DBHamPlot vs SVXLink
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DBHamPlot
Calculate distance and bearing between two locations using Maidenhead grid squares. This tool is designed for amateur radio operators to easily determine proximity and direction to other hams, featuring an interactive map for pinpointing locations and identifying grid areas.
- Compute distance and bearing
- Maidenhead location input
- Map display with annotations
- Identify six-digit grid areas
- Interactive map for location pinpointing
- User-added annotation removal
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Compute distance and bearing using Maidenhead location. This was originally intended for use by amateur radio operators who participate in microwave communications however it can be used by any ham in order to determine a distance and bearing to another radio amateur. This version specifically for the iPad provides map and controls all on one screen. The larger map area over both iPhone versions should prove helpful. You get a map of the source and target along with a pin annotation and an overlay identifying the six-digit grid area. If a user touches an empty location on the screen for one second a new annotation is added at that spot identifying the grid. Any user-added annotations are removed if a new source or target are entered. This feature is great because you can zoom in on a location, touch the screen, and get a 6 digit grid; this is especially handy when your microwave buddy pulls over to the side of the road to make a contact with you (or someone else) but he/she has no idea what their grid square is.
SVXLink
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Control your RF.Guru hotspot over Bluetooth, watch the live feed, send DTMF, and explore the live reflector map from iPhone or iPad. HotSpot is the official mobile companion for the Analog HotSpot SVXLink platform. Pair once over Bluetooth Low Energy and the app takes over from there: read live SVXLink state, switch talkgroups, send DTMF, watch the reflector network on a real map, and keep an eye on your 4G uplink. What you can do: • Live state feed — callsign, frequency, current talkgroup, active and last talker, TX/RX flags, plus 4G signal bars when an LTE modem is fitted. • DTMF & device commands — full DTMF keypad with quick buttons (status, parrot, IP-announce) and a control menu for SVXLink start / stop / restart, 4G on / off, reboot and power-off. • Talkgroup quick-dial — buttons highlighted yellow for the talkgroups your hotspot is actively monitoring, grey for switchable ones, with a green "last heard X ago" timer on each when the live feed is on. • CTCSS info — output tone and the full input-CTCSS → talkgroup mapping shown on the Hotspot Info screen. • Live reflector map — OpenStreetMap-based view of every node on your reflector. Spiderfy clustering, colour-coded pins (red transmitting, green ON0 repeaters, orange nodes, blue AI-detected, grey offline), floating callsign labels on active talkers, and a glass info card on every pin tap. • Home radius — saves your QTH from GPS and frames the map at a configurable radius (default 150 km). One-tap re-center. • Reflector talker history — live, server-paged list of who's been on the network, sourced from the same WebSocket feed. • Auto-everything — auto-connect to your last hotspot on launch, auto-detect WSS support per reflector domain, auto-fetch the talkgroup labels from the portal, and fall back to Bluetooth-only mode when there's no internet. • Keep-screen-on with auto-sleep — optional, slider from 0 (never sleep) to 120 min. • Just Works pairing — no PIN, no fuss. Open-source hotspot firmware: github.com/Guru-RF/Analog-HotSPOT-SVXLink
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: SVXLink at every 5 weeks against DBHamPlot's every 42 months. SVXLink also leads on device support (3 vs 1). DBHamPlot's advantage is iOS requirement (9.1 vs 13.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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.
DBHamPlot ships an update every 42 months, SVXLink every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DBHamPlot | SVXLink |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 42 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.1 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thomas Sullivan | RF Guru |
In-app purchases
DBHamPlot
No in-app purchases
SVXLink
No in-app purchases









