Comparison

SWList vs PhosphorSSTV

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

Head to head
About

SWList

Discover and identify shortwave radio stations with access to curated EiBi and Aoki lists. Explore stations by frequency, band, or search criteria, and view detailed transmission information, including location on a map.

Highlights
  • Access EiBi and Aoki curated lists
  • Discover stations by frequency or band
  • Search by station name, country, or language
  • Connect to radio receivers via Hamlib
  • Filter for currently broadcasting stations
  • View station transmission details
  • Display transmitter location on map
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

SWList gives you access to the popular EiBi and Aoki lists, helping you easily discover and identify shortwave radio stations. The EiBi list, curated by Eike Bierwirth, is a highly valued resource within the SWL community.  The Aoki list, curated by Shigenori Aoki, is also widely used and recognized for its reliability. SWList offers four convenient ways to explore radio stations: - Enter a listening frequency to display stations transmitting nearby. - Select a specific radio band to view all stations within it. - Search by station name, country, or broadcast language. - Retrieve the frequency manually or automatically from your radio receiver, if connected via Hamlib. You can also filter results to show only stations that are currently broadcasting. For each station, detailed information is available, including transmission location, target area, and spoken language. If the transmitter’s location is available, you can display it on a geographic map and calculate the distance from your location. SWList also supports light and dark modes to suit your viewing preferences.

About

PhosphorSSTV

Decode Slow Scan Television (SSTV) signals in real time using your iPhone's microphone. This app transforms audio tones into images, recreating the retro aesthetic of vintage monitors. It supports ten SSTV modes and offers advanced signal analysis tools.

Highlights
  • Real-time SSTV signal decoding
  • Supports ten SSTV modes
  • Authentic CRT display aesthetic
  • Live FFT spectrum analysis
  • Automatic VIS code detection
  • Image logging with metadata
Features
Read full description

PhosphorSSTV decodes Slow Scan Television (SSTV) signals in real time using your iPhone's microphone. SSTV has been the amateur radio image transmission mode since the 1960s. From cold-war era picture transmissions to International Space Station passes, SSTV encodes images as audio tones between 1200–2300Hz. Each scanline is a sweep through frequency space, painting pictures one line at a time across the HF bands. Hold your phone near a shortwave radio tuned to an SSTV signal — or play a recording — and watch the image build scanline by scanline on an authentic phosphor CRT display, just like the original SSTV monitors. No internet connection required. No external hardware. No account. Just your iPhone and a radio. TEN SSTV MODES • Scottie S1, S2, DX — the most widely used SSTV modes on HF worldwide • Martin M1, M2 — popular across European SSTV activity • Robot 36, 72 — YCbCr colour modes, used by the ISS during special events • Robot 8, 12, 24 BW — fast greyscale modes for text, diagrams, and low-bandwidth conditions REAL-TIME DECODING • Progressive scanline rendering — the image builds top to bottom, just like a real SSTV monitor • VIS code detection automatically identifies the transmission mode • Sync-aligned slant correction eliminates timing drift for straight, clean images • Hilbert transform FM discriminator for accurate frequency-to-pixel conversion SIGNAL ANALYSIS • Live FFT spectrum display shows the full 0–4 kHz audio band • Scrolling waterfall reveals the SSTV signal structure in real time • SSTV band markers at 1200 Hz (sync), 1500 Hz (black), and 2300 Hz (white) • Input gain control from 0.1× to 20× IMAGE LOG • Decoded images saved automatically with thumbnails • Full metadata: mode, timestamp, duration, VIS detection status • View full-size, share, or delete • Swipe to delete, tap to view detail AUTHENTIC CRT AESTHETIC • Green and amber phosphor display themes • Scanline overlay, vignette, and glow effects • Monospaced terminal typography throughout • The same retro aesthetic as our PhosphorRTTY and PhosphorCW apps WHERE TO FIND SSTV • 20m band: 14.230 MHz USB — primary worldwide SSTV frequency • 80m band: 3.845 MHz LSB • 40m band: 7.171 MHz LSB • ISS: 145.800 MHz FM during special SSTV events • Or search YouTube/archive.org for SSTV audio recordings to decode PRIVACY PhosphorSSTV makes zero network requests. No accounts, no tracking, no analytics, no ads. Microphone audio is processed entirely on-device and is never recorded or transmitted. See our full privacy policy on our support page. ABOUT SSTV Slow Scan Television was developed in the late 1950s as a way to transmit still images over voice-bandwidth radio channels. Unlike fast-scan television (broadcast TV), SSTV takes seconds to minutes per image, encoding pixel brightness as audio frequency. The 1200 Hz sync pulse marks each line boundary, black is 1500 Hz, and white is 2300 Hz. Every pixel in between is a precise frequency in that range. Amateur radio operators worldwide still use SSTV daily on the HF bands, and the International Space Station periodically transmits commemorative images that can be received with nothing more than a handheld radio.

Screenshots

SWList4 screens
PhosphorSSTV4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SWList at 67% against PhosphorSSTV's 0%. SWList also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and chart position (#198 vs unranked). PhosphorSSTV's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $3.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

SWList costs $3.99 and PhosphorSSTV $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SWList ships an update every 2 months, PhosphorSSTV every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
SWList versus PhosphorSSTV: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSWListPhosphorSSTV
Price$3.99$0.99 — better
Rating3.8 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#198 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStefano RampazzoStuart Woolley

Customer experience

SWList

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

PhosphorSSTV

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

SWList

No in-app purchases

None

PhosphorSSTV

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SWList free?
SWList costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PhosphorSSTV free?
PhosphorSSTV costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do SWList or PhosphorSSTV have ads?
Neither SWList nor PhosphorSSTV shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SWList or PhosphorSSTV?
SWList ships an update every 2 months, and PhosphorSSTV every 5 months. Most recently, SWList was updated on September 9, 2026 and PhosphorSSTV on September 5, 2026.

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