Sked Page is a free, real-time web application that helps SKCC members connect and schedule straight key CW QSOs with other operators. Think of it as your digital meeting place for arranging on-air contacts and chatting with fellow straight key enthusiasts.

Whether you're looking to work new SPCs, schedule a specific time for a QSO, or just chat with other SKCC members, the Sked Page brings our community together online. You can see who's currently active, send private messages, and coordinate your on-air activities all from one convenient location.

What You Can Do:

Chat in real-time with other SKCC members who are online
See who's currently online with their minutes of inactivity to gauge if they're actively monitoring
Send private messages to coordinate QSOs
View member information including SPC, QTH, and grid square
Post a status line ("CQ 7.055") so everyone can see what you're up to
Get chimed, highlighted, or even emailed when a keyword or callsign you watch shows up (see Watch Alerts below)
Stay updated with SKCC announcements and events
Access from your computer or mobile device
Operate fully by keyboard, with screen-reader (JAWS) announcements for alerts, status changes, and errors

2. Sign Up

Getting started with the Sked Page is easy! Since this is an SKCC member service, you'll need to be a current member to create an account. If you're not already a member, visit www.skccgroup.com to join our community.

What You'll Need:

Your current amateur radio callsign
Your SKCC number (digits only, no C, T or S suffix) so we can verify your membership
A valid email address for account verification
Your Maidenhead grid square (for example DM79lv)

The sign-up process takes just a few minutes. We'll send a verification code to your email address to confirm your account. Once verified, you'll be ready to start connecting with other SKCC members online!

Don't worry - we'll automatically check that your information matches our membership database to keep the community secure and welcoming for all members.

3. Login

Once you've created your account, logging in is simple! Just use your callsign and the password you created during sign-up. Don't worry about capitalization for your callsign - we'll recognize it either way.

Login Information:

Callsign: Your amateur radio callsign (not case sensitive)
Password: The password you created (case sensitive)

Forgot Your Password?
No problem! Click the password reset link and we'll send a reset code to your registered email address. You'll be back online with your fellow SKCC members in no time.

A Note About Security:
We take your account security seriously and use modern password protection. Please choose a strong password and keep your login information private to help maintain a safe environment for all SKCC members.

4. Using the Sked Page

Once you're logged in, you'll see the main Sked Page interface. It's designed to be intuitive: just start typing in the message box to join the conversation, and explore the different areas to find the operators you'd like to work. Here's what each area does to help you connect with other SKCC members:

4.1 Main Chat Tabs

Everyone Tab: The main chat area where all logged-in members can see your messages and you can see theirs. This is perfect for general conversation, announcing you're looking for contacts, or coordinating group activities.
PM Tab: Private messaging area that appears when you want to send direct messages to specific operators. You can start a PM by clicking on a callsign in the Active Users list or by typing a callsign in the PM section.
Settings Tab: Your personal preferences and account settings. This tab gives you control over your Sked Page experience with options to customize notifications, appearance, and account information.

4.2 Right Sidebar Panels

Active Users Panel: Shows all SKCC members currently online, each with their status line and their idle time - the number of minutes since they last moved their mouse over the Sked Page. Click on any callsign to start a private message or see more details about that operator.
Active SPCs Panel: Displays which states, provinces, and countries are currently represented by online members. Great for seeing if that SPC you need is active right now!
Member Lookup Panel: Search for specific SKCC members by callsign to see their information and activity status.

4.3 Header Information

Date/Time Display: Shows current UTC time - essential for coordinating QSO times across different time zones.
Announcements: Important SKCC news, upcoming events, and special activities are displayed prominently at the top. Once you close the announcements panel, it stays closed, even across page reloads, and reopens automatically when new announcement content arrives.
Status Box: Type a short note in the status box ("CQ 7.055", "QRV for CSKM") and press ENTER, and it appears beside your callsign in the Active Users panel for everyone to see. Send an empty status to clear it. Statuses are limited to 100 characters, and other members' Watch Alerts can match on them - a great way to advertise event activity.
Connection Status: Shows your connection status and total number of users currently connected.
Chime Bell: A bell icon next to Logout shows whether the notification chime is on; a slashed bell means it's muted. Click the bell to toggle the chime (turning it on sounds the chime once). The same setting is available as the Chime checkbox in the Settings tab.

4.4 Message Features

Callsign Highlighting: Your callsign is highlighted whenever someone mentions it in a message, and the notification chime sounds so you don't miss it. This is separate from Watch Alerts: mentions of you use the blue or teal highlight and a single ding, while your watch terms use amber and a triple chime, so you can tell at a glance (or by ear) which one fired.
Clickable Callsigns: Click on any callsign in a message to quickly start a private conversation with that operator.
Edit, Delete, and Reply: Your own messages carry edit and del links - edits update the message for everyone, and deletes remove it. Other members' messages carry a reply link that starts a PM with them.
Auto-Away: After 61 minutes of inactivity, you'll be automatically marked as away to help others know you're not actively monitoring. You can also step away deliberately with the Go Inactive button (and return with Go Active).
Message History: The Everyone tab keeps recent messages only: at least the latest 300, with older ones removed automatically after a couple of hours, even while your page stays open. Private messages are kept for 30 days.

4.5 Settings Tab Features

Email Reset: Update your email address for account notifications and password recovery. The system will verify your new email address before making the change.
Set Grid Square: Update your Maidenhead grid square location. This information is displayed to other users and helps with distance calculations for QSO planning.
Set On Air Name: Customize the name that appears with your callsign in the user interface. This is especially useful for clubs or operators who prefer a specific display name.
Password Reset: Change your account password securely. You'll need to verify the change via email for security.
Test Notification Audio: Test the audio notification sound that plays when your callsign is mentioned in messages. This helps ensure your speakers are working and the volume is appropriate. The test plays even while the chime is muted, and reports whether the sound could actually be played. It plays the single mention ding; the Watch Alerts triple chime is a different sound but uses the same speakers and mute setting, so a passing test covers both.
Watch Alerts: Keep a personal list of keywords and callsigns that chime, highlight, and optionally email you when they show up. The full story, including the matching rules and email delivery, is in Watch Alerts below.
Enable PMs Checkbox: Control whether other users can send you private messages. When disabled, your callsign appears grayed out to other users, indicating you're not accepting new private conversations.
Chime Checkbox: Uncheck it to mute all notification sounds on this device, both the mention ding and the Watch Alerts triple chime; tab flashes, unread counts, and highlights keep working. Checking it sounds the chime once as confirmation. The setting is remembered per browser, so you can mute the shack PC and keep your phone chiming.
Dark Mode Checkbox: Switch between light and dark themes for the interface. Dark mode is easier on the eyes during long operating sessions and in low-light environments.

4.6 Watch Alerts

Watch Alerts are managed in the Settings tab. Keep a personal list of watch terms (up to 20), and the page will sound a distinctive triple chime (different from the single mention ding), highlight the match, and announce it to screen readers when a term appears in a live Everyone message or in another member's status, or when a callsign on your list comes online. Great for event keywords (for example CSKM during Canadian Straight Key Month) or for catching a friend arriving.

Alerts fire only while your Sked Page is open, and the list is stored in your browser, so each device keeps its own.

4.6.1 How Matching Works

Matching is whole-word and ignores case, and multi-word phrases work ("CQ CSKM").
Letters, digits, and / count as part of a word and anything else separates words, so "14" matches "14.055" but "55" alone does not.
To match parts of words, put a * at the start or end of a term: VY0* matches every callsign starting with VY0 (including a VY0 station coming online), *55 matches 14.055, and K3Y* matches K3Y, K3Y/7, and K3Y/711. The * needs at least two other characters with it.

4.6.2 What You'll See and Hear

Watch matches are marked in amber, distinct from the blue or teal highlight on your own callsign, and pulse briefly as they arrive.
Matched words stay highlighted in the messages and in each member's status line in the Active Users list until you remove the term, and a watched callsign wears the amber marking in the Active Users list the whole time it's online, so a match you missed hearing is still visible at a glance.
Repeats are kept quiet automatically (a watched station reconnecting, or a busy keyword, won't re-alert every few seconds), and signing in gives a one-time summary of matches already present.

4.6.3 Email Alerts

Optionally, check "Email me on watch alerts" to have matches emailed to your validated account address while the page runs unattended: leave the Sked Page open in the shack, walk away, and a match is emailed to you (or your phone, if your mailbox forwards there).

Like the term list, the email checkbox is per browser: turn it on in each browser that should email you.
Emptying your watch list pauses email until you add a term again; the checkbox stays on.
Each alert email names the browser and IP address of the session that reported the match, so you can tell which of your devices sent it.
Email delivery is best effort: emails only send after the page has sat idle a few minutes, bursts are combined into one message, and there's a daily limit.

4.6.4 Keeping an Unattended Page Alive

A computer that falls asleep quickly may never send email at all: the page only emails after sitting idle a few minutes, so if the machine sleeps before that, there's no window in which email can happen. Bump the computer's sleep timer if you want it to stand watch.
If the browser puts the sleeping tab out of action, alerts stop and the server tries to email you one "watch alerts went offline" notice; telling your browser to always keep the site active (for example Chrome's Performance settings) avoids that.
The optional "Keep screen awake" checkbox stops the display from sleeping while the page is visible, but cannot keep a hidden, sleeping, or closed page running.

5. Solar Data

The Sked Page displays real-time solar data to help you assess current HF propagation conditions. This information is updated automatically every 60 minutes from https://www.hamqsl.com.

Understanding Solar Indices:

SSN (Sunspot Number): Count of visible sunspots. Higher numbers generally mean better HF propagation, especially on higher bands.
SFI (Solar Flux Index): Measure of solar radio emissions at 2800 MHz. Values above 100 indicate good propagation conditions.
A-Index: Daily average of geomagnetic activity. Lower is better - values below 10 indicate quiet conditions.
K-Index: 3-hour snapshot of geomagnetic activity. Scale is 0-9, with lower values indicating more stable conditions.

Color-Coded Indicators:
The solar data values are color-coded to help you quickly assess conditions:

Index	Good (Green)		Fair (Yellow)		Poor (Red)
Index	Light Mode	Dark Mode	Light Mode	Dark Mode	Light Mode	Dark Mode
SSN	> 100	> 100	50-100	50-100	< 50	< 50
SFI	> 150	> 150	100-150	100-150	< 100	< 100
A-Index	< 10	< 10	10-30	10-30	> 30	> 30
K-Index	< 3	< 3	3-5	3-5	> 5	> 5

Using Solar Data for QSOs:
These indicators help you make informed decisions about which bands to use:

High SSN/SFI: Better conditions on higher bands (20m, 15m, 10m)
Low A/K indices: More stable propagation, less signal fading
Poor conditions: Focus on lower bands (80m, 40m), which are less affected by solar activity

Remember that propagation is complex and these are just indicators. Local conditions, time of day, and seasonal variations all play important roles in HF propagation.

6. Handy Tricks

6.1 Zooming

The Sked Page uses fonts small enough to keep the page compact, but this can make it harder to read for some operators. All three major browsers (Chrome, Firefox and Edge) have the capability to zoom the text on a page while keeping the rest of the layout of the page intact.
To zoom in (make text larger), press Ctrl +. Press it again and again for even bigger text. Press Ctrl - to unzoom. Press Ctrl 0 to snap back to normal mode.
You may even find it useful to unzoom (less than 100% zoom) in some cases. If you have a very nice monitor, try unzooming to 90% and see how you like it.
Note: on a Mac, use the "Command" key (⌘) instead of Ctrl.

6.2 Emojis

You can copy emojis from this site and paste them into your messages: https://getemoji.com. 😁