Comparison

HamAntCal vs HAM

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

HAM

This utility app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for amateur radio operators, including band conditions, DX-Cluster monitoring, and a logbook. It features direct radio integration for tuning and automatic logging, along with various calculations and resource information.

Highlights
  • DX-Cluster and PSK-Reporter activity monitoring
  • Bandplan, Glossar, and AWG resource information
  • Built-in radio integration for direct tuning
  • Fully featured logbook with QSO editing
  • LOTW and QRZ.com log submission
  • Calculations for Ohm's law, VSWR, and antennas
  • CW Encoder and Decoder
Features
Read full description

The ultimate utility App for every HAM-Radio Operator HAM-Toolbox provides a variety of useful Tools to help you operating your HAM-Radio. The Tools are ranging from activity monitoring Tools like DX-Cluster and PSK-Reporter, to Tools helping you with resource information like Bandplan, Glossar, AWG and many more Tools. HAM-Toolbox also has a built-in radio integration, so that you can directly tune to spots from the DX-Cluster and other tools. During logging, the appropriate fields for the frequency and mode will be automatically filled. With a one-time purchase you gain access to all of the following Tools on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. · TOOLS: + Band Conditions + POTA + DX-Cluster + PSK-Reporter + Reverse Beacon Network + Call-Lookup + Locator + Beacons (especially NCDXF) + Repeater + DTMF Generator + CW Encoder and Decoder + Frequency List + QSL Card Designer (design, preview, print and export your own QSL cards) · LOGBOOK: HAM-Toolbox comes with a fully featured Logbook. + Inspect and edit your existing QSOs + Easy-to-use logging interface + Maintenance (Data completion from QRZ.com, Duplicates finder, Mass change) + LOTW and QRZ.com log submission + Integrated Call-Lookup with possibility to update QSO + Worked/Needed statistics for CQ-Zones, ITU-Zones and DXCCs + Map with worked grid locators representation + iCloud-Sync with multiple devices (compatible with SDR-Control and SmartSDR) · Radio-Integration: + Frequency and Mode + Logbook integration + Direct tuning from various Tools like DXCluster, POTA, Frequency List + Supports all major Brands and Radios via Network or USB + YAESU: FT-710, FT-991, FT-DX10, FT-DX100 + Icom: IC-705, IC-7300mk2, IC-7300, IC-7610, IC-7760, IC-9700, IC-R8600, + Kenwood: TS-890, TS-990 + Elecraft: K4 + HamLib · CALCULATIONS: + Ohm's law + VSWR + Dipole-Antenna + Groundplane-Antenna + HB9CV-Antenna + Helix-Antenna + dB Conversion + Wavelength · RESOURCES: + Bandplan + Glossar + Morse + AWG + CTCSS-Codes + Formulas + Q-Codes + Abbreviations + Constants Find out more here: https://ham-toolbox.com Read the Manual: https://go-to.me/hamtoolbox-manual

Screenshots

HamAntCal4 screens
HAM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: HamAntCal at $0.99 against HAM's $14.99. HamAntCal also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (90% vs 69%). HAM's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 31 months). On ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

HamAntCal costs $0.99 and HAM $14.99 up front. HamAntCal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. HAM asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HamAntCal holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HamAntCal has 57 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of HamAntCal's written reviews are positive against 69% of HAM's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HamAntCal ships an update every 31 months, HAM monthly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
HamAntCal versus HAM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHamAntCalHAM
Price$0.99 — better$14.99
Rating4.6 (57 ratings) — better4.0 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better69.2% of reviews
Number of ratings57 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 31 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB83 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperState Road 41 Apps LLCMarcus Roskosch

Customer experience

HamAntCal

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

HAM

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative23.1%

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

HAM

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

HamAntCal

One-time1
  • Features upgrade$0.99
None

HAM

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HamAntCal free?
HamAntCal costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is HAM free?
HAM costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HamAntCal or HAM?
HamAntCal is rated higher. HamAntCal averages 4.6 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while HAM averages 4.0 from 7 ratings.
Do HamAntCal or HAM have ads?
Neither HamAntCal nor HAM shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HamAntCal or HAM?
HamAntCal ships an update every 31 months, and HAM monthly. Most recently, HamAntCal was updated on September 24, 2026 and HAM on September 24, 2026.

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