| KK4WL | Rating: | 2019-07-25 |
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| Just the best | Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
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Mac doppler Is amazing. I am not going to trash other Satellite software just because this is so good. I did not have a Mac so I stole my wife’s new Mac book air to test the software.
It worked so well I ran out and got a Mac Mini for me.
Warning if you are not a Mac user you will run out and buy one because this software works so well.
Mac doppler is so much fun to use and set up.
I am using MacDoppler, MacLoggerDX , WSJTX With A Ic9700 ,Ic7610 ,Yaesu G5500 and Fox Delta ST2-0417 USB interface all on one Mac mini.
All completely integrate.
I am new to satellites and my IC9700. I am not that smart. I never could get other software to work very well.
Greg
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| VA7UL | Rating: | 2019-04-24 |
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| Excellent value, great support | Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
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MacDoppler is one of the best satellite tracking applications I have found. I have tried four others on Windows, Mac and Linux, but this beats them all. It works well with my IC-R8600 receiver using the IC-7000 driver, and I will be using it with the IC-9700 when I get one. Its ability to move backward and forward in time with a simple slider control is a real bonus.
Support for this application is top-notch. The author responds to messages very quickly and in a friendly manner. The on-line PDF manual is well written.
I recommend this software for any Mac user who wants a well-designed tracking package at a reasonable price ... worth every penny.
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| W0VLL | Rating: | 2017-08-14 |
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| Great response from the developer | Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
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I own SatPC32 which only runs on Windows. It is very difficult to use and somewhat inflexible. I bought Macdoppler after trying it for a few days to make sure it worked with my radio. The author allows you to test all the features in a timed demo (15 minutes). You can restart the software as many times as you need to and the 15 minute timer will restart. Registered (paid) users have no timer obviously.
I made a couple suggestions for improvement on a Sunday and the developer fixed both issues within a couple hours!
By the way, if you join AMSAT, you can get a discount on the software if you buy through AMSAT's website store. |
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| KL2D | Rating: | 2017-08-13 |
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| Perfect with Maclogger and DogparkSDR on Flex-6700 | Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
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I am using it with DogparkSDR and Maclogger to control my Flex-6700 and Yaesu G-5500 (with a AMSAT LVB Tracker). Works great, easy and intuitive to use. Like all of Don's products the support is amazing.
If you are a mac user I would highly recommend any of Don's products. |
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| VK2CMP | Rating: | 2017-04-13 |
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| Great software backed up with great support | Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
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MacDoppler has a clean easy to use interface. It looks and works like a professional piece of software that it is. I have used it for a long time, originally to track the sats and now am using it to point at the sun for system testing and moon to try and crack that EME goal.
I recently upgraded the az/ el system to a prosistel setup which uses their Combo control box. The Combo was not supported by MacDoppler last week end and I sent a note to Don with the tech. spec from the factory. Its not even 'next' weekend now and Don has added the Prosistel Combo support to MacDoppler.
Always great support and willing to answer questions to back up a very reliable software that you never have to wait around for MacDoppler upgrades required when things such as OSX upgrades on the Mac which can stop other pieces of software in their tracks. |
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| K5ND | Rating: | 2016-12-02 |
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| Perfect Combination with MacLoggerDX | Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
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I'm currently moving my ham station back to Apple OS after several years doing N1MM+ and other Windows programs. I've always loved MacLoggerDX and continued to use it as my main database combinging all contacts from various programs.
When I started working satellites, I installed SatPC32, which works just fine and is the standard program in this area. But I longed for a simple way to move satellite QSO data into my logging program. MacDoppler combined with MacLoggerDX makes it all happen.
As many have stated in these reviews, MacDoppler is superb with its stellar user interface. Plus, it takes care of many things that you need to do manually with SatPC32. But the great feature for me is using the log window to record all your QSO information and then press 'log it' and it's all entered into MacLoggerDX.
What a great combination of two superb programs. Read more about my experience with these two programs at http://www.k5nd.net/2016/12/back-to-mac-macdoppler/ |
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| WB6RAW | Rating: | 2015-04-26 |
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| Professional Satellite Tracking Program for MACs | Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
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| If you own a Mac and do Satellite Tracking this is THE program you need to get. I have been using this product at my home satellite tracking station and at our school's satellite tracking station for several years. I love the many useful features of this program: (1) 2D and 3D color screens, (2) awesome automatic doppler shift and a fine tune shift that you can control, (3) Time shift slider that allows you to see a pass before it gets to you so you can test your hardware (radio and rotators) (4) Easy data entry for the satellites you are tracking (5) Provision to allows an output frequency shift via an external RF converter with still doing the correct doppler shift (6) colorful display. (7) Great users manual. (8) Many, many more features. We use a HUGE plasma TV at out school's satellite tracking station and it is VERY, VERY impressive. Lastly, Don (the owner) does a GREAT job with customer service that is above and beyond the usual customer service. Try the free trial and you will soon purchase the version without the timer. |
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| VE4NSA | Rating: | 2015-04-21 |
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| Best there is! | Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
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MacDoppler is now available as v2.16 for OS X (10.6.8+). It is my favourite amateur radio satellite tracking program and the new features make it even better. One of the big enhancements (for me) is the manual flip mode for rotor control. Using a Yaesu G-5500 or as part of our ARISS telebridge station a SpidRAS az/el rotor the manual flip mode takes full advantage of the 180 degrees elevation rotor without being tied down by north or south switch mode settings like other programs. You are in full control!
The graphics are outstanding in 2D and 3D mode and from a presentation perspective are first class. I ran it on a big screen and it blows folks away when they see it the first time. Satellites can be added and operational frequencies can be set via the configuration. It is a very user-friendly program that takes away the guessing and some of the manual file editing seen in other programs. What is even more important for me is the ability to work with the software developer and have my requests and questions being addressed within 24 hours. The Yahoo forum for Mac Doppler is a great resource.
Now folks always say that a Mac is too expensive etc. As an FYI, I ran this program on a 2006 Mac Mini with a Core 2 Duo Intel processor and OS X Snow Leopard from a major auction site for $120. So much for being expensive!
One of the previous reviewers was commenting on the slider in the main window. It is another great feature. It lets you pre-run a complete cycle including doppler control and rotor control in real time and you know exactly when what happens. For our ARISS telebridge station (VE4ISS) it is invaluable, since we can go through a full pre-test of the station before the actual International Space Station appearance on the horizon.
One of the things that I really appreciate is that the author makes the software available at a discount through the AMSAT store. This helps AMSAT and gets more satellites going. Now, like all software it is a work in progress. However, it is in my opinion the best software for this purpose currently available and I give it a 5 out 5 for the first class features (being improved and updated all the time), the author’s personal support and the way it helps AMSAT. Like to check it out. If you come the Dayton Hamvention visit the AMSAT booth, meet the author, and see it in action. Enough said.
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| K0JEG | Rating: | 2015-04-19 |
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| Good. | Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
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I started out on satellites when I was running Linux, so I used the excellent program GPredict. While there's a way to use it with OS-X I thought I'd give some support to mac developers and buy MacDoppler. Since I use MacLoggerDX for my station log, I liked that MacDoppler will write log info into MacLoggerDX without any extra effort.
Coming from the Linux/HAMLIB world, I was a little underwhelmed by the number of radios supported, although my IC-9100 is there, so it hasn't been a problem. I have been using eggbeater antennas so no experience with how well it plays with rotators. I would expect that if it says it works it does. It would be nice if the software supported HAMLIB, since there is a build for OS-X, but it is what it is.
On launch the software will connect to the radio, put it in satellite mode, figure out what the next satellite will be, and tune the radio to the last mode used on that satellite. It has a very large window that shows the location of all the satellites in either 2D or 3D. I think the 3D mode is kind of a gimmick, but whatever. The lower 3rd of the screen has a list of the satellites you are tracking. There's a checkbox for the satellites you want to work. This is necessary because the program will automatically tune to the next satellite on the list, even if there's another satellite active (which can screw things up if you're in a QSO). Between the map and the satellite list is a slider. This slider can be used to move forward and backward in time to check future passes. This is OK, but as you move the slider the program will actually behave like it is a live pass, including retuning the radio. I wonder if it also will start moving the rotator as well. Either way, pay attention to this slider if you use it, because if you forget to move it back to 'real time' you'll miss passes. There is a clock next to the slider that turns red when you aren't in real time, but is easy to miss. The satellite list also has a way to display the 'horizon' with a scroller that will show the next pass height and how many minutes until the pass. It only shows the next pass, even though the maximum time is more than a single orbit of most of the easysats.
The last part of the window is the radio/rotator section. There's checkboxes to have the program control the radio, lock the uplink/downlink VFO, beacon, and full Doppler. If your radio doesn't send VFO data back through the CAT interface there's a slider you can use to change frequency. There's a dropdown for setting the mode, and an S-meter if your radio supports it.
The program does a good job of keeping the radio tuned, but I noticed that there a certain amount of adjusting needed to get the correct offset. It might have something to do with the radio though. You can change mode settings as needed for satellites. There's a separate logging window, with lookup and other info. And you can generate a text file with future passes.
Overall the program works as advertised. But I'd like to see a polar view and a little less real estate devoted to the world map. A better way to see future passes would be nice too. But these are somewhat minor complaints, and I can use GPredict for that if I want. The integration with MacLoggerDX makes up for a lot of the deficiencies though. |
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| F8WAK | Rating: | 2009-10-07 |
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| 10 out of 10 | Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
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| For satellite enthusiasts there are two good reasons to switch to Macs: Don Argo is the first and MacDoppler is the second. I have been very slow to move to the computer/radio concept (first x-mitter/rcvr was an AT-1 and a BC-348; first computer was an H-89) but when my interest turned to satellites, there was no choice, but I needed a lot of help. Don responded immediately each time I requested help and actually modified the program to solve a problem I was having with the Yaesu GS-232B. Like MacLogger, MacDoppler is intuitive and therefore quite easy to use. The layout is well thought out with the important information logically presented in the foreground. Dog Park Software accepts input from its users and is therefore a resource for hams on the internet, not just a company that sells software. The only thing he has not told me, is what brand of coffee he drinks. |
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