APRS Passcode vs Ham Satting
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
APRS Passcode
This utility helps licensed amateur radio operators recover their APRS passcode. Simply enter your valid callsign to receive the passcode needed for APRS client software. It's useful for various desktop APRS applications.
- APRS Passcode Recovery
- Enter valid callsign
- Compatible with APRS client software
- Useful for desktop applications
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app will recover your APRS Passcode to be used on any APRS Client software. Only certified hams are allowed to connect to the APRS network. Once you use APRS Passcode Recovery, just enter your valid callsign and the app will inform you of your Passcode. This will be usefull to use desktop applications such as UI-View, APRS/CE, APRSISCE/32, AGWTracker, etc. Disclaimer: You need to hold a valid hamradio license in order to use the APRS Network. Once you generate your PassCode you can use it with any APRS Client. The generated PassCode is not SSID-dependent.
Ham Satting
Track amateur radio satellites in real-time, predict passes, and log QSOs. Features include live APRS mapping, AR tracking, and multi-satellite comparison. Offers a unique music broadcast service and SSTV decoding.
- Real-time satellite tracking
- Pass predictions with quality indicators
- Interactive footprint mapping
- AR Tracking with device sensors
- Multi-satellite tracking
- SSTV Decoder
- APRS Live Map Layer
Read full descriptionHide full description
Track amateur radio satellites in real time, predict passes, log QSOs, hunt grid squares — with a live APRS map layer and the new Music Broadcast service. Built by a fellow ham (A41UX) — free of analytics, ads, and tracking. CORE FEATURES • Real-time tracking for FM/SSB linear birds (e.g. ISS, SO-50, etc.), digipeaters (e.g. GRBBeta, Foresail-1p, etc), SSTV + SSDV image birds (e.g. Lobachevsky, GEOSCAN 1-6 , etc.), Weather LRPT (Meteor-M N2-3 / N2-4), and Music Broadcast (e.g. BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, etc) • Pass predictions with quality indicators (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor), AOS / LOS, max elevation, duration, azimuth • Interactive footprint mapping with live position + great-circle bearing lines • Compass dialog with theme-aware export image and watermark • AR Tracking (iPhone / iPad) using device compass + accelerometer • Multi-satellite tracking and side-by-side pass comparison • Five-mode AR audio recording (iPhone / iPad): SSTV, SSDV, Digital, Weather, Music — Doppler-corrected RX labelling; consistent WAV naming NEW IN APRIL 2026 • Music Broadcast: 4 satellites transmit short music tones as an RF identifier instead of CW Morse — T.MicroSat-1 plays Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" on 401.025 MHz; BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, OTP-2 use classical / video-game themes. RX-only on UHF 400-402 MHz; brown toggle on AR page records the pass. • Scheduled Service Events: register a temporary frequency override for SSTV, SSDV, Digital, or Weather (Meteor-M rotation, ARISS channel shifts, etc.) • APRS digipeater added on SONATE-2 (DP0SNX) and NO-44 (PCSAT, W3ADO-1) on 145.825 MHz simplex • IO-86 SSDV downlink added on 145.880 MHz • AMSAT Live Activity Indicator: every prediction card carries a 24-hour activity dot in AMSAT cell colors, sourced from the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status page. Tap for a 48-hour popup with individual reports per cell (callsign + grid + UTC slot), attribution, and a compact share-image. • 10 new satellites with permanent NORADs: TO-108, GRBBeta, Foresail-1p, Horizon, 239Alferov, Luca, BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, OTP-2, T.MicroSat-1 • APRS Live Map Layer: read-only APRS-IS feed, age-fading trails, 40+ symbol mappings, SSID filters, heard-by via aprs.fi • SSTV Decoder: multi-mode (Robot 36, PD 120 / 180, Martin, Scottie, Wraase, AVT, etc.) • Q1 2026 batch: 8 new satellites added (HADES-SA, PARUS-T3, HYPERVIEW-1G, MAGNARO-II Piscis, ARICA-2, FSI-SAT2, ZERO-II, OrigamiSat-2) • UI: long sat names auto-fit at any Font Scale; filter pills always one row; (i) info icons; 125 in-app tips LOGGING + AWARDS + EXPORT • Full QSO logbook: callsign, grid, mode, freq (TX / RX), satellite, RST, distance, bearing • Grid Hunters VUCC tracking with worked-grids map + great-circle paths from QTH • Per-QSO QSL card export — themed PNG ready to share or print • Export to ADIF (LoTW / TQSL), JSON, or CSV • Maidenhead 4 / 6 / 8-character grids • DXCC + VUCC dashboards, distance + bearing stats, worked-by-band charts • Calendar integration; smart pass notifications with min-elevation filter TECHNICAL • Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac (Apple Silicon + Intel). AR Tracking and live audio recording are iPhone / iPad features; pass prediction, logging, exports, mapping, and the AMSAT indicator run on every Apple device. • N2YO API for orbital data (free key required for non-ISS satellites) • Cached satellite catalogue works offline • Privacy-first: data stays on device, no analytics SDKs, no advertising IDs, no tracking. APRS-IS, N2YO, AMSAT Live OSCAR Status, and the optional aprs.fi REST are the only network calls PERFECT FOR • Amateur radio operators pursuing satellite communications • AMSAT members and CubeSat / PocketQube enthusiasts • Contest participants and award hunters (DXCC, VUCC, satellite awards) • SDR listeners curious about Music Broadcast on 400-402 MHz 73 — A41UX (Unixeer, Oman)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ham Satting at 3.7 against APRS Passcode's 1.8. Ham Satting also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). APRS Passcode's advantage is review sentiment (20% vs 0%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. APRS Passcode sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Ham Satting asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ham Satting holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 20% of APRS Passcode's written reviews are positive against 0% of Ham Satting's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
| Parameter | APRS Passcode | Ham Satting |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (5 ratings) | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 20.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | — | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | P8G Software | Yousif AL Balushi |
Customer experience
APRS Passcode
Ham Satting
In-app purchases
APRS Passcode
- Generate APRS Passcode$0.99
- Generate New APRS Passcode$0.99
Ham Satting
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is APRS Passcode free?
Is Ham Satting free?
Which has better reviews, APRS Passcode or Ham Satting?
Do APRS Passcode or Ham Satting have ads?
Other comparisons















