HF Weather Fax App Reviews

This is one of the best apps available for cruisers in need of NOAA forecasts. I use it frequently offshore and for passage planning. Highly recommended.

Using a Kaito 1103 radio and no connecting cable (just the iPad microphone), I’m getting clear weather fax reception even when the signal doesn’t sound great. Yesterday I managed to get good images from stations 1000, 2000, and 4000km away. I’ve ordered a cable just so I won’t have to listen to the radio while it’s receiving. The only annoyance is that some images are transmitted rotated by 90 degrees, but it’s easy to flick on the iPad screen rotation lock when viewing those.

No matter how clean the audio the fax was always almost unreadable.

Decoded on FLDigi using my Icom 7200 with a W5GI while simultaneously trying to decode withe the Black Cat Systems app. No decode while FLDigi had perfect copy. Dont waste your money.

Please add support for Apple Watch.

I bought this after getting hooked on the PSK31 app and both work flawlessly. Its seriously cool how charts and images appear from odd radio sounds onto my iPad. Im not a ham and wouldnt even call myself an amateur, but this app is wicked fun! My advice is to follow the same advice offered and use a good pair of headphones and place one side directly on the iPad mic. If you have a shortwave receiver with an upper side band setting and have never seen a weather chart decoded from sound coming out of your radio, get this app!

This is an absolutely fantastic app. It is very simple and does exactly what its supposed to do. At one point, I had seatty on my pc. It was a decent program, but the computer would interfere with many frequencies. This is not the case with iPad, so all freqs. are available. This app also comes with a full schedule of frequencies from all regions of the world. You can also save a fax if you choose. If you have a shortwave radio with SSB capabilities, this is a must get app.

What a surprise to get a weather map by setting the iPad next to the shortwave. I plan to use this onboard. Reduce hash by tuning the signal to the high end. The use of the buttons could be clearer. Still havent seen the difference between -3 and +3. Great app. 4 stars because nobody is perfect.

very poor can not get an useable image ,no instructions or guide ,

Got a Sony world band radio for Xmass. Its cool to see weather charts appear. Just neat to try something and learn about something new. It works very well. I achieved very ready B&W maps.

Just purchased this app for my iPod Touch based on good results with the NAVTEX app. I use a very stable and sensitive general coverage receiver with a longwire antenna. As mentioned in the instructions on the website, a strong signal is necessary for a clear fax reception. Have used other weather fax programs with my laptop and receiver, and am impressed with the quality of the faxes this will capture. I would give this a five-star rating if you had included a tuning meter (showing the signal spectrum) similar to the NAVTEX app -- for fax this would be a great benefit to visualize how to tune your radio for the max signal peaks. Otherwise it will take a good deal of experimentation and may frustrate some users. Overall this is an excellent app. For radio enthusiasts Black Cat Systems has created some excellent products. Thanks!

I love all of the black cat apps but this one is by far the most useful for me. I frequently use my grunding g4 and my iPad to download NOAA reports when Im out of cell range for days at a time. As long as you can figure out how to get a good signal, this app does exactly what it promises for a fraction of the price of other hardware based systems.

A waste of money cant get it to do any thing ;-( Im a offshore lobster fisherman

I singlehand a small boat offshore. I needed access to weather information for my sail to Hawaii and this program, combined with a Sony 7600GR receiver and a cable or two, does the job. I am able to receive weather fax data and can plan my route accordingly. I have experience with the same companies version of this software for the Mac laptop and it is a bit better in having a choice between greyscale and black and white modes, but on the flip side the tuning window on the IPad version is better. The developers support is very prompt and responsive to questions. This software is solid, easy to use, the developer stands behind it, and renders what you need when and how you need it. I highly recommend it.

While the screen of the iPhone is small, the Weather FAXs are readable and clear using pinch zoom. Using both FSK and SSB modes I was able to copy complete maps. The only downside us to access saved maps required you to interact with iTunes on a mac or PC. You cannot just email the maps nor Bluetooth print them directly from the iPhone.

Not bad. Got it working tonight with our ham radio. Used my phone headset and put the mic in front of ssb speaker. I received the wind and wave forecast map successfully. Now can you hook up my ipad to "winmore" so I get grib files?

Im a swl and I wanted to decode these weird crackling noises so I put my ssb switch on and decoded it!

Apps is a waste of money you open app and you cant do nothing with it do not buy

Forget about basic function. Cant get it to download new schedule and it says it did. I know by the date, it didnt. Its showing an old one.

If you have a shortwave receiver with SSB, this app is a great companion.