The question about Mac software for the scanners and other radios comes up often here at Scanner Master. The vast majority of radio programming software is made for Windows, so the trick is to find a way to run Windows. Although many Mac users view Windows as a virus, it is kind of a necessary evil to do what you need or want to do. There are some Mac radio programs out there, but they are few and far between. The reality is that if you spend any real time with a radio, you will eventually need to run Windows applications. That last sentence is hard to say for this die-hard Mac guy, but it is the truth.

There are cheap Windows machines out there that will work fine for most radio programming. Netbooks and tablets running some version of Windows 10 or 11 can be had for under $200 all in. Just add a USB cable for your radio or a USB-Serial adapter and your favorite program and off you go. Be careful not to get a system running Windows RT or Windows Mobile. RT and Mobile will not work with most “regular” Windows applications. Also stay away from Windows S mode. “S-Mode”. This restricts you from installing third-party software. While this can be defeated, you are better off avoiding it altogether.

Older versions of Windows, such as XP, 7 and 8 will usually run most radio software but these older operating systems are no longer supported and may eventually stop being able to run newer versions of software. While Windows 10 support has been ended recently it is still a viable operating system for most uses.

You can also get a cheap desktop system for not much more than a netbook, but that takes up more room and adds complexity. You could probably share a Mac monitor if the Windows box has a compatible connector and you may be able to use your existing Mac keyboard and mouse. You could use a KVM (Keyboard-Mouse-Video) switch or one of the applications like Synergy to share the monitor, mouse and keyboard between the Mac and your Windows box. MacBooks and iMacs however do not have outboard monitors, so unless you have a second monitor you are out of luck for this solution.

Check your local tag sales, pawnshops or thrift stores. Sometimes computer retailers like MicroCenter will end up with a bunch of ultra-low-cost machines, often intended for the education market. If it runs Windows 10 or 11 it will work for you but remember to avoid “S-Mode”.

Be sure to run a good anti-virus program. Mac people have been lucky not to really need to worry about this for decades, but it is a way of life in Windows. AVG and MS Security Essentials are good, free virus programs. Install, update and run the virus checker before doing anything else on any used Windows computer.

On the Mac itself you can use one of several methods to run Windows applications and Windows itself. This is especially easy if you have a fairly recent Mac. There are 3 popular ways to do this:

Apple's own free BootCamp allows you to boot into Windows or the Mac OS (but not at the same time) and this allows most applications to work just as if the computer was made for Windows. You still need a copy of Windows, but BootCamp itself is free, just download it from Apple if it isn’t already on your computer. Once installed you can start your computer up in BootCamp, and have a system that looks, feels and works just like any other Windows computer. To go back to the Mac environment, you then need to restart the computer.

IMPORTANT: BootCamp only works with older Intel-based Macs. If you have an old iMac or MacBook with an Intel processer you can download BootCamp, install a copy of Windows and run your radio software.

If you have a current or recent Apple Silicon Mac then you are best off with Parallels or VMWare's Fusion. These allow you to run almost any other OS, including Windows' several versions alongside your Mac programs. It can be set up so that the Windows part is almost transparent, your radio program just kind of runs and you don't even know that it is a Windows application if you don't look too closely.

When running Parallels or Fusion the application will ask you if you want USB devices to work in the Mac or Windows environment the first time you plug it in. Choose wisely, if you set a cable to work in the MacOS then Windows won’t see it and it will not work. You can always go into the programs menu and change which operating system (Mac or Windows) that device is assigned to.

This is a toss-up. The wife and I have used both and they both work just fine for everything we have thrown at them. I stuck with Parallels since it seemed more Mac-like to me, the wife preferred Fusion’s look and feel. In reality, they both do pretty much the same thing and it is like deciding between a Ford and Chevy or between a Uniden and GRE scanner. Look at the feature sets for both and make a decision or flip a coin.

Parallels is a paid application but can automatically install a copy of Windows for you when you run the Parallels installer. Fusion used to be a paid application but became free for individual users. You need to provide your own Windows installer, but these are easily downloaded.

When you install Windows 10 or 11 these days you are supposed to register it. If you don’t you will see a little watermark on the bottom right corner of the screen saying that Windows is unregistered. You also cannot change the desktop image. That’s it. While you really should buy and enter a valid Windows key, if you don’t it will not affect the operation of the computer or your software.

If your radio already has a USB cable then you are all set. If it only has a Serial cable, then you will need a USB-Serial adapter that will work in whatever version of Windows you use since Macs do not have old fashioned serial ports. Some USB-serial adapters don't work in 64-bit Windows versions like Windows 10 and 11 or need updated drivers, make sure yours does, it will say so on the packaging.

Some older Uniden scanners come with serial cables instead of USB. If you have an older scanner like a BCT15, BCT15X, BCD996T or XT, a 396 or 346 series scanner you might have issues with these older cables. Newer Uniden scanners with USB ports have no such problems and will work directly with Windows 10 or 11 on your Mac in Parallels or Fusion. These include all of the SD-Card based scanners as well as the “P2” and 260/160 series scanners.

Older Uniden USB-1 cables for the XT series scanners will not work with Windows 10 or 11 as they are 32-bit only cables. Newer USB-1 cables have updated 64-bit hardware (and drivers) so that they work with Windows 10 and 11. Unfortunately the old and new versions look identical so the only way to tell if they will work is to plug them in and see.

Some new Macs ship with USB-C connectors instead of legacy USB. If you have one of these newer Macs, then you probably also have a USB-C adapter to allow use of older USB devices. If not, you will need one. A USB hub with USB-A connectors also work.

“Wine” originally stood for “Windows Emulator” but now is understood to mean “Wine Is Not an Emulator”. It is a program that basically allows users of Unix based operating systems (which includes MacOS) to run Windows based applications. If you know how to use Wine, then you don’t need to read this article. It might be worth researching but most creators of commercial scanner programs will not support issues with Wine so if it doesn’t work you are on your own.

For both of you Linux users out there, you probably already know how to make a Windows program work in Linux or have an alternate computer around to run them.

Once you find your Windows computer, be it a Mac, netbook or otherwise, you may have to decide what version of Windows to install. If you have an older Windows machine already with Windows XP thru 11 on it then you might as well stay with that.

If you buy new however you might not be able to choose your version of Windows. Most new computers come with Windows 11 these days, it is next to impossible to find new equipment with older operating systems anymore. Windows 10 computers may still occasionally found on store shelves and works great with most radio programs. Just remember that Windows XP, 7, 8 and 10 are no longer supported or updated by Microsoft and are more vulnerable to malware. Get Windows 11 if you can.

Macs have been 64-bit only for years. This means that older 32-bit devices and drivers may no longer work on 64-bit computers. Once you install Windows one way or another plug in your cable or radio and check Device Manager in Windows. If the item shows a warning about 32-bit then replace it with a newer adapter or cable that is 64-bit.

Most Windows programs that ran in Windows XP will work in Windows 7 or 8, either already or with an upgrade. Many (but not all) of these will also work in Windows 10 and 11. Some older programs will only work in 32-bit versions of Windows or require one to “Run as an Administrator”.

Most problems however are actually hardware or driver based. You may need to update the application, drivers or even your programming cable to make it work in Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11.

If you need to use an application that just will not work in your Windows 10 or 11 computer (usually an older program that can’t run in a 64 bit environment) then you could try to run it in “Compatibility Mode”, a type of virtual environment. This will allow you to run programs that otherwise won’t work in newer versions of Windows to work as if they are on an older machine. You don’t need an additional Windows license to use this method.

Running Compatibility Mode within Windows, itself within a Mac environment within Fusion or Parallels adds layers of complexity and introduces more places for problems to crop up. At this point it might be worth it to bite the bullet and buy a cheap Windows machine to program your radio or update the software.

Back in the old days when DOS was prevalent a lot of cool radio programs were around that did specific things. Probe, Trunker, TrunkTrac and others were fun to use but most functions these performed are obsolete or better served with newer Windows applications. If you need to run an old DOS program, then you are likely going to need a 40-year-old computer. Some programs might be able to be run in a Compatibility Mode, but the amount of tweaking needed is going to make matters too difficult to discuss here.

I have used many radio programming applications on my Mac and have had few problems doing so. ARC products from Butel and Scanner Master work great on a Mac, in BootCamp, Parallels and Fusion. Just open the Windows environment and install the application, install the cable (and drivers as needed) and off you go. In Parallels on my MacBook Pro and my Mac Studio it runs just like any Mac application. I also had great results with my other Macs over the years.

One thing to remember is that too much RAM is never enough. Make sure you have plenty of RAM on your Mac! If you are trying to run Windows on your Mac with Parallels or Fusion, you need a lot of RAM. Don’t try it with 4 GB of RAM, it just will not work well, if at all. 8 is better, but 16GB is the least amount of RAM I would suggest for running one of these solutions on your Mac.

One thing I have noticed on both Windows machines and Macs running a Windows emulator is that after upgrading Windows versions some applications (such as ARC products) may have to be removed and reinstalled. You might need the product key to reinstall on some programs so make sure you have that.