Hamilton Radio Programmer setup for Mac and PC

Hamilton Radio Programmer turns radio programming from an evening project into a five-minute task. It supports 500+ amateur radio models through the open-source engine and it is FREE, includes a worldwide repeater database, and runs natively on both Mac (Apple Silicon) and Windows. This guide walks you through downloading, installing, and getting your first radio programmed.

Before you start

You’ll need three things:

• A Mac (macOS 12 or newer, Apple Silicon) or a Windows 10/11 PC (64-bit)
• A programming cable for your radio
• The radio you want to program

Step 1 — Download Hamilton

Head to autoft8.com/downloads and click the green Download button for your platform. The page automatically highlights the recommended download for your operating system.

• Mac: downloads as HamiltonRadioProgrammer-1.4.0.dmg (signed and notarized by Apple)
• Windows: downloads as HamiltonRadioProgrammer_Setup_1.4.0.exe

Step 2 — Install on Mac

1. Open the downloaded DMG file
2. Drag the Hamilton icon onto the Applications folder
3. Eject the DMG
4. Open Hamilton from Applications or Spotlight

Because Hamilton is signed and notarized by Apple, you won’t see any “unidentified developer” warnings. It just opens.

Step 2 — Install on Windows

1. Double-click the downloaded .exe installer
2. If Windows shows a blue “Windows protected your PC” screen, click More info → Run anyway
3. Click Next through the setup wizard and accept the defaults
4. When the install finishes, leave Launch Hamilton checked and click Finish

Why Windows shows a warning

Windows SmartScreen flags any installer it hasn’t seen downloaded by enough people yet. It’s not malware — it’s a reputation system. Once enough operators have installed Hamilton, the warning disappears for everyone.

Step 3 — First launch

When Hamilton opens for the first time, you’ll see a clean main window with three sections:

• Left sidebar — your saved radios (empty at first)
• Center — the channel list (also empty until you add a radio)
• Top bar — Add Radio, Repeater Map, Settings

Step 4 — Add your radio

1. Plug your programming cable into your computer and your radio
2. Turn the radio on
3. Click Add Radio
4. Choose your radio’s brand and model from the dropdown (551 models supported — most popular Baofeng, Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, TYT, Anytone, and Wouxun radios are covered)
5. Select the serial port your cable shows up on
6. Click Read from radio

Hamilton downloads the current channel memory from your radio. After 10-60 seconds (depending on the radio), all your existing channels appear in the channel list.

Step 5 — Use the Repeater Map

Click Repeater Map in the top bar. A worldwide map opens with every known amateur repeater plotted. Zoom in to your area, click any repeater pin, and you’ll see its frequency, offset, tone, and other details.

To add a repeater to your radio: click the pin, then click Add to radio. Hamilton inserts it into the next available channel slot with the correct frequency, offset, and tone — no manual entry needed.

Step 6 — Write to your radio

When you’ve added, edited, or rearranged channels, write the changes back to your radio:

1. Make sure your radio is still connected and powered on
2. Click Write to radio
3. Wait for the progress bar to finish (don’t disconnect the cable mid-write)

Your radio reboots with the new channels loaded.

Tip · Save your work as a file

Before writing to a radio, use File → Save to keep a backup of your channel layout. If something gets corrupted, you can re-load the saved file and write it back to the radio without redoing all your work.

Common questions

Hamilton doesn’t see my radio’s serial port

Most often the cable driver isn’t installed. For Baofeng/TYT/Wouxun cables, search for “Prolific PL2303” or “CH340” driver depending on the chipset of your cable. After installing, unplug and re-plug the cable.

Read from radio fails halfway through

Usually a USB power issue. Try a different USB port, ideally one directly on the computer rather than through a hub. Make sure the radio battery is at least 50% charged.

You’re done

That’s the complete setup. Add a radio, browse repeaters on the map, add what you want, write back to the radio. The whole loop takes about five minutes once you’ve done it once.

Questions? Reach out at support@autoft8.com — expect answers within a business day.

73 and good programming.