Setting Up Carrier Wave

Configure your profile, connect services, and set up equipment

Let’s get Carrier Wave ready for logging.

The Onboarding Tour

On first launch, an interactive walkthrough introduces the main tabs and helps set up your profile. You can revisit this tour anytime from Settings.

Your Profile

During onboarding (or in Settings), configure your station:

Callsign — Your primary callsign, logged as “your” call for every QSOA contact or conversation between two amateur radio stations. . The app looks up your profile from HamDB.org and fills in name, QTH, grid square, and license class. Add previous or alternate calls as Callsign Aliases.

Location (QTH) — Your city or general location.

Grid Square — A Grid SquareA location identifier using the Maidenhead Locator System (e.g., FN31 for the Boston area). location code (e.g., FN31 for Boston, CM87 for San Francisco). Auto-calculated if you grant location permission.

License Class — Technician, General, or Extra. Carrier Wave uses this for band plan validation — it warns if you log outside your privileges.

Equipment

In Settings, add your gear — radios, antennas, keys, and microphones. When you start a session, you pick which equipment you’re using, and it’s saved with every contact.

Start Simple
You don’t need to add equipment right away. The only thing you need to start logging is your callsign.

Activity Programs

Carrier Wave has built-in support for several activity programs:

  • POTA (Parks on the Air) — Activate parks; make 10+ contacts to earn activator credit. You can also “hunt” activators from home. Hugely popular with new hams.
  • SOTA (Summits on the Air) — Activate mountain summits and hilltops.
  • WWFF (Worldwide Flora & Fauna) — International nature-based activations.
  • AoA (Airports on the Air) — Activate airports.

You don’t need to join any of these to use Carrier Wave, but they give you goals to work toward.

Connecting Services

In Settings → Services, tap each service to connect:

  • QRZ.com — Enter username and password. Credentials stored in iOS Keychain. A QRZ XML subscription is required for lookups.
  • POTA — Tap “Sign in with POTA” and complete the web sign-in.
  • Ham2K LoFi — Enter your email, then tap the device link sent to your inbox.
  • LoTW — Enter username and password. Downloads confirmations only; use ARRL’s TQSL to upload.
  • Club Log — Enter email, app password, callsign, and API key.
  • HAMRS — Sign in with HAMRS credentials.
  • eQSL — Enter username and password.

Start with one. QRZ.com handles callsign lookups and cloud backup — that’s enough to begin. Add others as you need them.

Connecting Your Radio

If your radio supports Bluetooth, BLE Radio Control lets the app read frequency and mode automatically. Check Settings for the Bluetooth option.

Customize Your Tabs

In Settings, show, hide, and reorder navigation tabs. Features like Map and Events can be added to your tab bar.

What’s Next?

Your app is configured! Time to log your first contact .