Comparison

RF Engineer's Calc vs PhosphorHertz

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RF Engineer's Calc

Features
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A simple RF Engineer's Calculator. Convert Watts to dBm, calculate dBm power changes, convert Return Loss to VSWR, etc...

About

PhosphorHertz

Features
Read full description

PhosphorHz is a real-time HF radio propagation monitor for amateur radio operators. It pulls live space weather data from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center and translates it into band-by-band conditions you can act on โ€” right now, from your location. No guesswork. No stale forecasts. Just the numbers, rendered in a retro CRT phosphor display that would look at home in a Cold War listening post. BAND CONDITIONS See at a glance which HF bands are open, marginal, closed, or blacked out. Conditions are calculated from real-time solar flux, geomagnetic activity, and X-ray flux data โ€” not generic regional forecasts. Each band shows your local status plus path-specific conditions to every DX target you configure. MUF CALCULATION The Maximum Usable Frequency for a 3000km reference path from your QTH, derived from Solar Flux Index, solar zenith angle, and depressed by geomagnetic activity. Individual MUFs are calculated for each great-circle path to your DX targets, because the ionosphere doesn't care about averages. SOLAR INDICES All the numbers that matter, updated in real time: Solar Flux Index (SFI) with 30-day trend chart Planetary Kp Index with 24-hour bar chart Estimated Sunspot Number (SSN) GOES X-ray flux class and latest flare detection Solar wind IMF Bz component NOAA R/S/G scales (Radio Blackout, Solar Radiation, Geomagnetic Storm) Running A-index and solar wind Bt Each index includes a plain-language assessment: is the F2 layer well ionised? Is the geomagnetic field quiet or disturbed? Is the solar wind coupling or shielded? 3D GREYLINE GLOBE A SceneKit globe shows the solar terminator โ€” the boundary between day and night โ€” in real time. The greyline (twilight zone along the terminator) is where lower-band DX propagation is enhanced, and it's rendered as an amber band you can see at a glance. The globe displays coastlines, your QTH position, DX target locations, and great-circle paths coloured by band condition. Drag to rotate. Double-tap to recentre on your station. Hit play to watch the Earth spin. SPACE WEATHER ALERTS NOAA SWPC alerts and warnings filtered for HF relevance. Flare events, geomagnetic storms, radio blackouts โ€” the alerts that actually affect your ability to make contacts, with full detail on tap. DX TARGETS Configure up to five target regions. PhosphorHz calculates path-specific propagation for each one, using great-circle geometry and the MUF at the midpoint of each path. What's open to Japan might be closed to South America โ€” and now you can see both at once. FEATURES Real-time data from NOAA SWPC (public domain, no API key required) Band conditions for 160m through 6m Path-specific propagation to multiple DX targets 3D interactive greyline globe with terminator visualisation Sunrise/sunset times and countdown to next solar event Day/night/greyline status at your QTH Kp index 24-hour bar chart SFI 30-day trend line Full space weather alert log with 30-day history Maidenhead grid locator display Automatic location detection or manual grid entry Green phosphor and amber phosphor CRT themes CRT scanline overlay effect Designed for iPhone, portrait orientation No ads. No tracking. No subscription. Part of the Phosphor suite: PhosphorWX (aviation weather), PhosphorRad (radiation monitoring), PhosphorSol (space weather), and PhosphorOrbit (satellite tracking). 73 de PhosphorHz.

Screenshots

RF Engineer's Calc3 screens
PhosphorHertz4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RF Engineer's Calc at Free against PhosphorHertz's $0.99. RF Engineer's Calc also leads on iOS requirement (16.1 vs 26.2). PhosphorHertz's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 10 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

RF Engineer's Calc is free to download; PhosphorHertz costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RF Engineer's Calc ships an update every 10 months, PhosphorHertz every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
RF Engineer's Calc versus PhosphorHertz: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRF Engineer's CalcPhosphorHertz
PriceFree โ€” better$0.99
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 4 months โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS16.1 โ€” better26.2
Further details โ€” not scored
Size43 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGRAHAM JOHN SMITHStuart Woolley

In-app purchases

None

RF Engineer's Calc

No in-app purchases

None

PhosphorHertz

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RF Engineer's Calc free?
RF Engineer's Calc is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PhosphorHertz free?
PhosphorHertz costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do RF Engineer's Calc or PhosphorHertz have ads?
Neither RF Engineer's Calc nor PhosphorHertz shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RF Engineer's Calc or PhosphorHertz?
RF Engineer's Calc ships an update every 10 months, and PhosphorHertz every 4 months. Most recently, RF Engineer's Calc was updated on October 6, 2026 and PhosphorHertz on October 14, 2026.

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