panel's header (docked or floating). This is built for multi-monitor NCS stations: dedicate a full screen to the check-in table, another to chat, another to the activity feed. Each window signs in automatically, keeps its own live connection to the net, and remembers its size and position the next time you open it. Closing a window brings that panel back into the main net view automatically.
If you've already floated a panel into the in-page movable window and decide you'd rather have it in its own real window, there's no need to dock it back first — the floating panel's title bar has its own "open in new window" icon that sends it straight there in one click.
On an ultrawide monitor (roughly 1536px or wider), Script, Announcements, and the Check-In Map can dock directly into the page next to Chat and Activity Log instead of floating on top of everything else — Script/Announcements sit in a column to the left of the check-in table, and the Map sits below Activity Log on the right. Open any of them from the toolbar as usual; on a screen this wide they land in the layout by default. Each keeps the same minimize, undock-to-floating, and open-in-new-window controls as the docked Chat and Activity Log panels.
Once two or more panels or columns are docked side by side, drag the thin divider between them to resize — between two panels stacked in the same column, or between the left/center/right columns themselves. Sizes are remembered the next time you open the net.
For nets with multiple frequencies, you can have multiple NCS operators:
- Assign NCS Role — Promote other users to NCS via the status dropdown
- Claim a Frequency — Click a frequency chip to claim it as your monitored frequency
- Color Coding — Each NCS is assigned a unique color:
- 👑 Crown — Primary NCS (net owner)
- 🤴 Prince Crown — Secondary NCS operators
- Frequency chips and check-in rows are colored to match the monitoring NCS
- Check-ins — When you check in a station, they're automatically assigned to your claimed frequency
If you're the only active NCS and click Step Away, you'll see a confirmation warning that no one else is currently running the net. If you continue, or if you're disconnected/check out with no co-NCS covering, the net shows a blue border and a banner telling everyone the net has been paused until Net Control returns, and the on-air duration timer pauses. Both clear automatically the moment an NCS is present again — either you returning, a co-NCS stepping up, or someone claiming NCS. Time spent with no NCS present doesn't count toward the net's recorded duration in statistics or reports.
Delegate responsibilities:
- NCS — Full net control, can manage check-ins and claim frequencies
- Logger — Can log check-ins
- Relay — Can check in stations they can hear but you can't
Each net has a built-in chat for coordination between participants:
- Send messages — Type in the chat input and press Enter or click Send
- System messages — See when stations check in/out (enable "Show activity in chat" in Profile settings)
- Pop-out chat — Detach the chat window to keep it visible while managing the net, or open it in its own browser window for a second monitor
- Persistent history — Chat messages are saved and visible to participants who join later
Chat is useful for:
- Coordinating between NCS operators on multi-frequency nets
- Quick questions or comments from participants
- Relaying traffic details without tying up voice frequencies
- Backup coordination during contests or emergency activations
- Ctrl+Click a frequency chip to filter the check-in list
- NCS operators always remain visible regardless of filter
- Click Show All to clear the filter
An ARES/EmComm feature for recording who can hear whom during a net, useful for coverage-assessment exercises (a common ARES/SKYWARN SET drill). Off by default — enable Station-to-Station Coverage Logging in the net's Basic Info tab to turn it on.
Once enabled:
- Each check-in row gets an ear icon action. Every station sees it on its own row and can log its own reception; NCS, Logger, and Relay see it on every row and can record on behalf of any station. Click it to open "Who can this station hear?" Net managers can turn off self-reporting (Allow stations to self-report, in the net's Basic Info tab) to restrict recording to staff only.
- Check every other station the reporting station can hear on the currently selected frequency, and optionally set their operating position (Home, Field Deployed, or your own text). Save — the dialog reconciles the checked set, so unchecking a station removes that report.
- A Coverage button appears in the net toolbar, opening a Station Coverage panel alongside Chat, Activity Log, and the Check-In Map. It lists every reported connection, sortable by column, with one-way and two-way paths distinguished, and a filter to narrow the list to one callsign.
- Click a callsign in the Coverage panel to highlight just that station's connections (in the panel and on the map); click the highlighted callsign again, or use the Clear highlight button, to go back to the full list.
- A Map button in the Coverage panel's title bar opens the Check-In Map with its coverage overlay turned on, drawing the confirmed paths directly on the map. The overlay's own toggle lives in the map's top-right corner, alongside a frequency selector (shown only when the net has more than one frequency).
- The coverage results are included in the net's PDF report and closure email, and stay available after the net closes.
Your Profile also gets a Coverage tab: a personal map of stations you've confirmed hearing from your Home operating position, aggregated across every net you've participated in, each labeled with when you last heard them.
For casual nets and roundtables, ECTLogger offers engagement tools:
Ask participants a discussion question:
- In the net settings (Topic & Poll button), enter a Topic Question
- When checking in, participants see the question and can type their response
- Responses appear in the check-in list's "Topic" column
- All responses are included in the emailed net log
Run a quick poll with predefined options:
- In the net settings (Topic & Poll button), enter a Poll Question
- Add up to 5 Poll Options (e.g., "Yes", "No", "Maybe")
- Participants select their answer via dropdown when checking in
- Poll results are shown in the "Poll" column
- The emailed net log includes a bar chart of poll results with percentages
Both Topic and Poll columns are only visible when configured for the net. System messages in chat announce when participants submit answers.
- Click Close net in the net toolbar
- A complete log is generated and emailed to you
- The net can be archived or remain in closed status
- Auto-archive (recurring nets) — When a new net is created from a recurring schedule (manually or automatically), any previously closed nets from that same schedule are archived automatically. This keeps the dashboard clean without requiring manual cleanup after each net. Archived nets remain fully accessible and can be unarchived at any time.
- Auto-archive (stale scheduled nets) — A net in Scheduled status that was never opened is automatically archived 24 hours after its scheduled start time. If a net didn't happen, it disappears from the dashboard on its own.
- Archive — From a closed net, click Archive (on the net's card, or in the net toolbar) to hide it from the main dashboard. A 5-second UNDO toast lets you cancel if clicked accidentally.
- Unarchive — From an archived net view, click Unarchive in the toolbar to restore it to closed status.
- Download Logs — Both closed and archived nets have download buttons (CSV and ICS-309) available in the toolbar. Closed nets also have an Export button on their dashboard card for the CSV log.
- CSV Export — Download check-ins as a spreadsheet
- ICS-309 Export — Official FEMA communication log format (enable in net settings)
Closed and archived nets now include an Import CSV button next to export actions. This is useful when multiple NCS operators are logging in parallel and some logs were captured on paper or in another tool.
- Open the closed or archived net.
- Click Import CSV.
- Optional: click Export Template to download the expected columns and sample rows.
- Choose a file by clicking the drop zone or drag and drop a CSV file.
- Set time interpretation:
- UTC checked: untagged timestamps are treated as UTC.
- UTC unchecked: untagged timestamps use the selected Import Time Zone.
- Timestamps with explicit markers (
Z,UTC,GMT,+/-HH:MM) always use their explicit timezone.
- Click Import CSV.
The importer accepts simple operator-friendly formats:
6/3/2026 2:24 PM3/6/2026 14:242026-06-03 14:242:24 PM2:2414:24
Both US and British slash-date ordering are supported. If a slash-date is ambiguous and cannot be resolved safely, the row is rejected with a row-numbered error.
Imported timestamps are validated against the net timeline:
- Earliest allowed: net open/lobby start.
- Latest allowed: net close time plus 10 minutes.
Rows outside this window are skipped and reported with clear row numbers and reason text.
- Row-level validation errors are shown in the import dialog with row numbers.
- Sample rows from the exported template are marked and automatically ignored if left in the file.
- Imports keep check-ins in chronological order based on parsed timestamp.
Generate a comprehensive multi-page PDF report for closed or archived nets:
- Access — Click Report in the net toolbar (for closed/archived nets), or the Report button on the net's card on the Dashboard
- View Report — Review the report page with all sections displayed
- Export — Click Export PDF to download the report
Report Sections:
- ECTLogger Header — Branded title with site URL for attribution
- Net Info — Name, description, frequencies, NCS operators, start/end times, duration
- Statistics Summary — Cards showing total check-ins, unique operators, rechecks, duration; plus charts for status breakdown and check-ins by frequency
- Check-in Map — Every check-in with a parseable location plotted on a map, color-coded by status (shown only when at least one check-in has a mappable location)
- Check-in Log — Complete table of all check-ins with time, callsign, name, location, status, frequency, and notes
- Topic of Week — Responses to the net's discussion topic (only if enabled for the net)
- Poll Results — Tallied results of the net's poll (only if enabled for the net)
- Chat Log — All user messages (system messages excluded) with timestamps
- System Log — Automated status-change and system chat entries
- ICS-309 — Official communications log format (only if ICS-309 is enabled for the net)
- Station Coverage — The sortable "can hear" report table (only if Station-to-Station Coverage Logging is enabled for the net). Toggle Include per-station maps to add one map per reporting station, showing that station's pin plus every station it reported hearing — connected by amber lines for confirmed two-way paths and gray dashed lines for one-way reports, with every pin labeled by callsign. Off by default since it can add many pages to a large net's report.
The PDF is ideal for after-action reports, club records, or emergency management documentation.
Three statistics views are available, each with PDF export:
- Platform Stats — Overall system activity across all nets.
- Net Stats — Per-net participation trends, status breakdown, and check-ins by frequency.
- Your Activity — Personal check-in history (also available in your Profile).
Top Operators Ranking — Top operators are ranked by check-in count. When tied, the operator who checked in earliest gets the higher medal (🥇🥈🥉) ranking.
For recurring nets, the Schedule Statistics page (Scheduler → Stats on a schedule card) aggregates participation across every net instance the schedule has produced.
Time-window filter — Toggle between 30 days, 90 days, 1 year, and All time. The default is 1 year so monthly nets and occasional SKYWARN activations always show meaningful counts. The selected window applies to every panel on the page (summary cards, leaderboards, history log, and PDF export).
Summary cards — Total nets in the window, total check-ins, unique operators, and average check-ins per net.
Leaderboards — Tabbed view; each leaderboard is scoped to the selected time window and lists the top 20:
- Check-ins — Top callsigns by number of nets they checked into. Replaces the old strict "Regular Operators (50%+)" view, which was empty for nets with operator turnover.
- NCS — Operators ranked by the number of nets they ran as Net Control.
- Logger — Operators ranked by the number of nets they logged.
- Relay — Stations ranked by both the number of nets they relayed in and total relayed check-ins. Derived from the Relayed By field on each check-in.
Net History log — Recent net instances under this schedule, including start/end times, duration, check-in count, and the NCS callsign(s) for each instance.
Click Export PDF in the page header to download a printable report. The report respects the active time-window filter and includes:
- The schedule name and the active filter (e.g., "Last 1 year").
- All summary cards.
- All four leaderboards stacked sequentially — the PDF is static, so every leaderboard is included regardless of which tab is active on screen.
- The Net History log with NCS callsigns.
Use this for after-action reporting, club records, or emergency management documentation that needs to show participation trends across many nets.
ECTLogger helps you fill out and keep a record of formal traffic (ARRL radiograms, ICS-213 messages, and Radio Relay International weather/RI strips) that you originate, relay, or deliver over a real net, by phone, in person, or by mail. ECTLogger never sends or transports the message itself — it is a witness and a record-keeper, not a relay.
Traffic handling is off until you turn it on. In the net's (or the schedule's) settings, under ARES & EmComm Features, switch on Enable Assisted Traffic Handling. That adds a Traffic button — an envelope — to the net's toolbar for the net manager, NCS, and Logger. Clicking it opens the net's traffic panel, which you can close, detach, pop out into its own window, or minimize like Chat, the Activity Log, or Station Coverage. Turning it on in a schedule means every net opened from that schedule starts with it on.
Two optional settings go with it:
- Traffic this net takes — tick the form types your staff should be offered. Leave everything unticked to offer all of them. This narrows what the picker shows; it never blocks anything unusual that comes up on the air.
- RRI / weather strip fields — on an RRI net or drill, every station answers the same originating strip. Either pick a strip type staff should collect, or paste the originating strip into the box so its fields are laid out for them in the same order. If you paste one, Parse and name the fields lets you name each piece and save it as a reusable strip type you can pick on any future net.
Open Traffic from the navigation bar, choose New, and pick a form type. To log traffic passed on a specific net, use the + button in that net's Traffic panel instead — that way the message is attached to the net, so it shows in the net's panel, its strip export, and its ICS-309 log. Filing from the Traffic section on its own is for traffic that isn't tied to a particular net.
The form types are:
- Radiogram — the assist layer normalizes your text for NTS transmission as you type, keeps a live word-count check, and offers the ARL numbered-message picker for standard messages (welfare checks, holiday greetings, etc.).
- ICS-213 — a general message form used for ARES/ICS operations.
- WXOBS — Radio Relay International's standardized weather observation strip, for reporting spotter observations to a served agency.
- GYX-CAR SKYWARN — the Maine/New Hampshire regional variant of WXOBS, formatted to paste directly into the GYX/CAR SKYWARN spreadsheet.
- RRI Strip (General) — paste the raw text of any other RRI strip (SITREP, OPRED, or anything else without a dedicated form here yet) and it's saved and tracked exactly as pasted.
Fields like your callsign, place of origin, and filing time are auto-filled from your profile where possible. Submitting the form logs it as either originated (you wrote it) or received (you copied it from another station), which starts its chain of custody.
On any strip form you get both ways of entering the same report, side by side and always visible: the named fields, and the Full strip box holding the single slash-delimited line that goes on the air. Fill in the fields and the strip builds itself as you type. Or, when a station reads the whole strip back in one breath, paste it into the box — press Fill fields above to see it split across the fields, or just file it and it's split for you. A blank field mid-strip stays blank rather than pulling the values after it out of line, and you're told if the pasted strip was short or had more values than the form expects.
If you already have the plaintext of a radiogram, ICS-213 message, or RRI strip — copied down by hand, relayed from another station, or saved from packet — choose Import instead of New. Paste the text in, or drag a text file onto the box, and the parser fills in what it can recognize, flagging anything low-confidence (like a stated check that doesn't match the recomputed word count) for you to double-check before saving. Anything the parser doesn't recognize as one of the built-in types is still saved as a general RRI strip, exactly as pasted, rather than being discarded. Nothing is saved until you review and confirm the parsed fields.
"RI" in RRI's own strip family stands for Request for Information: someone defines a strip's fields once, and everyone who answers it fills in the same fields, so the reports line up. If you paste an example that isn't recognized as one of the built-in types, the Import review screen offers Define fields for a new strip type alongside the option to save it as a general strip. Name each piece of the pasted example (the parser splits it on the same "/" delimiters RRI uses) and mark where a natural section break falls, give the type a short code and a title, and save — this creates a real, reusable strip type that appears in the New tab for everyone from then on, exactly like WXOBS or GYX-CAR SKYWARN. Use it on a net or a drill: file the first report yourself when you define it, then have every other station file their own answer against that same type from the New tab. You can also define a type ahead of time from a net's or a schedule's settings (see "Turning traffic handling on for a net" above) — there it just creates the type, without filing a report.
Every piece of traffic has a chain of custody: a timeline of who touched it and what they did (originated, received, relayed, delivered, serviced, or cancelled). As you relay or deliver a message, log the handoff so the chain stays accurate — this is what lets a net's NCS or logger answer "what happened to that message?" after the net closes, and it's what keeps your inbox honest: a piece of traffic you're still holding stays visible there until you log that it moved on.
The Traffic section's Inbox tab shows everything you're currently holding, oldest first. Check it after a net closes — pending traffic doesn't go away just because the net did.
Only the submitter, the current holder, anyone else in its chain of custody, that net's NCS/logger, and admins can view a given piece of traffic. Ordinary check-ins on the net do not grant access to its traffic. This matters because welfare traffic can carry a private individual's name, address, and phone number.
From a piece of traffic's detail view, Export gives you the plaintext (for reading over the air or filing) or a printable PDF. For a Radiogram or ICS-213, that PDF is laid out like the real paper form — the ARRL Radiogram pad or the FEMA ICS-213 General Message form, boxes and rules included — ready to file or hand to the addressee, with fields ECTLogger doesn't collect (like a delivery-confirmation signature) printing blank and ruled, the same as they'd appear on a hand-filled paper copy. For a WXOBS, GYX-CAR SKYWARN, or general RRI strip, the PDF shows the exact strip text alongside a readable field list. On a net with ICS-309 enabled, traffic handled during that net also appears as metadata-only rows (message number, precedence, addressee, handling station) on the net's ICS-309 Communications Log, including its own form-accurate PDF — the message text itself is never included in that export.
A net's Traffic panel has its own Export button covering every message filed on that net, in two forms:
- Text — one line per message, oldest first, ready to paste into a spreadsheet, a Winlink template, or an email to a served agency. Strip reports come out as the exact slash-delimited line RRI expects; radiograms and ICS-213s come out as their plaintext.
- PDF (printable forms) — every message on the net laid out like its real paper form (the ARRL Radiogram pad, the FEMA ICS-213, the strip layout), several to a page, with no message ever split across a page break. This is the one to print for a served agency or a paper file at the end of an operation.
In the text export, a minus sign in a strip's numeric field (a below-zero temperature, most often) is written as the letter M, which is RRI's own notation for its strip fields. Radiogram and ICS-213 text is never touched this way — NTS spells a hyphen out as "DASH" there, and a hyphen in a street address or route number has to survive as typed.
Your Profile's Activity tab, a net's statistics page, and the platform-wide Statistics page each show a Traffic Handled count, broken out by what you did with it (originated, relayed, delivered, etc.). Your Profile's Activity tab also shows Traffic Pending — everything currently sitting in your inbox, unresolved. Click either tile to drill into the list.
Check-in Form:
- Press Tab to move between fields
- Press Enter to submit a check-in
Inline Editing:
- Press Tab to move between fields in the same row
- Press Enter to save changes
- Press Escape to cancel without saving
Toggle dark mode from the navbar's sun/moon icon (or the user menu on mobile), or from the "Dark mode" switch at the top of Profile → Settings — easier on the eyes during those late-night nets. Your choice is remembered on this device.
Pick a color theme from Profile → Settings: each named theme is a coordinated light/dark pair, so whichever one you choose works automatically with the dark mode toggle above. Select "Follow system default" to always match whatever the site admin has set as the default theme instead of a fixed personal choice — this is also what you get automatically until you pick something else. If the site admin has configured a custom theme (Admin → Branding), it shows up here too, alongside the curated set.
ECTLogger is fully responsive and works great on mobile devices. Use your phone or tablet in the field! The interface adapts to smaller screens while keeping all functionality accessible.
A few things behave differently on a phone:
- Bigger buttons on cards — the action buttons on net and schedule cards use a taller tap target on mobile, so they're easier to hit accurately with a thumb.
- Status chips wrap — a busy net's chips flow onto extra lines instead of forcing the page to scroll sideways.
- Activity Log starts collapsed — on a phone the Activity Log begins closed so the check-in list and chat are reachable without scrolling past it. Open it whenever you like; your choice is remembered separately from the desktop view.
- Swipe between tabs — on pages with tabs (Profile, Admin), swipe left or right to move between them.
Enable location awareness in your profile to automatically fill in your Maidenhead grid square when checking in. This is especially useful for:
- Mobile operations where your location changes
- Field Day and portable setups
- SKYWARN spotters reporting from various locations
Your browser will ask for permission before sharing location data.
Search Bar: Type in the search field to filter check-ins by callsign, name, or location.
Frequency Filtering: If a net has multiple frequencies:
- Ctrl+click a frequency chip to filter the check-in list to only stations on that frequency
- Click again to remove the filter
- A "Clear Filter" chip appears when filtering is active
- NCS operators are always shown regardless of filter
This is handy for NCS operating split frequencies — focus on stations monitoring your frequency!
Subscribe to nets you regularly participate in to receive email notifications when they start, close, or are about to begin. On the Scheduler page, click Subscribe on a schedule's card; the button becomes Unsubscribe once you're subscribed, so you can always tell your current state at a glance.
Users with the Admin role have access to additional management features via the Admin page.
Admins can temporarily simulate the regular user experience to reproduce bug reports or guide other operators through the app. Click your avatar in the top-right corner and choose View as Regular User (padlock icon, near the dark/light mode switch). While active, admin-only UI elements are hidden and an amber User View chip appears in the navbar. Click the chip or return to the menu and choose Exit User View to restore full admin access. This is a client-side toggle only — no backend permissions change.
The Users tab shows all registered users with online presence indicators:
Presence Indicators (colored dots):
- 🟢 Green — Online now (active within 5 minutes)
- 🟡 Yellow — Away (5-15 minutes since last activity)
- 🔴 Red — Offline (15+ minutes since last activity)
Power-User Indicators (icons): Two columns flag engaged users at a glance, without opening their profile:
- 🏅 NCS badge — shown for any user who has held the NCS role on a net, past or present.
- 📰 Subscriber badge — shown for any user currently subscribed to "What's New" emails (Profile → Settings).
Both columns are blank for users the badge doesn't apply to, and both are sortable — click the column header to list all NCS operators, or all subscribers, together.
Default Sort: Users are sorted by online status (online first), then alphabetically by name.
Available Actions:
- Change user roles (user, ncs, admin)
- Ban/unban users
- Delete users
Column Order: Name, Callsign, Email, Role, NCS, Subscriber, Status, Last Active, Created, Actions
- Contacts — View and manage station contacts auto-populated from check-in history. Fix names, add emails, send invites to create user accounts. Contact data auto-fills when NCS enters a callsign during check-in.
- Traffic — Enable or disable form types (Radiogram, ICS-213, WXOBS, GYX-CAR SKYWARN, RRI Strip (General), and any strip type users have defined from Import), reorder them, override field labels, and set the delivery-reminder switches for Assisted Traffic Handling.
- Check-In Fields — Configure default check-in form fields
- Frequency Library — Manage shared frequency presets
- Security — View fail2ban status and recent authentication events
- Site Settings — Configure schedule creation limits
- Branding — Set the system-wide default color theme and light/dark appearance, build a fully custom color theme, and upload a custom logo to replace the built-in mark — useful for self-hosted instances that want to look like their own organization. The default theme applies immediately to any user who hasn't picked a personal theme in their own Profile → Settings; the default appearance only affects visitors who have never toggled light/dark before.
The Help menu in the top navigation bar provides five options:
- User Guide — Opens this documentation site in a new tab.
- Start Walkthrough — Launches a step-through tour of the main app areas: Dashboard, Running a Net, Schedule, Statistics, Profile & Settings, and the Help menu itself. The walkthrough launches automatically on your first login and can be restarted at any time from here.
- Submit Feedback — Opens an in-app form to report a bug or request a feature. Submissions are delivered directly to the site administrator with your callsign and contact info included so they can follow up. A checkbox lets you include the same diagnostics snapshot described below (checked by default for bug reports), and you can attach a screenshot — pick or paste an image file you've already captured with your device's screenshot tool. Rate-limited to 5 submissions per hour.
- Diagnostics — Shows details about the browser and window you're using: the app version, your window and screen size, your browser and version, whether the app detected anything wrong with its own display, and any recent error messages from the browser console. Copy Diagnostics puts it all on your clipboard to paste into a feedback form or an email. Include it whenever you report something misbehaving — a number of problems only appear at particular window sizes or in particular browsers, and are very hard to track down without it. It contains no callsigns, names, locations, or net activity, and nothing is sent anywhere unless you paste it yourself (or, from the feedback form, check the box to include it).
- About ECTLogger — Shows the current version, a link to the GitHub repository, open-source license credits, and the Honorable Mentions list of operators whose feedback helped shape the platform.
73 and stay safe! 📻