HAM Test Prep Lite vs RST Decoder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HAM Test Prep Lite
Prepare for your amateur radio Technician license exam with practice questions and tests. Review FCC rules, track your progress, and identify areas needing more study. This version includes a portion of the question pool, with a full version available for purchase.
- Technician question pool
- Practice exams
- Progress tracking
- Immediate feedback
- FCC rule text viewer
- Zoomable figures
- Dark mode support
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Includes the Technician Question Pool effective July 1, 2026! NOTE: This "Lite" version contains only 2 of the 10 subelements in the question pool. Click the 'Buy Now' link in the app to get the FULL version. Join the amateur radio community! Become a HAM by obtaining your Technician class license! Amateur Radio License exams are composed of questions from a pool. Use this application prior to taking your exam to review and practice all possible questions. Then, test your knowledge with practice exams! After completing your first practice exam, the question pool screen will display your proficiency in each question group for all practice exams you have completed. This will identify areas in which you need further practice. You may choose to receive immediate feedback on right and wrong answers when taking a practice test. On practice tests, questions in a group will not be repeated until all of them have been used. Some questions require you to review associated Figures. These figures may be zoomed and panned on iPhone/iPod touch. FCC rule text is viewable within the application. All sections can be browsed from the main screen. Additionally, for questions where rule sections have been identified, the rule text can be viewed on the question screen when studying the question pool or reviewing test results. An in-progress practice test can be resumed if you exit the test or the application. Current Technician question pool is valid through June 30, 2030. This "Lite" version only contains questions from subelements T1 and T6. Versions of this application for both the General and Extra license classes are also available. This app has these additional features: • Accessibility option for vision-impaired users to exclude questions with figures • Dark mode support • Portrait and Landscape support on iPad • Swipe gestures to navigate between questions • Tap on answer to select it • Double-tap or use pinch gesture to zoom Figures on iPhone and iPod touch • Buttons to skip to next/previous wrong answer in test results • ARRL question number displayed on practice tests • Configurable Test Settings • Optional randomizing of test answers • Optional auto-advance during test
RST Decoder
This application decodes Morse code from your microphone, acting as a practice tool to verify your keying accuracy. It offers advanced features like BPF and FFT decoders with automatic frequency and gain control, allowing for fine-tuning of reception parameters.
- Microphone Morse code decoding
- Morse practice and keying check
- BPF and FFT decoder options
- Auto Frequency Detector (AFD)
- Auto Gain Control (AGC)
- Real-time CW signal display
- Input signal recording/playback
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This is an App that decodes Morse code input from the microphone. It is a Morse practice App that you can use to check if you are keying the correct code. Signals with good S/N can be decoded correctly, but signals with bad S/N cannot be decoded correctly. Also, the performance will be degraded for extremely slow or fast signals. Usually about 5 to 10 characters are required for speed synchronization of Morse Code. Adjust the input signal so that the peak value changes from level 6 to level 7. Make fine adjustments to each parameter according to the reception status. [Additional Functions] -In addition to the decoder using BPF, a new decoder using FFT has been added so that it can be switched according to the usage. -AFD (Auto Frequency Detector) function has been added to the decoder using BPF, and BPF can be set automatically by pressing the AFD button. -The decoder using FFT automatically follows the strongest signal in the band by AFD (Auto Frequency Detector) and AGC (Auto Gain Control). You can also hold the AFD / AGC parameters by pressing the Lock button. * There will be a time lag of about 1 to 2 seconds for AFD tracking. [Control parameters] 1. Audio Input Level 2.BPF ON/OFF 3.BPF of Center Frequency 4.BPF of Band Width 5.CW Speed Control ON/OFF 6.CW Speed Control Low, Mid1, Mid2 or High 7.Delete All Decoded Text 8.Realtime CW Signal Display 9.Input signal recording / playback function *Japanese/KANA text is not supported. [Note] Since the signal after BPF is output to the audio output, it can also be used as an AF-CW filter. [URL of this App working example video] https://youtu.be/Pwp7W4m-m34
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: HAM Test Prep Lite at none against RST Decoder's shown. HAM Test Prep Lite also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 67%) and ratings volume (167 vs 7). RST Decoder's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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.
RST Decoder holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HAM Test Prep Lite has 167 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 88% of HAM Test Prep Lite's written reviews are positive against 67% of RST Decoder's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HAM Test Prep Lite ships an update every 8 months, RST Decoder every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HAM Test Prep Lite | RST Decoder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (167 ratings) | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.7% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 167 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Patrick J Maloney LLC | koji kamogawa |
Customer experience
HAM Test Prep Lite
RST Decoder
Bugs and requests
HAM Test Prep Lite
Reported bugs
4 issues- Correct answer changes
- Clunky interface
- Hard to see green letters (correct answers)
- Free version useless
Requested features
4 requests- More features for free app
- More test variety
- Ability to run subset of questions
- Clearer test completion indicator
RST Decoder
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HAM Test Prep Lite
No in-app purchases
RST Decoder
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HAM Test Prep Lite free?
Is RST Decoder free?
Which has better reviews, HAM Test Prep Lite or RST Decoder?
Do HAM Test Prep Lite or RST Decoder have ads?
Which is updated more often, HAM Test Prep Lite or RST Decoder?
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