Contents
- Index
Browse IOTA Groups
The 'Islands On The Air' Groups table, which you can browse by clicking 'Browse Tables > Browse IOTA Groups', shows all IOTA groups associated with Australia. The table is initially sorted alphabetically, but you can re-sort the table by clicking on any of the headers. As you are probably aware, IOTA groups are not based on any one island, but rather on the islands contained within a specified bounding box of north-south and east-west borders. The Latitude and Longitude positions in the table show the centre of the IOTA bounding box for that group, but in the background, the database contains the full bounding box locations. Thus, when you right-click a group in the table and choose 'Show on Map' from the context-menu, a filled rectangular box is drawn on both the Online and Overlay maps, rather than a single point-marker. Moving your mouse over the marker shows the IOTA Group-Id in the label that follows the mouse, rather than its usual Lat/Lon position information.
If you right-click the IOTA bounding box on the map, you will get the usual choice of Spatial Query types: Query Geocoded Calls, Query Corrected Calls, Query Gazetteer, Query Postcodes, Query SOTA Table, Query Shires Table, Query WWFF Table, Query ARLHS Table, Query WLOTA Table. However, unlike markers, which generate a Spatial Query using the position as a point of central reference, choosing a Spatial Query from within an IOTA bounding box will select only those table-entities who's position is contained by the box. You can thus see, for instance, which lighthouses are within an IOTA group, in case you are planning a portable operation that will be of interest to both types of award-hunters. You might notice that the usual 'Query DXCC Table' option is not included this time, as the list of DXCC entities enclosed by an IOTA group would be rather limited!
Assuming that you have entered your QTH's latitude and longitude position by clicking 'Help > Options > Mapping > User Details', you can then perform a 'User Spatial Query' on the standard table data by right-clicking any table line and choosing 'User Spatial Query'. What this command does is to order the complete table by distance from your User-location. You can thus discover the entries that are the closest to you, and those farthest way. A 'Bearing' column is also added to the table, that shows the short-path bearing from your User-location. If you wish, you can order the table by bearing simply by clicking that column's header. Note that making Spatial Queries does not alter the data in the databases in any way.
Another option in the context-menu shown when you right-click a line is 'Row Spatial Query'. What this command does is to order the complete table by distance from the location of the entry in the row that you clicked on. You can thus discover the entries that are the closest to that particular line-value, and those that are farthest way. A 'Bearing' column is also added to the table, as before.
The positions used to make a 'User Spatial Query' or a 'Row Spatial Query' are the group-center positions, as shown in the table's Latitude and Longitude columns.
Markers plotted on the Online and Overlay maps are contained within 7 different invisible layers, each of which can be turned on and off or cleared individually. IOTA markers do not have their own layer, but are included in the POI (Points Of Interest) layer, so any plotted IOTA markers can be hidden temporarily, or permanently cleared from the Online and Overlay maps along with all other POI markers (IOTA, SOTA, Shires, ARLHS, WLOTA, WWFF) without affecting any other markers or polygons currently displayed in other marker-layers. To control the IOTA markers, click 'Markers > Hide POI Markers' or 'Markers > Clear POI Markers'.
Although you can choose the individual type of marker used to mark an IOTA group on the map during some Spatial Queries by clicking 'Help > Options > POI Markers > Choose IOTA Marker-Type', the IOTA markers and the IOTA bounding boxes do not have their own layer over the maps, but rather are added to the collective POI Layer, which also contains markers for Shires, SOTA, ARLHS, WLOTA, and WWFF. You can hide or clear this layer by clicking 'Markers > Hide POI Markers' or 'Markers > Clear POI Markers', but the action you perform will also be performed on all other existing POI Markers and rectangles.
You can change the colours used for the IOTA bounding box outline and fill by clicking 'Help > Options > Colours > IOTA Box ...'. Note that the fill-colour is only plotted at 30% opacity, to allow map items under the box to be seen.
For more information about the RSGB's 'Islands On The Air' programme and awards, please visit: www.rsgbiota.org (Link will open in your Browser).