You might not think that there is a lot of point of including a section on how to log in and out of DXSpider. However, you would be suprised at the difficulties some people have in simply getting in and out of the cluster!
There are several ways a login might be achieved, dependant on how the sysop has DXSpider configured. It is impossible for me to cover all variations but here are the basic ones.
Simplicity itself. The usual CONNECT command will log you straight into the cluster and you will not have to do anything else. Obviously, you will have to connect to the correct callsign. Some nodes use an SSID with their call so you would have to add that.
Examples:
connect GB7MBC
connect GB7MBC-1
There are several possibilities here, dependant on how the sysop has configured his system. If you are connecting via netrom then you are most probably connecting from another station. Listing the nodes in that station with the NODES command will tell you what callsign or netrom alias to connect to. Then just issue the connect command from there. It is possible that the netrom alias may connect you to a node with an alias for the cluster, such as DXC. Just type this and you will be connected.
Example:
connect MBCDX
With telnet connections, the source callsign is not seen by DXSpider, so you will be asked to login with your callsign. To telnet to DXSpider, you would connect to a specific port. There is no standard at the moment for a cluster telnet port but ask the sysop if you are unsure.
Example:
telnet gb7mbc 8000
All the above are possible ways of connecting to a DXSpider cluster. You may have some or all of these available to you. There may be one or two additional ways to connect dependant on the network local to you. However I am sure you get the idea.
Logging out can be done by simply issuing the standard BYE command.
You could also send a disconnect if you are using AX25, or a CLOSE command if you are connected via telnet. If you do not log out gracefully using one of the above commands, you may find you are unable to get a full connect next time. This may also happen if a netrom connection drops. You may get connected, but nothing else will happen because the program thinks you are still connected and will not let you connect twice under the same call. However you could reconnect by adding a number to the end of your call, for example G0YLM-2. This can be done by either altering your MYCALL setting in the TNC or by altering your program configuration.