My favorite Ham Radio apps on MacOS

I have a new MacBook Pro so have been setting up my most commonly used Ham Radio apps from scratch. Having tried various apps for digital modes and logging on the Mac, this time round I’m just installing the ones that I use most or found I preferred.

Here’s my run down of apps:

8 Replies to “My favorite Ham Radio apps on MacOS”

  1. Thanks for the links. What do you use to get audio into the Mac? My MacBook Pro only has USB C ports, so I assume I will need some sort of adapter to get the audio output from the radio into the Mac. Do you have any recommendations?

    1. I use a Rigblaster Pro with USB 2 for input and output on my MacBook Pro. I’ve used this on a 2010 and 2012 MBP and works great without any additional drivers. I’m assuming for the latest MBP with USB C you could still use a Rigblaster or a Signalink with a USB 2 to USB C adapter, or a USB 2 hub?

      1. Thanks. I just got my first Mac (2017 pro). In the past I would just use a cable from the radio output to Windows laptop audio in to decode digital signals. I will look into getting a Rigblaster or Signalink.

        1. If you’re only looking to receive/decode and not transmit (the Rigblaster and Signalink would also isolate your Mac from your transceiver too if you’re transmitting), then a simple, cheap usb soundcard with 3.5mm mic input would work fine. That would be a lot cheaper than either of the Rigblaster or Signalink options, maybe around 20 bucks on Amazon.

          1. Thanks. I eventually want to transmit, but not sure if I will invest in a Rigblaster or Signalink now since I hear the band conditions aren’t good and I have a compromise HF antenna at the moment. Thanks for all the info!

          2. When the band conditions are not good (i.e. now and for the next few years until the next solar cycle starts to increase), digital modes actually work great, because the software can pull out incredibly weak signals from the noise to make successful contacts even with compromise antennas. The JT65, JT9, FT8 modes on HF can make contacts when I can barely hear any other voice signals on HF, eg on 20m. FT8 is particularly hot right now too.

  2. System: macOS High Sierra
    Version: 10.13.6
    Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
    Processo:r 2 x 3.46 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
    Memory: 128 GN 1333MHz DDR3

    1. Downloaded each of the following .dmg files: fldigi-4.1.18_bs.dmg, fldigi-4.1.18_hs.dmg, and fldigi-4.1.18_lion.dmg. Opened each dmg file and ran the FLDIGI file. None would open. Since I cannot find a dictionary, I assumed that fldigi-4.1.18_hs.dmg would be the one for my hs: High Sierra. No luck. None would run.

    I would greatly appreciate it if someone would point me in the correct direction to get fldigi working on my machine.

    Thank you in advance for your assistance.

    Ted Asmus
    KJ7URO

    1. FLDIGI was my go to digi mode app on the Mac for a few years. I’ve noticed either with latest MacOS or FLDIGI versions it’s just not as stable as it used to be. Current versions on Big Sur open up and then hang for me, and haven’t found a solution yet.

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