The SDR revolution has brought a new element into MW DXing: the use of offsets in signal analysis and pre-identification. In order to use any offset-based tool in JAGUAR, reliable calibration is required.
KALIBRATE is JAGUAR's calibration function. Compared to other SDR software, JAGUAR's calibration method is exceptionally easy, and it does not have to be made before recording. In addition, there is support for the "4th decimal" (a fraction of Hertz) accuracy.
The last fourth decimal is not necessarily always correct: already the mathematic error margin is +/- 0.1 Hz. Although the fourth decimal can be used, logging the fourth decimal requires extra attention and a bit a longer period of time spent in monitoring.
The calibration status can be seen on the CAL button on the STATUSBAR: a thin line at the center of the button means that the calibration is on spot.
In V11 the calibration requires that you have defined at least one the calibration frequency to SETTINGS > BEGINNING > REC_CAL. For example,
REC_CAL ............ 1413
The calibration process requires a strong carrier which is known to be on the exact .0000 frequency.
NOTE: If you don't define any REC_CAL frequency, you can still calibrate the system, but you must tune manually to the desired calibration frequency every time you want to calibrate.
Now if you click the CAL button on the STATUSBAR (when listening to any frequency), JAGUAR performs the calibration in the background (the playback control does not jump to 1413). Of course, you can go to 1413 and check if that was done correctly but if it seems to be "always OK", quite likely you start to trust it.
In many European setups, 1413 (MDA) is often visible (but not always audible in full daylight) so we in Europe can successfully do this "blind calibration" quite freely (situation in June 2025).
You can list several calibration frequencies to REC_CAL (separated by comma) and change the calibration frequency any time by pressing ALT-K or clicking TOOLBAR > K (a popup menu is displayed). During daytime 540 (HUN) has been a good candidate for calibration in Europe.
In addition, you can schedule the change of the calibration frequency in MESTOR using the SET CALFREQ option.
If you trust your calibration frequency (e.g. you have a GPSDO device or there is a good stable calibration frequency available 24x7), you will never need to calibrate manually. Instead, you can let JAGUAR keep the calibration spot on as a continuous background process: upgrade to the CUSTOM level and add parameter AUTO_CALIBRATE = YES. This setting will take care of the calibration for SPECTOR and the spectrum graphs without any user intervention.