+my $ref = DXCluster->get_exact($call); # try an exact call
+$ref = DXCluster->get($call) unless $ref; # try one ignoring SSID
+$ref = DXChannel->get($call) unless $ref; # is it local?
+
+# if we haven't got an explicit via and we can't see them, try their node
+unless ($ref || $via) {
+ my $user = DXUser->get($call);
+ $ref = DXCluster->get_exact($user->node) if $user;
+ if ($ref) {
+ $via = $user->node;
+ push @out, "trying via $via..";
+ }
+}