v1.0.45: JS8 reception and filtered DX bearings

Advanced FT8/FT4/WSPR DX Decoder 1.0.45

Receive, map and review weak-signal activity inside SDR++ and SDR++Brown on macOS.

• Optional receive-only JS8: Normal, Fast, Turbo / JS8 40 and Slow, with Speed: All selected. Uses its own decoder worker; JS8 starts off.
• JS8 shares the map, tables, filters, message details and reception history. Octagonal markers identify the mode; incomplete messages remain explicit.
• Country-based distance estimates fill missing grid distances where a matching outline is available. Estimates are marked [C], including supported Russia, Turkey and other country-name variants. Received-grid evidence takes priority.
• Estimates do not create station positions, farthest records, exchange paths or DX activity bearings. Original reception history stays unchanged.
• DX activity bearing and the compass follow shared time, band, mode and other reception filters. Shorter windows narrow the 15-minute maximum; current capture bands and alert settings do not override your selection.
• New Hide home location icon checkbox in Settings > Map. Applies immediately and remembers the choice.

Download the DMG and open Install Advanced FT8-FT4-WSPR DX Decoder. Select SDR++ or SDR++Brown, confirm your home locator and install. The combined installer preserves existing settings and history.

Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later. Existing FT8/FT4/WSPR defaults are preserved. GridTracker forwarding remains FT8/FT4 only.

Installer and DMG are signed, notarized and stapled. The ZIP contains the same installer. Matching source, upstream licenses and SHA-256 checksums are included.

Created by ReLLL. Thanks to the WSJT-X, MSHV, JS8Call, SDR++ and SDR++Brown developers and contributors. See CREDITS.md and THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for attribution and licenses.

Advanced FT8/FT4/WSPR DX Decoder 1.0.39

Receive-only FT8, FT4 and WSPR decoding, DX mapping and reception logging inside SDR++ and SDR++Brown on Apple Silicon Macs.

New since 1.0.32

• WSPR, FST4, FST4W and Q65 reception using pinned WSJT-X decoder routines. FT8, FT4 and WSPR start on; other modes are optional. Sequence: All checks supported periods in parallel, with a separate bounded worker to preserve FT8/FT4 decoding.
• Mode-specific map shapes, shared reception tables and filters, beacon power in details, and CSV/SQLite logging for all supported modes.
• Seven-day received-grid cache and hollow markers for older last-known locations, with their evidence dates. Distances remain relative to the home grid.
• Optional Remove likely falses filter for existing and new receptions. Map, tables, reception statistics and notifications use the same country/grid check. Saved history stays intact; legitimate portable stations can be exceptions.
• Fixed bottom status bar with fading notices, a taller compact SNR scale, Latest heard limited to three stations, trophy-marked farthest distances and corrected distance-record notifications.
• Click or use arrow keys to highlight table stations on the map; double-click to open details. Default sorting restores newest-first order. Restore defaults resets settings and layouts after confirmation while preserving history and home setup.
• History DB tools show record count and size. Automatic retention thresholds are separately adjustable, defaulting to 100,000 records and gradual cleanup to 95,000, checked every 30 minutes.
• Expanded upstream acknowledgements in the README and CREDITS.md.

Installation

Download the installer-macos-arm64.dmg, open the installer and choose SDR++ or SDR++Brown. The installer and DMG are Developer ID signed and Apple-notarized. Existing settings and reception logs are preserved. Requires Apple Silicon and macOS 15 or later; tested on macOS 26.

Q65 currently decodes individual sequences without cross-sequence averaging. GridTracker forwarding covers FT8/FT4. Additional modes wait for complete UTC sequences; longer periods need uninterrupted capture. See the mode guide.

Downloads include the installer, binary ZIP, corresponding source with upstream licenses and runtime sources, and SHA-256 checksums. Installation guide · User guide

Created by ReLLL. Free software under GPL-3.0-or-later. Thanks to the WSJT-X, MSHV, SDR++ and SDR++Brown developers and protocol designers.

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder 1.0.32

A receive-only FT8/FT4 decoder, DX map and reception notebook for SDR++ and SDR++ Brown on Apple Silicon Macs.

This release brings the improvements since 1.0.26:

• Shared map/table filters, local date/time displays, a resizable details pane and a compact DX bearing compass.
• Saved-message management with confirmed date, country, missing-grid and missing-distance cleanup. Ignore and Delete are separate actions.
• Faster saved-history queries and transactional summaries. Automatic database retention checks every 30 minutes, keeps up to 100,000 receptions and gradually trims the oldest down to 95,000. CSV logging has its own independent limit.
• Twelve-minute callsign-hash resolution, message-by-message SNR colors and SNR map coloring enabled by default.
• Exchange arcs follow the host's visible spectrum.

Download the DMG, open the native installer and choose SDR++ or SDR++ Brown. Existing receiver settings and reception logs are preserved. The installer is Developer ID signed and Apple-notarized. The manual and SHA-256 checksums are included with the release assets.

Creator: ReLLL. Free software under GPL-3.0-or-later.

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder 1.0.26

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder 1.0.26 for SDR++ and SDR++Brown.

• Keep saved history for everything and fix loading during live reception. Timer refreshes no longer invalidate completed loads; large history queries rank compact reception IDs and use an additional first-heard index.
• Remove the gold path from home to a selected station. Dark-blue dotted communication arcs remain.
• Remove ignored transmitters immediately from map, table and details while saved history and known CSV logs are cleaned in the background. Confirmation remains required.
• Add optional continuous SNR coloring for map circles, default off.
• Show ages as seconds with ago through 600 seconds, then UTC date/time. Timestamp sorting stays unchanged.
• Rename DX ACTIVITY BEARING, use only the last 15 minutes, and show Time correction beside queued/skipped counts.
• Add sender and target lookups to the details-row popup.
• Accept different host version numbers during installation, with host and required-library checks. Add optional macOS location suggestions for an empty home grid and beginner locator instructions.

Download the DMG and open Install Advanced FT8-FT4 DX Decoder. Choose SDR++ or SDR++Brown; existing settings and reception logs are preserved. The installer and DMG are Developer ID signed and Apple notarized. Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later; the current host binaries remain the verified targets documented in the README.

Validation: 11 native tests for each host, all 11 sanitizer tests, synthetic FT8/FT4 decoding, installer safety checks and public-package integrity checks. macOS location accuracy guards are tested; an actual Location Services fix was not requested during verification.

Created by ReLLL.

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder 1.0.25

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder now supports both SDR++ and SDR++Brown on Apple Silicon macOS.

Download the DMG, open Install Advanced FT8-FT4 DX Decoder, select your radio application and click Install. The installer detects installed hosts, prepares first-run settings when needed, offers an optional home locator, preserves settings and logs, and saves a backup. It uses the matching binary for each host. No Python or Terminal is needed.

The installer and DMG are signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple. The ZIP contains the same installer. Brown keeps its existing native integration. Standard SDR++ uses standard host APIs, independent location settings and bundled country-prefix data.

Supported hosts: SDR++ 1.2.0, May 28, 2024 build and SDR++Brown 1.2.1, August 4, 2026 build. macOS 15+; tested on macOS 26. Other host builds may need a matching plugin build. The installer checks the selected host automatically.

Set the home locator in the installer, in Brown's Source > My Grid, or in standard SDR++'s plugin Settings > General > Maidenhead grid. The README and installation guide include the steps.

Verified live FT8 reception in standard SDR++. Both builds passed 10 native checks; the shared code passed the address/undefined-behavior sanitizer checks. Synthetic FT8/FT4 decoding and 12 isolated installer safety scenarios passed. Payload checksums, code signatures, notarization tickets and Gatekeeper acceptance were verified.

Assets: native-installer DMG, ZIP, corresponding source and SHA-256 checksums. Created by ReLLL.

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder 1.0.24

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder 1.0.24 brings three reception views, background decoding when the window closes, and per-message waterfall notifications. This release includes the changes since 1.0.18.

Reception views and details

• Unique stations keeps one row per sender across bands and modes, updated with its latest matching message.
• All messages retains every reception, including repeats, newest first.
• Countries heard shows distinct sender counts, mean distance and receiver SNR, and the latest five senders. Double-click a country to see its matching receptions in the details pane.
• Country flags appear in tables, details and notifications. Each table remembers column order, widths, visibility and sorting.
• Sender, Target and Mod columns clarify who transmitted, who was addressed, and whether the message used FT8 or FT4. Filters cover the added fields.

Notifications and controls

• Every new reception appears in the waterfall corner with a flag, country, callsign, distance, SNR and full italic message. Rows glow for two seconds and expire after an adjustable 10 seconds by default.
• The farthest row stays visible with its trophy and flag. Only the Farthest label is gold; its data uses the regular field colors.
• Closing the window keeps decoding, logging and integrations running while the sidebar switch is on. Reopening restores the window with current data.
• Distance replaces Approx. km in tables. Settings can switch displays and distance filters to miles; kilometers remain the default and the stored/logged unit.
• Green country cells identify the three newest countries. Gold takes priority for the farthest station.
• Optional saved history can restore statistics alone or the map and tables too, while live updates continue.
• Confirmed Ignore transmitter removes matching receptions from views, statistics, saved history and known CSV logs, including unresolved identities. Table and map menus also offer target callsign lookups.

Install

Download and extract the macos-arm64 ZIP, quit Brown, then run python3 scripts/install.py --build bin in the extracted folder. The installer backs up the previous plugin and configuration and installs outside Brown's signed application.

Requires Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later, and SDR++Brown 1.2.1 (August 4, 2026 build) at /Applications/SDR++Brown.app. macOS 26 is the tested environment. Other Brown builds may require recompilation against their matching ABI.

Installation guide · User guide · Changelog

Validation and source

Previously completed validation: nine tests passed in native, release and AddressSanitizer/UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer configurations; ten synthetic FT8/FT4 decoding jobs completed; live RF reception and background window lifecycle were checked. This publication uses those tested binaries without another local test run. The README includes measured CPU and memory use for Brown plus its decoder helper.

The release includes corresponding source and SHA-256 checksums. Created by ReLLL, licensed GPL-3.0-or-later.

Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder 1.0.18

First public release for Apple Silicon macOS and the matching SDR++Brown 1.2.1 August 4, 2026 build.

Download the macos-arm64 ZIP, extract it, quit Brown, then run python3 scripts/install.py --build bin from the extracted folder. Python 3 is required. The installer backs up the profile and preserves Brown's signed application.

Includes the DX map, reception table, persistent CSV logging, help/manual, direct optional GridTracker UDP, dark-blue dotted exchange arcs and optional saved-history statistics. History statistics start off and calculate in the background. Station first heard sorts newest first by default; Msg age and first-heard values align right.

Built with a macOS 15 minimum; tested on macOS 26. Other host builds may require recompilation against their matching ABI. Binaries are ad-hoc signed plugin/helper files, not a notarized standalone app.

Validation: all five native tests, all five AddressSanitizer/UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer tests, all five release tests, synthetic FT8/FT4 decoding and installed release decoding on live RF. CSV escaping/recovery, GridTracker packets, session reset and history-stat switching are covered. The installer restores the helper's executable permission even when extraction removes it.

Assets include the binary package, complete staged corresponding source with upstream license notices, and SHA-256 checksums. Creator: ReLLL. Installation | User guide.