Propagation programs

BeaconClock Freeware real-time, schedule of the transmitting times, frequencies, short-path and long-path beam headings. Analyses the audio signals from your radio, which is tuned to the NCDXF IARU HF beacon network and shows you the signal strength received from each of the 18 beacon transmitters as a plot of frequency spectrum against time. DX ToolBox DX Toolbox searches the web for you, gathering information on solar and geomagnetic conditions that affect radio propagation.

It's ideal for the ham radio operator, shortwave listener, or other radio enthusiast. DXProp DXprop is a radiowave propagation forecast freeware for ham radio operators, permits to predict propagation on 12 frequencies. Use Minimuf 3. Available in French and English.

GeoClock GeoClock shows the current time based on your computer's clock with a high quality map of the earth. The main purpose of Ham Cap is to let the ham operator see at a glance the trends of propagation while he or she is on the air, with a minimal distraction from the transceiver.

However the K-index can be taken into account in option. Ham CAP requests also the date and month, home and target locations, transmitter power, and antenna gain 15 models from the isotropic to Yagi. A short engine permits to display the radiation pattern of the selected antenna and see how change its radiation pattern with the frequency, a very instructive feature using an user-friendly GUI.

The signal strength can be displayed in a gray scale, black and white or using pseudo-colors at three resolution levels. Working with monthly values, that means that its algorithms use median values only and its forecasts are thus more optimistic than the ones provided by more complete software taking into account real-time data or the circuit required reliability. However, it deserves a try for its global ionospheric map, its antenna charts and its small size.

Navy submarine communications. It can simultaneously calculate several circuits, each using up to five antennas at each end of each circuit, an option asked by contesters using "antenna farms" on as many as five bands.

Some data are extracted from external files like antennas and locations that list cities world-wide and calls several other programs. Representing about 50 MB on disk, files and 50 directories, it is thus not available for demo purposes due to its size. Its main originality over all other VOACAP-based programs is to display animated circuit graphs of SNR, reliability, required power gain, takeoff angle and signal strength.

To achieve this, ACE-HF Pro employs cubic spline interpolation to produce chart values at five-minute intervals in order to better describe what happens in the real world.

Of course these intermediate values show less precision that hourly predictions. The input screens have been redesigned since version 1. The product in without any doubt as powerful as its competitors and maybe more flexible.

Indeed, on request, right-clicking on the mouse most parameters can be displayed in a pop-up window and changed without having to enter in each submenu of the circuit or only partially. The program comes with an extended help file, very complete and sorted by feature, but it is non contextual you cannot press F1 and get help on a field and you need to browse the document to find a specific item.

It should be converted in Microsoft HLP format and fully indexed to be really useful as not all users will take the time to read its 46 pages, even if they are very educative and their reading highly recommended. In this context the narrative mode can help the casual amateur. Compared to equivalent functions available to its competitors and its GUI, in my humble opinion the high price of ACE-HF Pro is no more justified, but exceptionally it keeps its four stars for its excellent animation using GeoClock map, and the great number of users, most professionals that trust in this product and the other prediction programs released by the publisher.

No demo available due to its size. However, an extensive "Take the tour" section is provided on the website as well as free and very instructive propagation tutorials written by Dick Buckner and George Lane. For all Windows bit platforms and mobiles.

Kangaroo Tabor Soft. This is however a powerful and flexible tool but it requests some habits to be mastered or to read my introduction to such models due to its numerous settings. It can generate propagation charts or text reports for up to 18 locations anywhere in the world simultaneously circuits. Its user batch manager permits also to replicate in one pass a modification common to various circuits.

The new version 5 includes "smart charts" and other quick chart to display propagation of beacons. License or QSL-ware. Today at version 4. With the passing of Jim Tabor in , Taborsoft products are no longer supported. The first version of this program was released in and replaced GeoAlert Wizard.

In the line of its predecessor, it displays updated geophysical indices in a dashboard showing SSN, SFI, Kp, Ap, solar wind Bz component, pressure, speed, etc and various user-friendly charts related to solar and geomagnetic indices extending up to 24 years.

Unlike the previous version, this new version takes advantage of the power and accuracy of VOACAP to display a world map showing the ionosphere status at earth scale, the MUF, rather than a point-to-point prediction.

Its "Squares" option is a major improvement over the previous release. It is very powerful but at first run and only once it requests over 30 minutes to calculate all predictions on a 1 GHz computer.

Why so long? Because it generates a world map valid for all a month and all hours and take into account a possible zoom in the map. You must see it to believe it! This map can be displayed in various forms overview in blue scale at various resolution, colored per amateur band or for contest purposes.

This application is first designed to get an overview of propagation. Therefore I don't give it four stars. But Jim is working on other products that will probably support this feature and many others. Today at version 3. Rockwell Collins. It has been developed for the U. Government and can be interfaced with various external communication devices, most property of the Army. However, this application doesn't provide better predictions than the original VOACAP and it is much more expensive and less flexible than its competitors.

Therefore I removed it one star for its untenable marketing position. Demo available. George Lane and al. This is the first professional ionospheric signal model down-sized for personal computers. In , George Lane then Teters and al. Thus, in contrast to Fricker's method which is based only on F-region considerations, IONCAP deals with fluctuations of signal strength, a D-region factor, as well as man-made noise. Raymond Fricker.

In the '80s Raymond Fricker from the BBC Worldservice created this complex propagation program that included a new scheme of hop-testing. Essentially, the program looked at each hop in detail, at the points where the E-layer is crossed and at the highest point where the critical frequency of the F-region is important. With an initial choice of radiation angle, the path structure can be sorted according to E- and F-hops, depending on the outcome of the tests along the way.

Stations with internet access can automatically upload their reception reports to a central db [ Hits: Votes: 3 Rating: 9. Ham Radio operators review new sites every day since , for potential inclusion in the Directory, and to evaluate the best place to list them. Propagation prediction propagation prediction software for ham radio. Operating Modes Operating Aids. CB Radio Antique Radio.

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