ShackPilot

Control Any Radio.
From Anywhere.

Check into nets, work FT8 and JS8, or ragchew from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Native app with full CAT control: Yaesu driven directly, plus Icom, Kenwood, Elecraft and hundreds more through hamlib, and eight digital modes that decode and transmit.

macOS 15+ iOS 18+ iPadOS 18+

See It in Action

Native on every Apple platform. One app, one purchase.

One App, Every Scenario

ShackPilot adapts to how you operate, whether you're at the rig, across the house, or on the road.

Full Radio Control

Frequency, mode, VFO, filters, DSP, levels, PTT, CW keying. Everything you'd do on the front panel, from your screen.

Remote Over WiFi

Check into your favorite net from the couch, or operate portable over VPN. iOS and macOS clients auto-discover the server via Bonjour.

Generic Mode

No CAT support? No problem. Plug in any radio's audio via a Digirig or similar interface and use VOX or serial PTT. Every digital mode still works, transmit included, and CW goes out as a generated tone.

Live Waterfall & Spectrum

Audio-band waterfall on every radio. Wideband SPI scope on FT-710. Tap-to-tune. Streamed to iOS in real time.

QSO Logging

Built-in log with ADIF export. Auto-log FT8/FT4 QSOs. Upload to QRZ.com and CloudLog. WSJT-X UDP broadcast for third-party loggers.

Memory Channels

Scan and browse stored memory channels with labels. Select, return to VFO, manage presets, all synced to iOS.

Four Ways to Connect

Choose the connection mode that fits your setup. The same app handles all four.

1

Direct CAT Control

Plug in a supported Yaesu and ShackPilot speaks its CAT protocol itself, with nothing else to install. Full rig control, and the radio pushes state changes the instant they happen.

  • Native CAT protocol, nothing to install
  • Real-time updates
  • Wideband scope on FT-710
  • FT8/FT4 TX & RX with auto-sequencing
  • JS8, SSTV, CW, RTTY, Olivia, Packet TX & RX
  • Full QSO logging & export
2

Hamlib

Run the free rigctld and ShackPilot drives whatever it drives — several hundred radios from Icom, Kenwood, Elecraft, FlexRadio, Xiegu, Ten-Tec, Alinco and more. A guided setup screen picks your rig and serial port and writes the command for you.

  • Hundreds of radios, one connection type
  • Frequency, mode, VFO, split, PTT, levels, meters
  • Antenna tuner and memory channels where the rig has them
  • Only shows controls your rig actually reports
  • Runs on this Mac or a Raspberry Pi in the shack
  • Full digital modes & QSO logging
3

Network Remote

The macOS app becomes a server. Connect from iPhone, iPad, or another Mac over WiFi, or anywhere via VPN. Check into nets, ragchew, or work digital modes without being at the rig.

  • Bonjour auto-discovery
  • VPN support (Tailscale recommended)
  • Full controls + waterfall
  • FT8/FT4 TX & RX with auto-sequencing
  • JS8, SSTV, CW, RTTY, Olivia, Packet TX & RX
  • Full QSO logging & export
4

Generic Mode

Works with any radio that has audio output. No CAT cable needed. Pair with a Digirig or similar USB audio+serial interface. Use VOX or serial DTR/RTS for PTT.

  • Any radio, any manufacturer
  • Digirig, SignaLink, or direct audio
  • VOX or serial PTT
  • FT8/FT4 TX & RX with auto-sequencing
  • JS8, SSTV, CW, RTTY, Olivia, Packet TX & RX
  • Full QSO logging & export

Built-In Digital Modes

Eight modes, decode and transmit, without any external software.

FT8 & FT4

Full QSO support with auto-sequencing. Decode, call CQ, exchange reports, and auto-log completed contacts. Standard WSJT-X exchange protocol.

JS8

Keyboard-to-keyboard messaging on weak signals. Frames are joined back into whole messages, the stations you hear are listed, and you can call CQ, beacon a heartbeat, or answer a station directly. Optional automation answers SNR?, GRID?, INFO? and STATUS? on its own, and holds messages for other stations to collect.

CW

Real-time Morse decoding as scrolling text. Send with the radio's own keyer over CAT, or as a generated tone with adjustable speed, pitch, and Farnsworth spacing. The tone path needs no CAT at all.

SSTV

Receive pictures with automatic mode detection, live progress, and an image gallery. Send one in any of 18 modes from Robot 8 to PD-290. Your picture is cropped and scaled to the mode for you, with an optional caption bar.

RTTY

Baudot decoding with automatic mark, space, and baud-rate detection. Type a message and send it at 45.45, 50, or 75 baud with the standard shifts and an RY tuning lead-in.

Olivia

MFSK decoding that finds the configuration by itself. Transmit at any of the five standard tone and bandwidth presets, with adjustable idle blocks for stations that need a longer lead-in.

Packet

AX.25, FX.25, and IL2P decoding for VHF APRS and HF packet, including 300 baud BPSK. Send frames as AFSK through the radio, or hand them to a networked KISS TNC such as Direwolf. APRS message formatting is one toggle.

All Modes, All Connections

Digital modes work identically whether you're on USB CAT, network remote, or generic mode. Decoded traffic streams to iOS clients in real time, and every mode transmits from the phone in your hand.

Supported Radios

These Yaesu models are driven directly. Several hundred more come through hamlib, and generic mode covers anything else.

Driven Directly

FT-710
FT-991A
FTDX10
FTDX101D
FTDX101MP
FTX-1

Through Hamlib

Icom
Kenwood
Elecraft
FlexRadio
Xiegu
Ten-Tec
Alinco
300+ More

Hamlib is a free, long-established project that speaks the control protocol of several hundred transceivers. Install it with one command, start rigctld, and ShackPilot gives that radio real CAT control: frequency, mode, VFO, split, PTT, levels, meters, the antenna tuner, and its memory channels where the rig can report them. ShackPilot asks your rig what it supports and hides anything it does not have.

Generic Mode

Any Radio

No CAT at all? Connect any transceiver via audio using a Digirig, SignaLink, or similar interface. VOX or serial PTT. Full digital mode and logging support.

Your Shack, Your Way

One native app for macOS and iOS. No Electron, no web browser, no Java runtime.