Comparison

HamAntCal vs AntScope

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

Head to head
About

HamAntCal

This app helps amateur radio operators calculate the starting lengths for various antenna types. It supports both imperial and metric units and offers adjustable calculations for inverted vee antennas based on wire angle. Results require final trimming for precise tuning.

Highlights
  • Calculate antenna starting lengths
  • Supports feet/inches and metric units
  • Calculates for Dipoles, Inverted Vee, and Verticals
  • Adjustable Inverted Vee angle calculation
  • Frequency range 30 KHz to 500 MHz (Inverted Vee up to 60 MHz)
  • Updated interface and settings
Features
Read full description

HamAntCal Version 3.5 (Ham Antenna Calculator) will simply and intuitively calculate for you the starting length needed for constructing your antennas in feet/inches or in metric. It will calculate the starting length for "Dipole's", "Inverted Vee's", "Vertical's" and has a page for calculating 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 5/8 and "Full Wave" length. In this update: ▪HamAntCal has been updated to 64 bit and iPhone X ▪New updated interface and settings menu ▪New in app purchase to update features ▪This update requires iOS 8.2 and above. --------------------------------------- ▪ HamAntCal works in feet/inches as well as metric. ▪ The easy to use and intuitive interface makes it easy to calculate starting lengths for building your antennas. It will calculate the starting length for "Dipoles", "Verticals" and "Inverted Vee" antennas. There is also a page for calculating 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 5/8 and "Full Wave" length. ▪ I have come across a lot of different and conflicting information for calculating the length of an "Inverted Vee" antenna. Some say subtract 2 to 5 percent based on the angle of the wires. Others say to add a percentage based on the angle of the wires down from horizontal. I decided to test this before releasing this app. First I calculated for a "Dipole" using the "Dipole" calculator. Then I put together a "Dipole" with a support for the center insulator as well as the ends. I measured the resonant frequency with an antenna analyzer. Then I brought the ends down towards 45 degrees from horizontal. As the ends were lowered the resonant frequency increased. This means that the length of the "Inverted Vee" would need to be increased to stay resonant at the same frequency as the dipole. The "Inverted Vee" calculator has a slider that starts up with an angle of 45 degrees and can be adjusted down to 20 degrees continuously re-calculating as it is moved. This corresponds to about 4.5 to 2 percent added to the length of the "Inverted Vee". ▪ No antenna calculator can give exact results in every case. Much will depend on the wire used, the height above ground, the ground itself, nearby objects, etc…. It's always a good practice to add a little extra wire and then trim up to the desired frequency. ▪ This calculator will calculate from 30 Khz to 500Mhz for the "Dipole", "Vertical" and "Length" calculators. The maximum for the "Inverted Vee" calculator is 60MHz. ▪ This calculator does not give exact measurements and the results will need to be trimmed using an antenna analyzer or SWR meter to the exact frequency after installation. Leave some extra wire on each section for trimming and wrapping around the insulators. ▪ Keep in mind that there are a lot of factors that can affect the resonant frequency of an antenna. At VHF and above even a small change in the length or diameter of an element can make a large change in the resonant frequency of an antenna even more so than at lower frequencies. This calculator just provides the starting length for building an antenna and proper matching methods will need to be used. ▪ Please be safe while building your antennas. Always use the proper safety equipment. Never build your antenna where it can come in contact with power lines, this includes the supports as well as the antenna itself and feed lines. BE SAFE! ▪ Although I have had good results using this calculator the results are not guaranteed. Always add some extra length and trim the antenna to frequency (it's much easier to trim than it is to add wire to the antenna). Please feel free to contact me with suggestions, problems, compliments, ideas for improvements or additions to HamAntCal. Your ratings are appreciated.

About

AntScope

Connect your RigExpert antenna analyzer to your smartphone for detailed antenna system analysis. Visualize SWR and Smith charts, and view all parameters in one place.

Highlights
  • Connects to RigExpert analyzers via BLE
  • SWR chart visualization
  • Smith chart visualization
  • All parameters mode
  • Supports RigExpert Stick 230 BLE
Features
Read full description

AntScope for iOS is a software designed to connect the RigExpert antenna analyzers with BLE option to Apple smartphones. This software allows to get information about your antenna system and visualize that information: - SWR chart (standing wave ratio) - Smith chart - All parameters mode Supported analyzers: - RigExpert Stick 230 - RigExpert Stick 230 BLE

Screenshots

HamAntCal4 screens
AntScope4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: HamAntCal at 90% against AntScope's 23%. HamAntCal also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.3). AntScope's advantage is price (Free vs $0.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

AntScope is free to download; HamAntCal costs $0.99 up front. HamAntCal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AntScope asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HamAntCal holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 57 and 52 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of HamAntCal's written reviews are positive against 23% of AntScope's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HamAntCal ships an update every 31 months, AntScope every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
HamAntCal versus AntScope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHamAntCalAntScope
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (57 ratings) — better2.3 (52 ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better22.5% of reviews
Number of ratings57 — better52
Update frequencyEvery 31 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperState Road 41 Apps LLCRig Expert Ukraine Ltd.

Customer experience

HamAntCal

All ratings57 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.0%

AntScope

All ratings43 ratings
Positive34.9%
Neutral2.3%
Negative62.8%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive22.5%
Neutral10.0%
Negative67.5%

Bugs and requests

HamAntCal

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • No longer works with IOS 11 (historical)
  • App is wrong on inverted V
  • Inverted V issue: leg length calculation seems incorrect
  • Calculation for inverted V seems incorrect

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add support for UHF frequencies and higher
  • Add velocity factor and radiating element size as variables
  • Add suggestion: input target and measured frequency to show trim/add amount
  • Add Inverted Vee mode to calculate height to top and end-to-end distance
  • Add trap calculations for common bands
Show 5 more
  • Add full wave loop calculation
  • Improve UI: one page for frequency entry, browse antenna options with more room for info
  • Add 5/8 wave vertical calculation
  • Show how to build a yagi antenna
  • Add metric units

AntScope

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

HamAntCal

One-time1
  • Features upgrade$0.99
None

AntScope

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HamAntCal free?
HamAntCal costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is AntScope free?
AntScope is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HamAntCal or AntScope?
HamAntCal is rated higher. HamAntCal averages 4.6 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while AntScope averages 2.3 from 52 ratings.
Do HamAntCal or AntScope have ads?
Neither HamAntCal nor AntScope shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HamAntCal or AntScope?
HamAntCal ships an update every 31 months, and AntScope every 2 months. Most recently, HamAntCal was updated on September 24, 2026 and AntScope on September 30, 2026.

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