Comparison

Ham Logging vs MekFab

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

Head to head
About

Ham Logging

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Ham Logging is a QSO logbook for amateur radio operators: one log on your phone that stays in step with the services you use — LoTW, eQSL, Club Log, QRZ.com Logbook, HRDLog.net / Ham365, HamQTH, CloudLog, Wavelog, QRZCQ, cqGMA and DxQSO. KEY FEATURES • 15 logging services: 11 take your contacts straight from the app, and POTA, SOTA, WWFF and ARRL Contest get a ready-made file • LoTW from your phone: your contacts signed with your own callsign certificate, exactly as TQSL signs them • Auto Sync, if you turn it on: new contacts and edits go to your services a few minutes after you log them • Callsign look-up from the sources you tick — QRZ.com, HamQTH, callook.info, and qrz.ru for the callsigns you type: every contact you log, import or download fills itself in — names, grids and zones • New QSO profiles — POTA, SOTA, WWFF, GMA, Satellite and Contest bring the fields you need to the top and count towards a valid activation • Full ADIF 3.1.8 import and export, and CSV and JSON backups of every field • Rover Mode: large-target, voice-dictated callsign entry for mobile operating • Rig control (Experimental): the log follows your radio's frequency and mode, over the network or Bluetooth • POTA, SOTA, WWFF, GMA and contest fields; spot yourself to POTA, WWFF, GMA and a DX cluster • QSL card export: a themed card with your comment, ready to share • Monthly and yearly statistics with shareable images PROPAGATION AND MAP • World map with great-circle lines to every worked station, and worked grids as squares • Gray line with an aurora layer (NOAA OVATION), 24-hour MUF prediction and band openings • PSK Reporter and WSPR paths, live solar data and band-by-band DX potential • One Spots tab — DX from HamQTH's cluster feed, POTA, SOTA, GMA, WWFF and contests, each read from its programme's own service — and a live APRS layer PRIVACY FIRST • No accounts, no ads, no analytics, no tracking • Your log stays on your phone and goes only to the services you set up — when you tap Sync, or by itself with Auto Sync • Microphone: only for Rover Mode dictation, handled by the system's speech engine, never recorded or sent • Local network: only to reach your own Wavelog or CloudLog server, or your radio through rigctld • Bluetooth: only to talk to your radio DARK MODE AND ACCESSIBILITY • Theme-aware throughout, a font-scale slider, and Tips & Tricks you can switch off Built by Yousuf AL Balushi (A41UX) — Unixeer — for the amateur radio community.

About

MekFab

This app allows users to design and simulate various combat vehicles, including mechs and aerospace fighters. It provides detailed technical readouts, cost calculations, and route planning for interstellar travel. Users can also build organizational tables and generate printable record sheets for gameplay.

Highlights
  • Design mechs, vehicles, and fighters
  • Simulate unit files (MTF, BLK)
  • Calculate Battle Value and C-bill cost
  • Engineering rule review
  • Generate printable record sheets
  • Create tables of organization
  • Plan interstellar routes and transit times
Features
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INTRODUCING MEKFAB, FROM TRISTAR INTERSTELLAR At TriStar we don't build one set of tools for our clients and another for ourselves. Our cargo rides the same DropShips and JumpShips that carry yours. Our Greene-Harvester combines feed our families the way they feed yours. And when our families need defending, we arm our Guards from the same catalog we sell to you. MekFab is built in that spirit. For TriStar personnel it is a sales tool: the full capacities of every machine in the catalog, a route console for scheduling delivery, and a table of organization builder that tells a customer how much lift a force will need before anyone asks. For clients, it's the same terminal. Browse the catalog, plan the route, read the transit time and the tariff, and never have to ask us the question. Choosing a new flavor of Nitro Boost is easy. You pick one up at any corner store. We understand that a 60-ton Thunderbolt II is a harder decision. So, every design in this app comes with its full simulation file, in the format your own suites already read, and you are welcome to run our whole military catalog through your own scenarios without a word from us. Build your own tables of organization and equipment and see the lift they need. Chart a route across the Inner Sphere and see what it costs and how long it takes. Take a design to the table on a Field Sheet, or print the record sheet. You may not need us today - great! Download the app. Use it for whatever purposes you have, and know that TriStar will be here when you do. — Memphis Motor Works, a TriStar Interstellar company WHAT IT DOES • Opens MegaMek unit files (MTF and BLK) and saves back to them. • Designs 'Meks, biped and quad; combat vehicles; aerospace fighters. • Battle Value and C-bill cost computed the way MegaMek computes them. • An Engineering Review against the construction rules, in plain words. • Technical readouts, printable record sheets, and a touch Field Sheet for play. • Tables of organization from a lance to a regiment, with a DropShip lift sheet. • NAV-OPS: 3,174 systems, 30 light-year jump routes, transit days and recharges. • No account. Nothing collected. Nothing leaves the device. MekFab is not affiliated with Topps, Catalyst Game Labs, Microsoft or the MegaMek project. BattleTech is a trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.

Screenshots

Ham Logging4 screens
MekFab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MekFab at every 2 days against Ham Logging's every 5 days. Ham Logging's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ham Logging ships an update every 5 days, MekFab every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Ham Logging versus MekFab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHam LoggingMekFab
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYousif AL BalushiRobert Landrigan

In-app purchases

None

Ham Logging

No in-app purchases

None

MekFab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ham Logging free?
Ham Logging is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MekFab free?
MekFab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ham Logging or MekFab have ads?
Neither Ham Logging nor MekFab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ham Logging or MekFab?
Ham Logging ships an update every 5 days, and MekFab every 2 days. Most recently, Ham Logging was updated on November 5, 2026 and MekFab on October 31, 2026.

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