Freescan: Free Scan For Mac

[trucker177]

Is there any type of program like free scan the will work on a Mac Computer? I have a BCD 996xt and would like to fine something that would work. I have used the free scan on my other computer but no longer have it. Thanks for any help...

 

[captclint]

Is there any type of program like free scan the will work on a Mac Computer? I have a BCD 996xt and would like to fine something that would work. I have used the free scan on my other computer but no longer have it. Thanks for any help...

No there is not

 

[trucker177]

Thanks...

 

[popnokick]

I use FreeScan on my Mac all the time with Parallels. Works fine.

 

[trucker177]

Thanks popnokick.. You said paralles, not sure what that means. Could you fill me in?

Thank You

 

[popnokick]

Parallels lets you run Windows on your Mac. It's not the only way to do it, but one that works for me and many others here on RR who run FreeScan on the Mac.
http://www.parallels.com

 

[trucker177]

Got it... Thanks

 

[mrfoto]

VM fusionware is another program that lets you run windows inside of your mac.

 

[N9JIG]

I wrote an article for ScannerMaster that gives a lot of information for Mac users to run radio programs. Veiw it at Mac Users of Police Scanner Radios | ScannerMaster.com

The article is a couple years old and predates my experiences with Windows 8 and 8.1. I have found that if it works in Windows 7 it will likely also work just as well in 8.1. Try to avoid 8.0 and move right on up to 8.1, it is a free upgrade from 8.0 and fixes most of the compatibility issues.

 

[trucker177]

Thanks N9JIG

 

[marcotor]

It's called VMWare Fusion.

Trucker, the free VM software VirtualBox from Sun will work just fine on your Mac. You will need a copy of Windows to install, of course. But the total cost will be much less than the current $75 ish pricing for VMWare Fusion, or Parallels Desktop. Takes a little bit to set up, but it's easy to do. I have Windows versions from 3.1 to 10 running on my Macbook.

 

[trucker177]

Thanks marcotor.... I'll try that

 

[radiochuck]

...Parallels Desktop. Takes a little bit to set up, but it's easy to do. I have Windows versions from 3.1 to 10 running on my Macbook.

Hey marcotor... do you have any info on what I need to do to get the com port working in Parallels. Running Yosemite with Windows 7 Ultimate inside Parallels 9, and I can run FreeScan just fine, just no connectivity with my BCD325P2. There's nowhere for me to install the usb driver, since there's no com port listed in my Windows device manager. I'm not sure if there's something that I need to do with Parallels to make it recognize that USB/serial device. I'd appreciate if you can enlighten me a bit. Thanks!

 

[N9JIG]

I had no problem with my 325P2 in Parallels on my iMac in Win7Pro, just installed the Uniden driver for the 325P2 and it found it just fine.

The driver is at BCD325P2 < UnidenMan4 < TWiki, you might want to install it before plugging the radio in, if you have already tried an install remove that driver in Device Manager first.

 

[radiochuck]

I had no problem with my 325P2 in Parallels on my iMac in Win7Pro, just installed the Uniden driver for the 325P2 and it found it just fine.

That's the thing... I can't even install the driver because there's no COM port in Windows to install it to. When I plug the scanner into the USB port, nothing happens. In fact, I don't even get that popup message from Parallels asking me if I want the device to be used by the Mac or the virtual environment. Very strange. I'm afraid I'm at a loss on this one.

 

[N9JIG]

That's the thing... I can't even install the driver because there's no COM port in Windows to install it to. When I plug the scanner into the USB port, nothing happens. In fact, I don't even get that popup message from Parallels asking me if I want the device to be used by the Mac or the virtual environment. Very strange. I'm afraid I'm at a loss on this one.

I had a similar issue a while back and found out I had a bad USB cable. Try a different cable.

Also, I assume that you know the radio has to be on for it to be seen by the computer, right?

 

[radiochuck]

I had a similar issue a while back and found out I had a bad USB cable. Try a different cable.

Also, I assume that you know the radio has to be on for it to be seen by the computer, right?

It's the only cable I have, though. It works just fine on my other machine that is an actual Windows machine. It's just with parallels where I seem to have an issue on the MacBook.

Boy that would be embarrassing, though, if I hadn't even turn the thing on.

 

[N9JIG]

It's the only cable I have, though. It works just fine on my other machine that is an actual Windows machine. It's just with parallels where I seem to have an issue on the MacBook.

Boy that would be embarrassing, though, if I hadn't even turn the thing on.

I have done it before, and it wasn't the dumbest thing I have done...

As far as the cable, I had a cable that seemed to work on one computer and not others, I suspect it was an issue with the plug being out of tolerance. I had another cable that worked on all my computers but only some devices so I suspect the far end was out of tolerance.

They may not be obvious but cable issues are pretty common. It is why I always keep a few extra ones lying around.