Comparison

boofwang vs TrailBand

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

Head to head
About

boofwang

Features
Read full description

boofwang reads a two-way radio's codeplug over Bluetooth, lets you edit it, and writes it back. Nothing leaves your device. There is no account, no server and no telemetry. A codeplug you read stays on the phone until you export it yourself. RADIOS Baofeng UV-5R Mini, over its own Bluetooth module: read and write. Quansheng UV-K5, Baofeng UV-82 and Baofeng DM-32UV, through a clip-on Bluetooth dongle: read only. An iPhone cannot drive a USB serial adapter, so Bluetooth is the only way in on this platform. Channel list with bulk edit. CTCSS and DCS tones, bandwidth, power and scan lists. DMR talk groups and contacts on the DM-32UV. Key slots, masked by default and revealed one at a time. Import and export CHIRP CSV, CHIRP .img and raw binary. Repeater directory lookup. OPEN SOURCE boofwang is free software under the GPL-3.0-or-later. These memory formats are not documented by their manufacturers: they are worked out by reading other implementations and checking against real hardware, and the source records where every offset came from. github.com/thebentern/boofwang

About

TrailBand

Features
Read full description

TrailBand turns an FRS, GMRS or MURS channel number into the exact frequency and settings to program into a handheld radio. Built for offroad and overland groups, where some vehicles have bubble-pack FRS walkie-talkies and others have programmable radios, and nobody can work out how to make them talk to each other. • All 35 channels: FRS/GMRS 1 to 22, the eight GMRS repeater pairs, and MURS 1 to 5 • Receive and transmit frequency, offset, bandwidth, tuning step and power setting for every channel • CTCSS tones and DCS codes, with the bubble-pack privacy code number shown beside every standard tone • Search by channel number, or by a frequency you heard • Favorites for the channels your group runs • Export a CHIRP-compatible CSV to program a radio over USB • Send a plain text programming card to the group so every radio ends up identical • Reference articles on FRS vs GMRS, MURS, matching consumer radios, using a repeater, and choosing a trail channel Frequencies and power limits follow the US FCC allocations in 47 CFR Part 95. TrailBand is a reference tool: no account, no data collected, works entirely offline. A radio must be certified for the service it transmits in. TrailBand says plainly where the popular Part 90 handhelds stand.

Screenshots

boofwang4 screens
TrailBand4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: boofwang at 15.4 against TrailBand's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

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

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 4 level
boofwang versus TrailBand: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterboofwangTrailBand
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBenjamin MeadorsSkunk River Restorations, LLC

In-app purchases

None

boofwang

No in-app purchases

None

TrailBand

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is boofwang free?
boofwang is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TrailBand free?
TrailBand is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do boofwang or TrailBand have ads?
Neither boofwang nor TrailBand shows ads.

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