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How to Use SatComms

Get your team talking in under 2 minutes.

Getting Started

1Create an account

Open SatComms and sign up with your email address and a password. You'll receive a verification email — tap the link to verify your account before signing in.

2Set your display name

After signing in for the first time, you'll be prompted to set a display name. This is how your team members will see you. You can change it anytime from the menu (tap the three-dot icon in the top right).

3Create a team or join one

Tap the three-dot menu and select "Manage Teams." If you have a SatComms Pro subscription, you can create a team and invite members by email. If someone invited you, your team will appear automatically after you sign up with the email they invited.

4Select your team and talk

Choose your team from the dropdown on the main screen. Press and hold the big PTT button to talk. Release to stop. That's it!

Push-to-Talk

On-Screen Button

Press and hold the large PTT button on the main screen. Your voice is transmitted live to all team members. Release the button when you're done talking.

Hardware PTT Buttons

SatComms supports Bluetooth PTT buttons for hands-free operation. To set one up:

  1. Tap the three-dot menu and select "PTT Button Settings"
  2. Tap "Add PTT Button"
  3. Press the button on your Bluetooth PTT device to make it discoverable
  4. Tap "Done" when finished scanning
  5. Select which device to pair from the list
Hardware PTT buttons are great for racing, construction, and any situation where your hands are busy.

Channel Busy

Only one person can talk at a time on each team. If someone else is talking, you'll hear "channel busy." Wait for them to finish, then press PTT.

Incoming Transmission Alert

When a team member starts talking, you'll hear a short beep alert so you know someone is about to speak — even if you're not looking at your phone.

Team Chat

Tap the chat bubble icon next to the team dropdown to open team chat. You can send text messages and listen to voice message recordings from PTT transmissions. Messages are shared with your entire team in real time.

Voice Messages

When a team member uses PTT, their transmission is automatically recorded and appears in the chat as a playable voice message. Tap the play button to listen. Voice messages are automatically deleted after 30 days.

Pinning Messages

Long-press any voice message to pin it. Pinned messages won't be auto-deleted. Tap and hold again to unpin.

Live Team Map

Tap the map icon in the top right to switch to map mode. See your team members' locations on a 3D satellite map in real time.

The floating PTT button in the bottom-right corner lets you talk while viewing the map. The map automatically zooms to show all team members when opened.

Live map is a Pro Plus feature. The team owner needs a Pro Plus subscription to enable it for the whole team.

Managing Teams

Creating a Team

Go to Manage Teams (three-dot menu), enter a team name, and tap "Create Team." Requires a Pro or Pro Plus subscription.

Inviting Members

Open Manage Teams, tap your team, go to the Invite tab, and enter the email address of the person you want to invite. They'll receive an email with instructions to join.

Viewing Members

The Members tab shows everyone on the team with online/offline status. Green dot means they're in the app, red dot means they're offline with a "last seen" timestamp.

Priority Order (Pro Plus)

Team owners with Pro Plus can drag and drop members to set priority order. Higher priority members can take the PTT channel from lower priority members — useful for race directors or event coordinators who need to override communications.

Renaming a Team

Team owners can rename their team from the Settings tab in the team detail screen.

Location Settings

Team owners can set how often location updates are sent (5s, 15s, 30s, or 60s) from the Settings tab. Individual members can toggle location sharing on or off.

Leaving a Team

Non-owners can leave a team from the Settings tab. You'll need a new invite to rejoin.

Deleting a Team

Team owners can permanently delete a team from the Settings tab. This removes all team data, chat history, and members. You'll be asked to confirm by typing the team name.

Subscriptions

SatComms Pro — $19.99/year

Create teams and invite members. Free users can join teams and use all core features including PTT, text chat, presence, and hardware button support.

SatComms Pro Plus — $49.99/year

Everything in Pro, plus live team map with GPS tracking, voice message replay in chat, and priority-based PTT. When the team owner has Pro Plus, all team members get access to these features.

Managing Your Subscription

Tap the three-dot menu and select "Subscription" to see your current plan. You can upgrade, or manage your subscription through your device's app store settings.

Restoring Purchases

If you've reinstalled the app or switched devices, tap "Restore Purchases" on the subscription screen to recover your existing subscription.

Account

Changing Your Display Name

Tap the three-dot menu and select your current display name to change it.

Resetting Your Password

On the sign-in screen, tap "Forgot Password?" and enter your email address. If an account exists, you'll receive a password reset link.

Deleting Your Account

Tap the three-dot menu and select "Delete Account." This permanently removes your account, all teams you own, your chat messages, and your membership in other teams. This action cannot be undone.

Troubleshooting

Can't hear audio?

PTT button not working?

Map not showing?

Voice messages not appearing in chat?

Need help?

Contact us at support@satcomms.io.