Introducing goatHAM: My New Amateur Radio App for Android # introducing-goatham-my-new-amateur-radio-app-for-android

Hey everyone,

If you follow the projects I share here, you know that amateur radio and software development are my two biggest passions. Today, I’m really excited to finally share what I’ve been pouring my free time into lately: my newest Android application, goatHAM.

The Inspiration (and why a goat?) # the-inspiration-and-why-a-goat

The name goatHAM is a direct nod to the SOTA (Summits on the Air) universe. It was a suggestion from CS7BYT, thank you Pedro! If you hike up those peaks, you know the highly coveted “Mountain Goat” trophy — awarded to activators who reach that mythical 1,000-point mark — is the ultimate symbol of dedication and resilience.

The idea for this app was born from that exact energy. I wanted to build a robust, pocket-sized tool to make life easier for the activators out in the elements, and for the chasers listening from home. The app’s icon (which some of you might have caught a glimpse of in my design drafts) reflects this perfectly: a fearless goat at the top of a mountain, next to a lookout tower, ready to operate.

Built for the Field # built-for-the-field

I built goatHAM to solve my own frustrations. When you’re standing on a windy summit, holding a radio in one hand and trying to log with the other, the last thing you want is a clunky interface. I optimized this app to be lightweight, intuitive, and dependable — especially for those moments when the cold sets in and you just don’t have the patience to fight with a smartphone screen.

It covers POTA, SOTA, WWFF, and TOTA, and it’s built to handle both sides of the pileup:

For the Hunters

• A unified live spot feed from every program at once, colour-coded by band.
• Filter everything by program, band, mode, or free text, and hide those QRT and stale spots.
• A map of the spots showing the distance and bearing to each one based on your GPS fix or grid square.
• One tap on a spot instantly opens a pre-filled log entry.

For the Activators

• See nearby parks and summits, sorted by distance. The reference lists download once, meaning you can search them even when you have absolutely zero cell service on a trail.
• Full reference details in your pocket: points, altitude, activation history, and access notes.
• Activations that actually survive an app restart, keeping live progress toward a valid activation.
• Self-spotting for each program, plus a feed of announced upcoming activations to help you plan your next trip.
• A neat summary when you end an activation: contacts, entities worked, and a map of your reach. There’s also a generated share card with countries and flags, perfectly sized for your social feeds.

Logging, literally one-handed

• The command-line callsign field: Because nobody wants to tap through five menus with cold fingers, you can just type the frequency, band, mode, power, time, or date right where your thumb already is — in the callsign box.
• A time chip that automatically advances one minute per contact. If you’re transcribing a paper log at home, it’s literally just: type call, enter, type call, enter.
• Callsign lookup as you type — pulling from your own offline log and from QRZ.com online (a free account works fine).
• Log Park-to-Park and Summit-to-Summit references on a single contact, with automatic duplicate detection within an activation.
• Painless ADIF exports featuring the exact fields each program’s uploader expects.

The app is currently available in English and European Portuguese.

Out in the Wild # out-in-the-wild

The application is officially live! I invite you to check out the features and grab the direct download link to the Google Play Store over on the project’s official website:

👉 goatham.jcalado.com

This is very much a passion project, and as always, your feedback is the engine behind what I build. Download the app, take it with you on your next activation, and let me know how it handles. Have an idea to make it better? Found a bug? Drop a comment below.

Good luck out there, stay safe on the trails, and I hope to hear you on the bands!

73 de CT7BLE,
Joel Calado