Native M1 MacOS support has been added to BTConfig!

[pcman67]

To all of you Mac folks who are wondering if the P25RX/BTConfig software runs NATIVELY on an M1 powered Mac, I can now definitely say the answer is YES.

Up until now, the folks who were running BTConfig/P25RX on their M1 Macs were running it with the Rosetta 2 x86_64 translation layer installed which allows the M1 powered Mac to seamlessly run software written for Intel powered Macs, which Apple is starting to transition away from.

Since Java is required to run the BTConfig software and currently as of this writing Oracle doesn't offer a version of Java JRE (Java Runtime Environment) that runs natively on the M1 processor, I would recommend downloading and installing the ARM64 v8 version of Azul Zulu JRE version 8 Java implementation on your M1 Mac. You can download it from this link. This version will run natively on your M1 Mac and you'll never know you aren't running the Oracle version.

The first release of BTConfig that supports the M1 processor natively is version 2021-07-27_0631

I've been running it through its paces and it is working flawlessly on the new processor.

 

[kb8q]

That's great, except I'm running BTCONFIG on 2 different 2021 M1 computers and not having any issue running with the Oracle Java.

YMMV apparently.

James

 

[FreqNout]

FWIW newbie here. picked up a p25rx rig used last month from a radio pal. Btconfig also runs great on my 2021 M1 with Oracle java.

 

[pcman67]

If you have Rosetta2 installed, which is a framework inside MacOS to allow applications written for Intel Macs to run on your M1 processor, you will not have any issues running Oracle Java on your M1 Mac as Rosetta2 only needs to be installed once and is seamless (you’d never know it was running).

I’ve been working with Todd on native M1 support and BTConfig would run fine on M1 Macs with Rosetta2 installed, but would not run on an M1 Mac without Rosetta. The issue was a serial port component in BTConfig only supported Intel based Macs and yesterday he updated the component that natively supports the M1 Macs without having to run in Intel emulation mode.

Rosetta2 won’t be around forever as it’s only meant to assist with the transition from Intel CPUs to the new M1 processor, so we wanted to get ahead of the curve and get M1 support baked into the BTConfig software.

 

[FreqNout]

that is wonderful. FWIW my m1 does NOT have rosetta2 installed. It just works. Why, dont really care, if it aint broke.

 

[pcman67]

that is wonderful. FWIW my m1 does NOT have rosetta2 installed. It just works. Why, dont really care, if it aint broke.

I'm glad it just works for you. I know there was an issue with my M1 Mac laptop not working with BTConfig and Todd was able to resolve it by updating a part of the BTConfig software that searches for the P25RX device with a piece of code that added support for M1 Macs. Perhaps that issue only affected certain types of M1 Macs, who knows? I'm not trying to stir the pot or debate anything, my intention was to create a post letting newcomers to the P25RX who might happen to have a shiny new M1 Mac know that their system should be able to work with the P25RX without any issues after Todd was able to resolve the issue I had. And there is certainly nothing wrong with someone who does happen to have Rosetta2 installed and running BTConfig. Rosetta2 is so slick and works so well that many folks don't even know it's on their system. You can always see what apps are using Rosetta2 by running Activity Monitor on the Mac and looking at the "Kind" column next to all of the running processes. If it says "Intel" then it's running under Rosetta and if "Apple" then its running natively. Enjoy your M1 Mac ... I am sure liking mine!

 

[FreqNout]

we simply have different user observations. The only reason I offered my two cents without rosetta2. no debate.

 

[detroit780]

I'm glad it just works for you. I know there was an issue with my M1 Mac laptop not working with BTConfig and Todd was able to resolve it by updating a part of the BTConfig software that searches for the P25RX device with a piece of code that added support for M1 Macs. Perhaps that issue only affected certain types of M1 Macs, who knows? I'm not trying to stir the pot or debate anything, my intention was to create a post letting newcomers to the P25RX who might happen to have a shiny new M1 Mac know that their system should be able to work with the P25RX without any issues after Todd was able to resolve the issue I had. And there is certainly nothing wrong with someone who does happen to have Rosetta2 installed and running BTConfig. Rosetta2 is so slick and works so well that many folks don't even know it's on their system. You can always see what apps are using Rosetta2 by running Activity Monitor on the Mac and looking at the "Kind" column next to all of the running processes. If it says "Intel" then it's running under Rosetta and if "Apple" then its running natively. Enjoy your M1 Mac ... I am sure liking mine!

Thanks for the explanation, I know it runs fine on my Intel and M1 Macs but don't remember installing Rosetta or seeing anything about it so I started up BTconfig and activity monitor and there it is the only Intel program running. No debate here either just curious and now I know the Rest of the Story. You helped me with some earlier Intel Mac issues with Todd so I am grateful for your efforts and assistance. The P25rx is an amazing product with great support.

Thanks

Les

 

[pcman67]

Thanks for the explanation, I know it runs fine on my Intel and M1 Macs but don't remember installing Rosetta or seeing anything about it so I started up BTconfig and activity monitor and there it is the only Intel program running. No debate here either just curious and now I know the Rest of the Story. You helped me with some earlier Intel Mac issues with Todd so I am grateful for your efforts and assistance. The P25rx is an amazing product with great support.

Thanks

Les

Thanks for the note, Les. Most people don't think they have Rosetta running on their Mac but I can almost say with certainty that if BTConfig was running on an M1 Mac before yesterday (7/27/21), it was almost certainly running in Intel translation mode because the BTConfig "serial port" component did not support M1 Macs natively and that is the reason BTConfig would not even attempt to search for any P25RX device attached when running in M1 native mode.

I am glad to have been able to work with Todd on this, because in 2-3 years when Apple decides to remove Rosetta from their OS and Apple deems the transition from Intel to M1 processors to be over with, Todd would have been swamped with a lot of Mac P25RX users wondering why BTConfig suddenly quit working for them.

The intention of my post was just to reassure any Mac folks who are considering buying a P25RX in the future that the P25RX software is fully "M1 ready".