What's New

Added the Icom IC-735 — the classic 1980s all-band HF transceiver (160–10 m, SSB/CW/AM/FM) with a general-coverage receiver — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 24 · 11:00 AM

Technical values and formulas now display cleanly — impedance in ohms, wavelengths, units and simple equations render as proper symbols instead of raw formatting codes, so measurement and antenna answers are easier to read.

Jul 23 · 9:16 AM

Added the Icom IC-7300MK2 — Icom's new successor to the hugely popular IC-7300, a 100 W HF/6 m direct-sampling SDR base transceiver with a built-in antenna tuner and a sharper receiver — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 22 · 12:40 PM

HAMgpt now knows three more rigs — the Icom IC-7000 (HF/VHF/UHF all-mode transceiver), the Guohetec PMR-171 (portable multi-band SDR), and the ACOM 1000 (HF/6 m linear amplifier) — so questions about their bands, features and setup get answers matched to that exact model.

Jul 21 · 8:35 AM

Added the Icom IC-718 — the classic, budget-friendly entry-level all-band HF transceiver (160–10 m, SSB/CW) — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 20 · 9:58 AM

Added the Kenwood TM-D750A — the D-STAR digital tribander mobile (2 m / 1.25 m / 70 cm) with built-in GPS and APRS — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 20 · 9:57 AM

Added the Radioddity DB25-D — the affordable dual-band (2 m / 70 cm) DMR mobile with GPS and APRS — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 20 · 9:20 AM

Added the Alinco DX-SR8T — the affordable all-band HF base transceiver (160–10 m) — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 20 · 9:20 AM

Ask about any band, even ones you can't transmit on yet — antenna designs, DXpeditions, contests, and calling frequencies are answered on their merits, whether you're planning an upgrade, helping another operator, or just learning. On-air advice still follows your own license privileges.

Jul 19 · 9:00 AM

Added the Yaesu FTM-6000R — the rugged 50 W FM dual-band (2 m / 70 cm) mobile — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 18 · 9:00 PM

Added the BTECH UV-PRO — the app-programmable dual-band handheld with GPS, APRS, Bluetooth and IP67 waterproofing — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 18 · 6:00 PM

Added the Yaesu FTM-200DR — the 50 W C4FM/FM dual-band mobile with built-in GPS and APRS — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jul 18 · 2:00 PM

Model-specific rig help now works when you ask in Spanish or German — questions about your rig's setup, wiring or troubleshooting get answered even when you're not asking in English, instead of finding nothing.

Jul 17 · 12:30 PM

See which ham radio nets are on the air right now — or coming up soon so you can be ready. A new home-screen card (or just ask "any nets on now?") lists the scheduled on-air gatherings near you: traffic nets, rag-chews, SKYWARN, club and DX nets, with the frequency or repeater/talkgroup, how to check in, and when the next ones start — matched to your license and radios so it leads with the ones you can actually join. Net listings come from netfinder.radio.

Jul 16 · 6:00 PM

Understand a band's harmonics — ask "what are the harmonics of 20m?" (or of any frequency) and HAMgpt lays out each harmonic: its frequency, which amateur band it lands in (if any), and whether a dipole is naturally resonant there. Handy for working a wire antenna on more than one band, and for spotting when your transmitter's harmonics could fall into another band and cause interference.

Jul 16 · 1:00 PM

Clearer free-trial details on the Plans page — it now shows when your trial ends and explains that a plan you pick during the trial takes effect once the trial finishes, so there are no surprises about what you have and when.

Jul 13 · 6:30 PM

Better help when you paste a troubleshooting question — describe a problem in your own words ("I can decode FT8 but can't complete any contacts"), even about a specific radio you name in the message, and HAMgpt now recognizes the rig and walks you through it with model-specific help, instead of missing the point of what you're asking.

Jul 13 · 5:30 PM

Tidier antenna picker — a Yagi/beam is now a single choice that works on whatever bands you give it (HF or VHF/UHF) instead of separate HF and VHF entries, the 5/8-wave vertical covers HF too, and antenna types no longer repeat the band in their name. What defines the band is simply the bands you pick for the antenna.

Jul 13 · 2:00 PM

Band tips now match your radios — if your only rig is a VHF/UHF handheld, your dashboard and "what band is open?" answers point you to your local repeaters and VHF/UHF instead of HF bands you can't work, and DXpedition chances won't call one workable on a band your gear can't reach.

Jul 13 · 12:00 PM

More reliable callsign lookups — ask "who is W1AW?" and HAMgpt now gives you the operator's country and grid square straight from the callsign registry, plus a QRZ link for the name. Accurate and consistent, for any callsign worldwide.

Jul 11 · 8:30 PM

Help fixing and understanding your rig — ask why your radio isn't working right, or how part of it works, and HAMgpt now gives model-specific help, covering troubleshooting and how-it-works, not just the menu and setup steps. Especially handy for kit and QRP rigs.

Jul 8 · 6:30 PM

Set up Winlink Express, step by step — getting Winlink radio email working can be fiddly, so now you can ask HAMgpt and it walks you through the whole thing: your account and registration, VARA HF and VARA FM, wiring up your radio (Digirig, SignaLink, or a CAT cable — COM port, PTT and audio levels), sending your first message, and sorting out a connection that won't go through. It knows the exact ports, menus and settings that usually trip people up.

Jul 8 · 12:00 PM

Design a Moxon antenna — the compact 2-element beam that gives you directional gain and an excellent front-to-back (to knock down interference and noise coming from behind you) in about 70% the width of a full-size beam, and feeds directly with 50-ohm coax. Get the exact rectangle dimensions for your band and wire size, a to-scale diagram, and the critical tip-gap measurement that sets how well it works.

Jul 7 · 7:00 PM

HAMgpt now has optional paid plans — they raise your daily question limits, add more live web look-ups, and unlock answers tailored to your own station: your antenna, radios and logbook. The free plan stays, and going paid helps keep HAMgpt independent and ad-free. You can pick, change or cancel a plan anytime from the account menu.

Jul 7 · 12:30 PM

Importing a logbook now works with accented characters — an ADIF export with names or place names containing á, é, í, ó, ú or ñ (common in Spanish, Portuguese and French logs) no longer fails to import.

Jul 6 · 8:30 PM

Adding a radio is quicker — choose handheld, mobile or base and the band selection now fits that type, so a base HF rig no longer starts with VHF bands checked.

Jul 5 · 6:05 PM

Practice exams now follow your license class — ask to be quizzed and HAMgpt serves the right question pool instead of always starting at Technician. You can also say "quiz me on the Extra exam" to pick any level yourself.

Jul 5 · 6:00 PM

Better satellite-pass answers — ask for the next ISS (or any satellite) pass and HAMgpt now finds it even when the next one is many hours away, tells you which way to look and how high it climbs, and says plainly when there's nothing coming up soon.

Jul 3 · 4:00 PM

Solar-flare alerts no longer repeat themselves — a single flare now shows up once, labeled with how strong it got, instead of posting again each time its intensity ticks up or down as it fades.

Jul 3 · 1:00 PM

Snap a photo, get a read — take a picture of your antenna analyzer, SWR meter, or your rig's screen and HAMgpt reads the values and explains them right in the chat. Handy when you don't have the data file on hand; for exact numbers, a NanoVNA .s1p upload is still the most precise.

Jul 3 · 7:30 AM

Your dashboard now stays current on its own — leave the page open and the band conditions, space weather and DX keep refreshing in the background, so what you see is always up to date.

Jul 2 · 9:30 AM

Signing up outside the US? The license picker is now country-aware — verify your callsign and it offers your own country's licence classes (Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, Argentina and more), so your privileges are right from the start.

Jul 1 · 9:00 AM

Clearer space-weather panel on your dashboard — when solar flux is high but the geomagnetic field is stormy, it now says so in plain language instead of a confusing mix, and solar-flare alerts describe the flare's real strength (from minor to severe) rather than always calling it "strong".

Jun 30 · 6:30 PM

The welcome screen now lets you preview the assistant — type a question or tap a starter prompt to see what HAMgpt can do before you sign in.

Jun 30 · 6:00 PM

Find any past conversation — the sidebar keeps your recent chats, and the new "All chats" view lets you search your whole history, filter by date, and scroll back through everything (older chats are no longer hidden).

Jun 30 · 4:30 PM

Charts now stay with the conversation — generate an antenna blueprint or an SWR plot, switch to another chat and come back, and it's still there instead of disappearing. SWR sweep charts are also larger and easier to read.

Jun 30 · 11:00 AM

Added the FlexRadio Aurora (AU-520 / AU-520M) — the 500 W HF+6m SDR — to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help, so band tips and answers know its built-in tuner and capabilities.

Jun 29 · 12:30 PM

Design a magnetic loop antenna — the compact, capacitor-tuned HF antenna that works in an apartment, on an HOA lot, or on a trip. Get the loop size, the exact tuning capacitance, the efficiency to expect on each band, the very narrow bandwidth, and the high-voltage capacitor rating you need to build it safely.

Jun 28 · 6:45 PM

See your antenna design as a diagram — ask for a Yagi, dipole, vertical, inverted-V or magnetic loop and a to-scale blueprint is drawn right in the chat, with the key dimensions, the feedpoint, and (for a loop) the tuning capacitor and its voltage labeled.

Jun 28 · 4:37 PM

See your antenna sweep as a chart — attach a NanoVNA .s1p and the SWR-versus-frequency curve is drawn right in the chat, with the resonant point, the usable band, and the 2:1 line all marked.

Jun 28 · 3:44 PM

Attach files right in the chat — drop in a NanoVNA antenna sweep (.s1p) and get a plain-language read: where it's resonant, the SWR, the usable bandwidth, and how much to trim it to land on your target frequency.

Jun 28 · 10:31 AM

Ask which radio fits what you want to do — a full-duplex rig for satellites, a handheld that does DMR, or a mobile with a built-in tuner — and get matching models to consider.

Jun 27 · 9:36 PM

Added the heavy-duty Yaesu FT-2600M 2-meter mobile to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jun 27 · 7:26 PM

Hands-on help building antenna hardware — how to wind a choke balun or a 49:1 matching transformer, feed and match a beam, pick the right wire, tubing and weatherproofing, and trim any antenna to resonance with an analyzer.

Jun 27 · 1:55 PM

Design a beam (Yagi) antenna and get a complete build sheet — the exact length and spacing of every element, the boom length, the gain to expect, and how to feed and match it — for any band and any number of elements.

Jun 27 · 1:53 PM

Smarter answers about your radio — its bands, whether it has a built-in tuner, if you can run FT8 with just a USB cable, its digital-voice mode (D-STAR / DMR / Fusion), and whether it's full-duplex for satellites. It also understands the short model code ("991a", "7300").

Jun 27 · 12:15 PM

Ask in your own language — questions in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German and more now get the right guidance in your language, not just English.

Jun 27 · 9:14 AM

Edit your saved radios and antennas (not just add or remove them), with a quick HF-range picker for multiband antennas.

Jun 26 · 8:50 AM

Add all your antennas to your profile — pick each one's type and the bands it covers — so band tips and DX suggestions fit everything you can actually get on the air.

Jun 26 · 7:51 AM

Added the classic Yaesu FT-857D to the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jun 25 · 9:24 PM

Planning a trip? Ask how to operate in the US, Argentina, the UK, Canada, Australia or Japan with your home licence — reciprocal agreements, visitor permits (IARP/CEPT) and the call sign to use.

Jun 25 · 4:52 PM

Ask about the amateur license categories and band privileges of any supported country — handy when you're planning to travel and operate abroad.

Jun 25 · 1:19 PM

Argentine amateurs are now supported — pick your category (Novicio, General, Superior or Especial) and guidance follows Argentina's own bands and power limits.

Jun 25 · 12:14 PM

Japanese amateurs are now supported — pick your operator class (First through Fourth) and guidance follows Japan's own bands and power limits.

Jun 25 · 11:42 AM

More reliable when traffic is heavy — brief hiccups now retry on their own, and if the assistant is momentarily busy you'll get a clear 'try again' message instead of an error.

Jun 25 · 10:19 AM

Even more radios in the picker — Icom IC-7610, IC-7100 and the classic IC-706, Yaesu FTDX10 and FT-891, the Kenwood TS-940S, plus more Baofeng and Yaesu handhelds — with model-specific setup help.

Jun 24 · 12:23 PM

Popular QRP and portable rigs added too — Elecraft KX2/KX3, Lab599 TX-500, Xiegu X6100/X6200 (and the G90), and the QRP Labs QMX — with model-specific setup help.

Jun 24 · 10:16 AM

Flagship transceivers added to the radio picker — Yaesu FTDX101, Icom IC-7851 and IC-9700, Kenwood TS-990S, and Elecraft K4 — with model-specific setup help.

Jun 24 · 10:02 AM

FlexRadio (6000 and 8000 series) and Apache Labs (ANAN-7000DLE, ANAN-G2) SDRs are now in the radio picker, with model-specific setup help.

Jun 24 · 9:42 AM

Australian and UK amateurs are now supported too — pick your licence (Australia: Foundation / Standard / Advanced; UK: Foundation / Intermediate / Full) and guidance follows your own country's bands and power limits.

Jun 23 · 8:19 PM

Canadian amateurs are now supported — choose your certificate (Basic, Basic with Honours, or Advanced) and every answer respects the bands you're allowed to use and your power limits, based on Canada's own rules.

Jun 23 · 6:00 PM

Better answers about radios and equipment — specs, features, and setup help.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

DX recommendations now factor in the bands your antenna actually covers — so you only see contacts you can realistically make.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

See recent on-air activity for each band at a glance, with the bands your antenna covers highlighted.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Ask for POTA parks near you to activate, not just spots to hunt.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Get a summary of your on-air activity from an imported logbook (ADIF) — now supporting files up to 10 MB.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

A new 'My rig' card on your Home screen.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Light and dark themes, with a redesigned, easier-to-read interface.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Support for the legacy Advanced and Conditional license classes.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

A plain-language 'How to use HAMgpt' guide for newcomers, plus Terms and Privacy pages in the menu.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Notifications now show the exact date and time (UTC) of each alert, so you can tell at a glance whether a satellite pass or band opening has already passed.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Your notifications feed stays tidy — alerts clear out once they're no longer relevant.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Your antenna setting is now used everywhere it matters, and the profile screen is cleaner and easier to edit.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

A lot of mobile polish — smoother scrolling, better keyboard handling, and fixes for iOS layout.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

A live UTC clock on the dashboard.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM

Your 👍 / 👎 on an answer now feeds directly into making the assistant better.

Jun 21 · 12:44 PM