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Getting Started

Hamtrax is a modern, offline-first ham radio toolkit available on the web at hamtrax.com and as native apps for iOS and Android. Whether you're chasing POTA activations or just logging your daily QSOs, Hamtrax gives you one place to do it all.

The app offers a free tier with core features, and optional premium plans are available in Settings > Plans. As a best practice, back up your logs externally by exporting to an ADIF file regularly (see Exporting Contacts) so you always have a portable copy of your work.

Creating Your Account​

Getting started takes about 30 seconds:

  1. Open hamtrax.com in any modern browser.
  2. Tap Sign Up in the top-right header, Log Contacts on the home screen, or Create Free Account when Hamtrax asks you to sign in for a feature.
  3. Choose Continue with Email. On the web, you can also sign up with Google.
  4. Enter your callsign when prompted. Hamtrax verifies it against the international license databases and uses it to personalize your experience and pull your station info — Continue unlocks once your callsign is found. If you don't have one yet, or the lookup can't find yours, choose I don't have a callsign yet to skip for now and add it later in Settings → Account (logging contacts requires a callsign). If your call is active but can't be found, see Hamtrax Can't Find My Callsign.

[SCREENSHOT: Sign-up screen with email and Google options]

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You can update your callsign later from Settings > Account if it changes. The first time you set it, Hamtrax also does a one-time background import of your recent public POTA hunter contacts — they appear in your logbook a minute or two later.

Your First Contact -- The Guided Walkthrough​

The first time you open the Hunt Contacts view, Hamtrax greets you with a short guided walkthrough that teaches the shape of the app: you make contacts in Hunting (or Activating), and the Logbook keeps every one of them -- filed automatically, with its story attached. It's a two-chapter tour -- Log it, then Keep it -- built around a synthetic practice activator so your first contact never touches your real log.

  • You'll hunt the practice activator, tap Contacted, and watch the contact get filed for you -- then land in your Logbook to see it already sorted into this month's hunting folder.
  • The practice activator is clearly marked and never confused with a real one, and the contact you log against it is cleaned up automatically -- it never stays in your logbook.
  • The tour finishes by dropping you on the live hunting list, ready to work a real activator.
  • You can replay the walkthrough anytime from Settings > Help.

This is the fastest way to learn how logging and organizing work together, so we recommend running through it once before chasing your first real activator.

Finish Setting Up Hamtrax​

The walkthrough always appears first. After it is finished or dismissed, a colorful checklist slides down below the app header when setup tasks remain. It starts at 17% because creating your account is already complete:

  1. Create your account.
  2. Import at least one contact through Hamtrax's importer.
  3. Log a real hunted POTA contact directly in Hamtrax.
  4. Create a radio profile.
  5. Create an antenna profile.
  6. Tap Share on a generated contact map.

Tap any circle for short, exact instructions and a button that takes you to the right place. Tasks can be completed in any order and progress updates as soon as Hamtrax records each milestone.

The X hides the floating checklist for the current session. Don't show this banner again permanently hides only the banner. The same checklist stays available at the top of Settings > Account, expanded while tasks remain and collapsed after all six are complete.

A Quick Tour​

Hamtrax is organized around a sidebar navigation with several main sections.

A search input at the top of the sidebar lets you look up any callsign without leaving what you're currently doing. Type a callsign and jump straight to that operator's showcase.

Home​

Your launch pad. The Home tab opens with a hero scene and tagline, and on the web also includes below-the-fold sections explaining what Hamtrax is, defining HAM radio and POTA for new visitors, highlighting key features, and sharing the National Park Foundation support pledge — capped off by a "Get on the Air" button to jump right in.

[SCREENSHOT: Home tab hero scene]

Log​

Your logbook. Every QSO you make is stored here, organized into folders -- automatic monthly folders for casual contacts and per-activation folders when you activate a park. You can also import and export contacts.

Hunt Contacts​

Browse live POTA activations on an interactive map. This is where you go to find stations to work. On the iOS app with a connected IC-705, an FT8 Auto-Hunt card here works matching FT8 activators for you, hands-free, through the radio.

[SCREENSHOT: Hunt Contacts view with map showing live spots]

Activate​

Start your own POTA activation. Hamtrax detects the nearest park from your location, then automates folder creation, spot posting, and contact logging so you can stay on the mic instead of the keyboard.

Showcase​

Your ham radio identity at a glance. Browse your activation history and recent hunting contacts, and showcase your equipment and social links.

[SCREENSHOT: Showcase tab with activations]

Tools​

A collapsible sidebar section with floating utility panels: Band Plan, CW Decoder, FT8 Decoder, Library (Phonetic, Morse, Q-Codes, Etiquette, Frequencies), Solar, Hamtrax CLI, and a Feedback form. These open as overlay panels so you can use them alongside any tab.

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All sections are available in the web app today.

Offline-First Architecture​

Hamtrax is built offline-first. Core logbook actions like logging a QSO and viewing already-cached activity data work without an internet connection. Here's how it works:

  • Local storage comes first. Contacts and app data are saved to your browser's local database (IndexedDB) the moment you create them. Nothing depends on a round-trip to the server.
  • Cloud sync happens in the background. When you have a connection, Hamtrax automatically syncs your data to the cloud (Firestore). There's no sync button to press.
  • No data loss in the field. If you lose cell signal mid-activation, keep logging. Your contacts are safe locally and will upload when you reconnect.
  • Cached data for browsing. Activity data, maps, and reference lists you've previously loaded are cached so you can browse them offline.

This makes Hamtrax especially useful for portable operations -- POTA activations or anywhere connectivity is unreliable.

What's Next?​

You're all set. Here are some good places to go from here:

  • Logging Overview -- Learn how to log QSOs and manage your logbook.
  • Importing Your Log -- Bring in your existing contacts from other logging software.
  • Hunting -- Explore live spots, activations, and the real-time map.
  • Your Showcase -- Set up your public operator showcase, equipment, and social links.