Ham Radio Exam vs HamWaves
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ham Radio Exam
Prepare for your General Class FCC Amateur Radio License exam. Review official question pools, take topic-specific quizzes, and practice with simulated exams. Track your progress and find local exam sessions.
- Review official question pool
- Topic-specific quizzes
- Simulated practice exams
- Performance tracking
- Find exam sessions
- Ham radio news
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"Ham Radio Exam - General" will help the user pass his/her examination for a General Class FCC Amateur Radio License. Ham Radio Exam allows the user to review the correct answers to the official pool of questions that will appear on their General license exam. The user can also take quizzes of each topic that will be on the exam as well as take simulated examinations that exactly mimic the license exam that the user will take. The users performance is stored so that the user can track their progress as they continue their preparations. Ham Radio Exam even allows the user to find an examination session near them and to follow ham radio news. The question pool is valid until 01 July 2027.
HamWaves
This app guides aspiring amateur radio operators in the US through the licensing process. It covers exam study, taking the test, getting on the air, and understanding radio equipment and operations. It's designed for new and prospective Technician level operators.
- FCC license process navigation
- Exam study and testing information
- Getting on-the-air guidance
- Radio equipment selection
- Technician level band-plan
- Online and in-person event resources
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HamWaves will de-mystify the process of getting started in amateur radio in the United States. HamWaves explains each step in the process of getting your license and provides full information on studying and taking your license exam. HamWaves has more than 30 topics for prospective and new Technician level amateur radio operators. Topics include: - Navigating through the FCC license process. - How to study for your exam. - Options and tips for taking the exam. - Getting on-the-air. - Types of on-air activities you can participate in. - Online resources for hams. - Clubs and groups. - Live on-the-air events. - Live in-person events. - Emergency Communications. - Choosing radio equipment. - Radio Programming. - Proper online etiquette. - Learning phonetics. - Using Allstar and EchoLink for remote communications. - Technician level band-plan with frequencies and types of operations allowed. - Several other reference categories to help you. This app is a must-have for all new and prospective hams. It was written by the president of a large amateur radio club with over a decade of experience helping new hams. Best of all, it's free and will be updated regularly as information changes or new topics are suggested.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HamWaves at 5.0 against Ham Radio Exam's 4.5. HamWaves also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 82%). Ham Radio Exam's advantage is ratings volume (116 vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.1). 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.
HamWaves holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ham Radio Exam has 116 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Ham Radio Exam's written reviews are positive against 100% of HamWaves's.
| Parameter | Ham Radio Exam | HamWaves |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (116 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 116 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roy Watson | Brian MILBURN |
Customer experience
Ham Radio Exam
HamWaves
Bugs and requests
Ham Radio Exam
Reported bugs
10 issues- Results of practice test unreadable due to color contrast
- App crashes when starting a practice test
- App closes automatically when taking a section quiz
- App crashes after hard reset on iPad
- App crashes on launch after update (iPad)
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- App crashes on launch after update (iPhone)
- Settings menu and other menus not working
- Top of review screens cut off
- Web view for 'take a test' does not load
- Part of missed question cut off when reviewing
Requested features
15 requests- Immediate feedback option (color coding)
- Improve recommended questions area navigation
- Ability to select answer and submit separately
- Review all answers before submitting
- See correct answers without incorrect ones
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- Fix sample test question randomizing algorithm
- Lengthen right/wrong feedback by one second
- Update General app for new question pool
- Sort incorrect responses to focus on problem areas
- Fix framing of review screens
- Fix web view loading and spinner
- Mark successfully answered questions to avoid reuse
- Offer ad-free version for purchase
- Highlight wrong answers along with correct ones
- Complete question display without needing to navigate back
HamWaves
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ham Radio Exam
No in-app purchases
HamWaves
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ham Radio Exam free?
Is HamWaves free?
Which has better reviews, Ham Radio Exam or HamWaves?
Do Ham Radio Exam or HamWaves have ads?
Other comparisons
