In Apple Ham Radio Weekly – Apple releases OS26 Tahoe and developers follow suit; WSTJ-X releases a whole new version with lots of improvements and new features, and we help you make your non-digital radio modern again with the Mac and Digirig.
Mac OS Tahoe (OS26)
Apple released its latest annual software update on Monday – OS 26 Tahoe, named after a lake on the California-Nevada border. It is one of the more stable dot-zero releases. Many developers publish their own updates for the new OS in conjunction with Apple’s. One such example is Parallels International, the developer of Parallels for Mac, which is used by many Mac ham radio operators who require Windows for various reasons. Their update for OS26 Tahoe is available for download. Editor’s note: SDR++ Brown kept crashing following the installation of OS26. The ‘original’ version (SDR++) continues to work well.
WSTJ-X 3.0 released
The popular digital radio communications suite, WSTJ-X, reached another milestone this week with the arrival of version 3.0 as a release candidate (RC). A release candidate is the final step before the release of the dot-zero “Gold Master” finished product. The majority of the listed improvements add features and enhance the visual presentation and layout. Machamradio dot com carries the release notes in full. The new version is available for the Mac and numerous other platforms. Mac-specific notes are also on the developer’s site. The developers recommend that version 2.7.0 be retained for the moment under a different name. Editor’s note: I have given the release candidate a go on my M2 MacBook Air connected to an Icom IC-708 via Digirig. It worked fine, just as version 2.7 did. There are lots of new options in the settings, which I have yet to work through. But for FT-8 and WSPR, it performed well.
The Mac, WSTJ-X, Digirig and an Icom IC-718
Working on anything involving a computer, a transceiver, and a piece of third-party kit is a recipe for a lost day of the weekend. Some end happily, others don’t. One such adventure can be getting any radio to work with WSTJ-X on any computer. If you have an M-series Mac, the Digirig Mobile (Icom edition), the correct cables for Icom from Digirig, and an Icom radio, you can get on the air quickly using this guide from Apple Ham Radio. Editors’ note: Frustratingly, some settings don’t stick in WSTJ-X, causing a misconnection. This is fixed by using the settings in this guide. Feedback is welcome. With this running 10 watts overnight, I went to my radio and Mac on the east coast of Australia this morning to find it had been communicating with DPØGVN, a club station located at the German Antarctic Research Station “Neumayer III” in Dronning Maud Land.
Software updates
Popular Ham 2K PoLo (portable logger) for iOS and iPadOS was updated this week. It also works on M-series Macs. It has some updates for US contests, bug fixes and improvements under the hood. Machamradio reports the following updates this week:
- Fldigi v4.2.09
- Flrig v2.0.08
- SatPathFinder for iOS Version 2.2
- SDR Receiver for IOS version 1.3.4
- SmartSDR for MacOS version 2.9.84
- Trusted QSL V2.8.2
- HAMRS Pro 2.44.1
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73’s
Andrew, VK2AWN
20 September 2025