Review: HamClock

    It would take paragraphs of verbiage to adequately describe this fantastic application, so the best thing is to give you a link to the developers website here.  

    At its core, it is a clone of a Geochron clock (which are insanely expensive) with a lot of added bits.  The options are many, so you will want to set your version to your operating goals and/or interests.  The best way that I can show that is to detail how I have mine set up.  

    This is the overall configuration that you have to work with.  A data block in the upper left with your call as well as the date/time.  It also has an alarm function as well.  Then there are four programmable "data blocks" across the top.  Then there are 2 data blocks on the left side of the screen.  And then there is the map section.  I won't go into the options for each block, click the link above and select the "User Guide" tab at the bottom of the page for the current version manual.

    In the first block have all of the solar/geomagnetic real-time data rotating there every 5 seconds.  The next block is a display of predicted band conditions (VOACAP) between my QTH and another specific location based on my normal mode, power output, and antenna type.  The third block rotates between a graphic of the PSKReporter data of the number of times my station was monitored on FT4/FT8 within the last 15 minutes.  This data is then sent to the map which displays it as such:

Note that the best DX is labeled as well.  At the time this was saved, VK7OO was hearing my 17m 30w FT8 signal.  If a station is using any of the WSJT software flavors, and they have opted in to reporting to the PSKReporter network - all received signals that you copy will be sent to them.  It is a fantastic way to know where your signal is getting to as well as the signal strength that was received.  

    The last block is an aggregation of the four most significant solar/geomagnetic indices that may impact HF propagation.

There is another map overlay that I use very frequently, that that is the band reliability overlay:

Using the parameters that I selected for the VOACAP calculations, it displays the reliability of having a workable path to an area of the world.  At the bottom of the map is a percentage scale that is color coded.  I am sure you can figure that out.

    The data blocks on the left of the screen contain my information (DE) and a selected location (DX).  I select the DX location either by clicking the mouse on an area of the map - or by clicking on and then editing the grid in the DX data box.

    In my opinion it is a significant enhancement for those ops that primarily use FT4/FT8 like myself.  It is also very useful for other HF ops as well.

Now the downside - the one company that was making an almost plug and play solution has stopped making and selling them.  But, you can still roll your own using a Raspberry Pi Zero.  That is well beyond the scope of this review.  And this is the only downside!

Overall, this application is a hard must have if you are into FT4/FT8 - and I cannot emphasize this strongly enough.