Parks & Peaks

Parks & Peaks App

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I’ve been using the Parks and Peaks app on iphone and ipad for a little while now and quite enjoyed it.  There don’t seem to be many iphone apps compared to android, so when there is one, I usually have a look.  This one caught my eye as it was not only free, but useful.

After using it for a while, I contacted the author of the app, Sue Southcott, VK5AYL where she was thrilled that I would do a review on this free app, and provided me with a bit more information about her and the app.

The current version is for iphone only at this stage, but I think there are plans to expand this.  It allows users to Spot, Alert and export in ADIF and or spreadsheet format.

The app also allows users to search for sites including parks, peaks and silos by site ID. Or you can search by partial site name or by using the inbuilt map.

Setting up the map and connecting site data by longitude/latitude co-ordinates has been Sue’s favourite part.  Sue said “I already had the experience of connecting data to mapping systems during my career.

The following awards are handled – WWFF, SOTA, HEMA, IOTA, KRMNPA, SANPCPA, SIOTA, SHIRES, ZLOTA & POTA. 

Parks & Peaks is an Australian website that collects data from Amateur Radio operators who get out of their shacks and operate their radios portable in parks or on peaks.  It also collects data from those who Spot them.

AU/NZ sites can be downloaded to the device for use when there is no network available.

It will also produce multiple logs for one activation, so if you are on a Summit in a WWFF Park with a Pota reference, you will get 3 logs, one for SOTA, one for WWFF and one for POTA.

There is also a quick way to log activators as I show in the video below.

About Sue VK5AYL….

Sue has had her Advanced Amateur licence for a very long time and it led to her decision to study IT back in the 80s. 

For over 30 years, she had a successful career as an IT Manager, Analyst/Programmer, TAFE Lecturer and even my own software business, contracting to many organisations.

Most of her work involved working on client/server applications for large businesses. 

In 2014, Sue decided to learn how to write an iOS app and along came Parks & Peaks, which gave me something to work on. After purchasing a Mac Pro Sue had to learn how to use it very quickly, along with the new Apple language. 

In 2015, Sue presented version 1 to the WIA AGM in SA.  Since then, Sue has released versions 2 and 3 and compared to version 1, they had many more features.  Sue told me she loved every minute of developing the app as it has been a massive challenge and allowed her to continue with my love of programming.

Why not have a look at my video on this app where you can see it in full operation:

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