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SSDR Memory

johnn1jm
johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭
in SmartSDR for Mac

I have noticed lately that SSDR for the Mac over time gobbles up a lot of memory. It starts out at around 150MB and after being on all night it's around 5 GB. I only have 1 slice going and nothing else. Has anyone else noticed this? I had this issue in the past and an update seemed to cure it. Marcus sluffed this of as normal. But before this I haven't seen it take up much more than 300- 500 MBs.

Answers

  • David Decoons, wo2x
    David Decoons, wo2x Member, Super Elmer Moderator

    it is normal to see memory increase as the waterfall buffer fills up. Not sure how high the norm would be on SSDR MAC though. Maybe others can chime in on what they see.

  • K3CDY
    K3CDY Member ✭✭✭

    I launched MacSSDR today at 10:10AM, and it reported 260MB RAM usage. Over six hours later, I'm at 231MB. I had the panadapter zoomed out to its maximum, presumably to "fill the buffer" as much as possible. Your situation does not look normal.

    I'd recommend you try deleting and reinstalling MacSSDR. Also, to ensure a complete deletion, I suggest you install the excellent free app "AppDelete." It's saved my bacon a few times. It's available here: https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/

    Also, make certain you're using the latest macOS (15.4.1). I'm running a Mac Studio M2 Max with 32GB RAM, and MacSSDR 2.9.65 and it's pretty solid. (Although, I've had to re-install MacSSDR a couple times over the last year due to the app losing its mind.)

    If this doesn't work, looks like you'll need to go back to the drawing board with Marcus.

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Thanks, Bill. I'll give this a try. I'll post here the results.

    John N1JM

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Bill- After trying all you suggested, still no go. I installed Smart SDR for Mac on my new MacBook Air M4 and it's doing the same thing. I guess I will bounce this off of Marcus again.

    Thanks,

    John N1JM

  • K3CDY
    K3CDY Member ✭✭✭

    You could try a reinstall of macOS. It's pretty easy, and won't affect any of your apps or documents. I've done it several times without incident. Here's the procedure:

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/102655

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Actually I have done a complete erase and start from scratch.

    John N1JM

  • K3CDY
    K3CDY Member ✭✭✭
    edited April 2025

    Wow. Very strange indeed John. Is this occurring on all bands and all panadapter zoom levels? You could send me your MacSSDR settings and I'll see if I can replicate the issue.

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Since being on since about 8 am AZ time this morning it's up to 2.5 GB.

    John N1JM

  • K3CDY
    K3CDY Member ✭✭✭

    How are you determining memory usage for MacSSDR?

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭
    Screenshot 2025-04-17 at 6.41.04 PM.png Screenshot 2025-04-17 at 6.41.39 PM.png
  • K3CDY
    K3CDY Member ✭✭✭
    edited April 2025

    Yep - same tools I use. Another idea would be to create a virtual machine on your Mac for a truly fresh, new environment. I use VirtualBuddy (free) for creating one. Available here: https://github.com/insidegui/VirtualBuddy

    Other than that, I’m out of ideas!

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    Bill:

    I've just had an update to 2.9.68 and the problem has disappeared.

    John N1JM

  • K3CDY
    K3CDY Member ✭✭✭

    Well, well. Perhaps Marcus did a "stealth" fix. Glad MacSSDR is no longer a memory hog!

  • johnn1jm
    johnn1jm Member ✭✭✭

    For whatever happened, memory usage has not been much more than 180 MB since this morning.

    73, John N1JM

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