Worked-Before (WkB4)
Wait and Pounce reads your ADIF logbook so it knows what you've already worked and can avoid wasting time on duplicates — while still letting you re-work a station when it counts (a new year, for example).
What counts as "worked before"?
WkB4 = the same callsign on the same band, in any year. It is not based on DXCC entity or mode — it is a per-call, per-band check derived from your loaded ADIF log.
The most recent year you worked a call+band is available to the engine, and is shown in the decodes table's ★ (WkB4) column.
Choosing the behaviour
In Settings → Worked before you choose one of three reply modes (the section only appears once you've loaded an ADIF file):
| Mode | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Reply to any Wanted Callsign even if Worked B4 | Always reply — ignore worked-before entirely. |
| Reply to Wanted Callsign if not Worked B4 in current year (YYYY) | Reply unless already worked this calendar year. |
| Do not reply to any Callsign Worked B4 (default) | Never re-work a station already in your log. |
The current year is shown live in the middle option's label.
How it affects the engine
WkB4 acts as an early gate in the reply pipeline:
- A wanted call that fails the WkB4 test is demoted to monitored — you still get the alert and the highlight, but the engine won't auto-call it.
- Marathon and grid tracking have their own logic and can still flag a station as needed even if worked before on another band/year (see Marathon and Grid Tracker).
An exact wanted callsign is always callable again
If you type a specific callsign with no wildcard into Wanted, it stays callable even if you've already worked it — worked-before never blocks it. This is exactly what you want for a POTA chase or a sked, where you may work the same operator repeatedly. Wildcard entries (like 3D2*) still respect your worked-before setting.
The ★ column
The table's ★ column shows the worked-before status:
- A ★ / year marks a station you've worked before on that band.
- The column is hidden when WkB4 mode is set to Always (there's nothing to act on).
Where the data comes from
Your log is parsed so the app knows, for each year and band, which callsigns you've worked. The app's own contacts are also folded in, so stations you work during a session immediately count as worked-before too. See ADIF Logbook Analysis for how the log is monitored and parsed.