{"slug": "your-ai-ham-radio-buddy", "title": "Your AI Ham Radio Buddy", "summary": "HamGPT, a new AI chatbot tailored for amateur radio operators, launched to provide specialized assistance by retrieving data from FCC databases, propagation reports, and local repeater information. The service offers a free tier with daily query limits, though its knowledge is limited to real-time data and lacks access to static resources like books or articles. While experienced hams may find it basic, the tool aims to simplify tasks such as band selection and antenna checks.", "body_md": "AI chatbots are everywhere these days, and they seem to “know” about everything. But while that is a strength, it can sometimes be a weakness because it isn’t laser-focused on one topic. Not so with this [Ham-radio-centric](https://daily.hamweekly.com/2026/07/hamgpt-launches-personal-ai-copilot-amateur-radio/) chatbot called [HamGPT](https://hamgpt.co). The service is clearly built on another GPT engine but understands how to retrieve data from common ham radio sources, such as the FCC database, propagation reports, and the like. It didn’t, however, seem to have access to ham radio-related books, magazine articles, or other “static” data that we could tell.\n\nYou do have to sign up for an account, which includes providing your callsign and location. There is a free tier that allows a limited number of queries per day, so you can try it to see if it is useful for you without subscribing.\n\nHere’s a typical session:\n\nWhat band will have the best propagation to Japan from my QTH right now?\n\nThe best band for Japan from your QTH right now is\n\n30 meters, which shows good propagation reliability.20 metersis also active and providing a viable path.Real-time data confirms activity on both bands, primarily using FT8. While the path is open, the signals are relatively weak (typical for this long-haul path), making digital modes like FT8 or CW your best bet for a successful contact.\n\nWould you like me to check if your current antenna setup is suitable for these bands, or perhaps help you calculate dimensions for a 30m or 20m antenna?\n\nIn addition, bubbles at the bottom of the screen showed me the busiest band in my area and how many repeaters were nearby.\n\nIn all fairness, we asked ChatGPT the same question, but did say “ham radio band” just to give it some idea of scope. It gave a much more detailed answer with sources, even provided headings, and made a suggestion about another location I sometimes operate from because it remembers things from previous unrelated chats.\n\nWe understand reactions will be mixed. If you’ve been a ham for a long time, you probably could have guessed that a path from the US to Japan in the morning was likely to be on 20 or 30 meters. You probably also know how to look things up yourself.\n\nWe didn’t try any more sophisticated queries that might make it more worthwhile. For example, what if you could send it an ADIF log file and ask it what awards you qualified for? Or to process contest logs for duplicates and fill out a scoring worksheet? What would you like a ham radio-aware AI to do for you?\n\nHam radio — at least parts of it — has become [inextricably linked with computers](https://hackaday.com/2024/10/25/ham-radio-in-the-internet-age/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/your-ai-ham-radio-buddy", "canonical_source": "https://hackaday.com/2026/07/18/your-ai-ham-radio-buddy/", "published_at": "2026-07-18 23:00:22+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-18 23:25:12.177880+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-products", "ai-tools", "natural-language-processing"], "entities": ["HamGPT", "FCC", "ChatGPT"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/your-ai-ham-radio-buddy", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/your-ai-ham-radio-buddy.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/your-ai-ham-radio-buddy.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/your-ai-ham-radio-buddy.jsonld"}}