[Xastir] Help! Xastir on a Mac.

[Jeremy McDermond]

On Feb 8, 2010, at 9:57 PM, Timothy Gordish wrote:

> Folks,
> 
> I am certain that loading Xastir on a Mac is simple and easy, but I a quite perplexed as to where to even begin.  The instructions I found on line are totally cryptic.  The terms are meaningless.  The nothing in the process is intuitive.  I am a simple Mac user, and love my Mac because it is completely transparent to my visual way of thinking.  When my mother calls me with a computer problem, although I could quickly fix it for her if I were there, dealing with the problem over the phone with visual descriptions is the most hair pulling task imaginable for me.
> 
> Now, here is the problem.  There are no acceptable fully functioning programs for APRS that I can simply drag and drop to my Mac.  I understand that Xastir should work, but I don't want to become a programming wizard just to run APRS.  Can anyone help me?  Maybe you could load Xastir on my Mac for me.  Anyone here in San Diego who can help?

Tim --

I have a compiled copy of Xastir that works on Intel Leopard and Snow Leopard at my site.  You need to follow the directions in bold print on my web page and make sure to drop the Xastir icon in your Applications directory before the first time you launch it.  Do not launch it out of your home directory.  Do not launch it out of the DMG image.  Do not launch it out of your Downloads directory.  Drag the program to your Applications directory before you launch it the first time.

You will also need to make sure you have Apple's X11 installed.  You can check by looking in your /Applications/Utilities directory and checking for a program named X11.  If you don't have it, it's on your original MacOS disc.

Maps go in /Applications/Xastir.app/Contents/Resources/share/xastir/maps.  You can get there in the finder by right clicking the Xastir icon and choosing "Show Package Contents."  No maps are shipped with the executable.  They'd be huge to cover the entire country.  If you're connected to the Internet, you can just use the online Tiger maps.

You can get the software at:

http://www.nh6z.net/xastir

I've extremely far away from San Diego, so I can't help in person, but I'm here to answer any questions about my distribution.

> Tim
> AD7AN
> San Diego, CA

--
Jeremy McDermond (NH6Z)
Xenotropic Systems
mcdermj at xenotropic.com