Using Fldigi & WSJT X with Flex 6500 and MacOS

Maurice PC9T

wild bill

Will be interested to follow this one.  Hope it works out for you.  Lots of Flex users are running on Windows on various flavors of Mac, with Parallels, etc.  MacLogger DX is the best program out there.  After 4 years of struggles using Mac with Flexradio, I went to a PC.....works much better, but can't use MacLogger, which is unfortunate.  If you are tech savvy, I bet you'll work it out.  The gang here will certainly have answers....if you can understand the techno lingo , LOL.   Flex is a fabulous radio.  MacLogger is the best....it's just working out the details.  

Ted VE3TRQ

Just search for "wsjt-x on Mac" or "Fldigi on Mac" here in the community - lots of help! And when you have more questions, just ask. Loopback works very well with xDax and any digital program. And I should add that xCat allows you to set up PTT - no VOX required!

szawrotny

Everything is easier on a Mac.... except amatuer radio  ;-(

Ted VE3TRQ

I disagree wholeheartedly. I have yet to have any of my audio or cat devices disturbed by an update, and I never spend time adjusting things after an update. That's not to say that there are no problems with any given O/S, but the Win 10 update problems I hear about are epic. And if you happen to choose a piece of amateur radio software that only runs under Windows, of course you will think MacOS is a bad choice - that's life. Write your own or run the O/S that you need for your software. I choose to run software that is cross-platform.

Maurice PC9T

Hi, because the many problems to work with a Mac in amateur radio, I decided to not invest in more software voor the Mac

George KF2T

Hi Maurice - it’s actually very, very easy. Fldigi and Wsjtx are both Mac applications that work smoothly. xDAX and xCAT (both free) are superb replacements for the Windows versions of DAX and CAT. Dogpark Software does make the best (IMO) Mac client for Flex. There are some other options that are in various degrees of development, too. Yes, for digital modes it is helpful to have Loopback or SoundSiphon. Both are excellent and easy to use. I have been meaning to update my tutorial on them, but haven’t yet.


I have run my all my ham activity on a Mac exclusively for probably about 5 years. It really is the way to go.
You don’t need a VM like Parallels to use your Flex and Mac. Edit: Loopback is USD 99, Sound Siphon USD 49. Both have free trials.

Maurice PC9T

George KF2T

Just set up two sound devices, with no options necessary. Name one “radio in” and the other “radio out.” Use them for the audio options in your digital software. In xDAX, assign “radio in” to DAX TX and “radio out” to whatever DAX RX slice you’re using.

True, no N1MM or CWSkimmer for Mac. They do run in a VM, though. MacLoggerDX is a great log for casual contest use. I have heard Skookum Logger is also good for more serious contesting. I think you can run N1MM on your NUC, and connect via your LAN, also.

For remote SSB, it works 100% in SmartLink. Have made many ssb and cw contacts from my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.

Maurice PC9T