A while ago I already managed to compile gqrx on OSX, but then Alexandru Csete decided to move on to a new audio backend called pulseaudio. Sadly there is no proper pulseaudio port for OSX. Thus I bring you my branch of gqrx 2.1 which runs quite well on OSX.
It contains all the rtl-sdr, gr-osmosdr, GNU Radio, libUSB, boost and Qt dependencies so it should work out of the box. Feel free to contact me in case you encounter problems. I built it on OSX Lion (10.7), and people on Reddit reported it running well on OSX Mountain Lion (10.8). I assume it also runs on Snow Leopard (10.6), though I don’t know for sure. Sadly Leopard (10.5) isn’t supported due to Apple breaking binary compatibility on 64bit binaries for some reason.
Download the ready to use DMG/APP here:
gqrx_7.dmg – (02/03/2013) Up to date with GIT. I’ve added a deadlock prevention feature in case your settings keep gqrx from starting up properly. After a crash/forced-close it asks you whether you want to reset all your settings to default. This should help you guys with invalid rtl_tcp settings and the like. I have also fixed rtl_fm to now properly work on OSX (It used to only output noise), as well as multimonNG which now supports umlauts for POCSAG decoding. So check out the bundled command-line utilities! 
(e.g. /Applications/Gqrx.app/Contents/MacOS/rtl_test -t)
Old versions:
gqrx_6.dmg – Latest (01/16/2013) updates from GIT, yet again. This time I also packaged some command-line utilities (multimonNG rtl_adsb rtl_eeprom rtl_fm rtl_sdr rtl_tcp rtl_test) together with Gqrx. rtl_fm seems to be broken on OSX, yet we’re still triaging the bug. It would be great if you could try it and report whether it works for you. (http://kmkeen.com/rtl-demod-guide/index.html) I am considering packaging up the whole of gnuradio including the companion GUI if there is demand.
gqrx_5.dmg (Latest updates from GIT, supports adjusting the FFT resolution which should fix the pink curtain problem. The zoom slider has been removed from upstream, yet you can still zoom by using the mouse wheel on the axes.)
gqrx_4.dmg (GNU Radio component has now been compiled with “-DTRY_SHM_VMCIRCBUF=OFF”, this should hopefully fix the shared memory problem some of you have encountered. Please report whether it works now.)
gqrx_3.dmg (Rebased to the zoom branch. Credit goes to vpelletier for the awesome patch!)
Pan: left-click on X-axis labels & drag horizontally
Pan (alternative): Mouse wheel on X-axis labels, faster pan with Shift held and slower pan with Ctrl held.
Change central frequency: middle-click on X-axis labels & drag horizontally
Zoom: slider on FFT panel
gqrx_2.dmg (Updated gr-osmosdr and fixed a crash when disabling demod.)
gqrx.dmg
PS:
The screenshot was taken in direct sampling mode, that’s why I was able to receive 0-2.4mhz. I’ll probably blog about my modded dongle soon.
Software licenses:
Gqrx
Qt
multimonNG
boost
gr-osmosdr
rtl-sdr
GNU Radio
FFTW
PortAudio
libusb
Thanks so much for packing up MultimonNG, etc.! Rtl_fm works fine on my Mac Mini running 10.6.8 — I was able to use it to capture APRS packets (albeit a lot fewer than expected based on the traffic I could see in Gqrx, but I haven’t really begun optimizing the tuning parameters)
However, while Gqrx runs fine on it’s own, I haven’t been able to get Gqrx working with rtl_tcp yet — in the terminal window for rtl_tcp I’ll get: “ll+ now 234″ etc, as it counts up to “ll+ now 502″ and then hangs until a CTRL-C. I’ve gotten rtl_tcp to work with Cocao1090 for ADSB reception and demod.
One other situation that can cause Gqrx to hang on start up is when it’s been set to use rtl_tcp. If you leave it configured in that mode, shut down the rtl_tcp server, and restart Gqrx, the icon will bounce forever. Force quit, launch rtl_tcp, get Gqrx up and set it file mode works to recover.
But thanks for making life on OS X so much easier — last time I grappled with SDR on a Mac it was a 10-hour nightmare trying to get stuff compiled and running!
I downloaded gqrx_6.dmg and for some reason on start up, the icon bounces for a good while and then the application ends up “Not Responding.” I am running Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. Any ideas?
I have experienced the same issue. Start rtl_tcp in a terminal window first and then start Gqrx. That works for me. If you don’t have rtl_tcp as standalone i.e.
Macports rtl-sdr
You can use the one in the Gqrx.app package.
Applications/Gprx.app/Contents/MacOS/rtl_tcp
/C
Try my latest build (gqrx_7.dmg). I have added a feature that detects being quit ungracefully (force close) and will ask you whether you want to reset all settings the next time you start it.
Although I can’t comment in this particular case, check the console.app (to see the system log) will often give you information about why an application isn’t starting.
Works great on 3.06Ghz iMac running 10.8.2, thanks for putting this package together, ran first time….
Help me. how must I set I/O devices in Gqrx (gqrx_7.gmd) on my MacBookPro OSX 10.8.2? I use FDC + pro. I’m no expert on osx. thanks
thanks for this great port!
it’s my favorite SDR app for the Mac!
my only problem is about the bundled rtl_adsb, it won’t recognize the -R parameter for the raw output that i’d like to pipe with netcat for use with virtualradar that i’m using via mono
Use: rtl_adsb [-R] [-g gain] [-p ppm] [output file]
./rtl_adsb: illegal option — R
are you kidding??
That’s in all later versions of rtl_adsb. The -R version just isn’t needed anymore. Listing it as a parameter is a mistake. I will make sure upstream gets it fixed.
http://cgit.osmocom.org/cgit/rtl-sdr/commit/src/rtl_adsb.c?id=8033414974b44982ebd5c8334e937f54f5c49e81
It was difficult to find sdr software for MAC, thank you.
I wonder if this software works for Afedir SDR (www.afedri-sdr.com/index.php/afedri-sdr) with USB connection?
abhi
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for those that have Gqrx crash with the QT error, try doing a sudo /Applications/Gqrx.app/Contents/MacOS/Gqrx.
Thats how I got it working.
I like seeing software for Mac…now if I can only get it to see my device. I have confirmed the device works on my old Asus laptop but it doesn’t show up on either USB3.0 port on my rMBP. Anyone else experienced this issue? I cannot load it into Gqrx, nor does it show up as a valid device for me to pass along to VMs either.
I remember having problems like yours with USB3 and libusb (The USB library rtlsdr uses as well) on Windows before. Due to the lack of an OSX machine with USB3 I can’t look into it. :/
many thanks for your good work!!!!
Worked right off the bat on a MacBook Air 13-inch late 2010 running Lion 10.7.5 with a NooElec TV28T DVB-T USB stick. It’s a bit unstable; click the wrong thing at the wrong time and the data from the stick hangs up and weird noises ensue. FM reception is good although there is little stereo depth. I’ll report later on how it works on shortwave with an up-converter.
Works fine with the NooElec 100MHz upconverter. The display process is rather cranky, and the controls don’t always act properly. Right now I am having trouble setting the FFT values, although they worked in the past.
Also, it crashes on close every time and doesn’t save all the settings. Someday I’ll try gqrx under Ubuntu and see if it behaves better there. Meanwhile, for serious use I will go back to Windows and HDSDR.
Thanks for the port. I am having an issue with it crashing on exit. I can provide a crash report if necessary. Mid 2011 27-inch iMac with 2.7 GHz intel Core i5, 12GB 1333 MHz DDR3, OS X version 10.8.2
Hi!
Great job but I have question. Is it possible to add support for Funcube Dongle Pro +?
If someone gave me one I could look into it.
Im running the DVB-T+DAB+FM dogle on mac os 10.8.3 I have your latest version gqrx_7.dmg but the program can not seem to find the dogle .. under devices.. I did get working just for shor time with the previous version of gqrx. but not both version are not work working.. what happens is is I see my dogle in the pull down selection but when I select it the program does not respond.. please help
ROB
Just wants to say thanks for all your hard work. Easy as 1 2 3 and we have SDR from our £6 DVB-T usb dongle.
Works really well – thank you for porting this! I’ve found that I can pipe output using Soundflower, selecting the 2ch device as a default output, and then using this in something like dl-fldigi. It’d be nice to be able to hear stuff too, but this works okay.
Version 7 crashes for me and freezes my Logitech wireless mouse and my Griffin PowerMate application must be forced to quit. Once this happens, I have to force a re-boot. All Apple mice continue to work. I have not checked yet to see if both items are on the same USB hub as the SDR dongle. I am using an NooElectric R820T usb dongle.
Have not tried version 6. Version 5 seems much more stable for me. I have a MacPro5,1.
I would love to use the I/Q output but it does not seem to work. Is this a future demodulator option?
Any way thanks for the work you have put in. I do appreciate it.
Mike
Thanks for this! I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing with SDR yet, but I got a NooElec dongle and found your program via Google and within two minutes I’m listening to a local FM station. Better yet, I know the hardware works and I have somewhere to start from. Thank you!
I tried using the latest release gqrx_7 and had the issue with it locking up and asking me to go back to the default settings. I clicked on the reset to default and it just becomes unresponsive and has to be forced closed. I have deleted it using appcleaner and reinstalled, but the same problem occurs again so Appcleaner must be missing a file hidden away in the system.
Any ideas please?
Nevermind, got it working by starting it from the command line, which was a suggestion that someone else mentioned above. Working now with the RTL Dongle. Really need a better antenna, but at least I know it is working with the Mac.
Many thanks for the port to OSX, I was glad to find it! For the most part, it seems to be working well with the Newsky USB module I recently purchased.
http://www.nooelec.com/store/software-defined-radio/sdr-receivers/tv301u-dvb-t-usb-stick-w-antenna-and-remote-control.html#.UWoPioIylS0
Like a few of the other posts, the app does seem to “crash” on exit, I’ve posted some output below. There are a few other nits but nothing to keep me from using and enjoying the app. Thanks again….
Process: Gqrx [5413]
Path: /Users/USER/Desktop/Gqrx.app/Contents/MacOS/Gqrx
Identifier: com.yourcompany.Gqrx
Version: ??? (???)
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [157]
Date/Time: 2013-04-13 19:11:42.808 -0700
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63)
Report Version: 9
Interval Since Last Report: 37454 sec
Crashes Since Last Report: 8
Per-App Interval Since Last Report: 8683 sec
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report: 7
Anonymous UUID: 123CAF70-6D36-4EC0-AF09-08121CCC4FB4
Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
Exception Type: EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes: 0×0000000000000000, 0×0000000000000000
Application Specific Information:
terminate called throwing an exception
abort() called
objc[5413]: garbage collection is OFF
Has anyone been able to use the software with a Afedri SDR radio?
AFSK1200 Decoder does not seem to work within GQRX when packets are transmitted.. Any ideas?
I don’t think it has ever worked on OSX.
Very nice work. Thanks much for an excellent package.
(BTW I am using it on OSX 10.6.8)
Worked straight away no fuss. Worked well with E4000 chipset but a lot better with the R820t chipset. Looking forward to the next version. Thanks for the good work. 73sTed
Need help connecting a Nooelec R820T SDR it show as realtek RTL2828UIDIR in the I/O window. When selected the gqrx main window shows gqrx 0.0 with no apparent connection to the dongle? Any help would be appreciated.
Great work! many thanks! Works fine on Mac OS 10.8.3
Thank All,
I have this software installed and running well, I’m using OX 10.8.3 with DVB RTL. Terratec.
GL