Notes on WSJT-X Installation for Mac OS X ----------------------------------------- Updated 21 October 2018 ----------------------- If you have already downloaded a previous version of WSJT-X then I suggest you change the name in the Applications folder from WSJT-X to WSJT-X_previous before proceeding. If you have installed a previous version of WSJT-X before then there is no need to change anything on your system so proceed to NEXT. BEGIN: There are some system matters you must deal with first. Open a Terminal window by going to Applications->Utilities and clicking on Terminal. Along with this ReadMe file there is a file: sysctl.conf. Drag this file to your Desktop. WSJT-X makes use of a block of memory which is shared between different parts of the code. The normal allocation of shared memory on a Mac is insufficient and this has to be increased. You should use a Mac editor to examine sysctl.conf. There are two important parameters that you need to consider. shmmax determines the amount of shared memory that must be allocated for WSJT-X to operate. This is 14680064 (14MB) and this is defined in the sysctl.conf file and should not be changed. It is possible to run more than one instance of WSJT-X simultaneously. See "Section 14. Platform Dependencies" in the User Guide. The second important parameter shmall=17920 determines how many instances are permitted. This is calculated as: (shmall x 4096/14680064) = 5. The sysctl.conf file is configured to permit up to 5 instances of wsjtx to run simultaneously. If this limitation is acceptable then you can continue to install the sysctl.conf file without making any alterations. Otherwise you must edit the file to increase shmall according to this calculation. Now move this file into place for the system to use by typing: (Note this assumes that you really did drag this file to your Desktop as required earlier.) sudo cp $HOME/Desktop/sysctl.conf /etc/ sudo chmod 664 /etc/sysctl.conf sudo chown root:wheel /etc/sysctl.conf and then reboot your Mac. This is necessary to install the changes. After the reboot you should re-open the Terminal window as before and you can check that the change has been made by typing: sysctl -a | grep sysv.shm If shmmax is not shown as 14680064 then contact me since WSJT-X will fail to load with an error message: "Unable to create shared memory segment". You are now finished with system changes. You should make certain that NO error messages have been produced during these steps. You can now close the Terminal window. It will not be necessary to repeat this procedure again, even when you download an updated version of WSJT-X. NEXT: Drag the WSJT-X app to your preferred location, such as Applications. You need to configure your sound card. Visit Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup and select your sound card and then set Format to be "48000Hz 2ch-16bit" for input and output. Now double-click on the WSJT-X app and two windows will appear. Select Preferences under the WSJT-X Menu and fill in various station details on the General panel. I recommend checking the 4 boxes under the Display heading and the first 4 boxes under the Behaviour heading. IMPORTANT: If you are using macOS 10.14 (Mojave) it is important to note that the default setting for audio input is "block". In order to receive audio from WSJT-X you must visit System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy and, with WSJT-X launched, select "Microphone" under Location Services and wsjtx should appear in the panel. Check the "Allow" box. You will have to quit WSJT-X for this change to take effect. Next visit the Audio panel and select the Audio Codec you use to communicate between WSJT-X and your rig. There are so many audio interfaces available that it is not possible to give detailed advice on selection. If you have difficulties contact me. Note the location of the Save Directory. Decoded wave forms are located here. Look at the Reporting panel. If you check the "Prompt me" box, a logging panel will appear at the end of the QSO. Two log files are provided in Library/Application Support/WSJT-X. These are a simple wsjtx.log file and wsjtx_log.adi which is formatted for use with logging databases. The "File" menu bar items include a button "Open log directory" to open the log directory in Finder for you, ready for processing by any logging application you use. Finally, visit the Radio panel. WSJT-X is most effective when operated with CAT control. You will need to install the relevant Mac driver for your rig. This must be located in the device driver directory /dev. You should install your driver and then re-launch WSJT-X. Return to the the Radio panel in Preferences and in the "Serial port" panel select your driver from the list that is presented. If for some reason your driver is not shown, then insert the full name of your driver in the Serial Port panel. Such as: /dev/cu.PL2303-00002226 or whatever driver you have. The /dev/ prefix is mandatory. Set the relevant communication parameters as required by your transceiver and click "Test CAT" to check. WSJT-X needs the Mac clock to be accurate. Visit System Preferences > Date & Time and make sure that date and time are set automatically. The drop-down menu will normally offer you several time servers to choose from. On the Help menu, have a look at the new Online User's Guide for operational hints and tips. Please email me if you have problems. --- John G4KLA (g4kla@rmnjmn.co.uk)