HFU HF Underground
Technical Topics => Equipment => Topic started by: clobdell on March 20, 2013, 2015 UTC
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Hi Gents
I was thinking of buying a Persius SDR this summer but am wondering if anyone runs it on a MAC. I have a MAC Pro [the big aluminum tower with the holes in it]. Can you run the Persius with paralells or bootcamp on OS X or ??? Just wondering. I really don't want to buy a PC laptop unless I have to.
- Chris Lobdell
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I imagine you could run it under vmware or parallels, I used to do that with the SpectraVue software for the RF Space SDRs. If it's a relatively recent and fast Mac with lots of RAM, that should be fine.
Alternately, if you have not bought an SDR yet, consider one from RF Space (SDR-IQ or netSDR for example), or the Afedri, which I believe uses the same interface protocol. SdrDx supports these radios, and runs native on the Mac (it is based on CuteSDR, which also runs native on the Mac).
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I have not bought anything yet, but I want to buy the "best radio" for listening, then the second consideration is running on my MAC. My pro is only a year old so has plenty of RAM. Does anyone know if the various SDR radios have been reviewed against each other for their pros and cons?
Thanks for your input!
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Hi Chris,
I corresponded with the maker of the Afedri and here is what he said about using it with a Mac:
Steve,
I don't have right now MacOS computer, but this summer I tested ibook of my sister running CuteSDR + AFEDRI SDR-Net using network connection, thing was working well.
I did not have success to run SDR in USB mode due to my poor knowledge in MacOS.
So cannot promise or give you more information on this subject.
Best Regards!
Alex
I guess we can use SDR DX software, which I have working (I think) on my mac running 10.5.8. It sounds like I will be limited to connecting the rcvr via my ethernet connection, unless I update my os to 10.6. Just thought I'd throw that out as you are also using a mac.
The Afedri appears to be a pretty good value, as it is quite a lot cheaper than many of the other popular options - at the expense bit of performance.
I'm curious to see how it works out for you.
Steve
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The Afedri appears to be a pretty good value, as it is quite a lot cheaper than many of the other popular options - at the expense bit of performance.
Keep in mind the AFEDRI is one of the SDRs that I do NOT have hands on. I have not compared it against the SDRs I have and use, or have had and used first hand, such as the WinRadio G31DDC, G33DDC, RFSpace NetSDR, SDR-IQ, and SDR-14, Microtelicom Perseus, SoftRocks of several flavors, Soft66LC, QS1R, etc.
But, looking at the specs and talking with people who have or have used the AFEDRI I think the performance shortcomings come down to 3 issues that many people will be interested in. Raw sensitivity, dynamic range, and imaging. And as far as I know those shortcomings have not been quantified, only identified as issues.
Raw sensitivity is the one that gets most peoples attention, but to tell the truth it is not all that important. The sensitivity looks to be slightly better than the SDR-IQs is, and slightly worse than the Perseus. If this is the case it is significantly worse than the G31DDC or the G33DDC. If you have the advantage of living in a quiet location (form an RFI / noise standpoint) this might be noticeable. The average city dwelling listener will probably never tell the difference.
Dynamic range and imaging are going to show up in dense and crowded RF locations. If you have BCB transmitters near or other strong sources of RF this might be a real image. A suburbs or country dweller might not have a problem but I bet it would show up for a city dweller.
However, I have to say, if I was looking to get into an SDR to see if I liked the technology or as a first SW radio I would have to put the AFEDRI very high on the list, if not at the top. If I was a long time SWL, used to good equipment and looking to get into the SDR arena I would have to look at one of the better, but more expensive, offerings on the market.
And to the original question, I have no input on MAC stuff, have not used one in years.
T!
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I imagine you could run it under vmware or parallels, I used to do that with the SpectraVue software for the RF Space SDRs.
I have Perseus in Parallels and it has problems.
- Playing back a pre-recorded wave file is fine.
- It doesn't work with the radio. Just does nothing.
- When tying to connect over the network, it seems to connect in the server messages box, but never does anything more than that.
Have heard from others of similar results. Haven't had a chance to dig into it much yet.
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Thanks everyone. It sounds like to use the best SDRs such as a Persius I might have to bite the bullet and buy a PC laptop to go with it, at least for now. Of course take I could take it with me when I DX at the cottage as well. Lots of info to digest and appreciated!
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Chris, once I update to 10.6 on my mac, I may try the Afedri as it can be connected via ethernet cable. It sounds like it should work with SDR DX. If I do, and it works, I'll post it up here. Let us know what you decide to go with.
Steve
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Desmoface... great, let me know. I'm not buying anything till summer. Thanks. :)