What the heck is MacPorts?

[Ken Alexander]

I'm at the gqrx.dk download page and I click on the Mac OS x link to download a copy to try it out with my new Airspy.  Instead of downloading gqrx I am taken to a different website, to do with MacPorts.  How did I get there?

What is MacPorts?  Do I need it in order to run gqrx?  I don't think so.  There was no mention of it on the gqrx website.

I went to the MacPorts home page and tried to read the description of what it's supposed to do.  I've been through it several times. I have no idea what they're saying.  I just want to install gqrx.

How can I bypass MacPorts and get to the gqrx download?

Any help would be appreciated.  Many thanks in advance,

Ken Alexander
VE3HLS

[Kevin Reid]

On Jan 7, 2015, at 13:20, Ken Alexander <ve3...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm at the gqrx.dk download page and I click on the Mac OS x link to download a copy to try it out with my new Airspy. Instead of downloading gqrx I am taken to a different website, to do with MacPorts. How did I get there?
>
> What is MacPorts? Do I need it in order to run gqrx? I don't think so. There was no mention of it on the gqrx website.

MacPorts is a package manager (like those on Linux) for Mac OS X. It downloads, compiles if necessary, and installs software you ask it to (and uninstalls it too).

Gqrx requires libraries including GNU Radio and Qt. Installing Gqrx via MacPorts handles installing those libraries and is a very convenient way of doing that.

In principle, there could be a Gqrx.app which includes all of the libraries within itself -— and that would be the most “Mac-like” thing to do. But that would be a significant amount of Mac-specific development work, which has not been done already.

> How can I bypass MacPorts and get to the gqrx download?

There is no “download”, other than the source code. If you want to get the source, install the dependencies, and build Gqrx yourself, you can do that, but I don't get the impression that's the sort of thing you're looking for.

I strongly recommend that you install MacPorts and proceed that way -- it will be the least amount of bother. (If you decide don't like it, it's easy to delete all of MacPorts and everything it installed.) Here is all you should need to do:

1. Install MacPorts, according to the directions.

2. Open Terminal and run the commands

sudo port selfupdate
sudo port install gqrx

and type your administrator password when prompted.

3. You will find Gqrx in /Applications/MacPorts/Qt4/Gqrx.app

There are also GUIs for using MacPorts but I haven't used them so I can't make a recommendation.


Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the developer of Gqrx. I am just a user reporting on my own experience and knowledge.


--
Kevin Reid <http://switchb.org/kpreid/>

[Robin Gape]

Ken,

your favourite search engine is your friend! We are in a land where occasional dragons are to be found, in the true spirit of Amateur Radio, and particularly self-training. MacPorts, which is an installer, provides a small number of packages which are necessary for GQRX to function on a Mac—it's not quite as simple as just loading a package. You are compiling from source, or rather MacPorts is doing so on your behalf.

MacPorts will automatically sort out dependencies for you.

Whether one wishes it to be so or not, the more you understand about what is going on with your (very powerful) computing platform, the more you will get out of, and the easier will be, your journey with SDR. You might have been told that a Mac is a user oriented, ever-so-easy-to-use computer. Yes and, more importantly for this discussion, no. It is, under the bonnet (hood in your part of the Commonwealth) a BSD Unix machine, to which a very fancy—but sometimes rather annoying—GUI has been grafted. Were it not a Unix box, then GQRX would not be easy to port to it. And to port GQRX to a Mac, well you can probably guess the rest!

Try a deep breath—because we all want to get to our new toys as quickly as possible!—and you will find gqrx in MacPorts here http://www.macports.org/ports.php?by=name&substr=gqrx, but you will also need MacPorts itself (http://www.macports.org/install.php).

Good luck (though one can almost guarantee that there will be other gotchas before one gets to success)

Robin, G8DQX

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[Thomas Noel]

Ken, 

All the others gave good descriptions of what MacPorts is and does, and if you want the latest version of GQRX that is the way to go.

If you can settle on a slightly earlier version, just to try out your new toy, there is a version available as a traditional Mac download and install. I do not know if the Airspy is supported. I use it with an rtl2832 dongle.

http://eliasoenal.com/2012/09/30/osx-port-of-the-awesome-gqrx-sdr-software/

Tom

KF7RSF

[Kenneth P Alexander]

OK, we're trying this.

I downloaded and installed some Xcode files.

Tried to send those two commands using Terminal but I don't think I'm getting the expected result.  See below:

Kenneths-Mac-mini:~ kennethpalexander$ xcode-select --install

xcode-select: error: command line tools are already installed, use "Software Update" to install updates

Kenneths-Mac-mini:~ kennethpalexander$ sudo port selfupdate

WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss

or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your

typing when using sudo. Type "man sudo" for more information.

To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.

Password:

sudo: port: command not found

Kenneths-Mac-mini:~ kennethpalexander$ sudo port install gqrx

sudo: port: command not found

Kenneths-Mac-mini:~ kennethpalexander$ 

I think I'm OK on the first "already installed" error, aren't I?  I entered my logon password at the prompt and got another error message that I cannot decode.  Once again, any help would be appreciated.

Ken

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[Kevin Reid]

On Jan 7, 2015, at 16:10, Kenneth P Alexander <ve3...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Tried to send those two commands using Terminal but I don't think I'm getting the expected result. See below:

> [...]

>
> Kenneths-Mac-mini:~ kennethpalexander$ sudo port install gqrx
> sudo: port: command not found

It looks like MacPorts isn't installed (or the installation didn't work in some way). I see you mentioned installing Xcode things (which MacPorts needs), but you also need to install MacPorts itself (the download links are on https://www.macports.org/install.php ).

If you did install MacPorts, try opening a new terminal window, in case the one you're using was already open before the MacPorts installer finished.

[Kenneth P Alexander]

I did.  I downloaded the version for Mavericks and then I saw a newer version for Yosemite.  I grabbed that one too and installed it.  OK, I just installed it again.  Let's see what happens...

OK, it's working this time.  I must have forgotten something.  I don't know what it's doing now, but a million lines of Installings, Activatings and Fetchings have been scrolling past.

I think we're OK for now.  GQRX better be pretty awesome after all this.

Thanks for your help Kevin, and to the others who jumped in as well!  All contributions were appreciated very much!

Ken

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[Michael Dickens]

A little OT, but still relevant: For folks wanting to use Gqrx and
AirSpy on OSX via MacPorts:

I just checked in r131265 < https://trac.macports.org/changeset/131265 >
and r131266 < https://trac.macports.org/changeset/131266 >, which,
respectively, add port:airspy as well as specific support for airspy in
port:gr-osmosdr. To use these, please do the following:

(1) find your non-MacPorts install of AirSpy, go to the build directory,
and do "sudo make uninstall" to remove that install.

(2) sudo port selfupdate

(3) sudo port -f uninstall gr-osmosdr

(4) sudo port install gr-osmosdr

and, now you should have a usable AirSpy via gr-osmosdr installed, ready
to be accessed by Gqrx -- I don't think one needs to reinstall port:gqrx
because it just uses the gr-osmosdr library, which will be the same name
just updated with support for AirSpy. I don't have AirSpy hardware for
testing, so if somebody does & wants to give this a whirl I'd love
feedback. - MLD