Map-panion… The Amateur Radio Swiss Army Knife…

Map-panion is a project I have been developing for quite some time, and it began as a fork of the original OpenHamClock. Some of my early contributions can still be found in OHC, but as my operating style and station needs grew, I wanted something more powerful, more flexible, and most importantly, completely local-only. That vision is what led to the creation of Map-panion.

What started as an idea gradually turned into a full-featured amateur radio operating companion designed around the way I actually use radio every day. Rather than relying on cloud services or a stripped-down interface, I wanted a station tool that could bring together rig control, logging, mapping, propagation awareness, rotator control, and station monitoring into a single unified dashboard.

Map-panion currently handshakes with the Yaesu FT-710, FT-991A, and FT-891, as well as N3FJP logging software, PstRotator, and WaveNode monitoring equipment. The goal has been to create a piece of software that feels less like a single-purpose program and more like an amateur radio Swiss Army knife – something that puts the most useful tools in one place and makes day-to-day operation smoother, faster, and more enjoyable.

It has become a central part of my station, giving me a live operating view of what is happening across the map while also tying together logging, spotting, rig control, and equipment feedback. In many ways, it reflects the side of amateur radio I enjoy most: experimenting, building, refining, and bringing ideas to life.
I’m excited to share that, while I don’t have a release date just yet, I’m working diligently to finalize the licensing details. I can share that it will be a controlled release, and I won’t be accepting code contributions at this time. Stay tuned!