Ham Engineering vs SpectraHold
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Ham Engineering
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Ham Engineering is the engineering bench for amateur radio ā antenna and feedline maths, circuit design, propagation and a deep reference library, all completely offline. No account, no ads, no tracking, and not a single network call. ANTENNAS ⢠Half-wave dipole with adjustable k (velocity) factor, quarter-wave and 5/8-wave verticals, ground-plane radials, end-fed half-wave, random wire, full-wave loop and a 3-element Yagi estimator ⢠Matching: L-network, Pi-network, quarter-wave transformer, balun/unun ratios and stub matching ⢠Antenna Lab ā a live elevation radiation-pattern plot with directivity, realized gain, takeoff angle, beamwidth, front-to-back, mismatch loss, feedline loss and system gain, each explained ⢠Grid Compass that rotates with your phone, showing beam bearing and distance from your grid to a target grid ⢠Antenna gallery ā every common type drawn as scalable vector art, with what it is, what it is for and what to watch out for FEEDLINES & RF ⢠Coax loss by cable type, frequency and run length; velocity-factor electrical length ⢠SWR from forward/reflected power, plus return loss and mismatch loss ⢠Antenna A/B comparison and receiver noise-floor estimation ⢠RF power conversions: dBm, watts, ERP and EIRP ⢠Propagation: free-space path loss, radio horizon and Fresnel-zone clearance ⢠NanoVNA and tinySA quick-start guides, and a coax + connector gallery CIRCUITS ⢠Ohm's law, series/parallel resistance, voltage dividers, RC and RL time constants ⢠Reactance, LC resonance, Q and bandwidth, stored energy ⢠RC and LC filter cutoffs, a constant-k Pi/T filter designer, a bandpass/notch calculator and a Butterworth low-pass designer ⢠Resistor, capacitor and inductor code decoders, an AWG wire table and a 555 timer calculator ⢠A live RLC resonance lab and a 50-part component gallery REFERENCE & EXTRA ⢠Filterable amateur band plan for ITU Regions 1, 2 and 3 ⢠Unit converters including watts, dBm and microvolts ⢠Comparison tables for coax, connectors, antennas and batteries ⢠Tools-and-gear and rig-controls galleries ā what every knob and button is called across manufacturers ⢠Maidenhead grid tools and great-circle beam headings ⢠300+ searchable tips, 40+ formulas, a rich glossary and a constants reference ⢠Curated external links to major retailers, brands and references BUILT FOR THE BENCH ⢠Nearly 200 illustrations drawn as scalable vector art ā nothing to download, everything sharp at any size ⢠Works fully offline. The app makes no network calls at all ⢠Export any panel or diagram as a theme-aware image to share or file ⢠An (i) explanation on every panel ā this is a tool and a guide, not a quiz ⢠Light and dark themes, adjustable font size, weekly tips and in-app version history ⢠Your callsign, grid and email stay on your device and are never transmitted PERFECT FOR ⢠Licensed operators designing, building and tuning antennas ⢠Anyone putting up a first dipole or vertical and wanting the numbers right ⢠Homebrewers and kit builders working with filters, matching and components ⢠SWLs and newcomers who want the reference material without the exam drill ⢠Club elmers and anyone teaching antenna and RF fundamentals PRIVACY ⢠Your callsign, grid and email are stored only on your device. ⢠No account, no sign-up, no ads, no analytics SDKs, no advertising ID and no tracking of any kind. 73 de A41UX Yousuf AL Balushi ā Unixeer, Oman
SpectraHold
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The spectrogram with memory. SpectraHold turns microphone input into a 3D spectrogram. Watch frequencies in real time, freeze the view, and explore up to 120 seconds of visual history to inspect a detail you just heard. FREEZE AND EXPLORE Tap the graph to inspect a frequency. Zoom and browse the history, then return to live analysis whenever you want. ADJUST THE VIEW Choose a visible window from 1 to 20 seconds, color palettes, and automatic or manual visual gain from ā40 to +40 dB. Visual gain changes the graph without changing microphone gain. FEATURES ⢠Real-time 3D spectrogram from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. ⢠Adjustable history from 20 to 120 seconds. ⢠Frequency inspection, zoom, and history navigation. ⢠Up to two estimated peaks per region: bass, midrange, and treble. Detection does not confirm resonance. ⢠Background capture and capture with the screen locked, while permitted by the system. ⢠Compatible with iPhone and iPad. Audio is processed on your device. History stays in memory; no audio file is saved or uploaded. Closing the app or a system interruption may stop capture. TRIAL AND PURCHASE Download for free. Activate a free 7-day trial to access all features. After the trial, analysis stops until you purchase full access. The unlock is a one-time purchase, with no subscription or automatic charge. The local price is shown before you confirm the purchase. You can restore purchases. SpectraHold is a visual analysis tool. It does not apply equalization, automatically eliminate feedback, or replace a calibrated sound pressure level meter. Estimates depend on the microphone, device, and recording conditions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ham Engineering at none against SpectraHold's 2. Ham Engineering also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). SpectraHold's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SpectraHold sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Ham Engineering asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ham Engineering ships an update every 3 weeks, SpectraHold every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ham Engineering | SpectraHold |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No ā better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 ā better | 15.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yousif AL Balushi | RAFAEL SILVA PFLEGER |
In-app purchases
Ham Engineering
No in-app purchases
SpectraHold
- 7-day TrialFree
- Full Access$5.99
Questions
Is Ham Engineering free?
Is SpectraHold free?
Do Ham Engineering or SpectraHold have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ham Engineering or SpectraHold?
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