Part of our Getting On The Air guide
My shack is full of dedicated logging and mapping software, and my phone carries its own lineup for when I am away from the desk. When I am checking a repeater before a drive, spotting myself for a POTA activation, or getting the shack ready for a contest weekend, I reach for one of these instead of building something from scratch. Here is what actually earned a spot on my phone and my PC.
Phone Apps
| App | Platform | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| HAMRS | iOS & Android | An offline-first logger built for POTA, SOTA, and Field Day. It has propagation and band plan tools built in, exports ADIF, and can auto-fill operator details from QRZ. |
| Ham2K PoLo | iOS & Android | An open source portable logger with a one-handed interface for pileups, plus contest templates for Field Day, CQ WW, and ARRL DX. |
| RepeaterBook | iOS & Android | An offline repeater directory that finds nearby repeaters by GPS and, on supported radios, can push settings straight to the rig. |
| SDR-Control | iOS | Full remote or local control of supported Icom radios, including the IC-7300 MK2, IC-705, IC-7610, and IC-9700, over WiFi or LAN, with built-in FT8/FT4 and a logbook. |
| EchoLink | iOS & Android | Links you into a repeater or simplex node over the internet, useful for staying in touch with a net when you are out of RF range. |
| QSO One | Android | A free client that puts AllStarLink, EchoLink, DMR, System Fusion, and M17 in one app, so you can reach digital voice nets without building dedicated node hardware. |
| Zello | iOS & Android | A push to talk app a lot of hams and GMRS groups lean on for coordinating nets, convoys, and off-road trips over cellular or wifi. |
| APRSdroid | Android | Turns your phone into an APRS tracker and messenger, reporting your position through a TNC or the phone’s built in GPS. |
| APRS.fi | iOS & Android | The official app for the aprs.fi tracking site. Shows live APRS positions, weather, and telemetry on a map, and can pair with a Bluetooth or USB TNC. |
| WSPR Watch | iOS | Pulls live spots from the WSPR network so you can see who is hearing your beacon, handy for checking antenna and propagation performance. |
| WoAD (Winlink over Android) | Android | Brings Winlink radio email to a phone, useful for EmComm exercises and drills when a laptop is not practical to carry. |
| HamStudy | iOS & Android | An adaptive study tool for the Technician, General, and Extra question pools. Handy whether you are prepping for a test or running VE sessions. |
| myGMRS | iOS & Android | A GMRS repeater directory and community app, worth having alongside your ham apps if you also run GMRS for family comms. |
What I Actually Use On My Phone
HAMRS and RepeaterBook get opened the most. HAMRS is what I log with in the field, and RepeaterBook is what I check before I ever key up in an unfamiliar area, especially now that it can push settings straight to my FTX-1. If you are more of a contester or you like a one-handed pileup workflow, give Ham2K PoLo a look instead. It is open source and the community around it is active. SDR-Control is a different kind of tool entirely, it turns the iPad or iPhone into a full remote head for the IC-7300 Mark II over WiFi or LAN, which is handy for operating from the couch or checking in on the radio from another room.
Zello and EchoLink both live on my phone for different reasons. Zello is for the GMRS and off-road crowd, EchoLink is for staying linked to a repeater network when I do not have RF coverage. QSO One is worth a look too if you want AllStarLink, DMR, and M17 without dedicated node hardware, though right now it is Android and Windows only.
If APRS is part of your operation, APRS.fi and APRSdroid cover it from both ends. APRS.fi is the one to reach for if you just want to watch the map, and it recently added an Android app to go with the long standing iOS one. WSPR Watch is still iOS only, and it is the fastest way I have found to see how an antenna is actually performing without waiting on a full WSJT-X session.
If you run drills or field exercises that involve Winlink, WoAD is worth having installed even if you rarely open it. It is not a replacement for Winlink Express on a real EmComm deployment, but it covers you if all you have is a phone and a Bluetooth TNC.
If you are studying for a license or helping run exam sessions, HamStudy is worth the few dollars. And if GMRS is part of your setup, myGMRS is a quick way to find GMRS repeaters in an area you do not know yet.
None of these need a data connection to be useful once they are set up, which matters more than people expect when you are away from home and your bars drop to one. If you want your phone to actually control the radio rather than just support it, that is a different job, covered in PotaCat and EchoCat: Remote Control Your Radio From Your Phone.
PC Apps
The phone covers me on the move, but the real work still happens at the desk. This is the software I keep running on the shack computer.
| App | Platform | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| WSJT-X | Windows, Mac & Linux | The reference application for FT8 and the other weak signal digital modes. Handles decoding, transmitting, and logging in one window. |
| JS8Call | Windows, Mac & Linux | Built on the WSJT-X codebase but built for keyboard to keyboard messaging, store and forward relay, and basic network style comms over HF. |
| QSO One | Windows & Android | A free client for AllStarLink, EchoLink, DMR, System Fusion, and M17, so you can reach digital voice nets from the desktop without dedicated node hardware. |
| Ham Radio Deluxe | Windows | An all in one suite for rig control, logging, digital modes, and satellite tracking, with tight CAT integration for most modern radios. |
| N3FJP (Amateur Contact Log) | Windows | Contest and general logging software with dedicated templates for most major contests, field day, and DXpeditions, plus real time score tracking. |
| Winlink Express | Windows | The standard client for Winlink radio email. Sends and receives messages and standardized forms over RF or internet, core software for EmComm work. |
| Fldigi Suite | Windows, Mac & Linux | Fldigi plus its companion apps (Flrig, Flmsg, Flamp) cover a wide range of digital modes along with standardized message forms for emergency traffic. |
| CHIRP | Windows, Mac & Linux | Free programming software for a huge range of handhelds and mobiles, lets you build and edit channel lists on a PC instead of the front panel. |
| GridTracker | Windows, Mac & Linux | Plots your WSJT-X and JS8Call contacts and spots on a map in real time, and tracks awards progress like DXCC and grid squares as you go. |
| JTAlert | Windows | Audio and visual alerts for WSJT-X, flagging new DXCC entities, grids, or callsigns as they show up in your decode window. |
What I Actually Use On My PC
WSJT-X and JS8Call are running any time the radio is on. GridTracker sits alongside both of them so I can see where a contact actually landed on the map, and Ham Radio Deluxe handles logging and CAT control for the IC-7300 Mark II. JTAlert is Windows only, so if you run Mac or Linux, GridTracker covers most of the same alerting on its own.
N3FJP comes out specifically for contests, Field Day being the big one. It is not part of my everyday logging chain, but nothing else I have tried tracks a running score as cleanly. Winlink Express is the other one that stays installed but not always open, ready to go the moment an EmComm exercise or an actual event calls for it.
CHIRP earns its spot for programming handhelds and mobiles without touching a keypad, and the Fldigi suite is worth having installed even if you are not on it daily, since Flmsg and Flamp come up during emergency communications exercises.
Related reading: Log4OM and DXKeeper: Logging Alternatives to Ham Radio Deluxe · DRAWS and Other Digital Interface Boards · PotaCat and EchoCat: Remote Control Your Radio From Your Phone