RST 599 vs SatNOGS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RST 599
This application simulates amateur radio CW QSOs with realistic call signs, signal levels, and CW speeds. It supports various QSO styles, including contest and rubber stamp types, with adjustable settings for a personalized training experience.
- Multiple QSO styles supported
- Realistic signal meter
- Spectrum scope display
- Adjustable CW speed and call sign
- Pile-up simulation
- QRN presence toggle
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This app is a real CW QSO simulator for Amateur Radio. "599BK type QSO", "Rubber stamp type QSO" and "Contest type QSO" are supported. In addition, the call sign, signal level, CW speed, etc. that occur differ for each QSO in order to achieve realism. Furthermore, the call sign and CW speed of your own station that issues CQ can be set arbitrarily. 【Characteristic】 1. "599BK","Rubber Stamp"and "AADX Contest" style support. 2.RIT functions support. 3.Realistic signal meter according to audio signal level. 4.Status display showing TX / RX operation. 5.Pile-up supported by 100QSOs/200QSOs (Try Press Class button) 6.The spectrum scope display 【Other features】 1. Function to select the number of QSOs to communicate (5, 20) 2.A function to select the presence or absence (ON / OFF) of QRN 3. Function to select the call area from JA, W/W 4.Easy mode support function (constant pitch / volume) 5.Supported the Rubber Stamp training mode. 6.Supported the ESC button for escaping from the long TX/RX. 7.Supported the Score Clear button of your Hi-Score Data. 8.Support the capture function of Hi-Score dialog.（Does not work on Easy mode.） Supported keyboard input from Apple Silicon Mac. (Not compatible with iOS) [Support Key] A-Z, 0-9, / Enter:return ESC:esc BS:delete CQ:UpArrow AGN:DownArrow TU:[ LEFT:LeftArrow RIGHT:RightArrow
SatNOGS
Access a global network of satellite ground stations to communicate with satellites and observe their data. The platform is open to all, with public observation results freely distributed. Resources are available for building your own ground station.
- Global ground station network access
- Remote ground station operation
- Satellite communication
- Public observation data access
- Ground station building resources
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SatNOGS Network is a global management interface to facilitate multiple ground station operations remotely. An observer is able to take advantage of the full network of SatNOGS ground stations around the world. The network is open to anyone. Any observer is able to utilize all available Ground Stations and communicate with Satellites. All observations results are public and all data are distributed freely under the Creative Commons Atribution-Share Alike license. Whether you own satellite ground station equipment or you want to build one you can head to SatNOGS Project site to get up to date documentation and info on how to build a SatNOGS ground station. App functionality is currently limited by SatNOGS API and will be significantly improved in next major release.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: SatNOGS at none against RST 599's shown. SatNOGS also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). RST 599's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SatNOGS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 4 respectively.
RST 599 ships an update every 2 months, SatNOGS every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on August 22, 2026 and June 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RST 599 | SatNOGS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | koji kamogawa | Victor Belov |
Customer experience
RST 599
SatNOGS
In-app purchases
RST 599
No in-app purchases
SatNOGS
No in-app purchases
