Can I use HFTA on Windows 11 without installing anything?

Yes, with HFTA-X: open it in Edge, Chrome or Firefox and it works straight away. It reads and writes the same .PRO files as HFTA.

Does HFTA run on a Mac?

Not natively: HFTA is a Windows program. You can run it through Wine, CrossOver or a Windows virtual machine, or use HFTA-X, which does the same analysis in the browser with an HFTA-compatible engine.

Does HFTA run on Linux?

Only through Wine or a virtual machine. HFTA-X works in any Linux browser with nothing to install.

Do I need MicroDEM to make the terrain profiles?

Not with HFTA-X. It builds the profiles itself from LiDAR or SRTM elevation data. If you want to use them in the original HFTA, you can download them as .PRO files.

Yes. It is free to use, with no account needed.

HFTA on Windows 11, Mac and Linux, with nothing to install

HFTA, the ARRL's HF Terrain Assessment, is a Windows program that comes with the ARRL Antenna Book: you install it on a PC and prepare the terrain profiles separately. HFTA-X does the same job on the web, so it works the same on a Windows 11 PC, a Mac, Linux, a Chromebook or a tablet, with nothing to install.

Open HFTA-X

The usual workarounds, and why you no longer need them

On a Windows PC you install HFTA and you are halfway there. Until now, Mac and Linux users who wanted to study their terrain had to run HFTA through Wine or CrossOver, inside a Windows virtual machine, or on a spare PC. That works, but it is the easy part. The hard part has always been the terrain profiles: HFTA needs a .PRO file for each direction, and building them meant MicroDEM (another Windows program), elevation downloads and a fair amount of patience.

HFTA-X removes both steps. It runs on a server and you use it from the browser, and it builds the terrain profiles for you from elevation data.

What you get on any system

The same calculation. The engine reproduces HFTA 1.04: ray tracing, reflection over real ground and diffraction over ridges. Run against the eight figure-of-merit examples in the HFTA manual, it ranks the options the same way in all eight, with differences of a few tenths of a dB.
Terrain without MicroDEM. Click your tower on the map, type the azimuths (for example 0-355/45) and the profiles are ready. In Spain and the United States it uses LiDAR bare-earth models; elsewhere, SRTM at about 30 m.
Your old files. It reads and writes HFTA .PRO profiles and .PRN elevation-angle statistics, so you can move work between HFTA-X and a Windows machine running HFTA.
More than HFTA. A height optimiser, stacks of up to four Yagis, a world performance map that turns the antenna all the way round, and VOACAP propagation maps.
Any screen. Safari, Firefox, Chrome or Edge, on a desktop, a laptop or a tablet. Projects are kept in the browser and can be exported to a file.

Getting started on any computer

Open hfta.ea5ra.com in your usual browser.
Click your tower on the map, or type its latitude and longitude.
Type the directions you care about, choose the antenna, the height and the band.
Compute the elevation pattern and compare it with the angles you need. The step-by-step guide explains each screen.

Questions

Can I use HFTA on Windows 11 without installing anything?: Yes, with HFTA-X: open it in Edge, Chrome or Firefox and it works straight away. It reads and writes the same .PRO files as HFTA.
Does HFTA run on a Mac?: Not natively: HFTA is a Windows program. You can run it through Wine, CrossOver or a Windows virtual machine, or use HFTA-X, which does the same analysis in the browser with an HFTA-compatible engine.
Does HFTA run on Linux?: Only through Wine or a virtual machine. HFTA-X works in any Linux browser with nothing to install.
Do I need MicroDEM to make the terrain profiles?: Not with HFTA-X. It builds the profiles itself from LiDAR or SRTM elevation data. If you want to use them in the original HFTA, you can download them as .PRO files.
Is HFTA-X free?: Yes. It is free to use, with no account needed.

HFTA-X is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the ARRL. HFTA (HF Terrain Assessment) is a program by R. Dean Straw, N6BV, published by the ARRL.