If you’ve been a ham for any length of time, you know the drill. One program for logging. Another for the DX map. A third for digital modes, a fourth for satellites, and a spreadsheet (if you’re lucky) for tracking your gear. Each has its own settings, its own cluster login, its own idea of where your callsign and grid square live.

WM3J‑ARS‑Suite is my answer to that: a single, modern, open‑source JavaFX application that runs your entire shack. One config. One DX cluster connection. One set of credentials. Linux, Windows, and macOS. GPLv3.

Docked or loose — your call

The suite runs two ways. In docked mode, every module lives in one window, sharing one process. Prefer a multi‑monitor setup? Run in loose mode and each module gets its own window, all talking through a small background hub in the system tray. Same modules, same live data (spots, rig, rotor, station identity) either way.

What’s inside

  • J‑Hub – the control surface: dashboard, station identity, callsign lookups, macros, DX cluster and RBN, log uploads, and all settings.
  • J‑Log – an everyday logger and a full contest logger, with real‑time validation, multiplier tracking, and JSON contest plug‑ins.
  • J‑Map – a live DX map with grayline, propagation overlays, weather, aurora, and great‑circle paths to spotted stations.
  • J‑Digi – keyboard‑to‑keyboard digital modes: RTTY, PSK31, Olivia, MFSK, Feld Hell.
  • J‑Bridge – WSJT‑X integration, pulling FT8 QSOs, spots, and rig status into the same log.
  • J‑Sat – satellite tracking with Doppler correction and rotor control.
  • J‑Vault – shack inventory plus “first‑call contacts,” so your family knows exactly who to phone when you become a Silent Key. Exports to CSV.
  • J‑Learn – an embedded, searchable reference library of ~200 sections on propagation, antennas, RF safety, emcomm, and more. The content is plain markdown you can edit.
  • Morse Trainer – Koch‑method practice, a QSO simulator, and sending practice with real‑time decoding.

A few things I’m proud of

The Antenna Workshop. Answer a handful of questions about your QTH, HOA situation, bands, height, and budget, and it ranks antennas that actually fit. Then use 13 live calculators — dipoles, EFHW, J‑pole, Yagi, loops, trap design, and more — many of which J‑Learn opens pre‑filled with sensible defaults.

The SK problem, addressed. Families inherit shacks full of gear they can’t identify. J‑Vault keeps a categorized inventory with make, model, serial, value, and location, next to a prioritized list of who to call. It’s a small feature that I hope never gets used, and one I’m glad exists.

One logging engine. J‑Log, J‑Digi, and J‑Bridge all write through a shared engine into one set of databases, so there’s no more merging ADIF files from three programs.

Getting started

You’ll need Java 21+. Clone the repo, follow INSTALL.md for your platform, and you’re on the air. The USER_GUIDE.md covers per‑module setup, and docs/HARDWARE_GUIDE.md walks through the unglamorous but essential stuff: USB‑serial adapters, Hamlib daemons, and stable port names for your radio, rotator, and amp.

https://github.com/skip17331/WM3J-ARS-Suite

Where it’s headed

Recent releases have focused on polish — auto‑collapsing side panels in the FX interface, a J‑Map that remembers its projection, a single rotor heading display. Next up is a one‑click, formatted estate‑handoff document from J‑Vault.

It’s built by a ham, for hams, and contributions are welcome. Give it a try, tell me what breaks, and I’ll see you on the bands.

73, WM3J