GQRX on Yosemite OSX 10.10

[Matt Newham]

Hey, anyone managed to get GQRX running on 10.10 Yosemite? I have tried installing compiled binaries and GQRX starts, detects my RTLSDR but then nothing happens when I click the power button.

Previously on mavericks I installed through macports and installed the development version, however now I can't build qt4 as it won't build on versions greater than 10.9!

Seems like I should just stop upgrading the OS (but what if there is new stuffs that I simply cannot miss!.......!111)

Any help would be much appreciated.

I've tried installing qt4 from the binaries and that doesn't work either, I still can't build gqrx-devel 

[Alexandru Csete]

On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 12:27 PM, Matt Newham <matt....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Previously on mavericks I installed through macports and installed the
> development version, however now I can't build qt4 as it won't build on
> versions greater than 10.9!

I'm not aware of why Qt 4 wouldn't work on OSX 10.10 but gqrx works
just as well with Qt 5 (if not better).

Alex

[Matt Newham]

Hi Alex

QT4 doesn’t build on 10.10 through macports. Neither does qt5.

Obviously when I try to install gqrx through macports it is failing at the point of satisfying the qt4 or greater dependency.

> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "Gqrx SDR" group.
> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/gqrx/uxpgiHkBg1E/unsubscribe.
> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to gqrx+uns...@googlegroups.com.
> To post to this group, send email to gq...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gqrx/CAHG%3DS_f-4XekwTmd96xmxciiAh8P1es_ATrHTtF0d9bKoNC-hA%40mail.gmail.com.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Michael Dickens]

Qt4 requires patches to work on 10.10 (still "preview", I might add < https://www.apple.com/osx/preview/ >). I'm guessing Qt5 does too. Leading up to GRCon (which was this week in Washington, DC), I haven't had time to work through what's needed to get GR and its related ports running on 10.10; it might be that once Qt* get working, GR will be simple to get working too. Hopefully I'll find time in the next couple of weeks to do so. While I always take patches to fix such issues, I also want to try them out when reasonably possible to verify that they work. I know of an open ticket for the Qt4 10.10 upgrade; I don't know if one exists for Qt5 since I'm not trying to maintain it (yet). My recommendation: Stay with 10.9 until 10.10 is out and all of the stuff you need works on it. Or, stated another way, I hope you were just having fun poking around on 10.10 and aren't planning on using it seriously yet. Good luck! - MLD

[Matt Newham]

Hey,

I heeded your advice and I am in the process of downgrading back to 10.9 there was just too many issues with 10.10!

I tried all the patches and worked pretty hard to get everything running on 10.10 but to no avail. So if anyone else is in this same boat, downgrade back to 10.9 until everything is stabilised with 10.10!

Matt

> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "Gqrx SDR" group.
> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/gqrx/uxpgiHkBg1E/unsubscribe.
> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to gqrx+uns...@googlegroups.com.
> To post to this group, send email to gq...@googlegroups.com.

> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gqrx/9F95C795-B241-4DCB-816E-C7FCF58BF986%40alum.mit.edu.

[Charles H. Leggett]

Now that Yosemite (v10.10.1) is released. Has anyone been able to get it to compile and work?

I am working on a homebrew formula: https://github.com/chleggett/homebrew-gqrx

Using qt (stable 4.8.6 via homebrew), it will compile and run, but the input from my Realtek (RTL2838UHIDIR) will crash Gqrx after about 1 second.

Interestingly, I can tune to rtl_tcp:localhost:1234 without an issue.

I saw Alexandru's recommendation of qt5 and I am going to try that route.

--

Charles H. Leggett

[Alexandru Csete]

Hi Charles,

Thanks for the update. Can you run onther qt-based applciation? It
could be interesting to know whether gqrx crashes because of the qt
4.8 issue mentioned by michael or the rtl-sdr driver.

alex

[Charles H. Leggett]

Alex,

I tested my qt4 install with a simple barcode creator zint (http://zint.github.io). It ran fine.

I think that my issue may be with rtl_sdr, as you said. I cannot get rtl_test, rtl_fm, rtl_tcp, etc. to exit cleanly. I have to kill -HUP it overtime.

Or, maybe it has something to do with my sound setup?

Please have a look below at the output below from when I first run the app until I have to CTRL-C it about a second after I click "Start DSP".

Let me know if there is anything that you would like for me to try.

cleggett@xelda ~ % /usr/local/Cellar/gqrx/2.3.1/Gqrx.app/Contents/MacOS/Gqrx -r

gr-osmosdr 0.1.4 (0.1.4) gnuradio 3.7.5.1

built-in source types: file fcd rtl rtl_tcp rfspace 

Using Volk machine: avx_64_mmx_orc

INFO: Audio sink arch: osx

INFO: 

Using output audio device 'Display Audio'.

  ... which is the current default output audio device.

  Changing the default output audio device in the System Preferences will 

  result in changing it here, too (with an internal reconfiguration).

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Could not resolve property : pattern10600

Number of audio input devices: 2

Number of audio output devices: 3

2014-11-25 12:55:39.501 Gqrx[66239:3228311] modalSession has been exited prematurely - check for a reentrant call to endModalSession:

gr-osmosdr 0.1.4 (0.1.4) gnuradio 3.7.5.1

built-in source types: file fcd rtl rtl_tcp rfspace 

Using device #0 Realtek RTL2838UHIDIR SN: 00000001

Found Rafael Micro R820T tuner

Exact sample rate is: 1500000.014901 Hz

aUaUaUaUaUaUaUaU^C

cleggett@xelda ~ %

[Jorge Ruiz]

Hi.

I have the same problem. A second or less after clicking "Start DSP", the application freezes and i must to force quit.

The installation is on a Yosemite 10.10.1, with Macports and Xcode fresh installed and fully updated without any issues.

I can't find a solution because don´t know the origin of the issue

Meanwhile, the precompiled version of Elias Önal runs quite well.

[Michael Dickens]

Hi Jorge - Can you elaborate on your hardware setup? What SDR hardware are you using? If you have different SDR hardware, do they all exhibit the same issue when using Gqrx on OSX?

 

I'm not familiar with "Elias Önal" ... is this what you're referring to: < http://eliasoenal.com/2012/09/30/osx-port-of-the-awesome-gqrx-sdr-software/ >? If so, we should take a look at this dev's git repo to see what's been changed from stock Grqx ... - MLD

[Jorge Ruiz]

I'm using a RTL8232U dongle. More accurately an Conceptronic C08-096 which includes a fc0013 tuner.

The computer is an iMac 2012 27" (with USB 3 ports). I also have a Mac Mini late 2009 but not tried to install gqrx from macports there. The precompiled version from Elias works well on both machines but is a little older.

For now i'm using that version in Mac OS X and, in the Windows partition via bootcamp, SDR# and HDSDR without trouble.

The version of Elias Önal, which effectively is what you has linked, is an "Mac style" app. Installing it is as simple as to download and copy the .app to the applications folder. "Several orders of magnitude" simpler and faster than to use Macports, which required a couple of previous steps including install Xcode and the command line tools, the own Macports, and all the process of making the app which takes several minutes (fortunately is almost automatic thanks to Macports)... Unfortunately the resulting app doesn't work, at least in my case. :(

I'm not a developer, and really don't know how difficult would be to release a gqrx version precompiled for Mac ready to use. Most of Mac users don't feel comfortable using the terminal because they are not accustomed to use it. And the relative complexity of the installation process can roll back to some users losing great things like this app.

[Alexandru Csete]

On Sun, Jan 11, 2015 at 2:56 AM, Jorge Ruiz
<jorge.rui...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'm not a developer, and really don't know how difficult would be to release
> a gqrx version precompiled for Mac ready to use. Most of Mac users don't
> feel comfortable using the terminal because they are not accustomed to use
> it. And the relative complexity of the installation process can roll back to
> some users losing great things like this app.

Hi Jorge,

It is not difficult and I have produced a v2.2 dmg myself earlier, but
it was very time consuming for me because I wasn't accustomed to build
software on Mac. There are many dependencies that had to be built and
tested independently, then included in the final binary. But it worked
for a short while and people were happy for it... until new version of
OS X came out...

At that time I didn't have the time to repackage everything and
Michael has done great progress in packaging gqrx with all
dependencies for macports, both stable and snapshot versions. Since I
didn't have much time to spend on gqrx anymore I felt macports was the
best way to continue and Michael has been very responsive in fixing
issues and keeping the packages up to date. Even if I had time and
interest in making new dmg of gqrx I coudn't match Michaels skills and
effort, so it would be some half broken dmg that works for some
people.

Alex

[Michael Dickens]

I, in general, agree with what Alex writes, especially now that MacPorts
provides binary downloads -- no longer requiring projects to be built
from source is a HUGE win for end-users! I continue to work with
developers who make use of GNU Radio (and, plenty of other projects too)
to make sure their project(s) work on OSX, at least to the extent they
are willing to do so. Most devs (such as Alex) are very responsive and
approachable; I have good working rapport with quite a number of devs
out there (both GNU Radio / UHD as well as non-GR/UHD)!

The "in general" part is that if the MacPorts build of Gqrx isn't
working but a 3rd party's build is, using the exact same settings and
hardware, then something's wrong in the former's install and needs to be
fixed. The challenge with fixing something in MacPorts is identifying
where the issue actually lies! The issue might lie with Gqrx (doubtful)
or GNU Radio (also doubtful), or with some dependency (much more
likely), or even a conflict between a MacPorts and system library (quite
likely). Having data beyond "Gqrx hangs after 1 second" can only help us
debug the issue.

I have no issues running Gqrx with my various SDR hardware (HackRF
Jawbreaker, Ettus N210, and some generic RTL-SDR USB dongle), using a
MacBook Pro Retina 2012 running 10.8. I need to get 10.9 and 10.10 boot
disks (or VMs) installed for testing there, but I've heard that Gqrx
works for many folks with those OS versions too (and, various SDR
hardware).

One way to approach this issue would be to send me (and, maybe Alex or
others who are interested) the crash log and/or dmesg log. You might
also be able to install Apple's IOKit-debug frameworks (I think for 10.9
and prior right now; hopefully Apple will release a 10.10 compatible
version soon if not already), which can provide verbose output for USB
data transfers.

I'm happy to try to work with folks experiencing issues with GNU Radio
and/or Gqrx on OSX; but, please also realize that there are current
issues that aren't simple to debug and might not be easily fixable.
Also, there's only so much time in the day for support and debugging
these sorts of issues -- so, patience and perseverance are required by
everyone involved! - MLD

[Michael Sealand]

I was running in to this issue on OS X 10.10.1 as well (gqrx freezes ~1 second after starting the DSP). The issue seems to be librtlsdr. With v0.5.3 (latest release) installed, gqrx freezes up, but installing from HEAD/master seems to fix things up.

-Mike

[Michael Dickens]

I just updated the rtl-sdr port in MacPorts to the current GIT HEAD/master (it was on the prior commit). Maybe that will help folks with this issue? - MLD

[Charles H. Leggett]

Thank you very much Mike S. for rooting out this problem with v0.5.3 of librtlsdr.

I am happy to report that installing librtlsdr HEAD resolved the issue that had when I started this thread back in November.

If anyone reading this is a homebrew user, you now have an alternative to the MacPorts install: https://github.com/chleggett/homebrew-gqrx

Please try it out and help me test it.

Thanks!

> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Gqrx SDR" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to gqrx+uns...@googlegroups.com.

> To post to this group, send email to gq...@googlegroups.com.

> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gqrx/1421201189.1143412.213601161.4DD89058%40webmail.messagingengine.com.

> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
Charles H. Leggett

[Matt Newham]

Just to update this for anyone interested - GQRX from macports now builds sucessfully on Yosemite.

[Michael Dickens]

I can get sound in Gqrx from a local FM station for a while. Then an audio underrun happens (prints "aU" in the terminal), after which I get no more audio. I'll look into this specific problem & see if I can get it fixed in GNU Radio. Maybe for the GRCon15 hackfest a week from tomorrow. I also installed from MacPorts on 10.10.5, all the latest updates & such. If you look in the terminal, is anything printed that might indicate an audio issue? I'm guessing OSX audio works fine until an underrun or overrun, then it might have issues (as I see). - MLD

 

On Wed, Aug 19, 2015, at 05:45 PM, Michael Agnew wrote:

Anyone else having issues with no sound?  I know there are posts saying to click the upper right but I still hear nothing yet I can see the input working. Built GQRx from macports on Yosemite like Matt mentioned above.  GQRx seems to crash a lot too but I can live with that.