SatRadio vs xCluster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SatRadio
This app provides essential tools for radio and satellite communication engineers. It includes calculators and analysis features for antenna parameters, frequency calculations, link budgets, and modem performance. It also offers miscellaneous utilities for RF engineering tasks.
- Dish antenna analysis (axial ratio, gain, line of sight)
- Frequency calculations (phase noise, doppler, wavelength)
- Radio link analysis (coaxial losses, mismatch losses, EIRP)
- Modem performance metrics (C/N, C/I, PER, BER)
- Miscellaneous RF engineering utilities (dB calculator, converters)
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Some tools often needed in radio & satcom engineering : - dish antenna : axial ratio, gain from X/Y apertures, line of sight mask, radiation pattern, factor of merit G/T, main lobe aperture, off-axis radiation, temperature, wind deflection - frequency : phase noise, doppler, phase modulation index, wave length - links : on-axis radiation, coaxial losses, individual radio link, mismatch losses, on-axis transmitter EIRP link, waveguide, optical fibers - modem : C/N & C/I, PER & BER, phase noise contribution, PSK waveform - miscellaneous : AM & PM, cooling, dB & %, dB calculator, degrees converter, electrical field, heading & distance, graceful degradation, group delay, IM3-IP3-NPR, power conversion, RF link availability, noise factor
xCluster
Visualize DX cluster activity on a world map and in a list. Filter spots by call sign or band, and set custom alerts for specific stations or countries. Integrates with popular DX services and provides call parsing for location data.
- Display DX spots on map and list
- Filter by band and call sign
- Set custom alerts
- Integrates with DXSummit and PSK Reporter
- Built-in call parser
- Zoom and pan map
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xCluster is a visual display of dx cluster activity built for the iPad. DX spots are received via telnet or web services and displayed in a tabular form and plotted on a map of the world. You can filter the spots by call sign or band. Spots are created using the latitude and longitude of the dx station and spotter. The program has an internal call parsing component to determine the country for each call but can use QRZ.com for more accurate location data. Lookup priority is QRZ.com with the the call parser as a backup. DX spots can be displayed on a map or in a tabular form. Alerts for specific stations, bands or countries may be set and will be highlighted in the list and on the map. A number of major telnet clusters are built in along with DXSummit and PSK Reporter. PSK Reporter will display other stations that can hear your signal. You must be running WSJT-X or FLDIGI and have it configured correctly to work. You may contact the author with questions, suggestions or issues at support@w6op.com Features: Display dx spots on a map and in a list Predefined cluster servers and websites Filter by band and call sign Set alerts for display in the list and on the map Alerts can be set by country, band and call sign Save alerts in iCloud Built in call parser if QRZ.com is unavailable Freeform cluster command input Zoom and pan the map display
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SatRadio at 5.0 against xCluster's 4.0. SatRadio also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 26.0). xCluster's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 10 months) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
SatRadio holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: xCluster has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
SatRadio ships an update every 10 months, xCluster every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 3, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SatRadio | xCluster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.0 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dioptase | Peter Bourget |
Customer experience
SatRadio
xCluster
In-app purchases
SatRadio
No in-app purchases
xCluster
No in-app purchases
