Licenses & Subscriptions
To use the ShackConnect Cloud you need a license. The license is a yearly subscription that you can purchase on the ShackConnect eshop.
A single license gives you one server slot. With that slot you can either:
- Download a ready-to-flash device image for Raspberry Pi (free with your license), or
- Attach hardware purchased from our eshop.
Extra subscriptions
Your license can be extended with additional extra subscriptions. These let you share your station with friends, run multiple stations, or add more clients to your account.
Extra server
Adds another server slot that you can connect to and control its devices.
Extra seat
A slot you can use to invite a friend. Invited friends can use your servers and control their devices.
Because seats are shared from the host's license, you can use ShackConnect without your own license if someone else shares a server with you. You only need a license (or an extra server) when you want to host your own station.
Extra client
The extra client subscription is not yet available. Support for it will be added in a future update.
An extra client that adds support for additional serial ports and audio devices — useful when one client isn't enough for all the rigs and interfaces in your shack.
How extra subscriptions are billed
Extra products are also billed yearly, but they are aligned with your license renewal date. The first time, the charge is prorated so it lines up with that date — after that, everything renews together on a single yearly invoice.
If your license renews in 6 months and you add an extra seat today, you are charged for roughly half a year now. From then on the seat renews on the same day as your license.
Managing your subscriptions
For now, you can only cancel your subscription as a whole. To do this, go to your account management page and press the Cancel subscription button. You will still be able to use ShackConnect until your license expires.
You bought your license along with an extra seat in March, and your subscription renews every March. If you cancel in June, nothing changes right away — you and your invited friend can keep using ShackConnect until the following March, when the license expires and is not renewed.
Summary
- A license is required to host a station and includes one server slot.
- Use the free Raspberry Pi image or attach purchased hardware.
- Add extra servers, extra seats, and extra clients as your needs grow.
- Friends with a seat can use ShackConnect without their own license.
- Extras are billed yearly and prorated to align with your license date.