Your TX-500.
In full command.

Store station and operator callsigns, locator, radio, antenna and explicit receive/transmit audio routes. Save local frequency presets, read VFO/mode and apply tuning with preconditions and read-back. The included band chart is a simplified IARU Region 1 HF reference; the official-plan link follows the saved region.

CAT: LAB599, 9600 baud. Local presets are separate from the radio’s hardware memory. Changing profiles does not tune or transmit.

Live audio decoding and waterfall analysis, selectable receive/transmit audio offsets, manual or automatic QSO sequencing and ADIF logging. Use Simulation Mode for synthetic signal practice. Optional PSK Reporter uploads share real reception reports only when enabled.

Requires CAT plus a selected audio input/output. DIG mode and radio dial are verified by CAT. Estimated UTC uncertainty above one second blocks real FT8/FT4 transmission while receive remains available.

Soundcard Morse generation, receive-audio decoding, a narrow CW bandpass, waterfall click-tuning, QSO assistance and logging. The transmit path uses 48 kHz Float32 stereo AudioQueue output with shaped tone envelopes. Local sidetone is restricted to built-in Mac audio.

DIG-mode audio and CAT keying require a suitable interface. Practice suppresses radio CAT/audio paths. v2.285 adds a 120-second message limit, a 10-second Tune cutoff and an independent 15-second carrier watchdog. RF watts require an external wattmeter.

Record or import voice clips, maintain a local CQ/reply library, preview through headphones and repeat CQ with configurable receive gaps and timing guards. Hold Space to talk through the Mac microphone. Stop, focus loss during Talk and sleep cancel the active response; live speech is limited to 60 seconds.

Choose the radio line-input source locally, disable VOX and verify routes. The software does not identify callers or restart CQ automatically after a reply. Physical switching latency and modulation level need hardware checks.

Connect to a DX cluster, filter live spots, configure alerts and compare callsigns with local contact history. Explicit actions tune the radio or prepare an editable QSO draft.

Incoming spots never tune or transmit by themselves. Network access is required for live spots; CAT is required for tuning. Some cluster connections use unencrypted TCP.

Keep QSO records locally in SQLite, import/export ADIF and snapshot station metadata with each new contact. Configure QRZ or HamQTH enrichment and optional QRZ, Club Log, eQSL and LoTW workflows. LoTW signing requires TrustedQSL and its station setup.

Cloud credentials use macOS Keychain. Configure the accounts and services you intend to use. Each external service receives the information needed for its requested workflow; review the published source and the provider’s own policies.

Decode live selected-input audio or WAV recordings with Auto/VIS selection or manual Martin 1/2, Scottie 1/2, Robot 36 and PD90/120 modes. Inspect decoded images, retain reception audio, decode again and export WAV or PNG. Operator-reviewed live receptions can form QSO drafts.

Receive only; no SSTV transmit path. File decoding is practice and never logged. Extended 16-bit VIS modes are unsupported.

Decode operator-selected WAV files into monochrome radiofax charts. Adjust deviation, lines per minute, IOC and line-start interpretation; inspect slant and frequency-offset estimates, move the chart margin after decoding and save/export PNG images.

File-based receive decoding only. No live radiofax capture, CAT control, PTT or contact logging is provided by this tool.

Monitor a selected receive-audio route and inspect its audio spectrum/waterfall with selectable palettes. Configure and verify the actual input and output endpoints before operating; a generic USB device name does not identify a particular interface.

An audio interface is separate from CAT. System Audio (Direct) capture requires macOS 14.2+ and the relevant macOS recording permission.

Mirror the radio’s 256 × 128 LCD through CAT, choose Amber, Cool White/Daylight, Green phosphor or OLED presentation, then save a PNG or copy the view to the clipboard. Demo Mode lets you explore without a radio.

Live meter bars use the radio’s dots. CAT provides no live RF spectrum here; the panadapter is a Demo Mode visualization. The unverified on-screen V/M action sends no command.

Inspect available CAT readings for frequency, mode, state, supply voltage and TX/RX meters, with rolling summaries where implemented. Demo Mode shows simulated readings without hardware.

The radio’s PC value is a raw 10–100 setting and TX meter readings are dots. Neither independently establishes RF watts or a calibrated physical power curve.

Use live controls and band presets with read-back, named CAT macros with command validation, model-checked 1024-byte settings snapshots and pre-restore backups. Inspect app-owned command/response traffic, errors and response timing in the protocol monitor.

Uses LAB599 CAT at 9600 baud. Some extensions and settings layouts are outside the published CAT specification; consult the project’s protocol-scope document.

Maintain a continuous process-local UTC clock, learn oscillator error for holdover and use robust FT8 timing consensus. Set the radio’s clock to UTC or local time and verify the result by read-back.

The app does not change the macOS clock. Multi-source NTP, lower-precision TLS/HTTPS fallback and calibrated holdover support the internal clock; receive-based consensus and uncertainty gates govern FT8 timing recovery.

Download reviewed official firmware from the catalog or select a local .fw file. Verify full-file SHA-256, the known target, pre-loader CAT family identity and the operator-declared physical model before acknowledged, paced loader transfer. Flashing prevents idle system sleep.

ID500 identifies the TX-500 family; ID505 identifies TX-500MP. ID500 cannot distinguish Discovery, PRO and ALTAI. Arbitrary/custom firmware is rejected unless added to the reviewed list. The pre-loader check cannot prove which device remains attached after a power cycle.

Read, save and compare raw 1024-byte .set backups, edit described fields and import/export their JSON representation. Writes are followed by byte-level read-back comparison.

Keep an unedited raw backup. Named field offsets are not manufacturer-validated; successful byte comparison does not establish the meaning of an edited field. JSON is not a full replacement for a raw .set backup.

Read and edit 100 channels in the original 600-byte .mem format. Open/save files offline, import/export CSV and start with SOTA/POTA, FT8/JS8Call or contest-oriented operating profiles. Radio writes are checked by read-back.

Writing replaces the entire bank. File size cannot identify the originating model or firmware; retain the current radio bank before writing another.

Inspect possible macOS serial ports, follow LAB599 CAT setup and diagnose USB-to-serial/VCP problems. FT232 and PL2303 adapters need chipset-appropriate support; a visible serial port must still be verified with a radio query.

The app uses /dev/cu.* serial ports, not the FTDI D2XX direct-access API. A separate audio interface is required for soundcard modes.

Read the bundled illustrated Help offline, browse manufacturer manuals and reference documents, and prepare a structured bug report or feature request. Feedback can open a prefilled GitHub issue or copy Markdown for review.

The release includes English and Persian guides. Online documentation refresh and external links require network access.