Choosing Who to Reply To
When several wanted stations decode at the same time, Wait and Pounce must pick one to call. This page covers the settings that shape that choice. For the full picture of how the decision is made, see How It Decides Who to Call.
Turn replying on
Nothing transmits unless Enable reply is on (in Settings → General Settings). With it off, Wait and Pounce becomes a smart monitor — it highlights decodes and plays alerts but never keys the radio. You can also flip replying on and off quickly with the sound/reply toggle, and a sound confirms when replying has been turned off.
Your priority order
When more than one wanted station is available, the order you set here decides who wins. In Settings → Priority Manager, drag the reasons into the order you prefer:
| Priority | Reason |
|---|---|
| Highest | Wanted Callsign |
| Wanted CQ Zone | |
| Marathon | |
| DXCC Program | |
| New Grid | |
| POTA | |
| Lowest | Politeness reply |
That's the default order — a wanted callsign beats a wanted zone, which beats a marathon entity, and so on. Reorder it to match how you hunt.
Some rows only appear when enabled
DXCC Program, New Grid and POTA show up in the list only once you've enabled the matching feature (and, for the logbook-based ones, selected at least one band).
Someone answering you always wins
Whatever your order, a station that is calling your callsign is answered first — you're already in a QSO and finishing it comes before chasing anything new.
The same page also sets how long the software persists with one station:
- Maximum number of attempts (4–30) — how many times to call a station before giving up.
- Maximum waiting delay (1–10 min) — how long to keep trying a target with no answer.
Polite reply
Enable polite reply (General Settings) makes the software answer a station that is calling you even if it isn't on your wanted list — so you're never rude to someone trying to work you. A reply chosen this way is labelled / POLITENESS in the focus display.
Filters that skip a station
In General Settings you can require every candidate to pass extra checks:
- Minimum report — ignore signals weaker than your chosen level (from +10 dB down to −26 dB).
- Ignore callsign if prefix is invalid — skip calls that don't resolve to a real country.
- Ignore callsign if it targets another continent — skip stations beaming away from you.
- Reply only for callsigns that use LoTW (on the LoTW page) — chase confirmable contacts only.
Completing a contact
When your target sends its final acknowledgement, Wait and Pounce:
- Sends a final reply if one is needed.
- Logs the contact (and uploads it to LoTW / Club Log if enabled).
- Marks the station worked for that band and removes it from your wanted list.
- Frees up to choose the next target.
If a contact can't be completed within your limits, the Watchdog steps in and sets that station aside so you move on.