Radar and Macs

[STexan]

I've seen where Grlevel radar software is highly regarded by many here, however it appears this is only for Windows machines. I have a windows laptop (somewhat dated, though) as well as a newer Macbook Pro. I like the Mac because of it's almost "instant on" and almost instant connect to WiFi, longer battery time, etc ... much faster than the Windows machines awakening from sleep state. I do have an inverter but prefer not to use it (and run my Windows notebook) if I can avoid it, and running the Mac, I can pretty much chase all day on a single charge. Guess I could buy a new "clean" windows notebook, uninstall all of the garbage they pre-install and avoid installing any AV software and might could come close to duplicating the Mac performance.

Anyway, my question is -- Is there a good radar/wx software/app out there that will run on Mac OSX similar to a Grlevel2/3? Thanks.

 

[Greg Blumberg]

The one I can think of is Radarscope. It's $30 bucks, and I've been thinking about getting it. I've seen that it has a lot of good things including the ability to view dual polarization products like correlation coefficient, differential reflectivity, and differential phase. I'm not sure if it also includes the hydrometeor classification algorithm though. I've seen it work and it looks comparable to the GR products.

 

[Brandon Jenkins]

I can confirm radarscope does support hydrometeor classification, at least in the iphone version. I have no first hand experience with the Mac version but the software itself is very clean and polished. Probably the best thing available without running some type of windows emulation (to run GRx).

 

[Todd Renshaw]

Your Macbook is fairly new, (so I assume it uses Intel chips?) Why not just install Windows for a dual boot system? (Add Parallels and you won't even need to boot into Windows.) You'll get the best of both worlds.

Not sure what this'll do to your battery life. I'm assuming it will make it a bit worse. But It'll be worth it to be able to use GRLevelX.

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/sho...s-new-MacBook-Pro&highlight=Macbook+dual+boot
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/sho...o-use-for-chasing&highlight=Macbook+dual+boot

 

[Kelton Halbert]

I use both Radarscope and GRlevelX on my 2008 MacBook.

Radarscope works very, very well. In fact, you won't have any issues if you want to chase with it. However, I feel like it is missing some important functionality. It does not support GPS - I find that to be something very useful and hard to go without. Also, the developers have not fully capitalized on the new digital products from last year's Level III radar data upgrades. Enhanced Echotops and Enhanced Vertically Integrated Liquid are not supported. I've asked Base Velocity, the developer, directly if they would support this. Their response was "Nobody else has asked for this...". I find both of these products very useful. Lastly, RadarScope does not support custom placefiles. If you have an AllisonHouse account, you can display some of your products, but not all. METARs, Satellite, and Mesoscale Analysis products are not supported; also, the ability to write up and display custom placefiles are not supported.

What I like about GRlevelX is that all of the above issues are supported. I run Parallels Desktop in coherence mode in order to use the radar software. It adds to the cost, but I think it's worth it. It has never failed me yet, and it's well worth it to run all GRlevelX products natively. Granted, dual pol products are not supported yet, but it is in the near future as a $40 upgrade. When that happens, I think hands down GRlevelX will be better than radarscope.

Parallels: http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/

Still, for the price, RadarScope is by no means a crappy piece of software. I use it when I'm at home and have no need to boot up Window's for the extra functionality. They've done a great job, and I really do support their efforts. However, when it comes to being mobile, I use GRlevelX.

Hope this helps you find what you're looking for!

 

[welkin87]

I am also a Macbook Pro owner who has considered RadarScope. I read that RadarScope could also be integrated with an Allison House subscription. Does anyone have any experience with that? Would that add any features or better functionality to RadarScope?

I personally just use Boot Camp for running Windows programs and games. Haven't had a single issue with it the past 3 years. And Boot Camp is free. The only thing I don't like about it is you are forced to use the higher performance graphics card (not the integrated one), which drains your battery much faster.

 

[STexan]

I have bought/loaded the Radarscope (w/ AllisonHouse Chaser). I'll try it and see. it seems like a worthwhile product. But the fact it does not have location support and only displays Interstate highways for reference may make it problematic in some areas, especially where you're not entirely familiar with the area. Radarscope displays county boundaries, but it would be nice if they could provide an overlay option for county names, too. I'll probably end up getting a new PC laptop and GrLevelx. My current laptop PC is dated anyway.