HamSat vs OrbitDeck

HamSat is the satellite tracker built for amateur radio operators — with an Apple Watch companion on your wrist and, new in 2.1, a sked planner that finds the passes you and another operator can work together. NEW — SKED PLANNER (Pro) • Plan a contact, not just a pass: enter another operator's grid square and find every window where a satellite sees you both • Set a minimum elevation for each end of the link — a window only counts if it's workable at both stations • One tap adds the sked to your calendar with the overlap times, a 10-minute reminder, and the radio setup PLAN AHEAD • Pass predictions up to 7 days out • Add any pass to Apple Calendar — times, reminder, and frequencies in the notes. HamSat never reads your calendar. • Choose your pass-alert tone — including a CW "HI" in Morse APPLE WATCH (Pro) • Your next favorite pass on your wrist: live azimuth, elevation, Doppler-corrected frequencies, and a countdown to AOS • Guided wrist-aim — follow an arrow straight to the satellite and feel a haptic tap the instant you're locked on. Aim your antenna without looking at a screen, hands free for the radio. • Propagated on the watch itself, so it keeps tracking even when your phone is out of range PASS TRACKING • Live sky dome with the satellite's arc and a glyph riding it in real time • Fullscreen Live tracker — big AZ/EL, Doppler-corrected frequencies, landscape split-pane • Aim mode uses your phone's compass to show where you're pointing — no forced figure-8 calibration, just point and go • Apple Maps ground track with horizon footprint OPERATING DURING A PASS • Doppler-corrected RX (and TX for SSB/linear) dial frequencies, updated every second • 10-minute and AOS notifications that deep-link straight to the pass • Live Activity + Dynamic Island on the lock screen, elevation and azimuth ticking live • Bell badge on any pass you've set an alert for ROVER PROOF PHOTOS • Stamp a photo at your site with your callsign, grid, satellite, and UTC time — proof of where you were on the air • Fresh photo or one from your library; share to X, Messages, AirDrop — or submit for the AMSAT Rover Award ALWAYS OVERHEAD (free) • Lists any geostationary satellite in your sky — QO-100 (Es'hail 2) for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East • "Find it in the sky" — point your phone and check your line-of-sight to the bird is clear • No Pro required for geostationary satellites SATELLITE CATALOG • Friendly designations everywhere — SO-50, AO-91, RS-44, JO-97 — with launch names as subtitles • Search by name or NORAD ID • Curated radio data for the most-worked birds, plus live SatNOGS for the long tail — kept fresh by HamSat's catalog service • Filter by mode (FM, linear, beacon, data, telemetry) ACCURATE & OFFLINE • Full SGP4 propagation on-device — the model the pros use, so times and positions match apps like ISS Detector • Works completely offline — every pass, sky dome, ground track, and Doppler computed locally. No API keys, no rate limits. • Always-fresh orbital data via HamSat's catalog service, with direct CelesTrak/AMSAT fallback — or pin a source • Settings shows how fresh your orbital data is PRIVACY-FIRST • Your location stays on-device — nothing about you is sent to any server • Orbital data from public sources (CelesTrak, AMSAT, SatNOGS) • No accounts, no tracking, no ads HamSat Pro — the field operator's toolkit • Sked planner — mutual passes with any partner grid • Apple Watch tracking & guided wrist-aim • Fullscreen Live tracker with second-by-second Doppler (landscape split-pane) • Live in-pass Doppler — corrected RX/TX at AOS, max, and LOS • Overhead-now live tracker for your favorites • Unlimited scheduled alerts — not just three • Shareable Rover proof photos One-time purchase, no subscription. 73 — and good DX!

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.