Happy New Year, VarACiers! Santa sure delivered some exciting gifts this year. Let’s skip the lengthy introductions and dive straight into the good stuff—we’ve got a lot to cover!
📢 Introducing: VarAC QSL generator
VarAC now has a built-in QSL generator! Here’s how it works:
Open the "Callsign History" tool.
Enter a callsign you’ve had a QSO with.
Select any QSO from the list.
Click the "QSL Card" button.
You can customize your QSL with a personalized touch:
Change the background image.
Adjust the bottom colors for better text visibility.
Once your QSL is ready, use the Copy to Clipboard option to paste it into an email and send it effortlessly.
We can’t wait to see your creative QSLs lighting up the VarAC community! Feel free to share and show off your best shack photos.
VarAC QSL Generator
Let’s talk about improving visibility and clarity for our advanced users. Your VarAC screen is likely packed with callsigns, and some of them might need a bit of extra context. Whether it’s tagging your closest friends or adding meaningful labels like “HQ” for an EmComm activity, this feature lets you organize and highlight the callsigns that matter most.
📢 Introducing: Callsign tags
A new file, "VarAC_callsign_tags.conf", is now available in your VarAC directory. To use it, simply add lines like "NC3Z,Buddy" and these tags will appear on your Beacon and CQ lists.
Callsign tags
Let’s talk about locators. You may have noticed that Beacons and Standard CQs don’t include locators. Why is that? It’s a limitation of the VARA protocol, which prioritizes using the lowest possible speed in these scenarios—allowing only the callsign to be transmitted.
But here’s the good news: what if you’ve already had a QSO with that station and have a "Last Known Locator" saved from a previous exchange? Now, we can put that information to good use!
📢 Introducing: Last known locator
In version 10.4, this new feature is enabled by default. If a "Last Known Locator" is available for a CQ or Beacon, it will appear alongside it with a hourglass icon. If you prefer to disable this feature, you can easily do so in the settings menu.
Last known locator
Let’s move on. Imagine you’re in a QSO and scrolling up to review previous messages. While you’re reading, a new message comes in. Previously, VarAC would automatically scroll back to the bottom of the data stream to display the new message. Well, not anymore!
📢 Introducing: Scroll down indicator
When you scroll up, VarAC will automatically display a "quick scroll down" button. However, if a new message arrives while you're focused on an earlier part of the QSO, the icon will flash green, alerting you to a new message waiting further down.
Scroll down indicator
Here’s something we should have done a long time ago, but honestly, we were too lazy to tackle it. How many times have you wanted to resize those Beacon/CQ/Log sections to get a clearer view of everything you need?
📢 Introducing: Adjustable Beacons/CQ/Log area size
You can now easily resize those sections by dragging and dropping the separators (the 3 dots) between them. Don’t worry—VarAC will remember your settings, so when you launch it again, everything will be just the way you left it.
Adjustable Beacons/CQ/Log size
Alright, now for our GPS enthusiasts! Many of you use VarAC on the go, whether you're participating in POTA or on an EmComm mission. Until now, VarAC only displayed your GPS position on the screen…
📢 Introducing: GPS Log file
Now, you can also save those GPS readings to a file for logging and analysis purposes.
Just enable the feature in the settings menu, choose a log file name, and you're all set. Your GPS data will be saved to disk automatically.
GPS logging
Now, let’s talk about SSIDs—those numbers that were common during the packet radio days when stations had a number at the end (e.g., 4Z1AC-7). These SSIDs are still widely used by VARA FM operators, especially when working with VARA digipeaters.
📢 Introducing: Full SSID support
SSIDs are now supported across most VarAC features, including CQs, Broadcasts, and even with digipeaters. However, please note that there are some limitations if you set an SSID for your own VarAC callsign. Don’t worry—VarAC will inform you of these limitations when you make the change.
SSID support
Do you enjoy checking out other stations' data? If you're already using the "Last Heard Peeking" feature to view the last 10 callsigns your QSO partners have heard, we’ve got a new peeking feature just for you!
📢 Introducing: Last heard callsign peeking
YES! You can now connect with someone and easily inquire about the last time they heard a specific station you're interested in. Just open the "Inquire" module, select "Last Heard Peeking," and you’ll have the info you need.
Last heard callsign peeking
But that’s not all—there’s even more! Take a look at these additional enhancements you’ll find in V10.4:
Enhancements/Changes:
Added new tags: <MYTIME> and <UTCTIME> to include time in your automated messages.
VMail Drafts folder: Store VMails that are "works in progress" for later updates and sending.
Added a "Skip if Active" option in the Application Launcher.
Removing queued, but yet-to-be-transmitted broadcasts once a connection is established.
Added a file explorer button next to each application in the application launcher for easy EXE selection.
Replying to an urgent VMail is automatically marked as urgent.
New tag <FS> to send your own frequency scheduler plan.
Removed the inquire tags from the Gestures list (to create extra space), as they now appear in the new "Inquire" module.
New GPS settings: Reconnect GPS indefinitely.
New GPS settings: Show live GPS coordinates in the bottom strip on the main VarAC screen.
You can now disable the "Leave a message" popup upon connecting to an unattended station (either from settings → QSO or from the popup itself).
In EmComm mode, you can disable QSY popups once connected on a CF (new setting).
Added custom CQ option "FF" for Flora & Fauna.
Send PSK-Reporter self-report if remaining on the same frequency every 4 hours.
Added an "Are you sure?" popup when canceling a VMail you’ve already started composing.
Customization of the default QSO log (ADIF) comment text (override the default comment "QSO with VarAC").
Added "Copy Selected" on the right-click menu in the message viewer popup (when double-clicking a message in the Datastream).
Made URLs clickable in the message viewer popup.
To upgrade from an existing VarAC version:
Download the VarAC Installer and run it.
Select the current folder where your VarAC resides.
The installer will keep your existing settings and history.
Just reminding you all that we are always there for you on our Forum, our Facebook group, and also on our Telegram group.
Our esteemed team member Pat ON2AD, is delighted to present the V10.4 user manual. You can access it by clicking HERE.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our Beta team and translators for their outstanding efforts. The Beta team has dedicated countless hours to improving your VarAC experience, ensuring everything runs seamlessly. At the same time, our translators have worked tirelessly to make VarAC available in over 13 languages, broadening its accessibility to a diverse audience.
73,
Irad 4Z1AC & the VarAC team.
Download VarAC:
V10.4.3 Windows installer
Alternatively - Download this version as a ZIP package
(for windows/Mac/Linux/Pi)
Bug Fixes:
Preventing manual insertion of values into the wait time in the application launcher.
When opening the Callsign Lookup, it previously locked the SQLite DB, preventing other traffic from being written.
In Callsign History, broadcasts without a frequency were not loading.
Removing the extra character after the alert tag is added to a broadcast.
Fixing the troubleshooting link in the resources menu.
It was not possible to edit a VMail in the Outbox while in Linux compatibility mode.
Clicking a URL in the Datastream for a single-line message resulted in an error.
Rigctld with SparkSDR had issues due to the wrong termination character (\r instead of \n).