Frequently Asked Questions

The questions that come up most often, with settled answers. If you don’t find yours here, try the search box at the top of the page — and if the docs still let you down, ask in the Discord.

Apps and pricing

What’s the difference between POTACAT, ECHOCAT, JTCAT, and CWCAT?

They’re a family, and most of them live inside one app:

POTACAT is the desktop app — a free, open-source hunter/activator tool for POTA, SOTA, and DX. It connects to your radio via CAT, shows live spots, one-click tunes, and logs your contacts.
ECHOCAT is the remote control for POTACAT. It’s a server built into the desktop app — there’s nothing separate to install on the shack computer. You connect from a phone or tablet, either in a browser (ECHOCAT Web) or with the native iOS/Android apps. See ECHOCAT Connectivity.
JTCAT is the FT8/FT4 engine built into POTACAT. It decodes and transmits digital modes natively — you don’t need WSJT-X — and it works remotely through ECHOCAT too.
CWCAT is a separate app: a CW skimmer for FlexRadio.

Yes. ECHOCAT has native apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play for a one-time $9.99 purchase — a single lifetime fee that includes all updates. If you’d rather not pay, ECHOCAT Web (the browser version) stays free.

Either way, the app is a remote control: you still run POTACAT on a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer connected to the radio, and the phone connects to it. For the ways to connect — same Wi-Fi, Tailscale, or POTACAT Cloud — see ECHOCAT Connectivity.

Is POTACAT really free? What costs money?

POTACAT desktop and ECHOCAT Web are free and open source, and always will be. Two things are paid:

ECHOCAT mobile apps (iOS/Android): $9.99, one time.
POTACAT Cloud: an optional subscription at $5/month or $50/year, with a free trial when you activate it inside POTACAT. Cloud adds conveniences like cloud log backup and multi-device logging, parks-worked sync, a tunnel that connects your phone to your shack without a VPN, and rig sharing with other operators.

Which platforms does the desktop app support?

Windows, macOS, and Linux (including arm64), with installers for all three at potacat.com. Users have also run it successfully on a Raspberry Pi 5. Chromebooks are not a supported platform.

Features you might have missed

Can I look up my previous QSOs with a callsign?

Yes. Press Ctrl+L and type the callsign — the logger shows your past QSOs with that station, whether or not they’re currently spotted. The pop-out logger has a Past QSOs panel that does the same thing.

Do I need to respot an activator after I work them?

No. When you log a POTA QSO with Ctrl+L, the activator is respotted automatically (you can turn this off in the log dialog). Ctrl+R respots the selected spot without logging anything.

How do I get operator names to show on spots?

Enter your QRZ credentials at Settings > Station > QRZ Name Lookup. A regular QRZ account is all you need — name lookup does not require a paid QRZ subscription.

Can I sort the spot table by more than one column?

Yes — click a column header to sort, then Shift+click a second column for a secondary sort.

The text is too small (or too big).

Use Ctrl + to zoom in, Ctrl - to zoom out, and Ctrl 0 to reset.

Where’s the list of keyboard shortcuts?

Press F1 for the full hotkey list, or see Keyboard Shortcuts.

Can I send my own CAT commands to the radio?

Yes. Click the Rig button at the top of the Table view and open the Custom tab to create your own CAT command buttons — notch filter, split, anything your radio’s protocol supports. The buttons you define also appear in ECHOCAT, so they work from your phone too. If CAT control itself is misbehaving, see CAT Control Issues.

Can I hide a spot I don’t want to see?

Right-click it. You can hide the spot for 1 hour, 2 hours, 1 UTC day, or forever. Hiding applies to that callsign and frequency — not to every spot from that call — and there’s a hidden-spots list where you can review and undo your choices.

Can I watch for a callsign only on certain bands or modes?

Yes. Watchlist entries accept a CALLSIGN:BAND:MODE syntax: W1AW matches everywhere, K4SWL:20m only on 20 meters, KI6NAZ:CW only on CW, and W1AW:40m:SSB only on 40 meter SSB. See Watchlist.

How do I log a multi-operator activation, or a station at more than one park?

Commas. Enter multiple callsigns comma-separated in the call field to get one log entry per operator (pass-the-mic style), and enter multiple park references comma-separated in the reference field for n-fer contacts. See Multi-Park Activations.

Is there a way to test activating without a real park?

Yes — use the K-TEST park reference, a practice park for testing your activation setup. When you’re done, QRT your spot on the POTA spot page so hunters don’t chase it.

How POTACAT behaves (and why)

What do the checkmarks next to callsigns mean?

A green ✅ means the station is in your log — you’ve worked them before at some point. A grey checkmark means you’ve already worked them on the current UTC day on that band, which is why the spot is muted. See Hunter Mode for the full spot-table legend.

What does the yellow star mean?

That callsign is on your watchlist.

I skipped a station and it came back after a restart. Why?

That’s how Skip works: it’s per-frequency, kept in memory only, and resets when the app restarts. It’s designed for Scan mode — it also won’t follow an activator who moves to a new frequency. If you want a spot gone for longer, use right-click hide instead.

When does a worked activator show up again?

A worked station stays hidden until the next UTC day, or sooner if the activator moves to a new park.

Why don’t I have a Log button?

Logging is behind a setting. Open Settings, search for “log”, and check Enable QSO Logging — the Log button and the Logbook appear once it’s on.

Can I change where my log file is stored?

You can, but be careful: changing the ADIF log path starts a new, empty log at the new location. Your old file isn’t deleted — it stays where it was — but POTACAT won’t move it for you, and new QSOs land in the new file.

How does POTACAT know which parks I’ve already hunted?

From your POTA account: download your hunted-parks CSV from pota.app (under My Stats) and import it in Settings. That’s what powers the NEW-park badges and the Hide Worked Parks filter. See Hide Worked Parks and Parks Worked.

I tapped an FT8 callsign and nothing transmitted until the next cycle. Is that a bug?

No — it’s timing physics. An FT8 transmission needs about 12.5 seconds of the 15-second window, so there’s roughly a 2-second grace window at the start of each cycle. Tap within it and POTACAT transmits immediately; miss it and you wait for the next cycle, exactly as WSJT-X would.

POTACAT Users Guide