I’ve started to put together a list of good amateur radio software that I have run across. The problem I’ve been having is that there is a ton of software out there, but a lot is very old and outdated. I plan to have the best stuff available here. I realize that “good” is a relative term. Since I admittedly can’t fully test some of these programs, I’m basing my review primarily on the feature set, the design of the software, ease of use, and whatever else I can manage to evaluate.
All of these software titles I will have at least downloaded and tried out. I run Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.6, and Ubuntu 9.10
Windows
- Ham Radio Deluxe
It’s a log book, computer control for your rig, and even has satellite tracking capabilities. I haven’t been able to test every aspect of this since I don’t have a rig I can interface with, but I played around with it for a while and was impressed. For one, it’s free. For two, it’s packed full of useful features. For three, it’s under active development. All good signs in my book. This appears to be widely used throughout the amateur radio community, and I can see why.
Mac
- Aether
- MacLoggerDX
This program is another logging program like Aether, but much more inclined toward DX (thus the name). It’s really nicely done, as well, and many of the features are geared toward rig control. The downside? It’s $95.00 to register, or you’ll be limited to ten minute sessions.
- MacDoppler
Another really nice offering from Dog Park Software, the publishers of MacLoggerDX. This is one of the nicest pieces of satellite tracking software available for any platform that I’ve seen so far. Once again, it’s pretty pricey to register—$98.00, or limited to ten minute sessions unregistered.
- cocoaModem
Mentioned above, this free software is something I’ve seen mentioned on severval other blogs. I, of course, can’t fully test it since I’m a relative n00b and don’t have the proper equipment, but I did download it and checked it out. It’s really nicely laid out, and has an impressive set of capabilities. If you’re interested in interfacing your Mac with your rig for digital communication, this might be just the ticket. The best part? It’s licensed under Creative Commons, and is available for free.
This is a relative newcomer, but it already seems like it’s pretty nicely polished. It has some really nice integrations like the ability to e-mail QSOs, or add them to your Address Book. It also has integration with cocoaModem, which seems to be the gold standard on the Mac for PSK, RTTY, CW and other operating modes. Aether isn’t free–there’s a $39.00 registration fee. But, you can log up to 30 QSOs before you have to pay.
Linux
Coming Soon!