DAX Alternative for Mac -- This could be it.

Andrew Holman2

So a few weeks ago I contacted a company called Rogue Amoeba who does a lot of Audio stuff for mac. I asked them about a DAX like mac alternative. They told me about a product called Loopback they were coming out with. I just got an email that it is out.

http://weblog.rogueamoeba.com/2016/01/11/now-arriving-loopback/

I do not work for them but it would be interesting to try out and see if it works. 

K6OZY

$75?!  Holy ****!

Andrew Holman2

Well we spend a lot on our radios and macs.  But it seems to do the exact same thing from the literature.  Gonna try it tonight when I get off work.  I mean, DogPark SDR is $95 and is still missing some of the nice usability pieces of  SmartSDR.  To be able to route to and from, record audio from the Flex (and keep it), it might be worth it as well.

The only thing it probably wont due is audio per slice, since its not "Flex" specific. 

rfoust

I own their Airfoil product (unrelated to ham radio) which works well.  Can't speak for their other products though.

Andrew Holman2

I use their Nicecast app and have used Audio Hijack before which were both solid.

Andy F5VAI

For anyone looking for a Windows version, I can certainly recommend VoiceMeeter http://vb-audio.pagesperso-orange.fr/Voicemeeter/banana.htm  It is free to try and if you like it you can donate something to the author. 

Andrew Holman2

Except for Windows users they have DAX as well. Mac users don't which is why this was created. 

Reggie-k6xr

I use Sound Siphon with my Mac and run fldig quite well with it as well as other digi modes with DPSDR.

George KF2T

Sound Siphon works quite well. Test drove Loopback -- it's better! Both are quite useful, with Loopback being a little more configurable for multiple devices/apps. Nice find!!

John WA7UAR

Updating this thread to point to another recent solution:
https://community.flexradio.com/flexr... Latest versions are in the link comments... Quoting: Mario - DL3LSM 27 Posts 7 Reply Likes Hi there, thanks for the positive feedback I have received so far. To avoid misunderstandings and not give the impression that the apps I've created are somehow "official" I decided to rename both applications. The new names are xCAT and xDAX. Here are the links to the .dmg archives (the old links are not working anymore): xCAT https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0d... xDAX https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0d... It would be nice if you could use and refer to these applications instead of the old ones. Functionality is not different as there were no problems communicated so far and no enhancements needed. Thanks and 73 Mario, DL3LSM

K0GGC

John - WA7UAR

I haven't tried these Dax solutions on my Mac yet, but I was wondering if you knew if the following setup is possible.

SmartSDR running in parallels on the mac for radio control.
Mac Dax audio solution to intercept dax channels and redirect to fldigi and MacLoggerDX running natively on the Mac. 

What confuses me a bit is how the Mac Dax solution intercepts audio from SmartSDR running on Parallels. Or does SmartSDR just setup the Dax transmission and receive channels and then Mac Dax gets them direct from the FlexRadio ethernet feed. 

I would like to run fldigi and MacLogger natively on the Mac because I like those apps a lot and MacLogger only runs on a Mac.

Personally, I don't like Dogpark SDR at all. I just think the interface is clumsy, awkward to use, and I don't like the look. I know there are many who love it but I am not one of them. I just can't get used to the interface and I keep splitting my audio when I mean to just adjust the VFO. Plus I have been unable to get it to run properly on my MacPro, for some reason it seems to have a conflict.

Mario_DL3LSM

Hi,

it is possible to use it the way you describe.. xDAX does not intercept any audio but connects to the radio directly via TCP/IP and creates the DAX channels for receive and transmit this way. I use it either with SmartSDR for Windows running on Parallels (I shut down SmartDAX but it works even with SmartDAX still running) or SmartSDR for iOS. One thing is different that you have to use a virtual audio cable solution on the Mac (I use Loopback, but maybe Soundflower is still working on the later macOS versions). And you need a way to key the radio if you want to transmit. For this you can use xCAT or MacLoggerDX..

I have created a simple "blog" to host the applications:

https://dl3lsm.blogspot.de

There you can also have a look at the PDF documents to learn about the apps..

Thanks and 73
Mario, DL3LSM

K0GGC

Thanks for the info Mario. I'll see if I can get it setup properly.