QTH Grid Square Locator vs OrbitDeck
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
QTH Grid Square Locator
Calculate your Maidenhead grid locator accurately using your device's GPS. This tool is designed for amateur radio operators, offering real-time calculations and offline functionality for contests and DX communication.
- Real-time GPS location calculation
- Maidenhead grid system support
- Offline functionality
- Interactive map view
- Optimized for amateur radio
Read full descriptionHide full description
QTH Locator is a practical tool designed for amateur radio operators, allowing them to easily calculate their location using the Maidenhead grid system. This app is specially designed for radio enthusiasts who need precise and reliable results for location calculations. Whether you are participating in a radio contest or engaging in DX communication, QTH Locator provides accurate GPS-based results and works even in offline mode. Main Features: - Real-Time GPS Location Calculation: The app utilizes your device's GPS to accurately determine your Maidenhead grid locator in real time. - Efficient and Accurate: Instantly calculates your grid locator to enhance communication with other radio operators. - Offline Functionality: Calculate your QTH locator even without an internet connection, ideal for remote locations. - Optimized for Amateur Radio Activities: Perfect for radio contests, field operations, and DX communications. - Interactive Map View: Visualize your grid locator directly on an integrated map for an enhanced user experience. About Amateur Radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is a popular hobby where licensed users communicate across various radio frequencies. The QTH locator system plays a vital role in this field, helping operators accurately calculate their position, making it easier to connect with others worldwide, especially during contests and DX activities. Whether you're an experienced operator or a beginner, calculating your QTH location is crucial for effective communication. Download QTH Locator today and enhance your amateur radio experience with accurate and efficient location calculation tools.
OrbitDeck
This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for amateur radio operators to track satellites, predict passes, and control radio equipment. It offers Doppler tuning, digital mode decoding, and contact logging capabilities, all from a mobile device.
- Live satellite tracking and pass prediction
- Doppler tuning for radio frequencies
- Rig and rotator control via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi
- SSTV and FT4 digital mode decoding
- On-device QSO logging with export options
- Space weather and propagation data
Read full descriptionHide full description
OrbitDeck is a complete amateur-radio satellite station for iPhone and iPad. Track the birds, predict passes, tune your radio for Doppler, decode images, and log your contacts — all from live orbital elements. TRACK & PREDICT • Live look angles, range, range-rate, sub-point, and footprint • Next-pass predictions with quality scoring and elevation profiles • Daily schedule of every favorite's passes, ordered by AOS • Ground-track map, multi-day pass progression, and an all-sky radar • Animated 3D globe and a polar sky plot with AOS/LOS and direction-of-travel arrows WORK THE BIRDS • Four-dial Doppler for DX plus a single-station playbook • Per-satellite calibration shared across every Doppler screen • Link budgets, SatNOGS transponder data, AO-7 mode timer, and mutual-visibility windows RIG CONTROL (CAT) • Doppler-tune your transceiver over a Bluetooth serial adapter or an Icom network (Wi-Fi) radio • Icom CI-V, Yaesu, Kenwood (including TS-2000/790 satellite mode), and any Hamlib radio via rigctld • One full-duplex radio, a separate uplink/downlink pair, or two radios; follows your dial as you tune ROTATOR CONTROL • Azimuth/elevation control via GS-232, Easycomm, SPID, rotctld, PstRotator, SAEBRTrack, and OZ9AAR URC DIGITAL MODES & AUDIO • Over a USB audio interface or Icom network audio: record a pass, decode SSTV (Doppler-aware, with a post-pass re-decode and image fix-up), and work full-duplex FT4 on a linear transponder LOGGING • On-device QSO log with ADIF export and LoTW and Cloudlog/Wavelog upload Plus orbital analysis, live space weather, MUF/propagation, and classic OSCARLOCATOR overlays. OrbitDeck works fully as a tracker with no radio and no account. Rig control, rotator control, SSTV, and FT4 require your own amateur-radio equipment and a valid license; transmit only within your privileges. Orbital elements from AMSAT and CelesTrak; transponder data from SatNOGS; space weather from NOAA SWPC. FT4/FT8 use the MIT-licensed ft8_lib.
Screenshots
Verdict
QTH Grid Square Locator and OrbitDeck are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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.
| Parameter | QTH Grid Square Locator | OrbitDeck |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ugur Altinsoy | Paul Stoetzer |
In-app purchases
QTH Grid Square Locator
No in-app purchases
OrbitDeck
No in-app purchases








