How it works

HAM4LIFE shows your station live on the web while you operate. Your logging program provides the radio status — N1MM Logger+, MiniBook and Log4OM over UDP, or Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) over its TCP IP Server — and a small Windows tool (the Web Dashboard Feeder) forwards it to HAM4LIFE, which shows it on your callsign page.

N1MM · MiniBook · HRD · Log4OM → UDP / TCP → Web Dashboard Feeder → HTTPS → HAM4LIFE
/live/<callsign>

Download Web Dashboard Feeder v1.6.0 Create an account

Step 1 — Create an account

Step 2 — Register your callsign

On your dashboard, choose Register callsign and enter your call (for example PA6Y). A portable suffix like /P becomes its own page (/live/pa6y-p). Your public page will be at https://dashboard.ham4life.com/live/pa6y.

You must be the rightful holder of the callsign you register. Callsigns are not verified — we trust you on this. Registering a callsign that is not yours is abuse and leads to your account being blocked and the callsign released. (If a callsign you hold is already taken by someone else, use the request takeover option instead.)

Step 3 — Generate your API key

Open your callsign and click Generate API key. The key is shown once on screen and also emailed to you. One key per callsign — it is shared by every feeder (feed) of that callsign. Regenerating it invalidates the old key, so update all feeders.

Step 4 — Add one or more feeds

A feed is one feeder = one live card. Give each feed a unique feed ID (e.g. pa6y-1) — that is all you set.

There is no card-type setting. The card type is chosen automatically from the incoming data: MiniBook, HRD and Log4OM identify themselves, and anything else falls back to the N1MM card. It even switches live if the source changes.

Multiple feeders posting to the same callsign each use a different feed ID but the same API key.

Step 5 — Install & configure the Web Dashboard Feeder

Install the feeder on the PC running your logger. You can download it here (v1.6.0).

The feeder has a tab per destination, and it can post to both at the same time. Each tab has its own enable checkbox, ID, API key and update interval, and shows its own Last post status.

HAM4LIFE tab

Tick Enable posting to H4L Dashboard (the server URL is fixed — you don't type it), then set:

Dashboard ID: the feed ID you created in Step 4 (e.g. pa6y-1)
API key: the callsign API key from Step 3
Update interval: how often this destination is posted

Feeder — HAM4LIFE tab — HAM4LIFE tab — enable it, then set the ID (feed ID) and API key.

WP Dashboard tab (optional)

Only needed if you also run your own WordPress site with the WP Station Web Dashboard plugin. Tick its enable box, enter that site's URL, and its own ID, API key and interval.

Feeder — WP Dashboard tab — WP Dashboard tab — for your own WordPress dashboard (independent URL, ID and key).

Step 6 — Connect your logbook

The feeder reads your radio status from one logging program. Pick yours below for a short, step-by-step guide with screenshots of both the logbook and the feeder.

N1MM Logger+ UDP broadcast (Radio + Contacts) MiniBook UDP Radio Status output Ham Radio Deluxe TCP IP Server — no UDP setup Log4OM2 UDP outputs (default port 2242)

Tip: pick one dedicated UDP port and keep it

Every UDP logbook (N1MM, MiniBook, Log4OM) lets you choose which port it sends to, and the feeder lets you choose which port it listens on. It is wise to pick one dedicated port — for example 2242 — and use that same port everywhere: in each logbook and in the feeder's UDP Port field.

That matters most if you switch between loggers now and then: with one shared port you change logbook without touching the feeder — it just keeps listening on the same port. It also keeps the crowded defaults (N1MM/MiniBook 12060) free for other ham software (rotator control, band maps, digimode tools), so nothing fights over the same port.

Step 7 — Build your event page

On your callsign, open Edit event page: add a title, intro, description and up to 5 photos (max 200 KB each, arranged automatically), choose which feed cards to show, then set the status to Published.

Done

When your feeder is running and a QSO/frequency change occurs, your card turns ON AIR and updates live. Your page appears in the Live stations directory.