PowerSDR and VMware Fusion

G4NRT

I am seriously thinking about picking up a used Flex 1500 to carry around with me on my very frequent business trips. My main work laptop is a new MacBook Pro and I run VMWare Fusion on that laptop for some business applications. Can someone tell me whether it will run PowerSDR as well and will I be able to use it for both CW / SSB and digital modes? I am unsure whether I can rely on this or if I should be considering a cheap windows tablet just to run PowerSDR and WSJT-X or FLDIGI. David G4NRT / Z21NRT

Bill -VA3WTB

Dudley WA5QPZ

G4NRT

Thanks gentlemen! I am not new to Flex (I have a 6700 plus Maestro in the UK and a 6300 which is going to Zimbabwe). for reasons which I cannot go into, remote operation is not an option. I want a QRP rig that I can take with me. I was thinking about one of those little Chinese QRP rigs but have found a cheap used 1500 for sale in the UK so thought I’d ask the question. I am happy to put up with the hassle of it all! David

Bill -VA3WTB

G4NRT

Thanks. My question was really directed at folks who know Mac and Windows and specifically was whether PowerSDR will work in Windows under VMWare Fusion.

Doug Hall

G4NRT

Doug, Thank you so much! That's exact what I was looking for! I think I may give it a try with VSP Manager (if I decide to go down the 1500 route) and if I have the same issues then look for a cheap windows tablet with at least one USB port. 73, David

K3SF

hi Dave

I am a Mac user and i do not see any major reason why that configuration will not work. 

I run VMWare Fusion and have used sdrplay/rsp1 units running "sdrconsole"  s/w in much the same way as the flex1500 would work.

The cpu load will be a bit higher because you are running a thick client. That means a lot of the SDR processing is occurring on the computer and not the radio.

The rsp1 can push up to 8mhz b/w of data which i think is way more than the flex1500 does.

The flex1500 interface is USB and Mac book pro have usb ports, so there are no connection issues there either.

I am not sure what version of windows is needed to run powersdr. The manual show windows 7 and XP. So not sure how it would run under windows10.

Overall there should be no issues running cw and ssb


biggest caveat
.....audio routing.....digital modes.....
The hardest part of the configuration is routing audio around the computer for digital modes.

will need virtual audio cable s/w
but
i believe you would have this same issue even with a pc laptop.

Guess in the end you really need more expert advise on how to setup a flex 1500 even in PC environment for digital modes...
at least a lot more than i have ;-)

Paul K3SF

KE9NS

The other option is to install "Bootcamp" and just dual boot your Macbook Pro.
I run a Macbook Pro with Bootcamp Win10 x64 Pro and it runs the 1500, 3000 and 5000 with no issues. I have a 1Tb SSD, so I partitioned off 300Gb for Bootcamp.

G4NRT

Thanks Paul. I think I can fiddle around with it. My Macbook Pro has only USB-C sockets but I have an adapter. I think that VSP Manager may be the answer as it creates virtual cables for USB pairs. We will see! 73, David