Ham Satting vs SOTA Log
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ham Satting
Track amateur radio satellites in real-time, predict passes, and log QSOs. Features include live APRS mapping, AR tracking, and multi-satellite comparison. Offers a unique music broadcast service and SSTV decoding.
- Real-time satellite tracking
- Pass predictions with quality indicators
- Interactive footprint mapping
- AR Tracking with device sensors
- Multi-satellite tracking
- SSTV Decoder
- APRS Live Map Layer
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Track amateur radio satellites in real time, predict passes, log QSOs, hunt grid squares — with a live APRS map layer and the new Music Broadcast service. Built by a fellow ham (A41UX) — free of analytics, ads, and tracking. CORE FEATURES • Real-time tracking for FM/SSB linear birds (e.g. ISS, SO-50, etc.), digipeaters (e.g. GRBBeta, Foresail-1p, etc), SSTV + SSDV image birds (e.g. Lobachevsky, GEOSCAN 1-6 , etc.), Weather LRPT (Meteor-M N2-3 / N2-4), and Music Broadcast (e.g. BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, etc) • Pass predictions with quality indicators (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor), AOS / LOS, max elevation, duration, azimuth • Interactive footprint mapping with live position + great-circle bearing lines • Compass dialog with theme-aware export image and watermark • AR Tracking (iPhone / iPad) using device compass + accelerometer • Multi-satellite tracking and side-by-side pass comparison • Five-mode AR audio recording (iPhone / iPad): SSTV, SSDV, Digital, Weather, Music — Doppler-corrected RX labelling; consistent WAV naming NEW IN APRIL 2026 • Music Broadcast: 4 satellites transmit short music tones as an RF identifier instead of CW Morse — T.MicroSat-1 plays Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" on 401.025 MHz; BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, OTP-2 use classical / video-game themes. RX-only on UHF 400-402 MHz; brown toggle on AR page records the pass. • Scheduled Service Events: register a temporary frequency override for SSTV, SSDV, Digital, or Weather (Meteor-M rotation, ARISS channel shifts, etc.) • APRS digipeater added on SONATE-2 (DP0SNX) and NO-44 (PCSAT, W3ADO-1) on 145.825 MHz simplex • IO-86 SSDV downlink added on 145.880 MHz • AMSAT Live Activity Indicator: every prediction card carries a 24-hour activity dot in AMSAT cell colors, sourced from the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status page. Tap for a 48-hour popup with individual reports per cell (callsign + grid + UTC slot), attribution, and a compact share-image. • 10 new satellites with permanent NORADs: TO-108, GRBBeta, Foresail-1p, Horizon, 239Alferov, Luca, BALKAN-1, Flamingo-1, OTP-2, T.MicroSat-1 • APRS Live Map Layer: read-only APRS-IS feed, age-fading trails, 40+ symbol mappings, SSID filters, heard-by via aprs.fi • SSTV Decoder: multi-mode (Robot 36, PD 120 / 180, Martin, Scottie, Wraase, AVT, etc.) • Q1 2026 batch: 8 new satellites added (HADES-SA, PARUS-T3, HYPERVIEW-1G, MAGNARO-II Piscis, ARICA-2, FSI-SAT2, ZERO-II, OrigamiSat-2) • UI: long sat names auto-fit at any Font Scale; filter pills always one row; (i) info icons; 125 in-app tips LOGGING + AWARDS + EXPORT • Full QSO logbook: callsign, grid, mode, freq (TX / RX), satellite, RST, distance, bearing • Grid Hunters VUCC tracking with worked-grids map + great-circle paths from QTH • Per-QSO QSL card export — themed PNG ready to share or print • Export to ADIF (LoTW / TQSL), JSON, or CSV • Maidenhead 4 / 6 / 8-character grids • DXCC + VUCC dashboards, distance + bearing stats, worked-by-band charts • Calendar integration; smart pass notifications with min-elevation filter TECHNICAL • Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac (Apple Silicon + Intel). AR Tracking and live audio recording are iPhone / iPad features; pass prediction, logging, exports, mapping, and the AMSAT indicator run on every Apple device. • N2YO API for orbital data (free key required for non-ISS satellites) • Cached satellite catalogue works offline • Privacy-first: data stays on device, no analytics SDKs, no advertising IDs, no tracking. APRS-IS, N2YO, AMSAT Live OSCAR Status, and the optional aprs.fi REST are the only network calls PERFECT FOR • Amateur radio operators pursuing satellite communications • AMSAT members and CubeSat / PocketQube enthusiasts • Contest participants and award hunters (DXCC, VUCC, satellite awards) • SDR listeners curious about Music Broadcast on 400-402 MHz 73 — A41UX (Unixeer, Oman)
SOTA Log
Log SOTA and POTA contacts quickly from the field with a single-field input for QSOs. Features live spotting, radio synchronization, and offline functionality for seamless operation.
- One-field QSO logging
- Live SOTA/POTA spotting
- Radio frequency and mode sync
- SMS spotting without data
- QRZ callsign lookup
- ADIF log export
- Offline operation
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The fastest way to log SOTA and POTA contacts from the field. Type a callsign, hit Send, and you're ready for the next station. SOTA Log is built for operators who need speed on the summit, not menus, settings, or setup screens. ONE-FIELD LOGGING Type your entire QSO in a single field. Callsign, RST, frequency, mode, and references are parsed inline as you type. Frequency carries over. Mode derives from band. Everything you'd normally tap through just works. LIVE SPOTS Browse real-time SOTA and POTA spots filtered by program and mode. Tap a spot to prefill your QSO and tune your radio in one step. SOTACAT RADIO SYNC Connect to your Elecraft KX2, KX3, or KH1 for automatic frequency and mode sync, one-tap spot pouncing, and a CW keyer with six programmable macros. SOTAMAT SPOTTING Spot yourself via SMS with no cell data required. SOTA and POTA spots are sent through SOTAmat so chasers can find you even without internet. QRZ & ADIF Look up callsigns and sync your logs to QRZ Logbook. Export ADIF filtered for SOTA or POTA submissions. OFFLINE FIRST All logging works without internet. Reference databases, contact history, and activation progress live on-device. Network features enhance the experience but never gate it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SOTA Log at 5.0 against Ham Satting's 3.0. Ham Satting's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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.
SOTA Log holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively.
Ham Satting ships an update weekly, SOTA Log fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ham Satting | SOTA Log |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yousif AL Balushi | Christopher Hunt |
Customer experience
Ham Satting
SOTA Log
In-app purchases
Ham Satting
No in-app purchases
SOTA Log
No in-app purchases









