# Lab599 Utility v2.285 (Build 291)

Release 2.285 introduces critical transmit safety controls, watchdog hardening, and complete audio/CAT path isolation based on the reviewed Lab599 proposals, alongside verified universal builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

🚀 What's New & Key Improvements

1. Transmit Safety & Safeguards Hardening (46 Patches Integrated)

• CW Practice / Simulation Isolation:
  • Simulation mode now completely suppresses CAT commands (FA/MD) and radio audio streams.
  • The Tune function is strictly blocked while in Practice mode.
  • Exiting practice resets internal QSO state; practice contacts are strictly prevented from reaching the Logbook or cloud uploads.
• Transmission Verification & Interlocks:
  • Verified DIG mode and VOX OFF are now mandatory prerequisites before CW keying starts.
  • Missing CAT/PT acknowledgements are no longer falsely assumed to be RX. Unresolved TX states remain protected, and ABORT remains available.
• Watchdogs & Hard Timeouts:
  • Added a hard 120-second ceiling for individual CW messages.
  • Station Tune cuts off after 10 seconds, backed by an independent 15-second carrier watchdog.
  • FT8 Tune includes a dedicated 15-second watchdog.
  • Immediate RX release is triggered on Stop, Esc, audio failure, or system sleep.

2. Audio Subsystem & Sidetone Protection

• CoreAudio Exception Containment:
  • Exceptions occurring during local audio stop or buffer tear-down cannot bypass transceiver RX release.
  • Radio audio buffers are cleared to zero immediately on abort or message completion.
• Sidetone Routing:
  • Local CW sidetone is locked to the Mac’s built-in speaker/output and will not leak into the default USB/radio DAC endpoint. If built-in output is unavailable, sidetone remains silent.

3. State Consistency, Settings & Media Galleries

• Display & CAT Reliability:
  • Frequency is preserved when a band change is rejected.
  • Radio Screen reflects actual PT state and stops rendering synthetic Live CAT power/spectrum metrics when unread.
• Settings & Logbook:
  • Restored category pop-up filtering and column details (Addr, Range / Unit, Details).
  • Corrected ADIF import field length parsing.
• SSTV & Fax Galleries:
  • Added explicit saves, non-overwriting exports, cancellation handling, and clean removal flows.

4. Credential & Keychain Policy

• Preserved Keychain Integrity:
  • Patch 0032 (Keychain service rename and credential migration) was intentionally deferred. Existing Keychain service names and secret storage remain intact to prevent credential loss or orphaned entries.

Lab599 Utility v2.284 — FT8 Digital TX Reliability, Split Mode Reset & Waterfall Tuning Fixes

What's Changed in v2.284

🎙️ FT8 / FT4 Digital Transmission Reliability

• Hardware VOX Bypass & Auto-Clear: Whitelisted VX CAT commands and automatically disabled hardware VOX (VX0;) when entering Digital Mode. Digital transmission is now exempt from safety VOX lockouts, preventing dropped PTT states.
• Automatic Split Mode Reset (FT0; FR0;): Fixed an issue where the radio unexpectedly transmitted on VFO B (CW / 10.100 MHz) due to an active hardware Split (SPL) state. Digital setup now automatically resets Split to ensure transmissions occur on VFO A at the configured digital frequency and DIG mode.
• Slot Jitter & Boundary Leniency: Relaxed FT8 slot boundary timing threshold from 1.0s to 2.5s, preventing skipped transmission slots caused by macOS thread latency or UI rendering jitter.
• Dial Frequency Fallback: Added graceful fallbacks for catDialAndModeVerified during Carrier Tune and Enable TX if the frequency is valid, ensuring immediate keying even during slow CAT polling.
• Carrier Tune Output: Increased Tune carrier audio amplitude to 0.85 to provide clean RF output drive and responsive ALC metering.

🌊 Interactive Waterfall & UX Enhancements

• Click-to-Tune Numeric Field Binding: Resolved view binding initialization order so that clicking on the waterfall properly updates RX and TX offset text fields alongside the audio engines.
• Drag-to-Tune & Modifier Support: Added continuous mouse dragging on the waterfall; Shift + Click/Drag and Right-Click/Drag adjust the TX frequency marker, while normal click/drag sets the RX frequency marker.
• Clearer Transmit Button States: Transmit button now unambiguously displays HALT TX (or TX ACTIVE) when armed or transmitting, preventing accidental disarming before the 15-second slot boundary.

🧪 Core & Build Stability

• Serial Port Clean Teardown: Added forceCloseTransport in station core to ensure serial ports (/dev/cu.usbserial-*) are immediately freed when changing tabs or disconnecting.
• CI Transfer Tests: Adjusted simulated firmware transfer test timeout to eliminate intermittent backpressure timeouts during automated testing.

---

Assets

• Universal Binary: macOS 12.0+ (Apple Silicon & Intel)

---

Verification / Checksum

File	SHA-256
Lab599-Utility-2.284.zip	08634ca78f78b292fb8019a848f6674fa59ae7df5ad0df233c4eb5e1975a62b8

Lab599 Utility v2.283 (Build 289) - Soundcard CW Transmission & Live Telemetry

Lab599 Utility v2.283 (Build 289)

This release delivers soundcard CW transmission over the REM/DATA audio interface with full RF power, real-time transmit power and SWR telemetry, a manual Tune safety cutoff timer, interactive spectrum waterfall click-tuning, and CI test runner stability.

Highlights & Key Improvements

1. Full-Power CW Transmission via REM/DATA (DIG Mode):

   • Root Cause Resolved: The Lab599 TX-500 internal DSP mutes REM/DATA line-in audio while in hardware CW mode (MD3;) and ignores unsupported KY text CAT commands, causing 0.0 W output.
   • Soundcard CW Modulation: Morse code transmission is routed via DIG mode (MD6;) with raised-cosine sine wave shaping at the nominal pitch (650 Hz), delivering full RF output power (~10 W) physically and spectrally identical to standard CW carrier keying.
   • Automatic Mode Cycling: When operating in CW (Paddle Key) mode, the software automatically keys via MD6;TX; during transmission and restores RX;MD3; on release so physical keyers and internal CW filters continue to operate seamlessly.
   • Default Mode: The CW Station mode selector now defaults to DIG (Soundcard CW) with clear menu options (DIG, CW, CW-R, USB, LSB).

2. Live Transmit Telemetry (⚡ PWR & 📶 SWR):

   • Integrated live transceiver telemetry polling during transmission and antenna tuning.
   • Live RF power is read via RM0;RM; and calibrated to watts (0.0 W – 10.0 W) with animated level bars.
   • Antenna SWR is queried via RM1;RM; and mapped through the TX-500 lookup curve (1.0:1 to >5.0:1) with color-coded alerts (Green: ≤1.5, Yellow: ≤2.5, Red: >2.5).

3. Safety Watchdog & Abort Enhancements:

   • The manual TX (Tune) function is now protected by an automatic 10-second safety cutoff timer to prevent accidental transmitter lockups.
   • Transmission completion and abort routines guarantee sending RX; under all code paths and audio buffer completions.

4. Interactive Spectrum Waterfall Click-Tuning:

   • Clicking any Morse signal on the spectrum waterfall immediately retunes the transceiver's VFO dial to center the signal on the operator's nominal CW pitch (650 Hz).
   • Added DSP narrow bandpass filtering presets (500–800 Hz) to eliminate wideband HF noise and background hiss.

5. CI Runner Stability (GitHub Actions):

   • Resolved the simulated pty acknowledgement timeout failure in TransferTests.m by increasing the acknowledgement timeout deadline from 0.2s to 0.8s, eliminating false failures caused by shared virtualization thread scheduler jitter.

---

Checksums

• Lab599-Utility-v2.283-macOS-universal.zip: 1397987032fec6c2ba0cb8be1541beb2dfdba2ca88f1593ea4fe0dfa46ccb606

Lab599 Utility v2.273 (Build 279)

Lab599 Utility v2.273 (Build 279)

This build addresses the reported digital-mode, audio, layout, Help, and firmware-preview issues.

• Starting FT8/FT4 requests MD6; when needed, then confirms DIG mode, unchanged dial frequency, and RX by CAT before enabling transmit. A failed read-back leaves transmit blocked.
• The Digital tab exposes Set MHz… beside the dial and opens the custom-frequency editor from the Custom… band choice. Exact MHz input is validated and the requested CAT frequency is read back before use.
• Live Audio monitoring continues when the user visits another section. Explicit Stop and app Quit still stop it. Firmware verification waits for monitoring to stop.
• Help fills the available window height and uses smaller type. The main window clamps to the visible screen, offers horizontal scrolling on narrow displays, and rearranges dense FT8 controls into short rows.
• Firmware Update shows the image for the reviewed firmware's target model at a larger size. The operator must confirm the picture and printed model before CAT verification, then confirm them again before transfer. Changing the firmware file or CAT port clears that confirmation. If the matching image is missing, verification is blocked.

Validation: The complete automated test suite passed, including simulated CAT and firmware-transfer checks. A universal arm64/x86_64 app built and passed code-signature verification. A compact FT8 layout screenshot was checked in Simulation mode. Physical-radio operation and the firmware screen's final visual check remain unverified because the Mac locked during the preview attempt. No firmware was sent to the connected radio.

This build is locally signed and is not Apple notarized. Keep a public release marked as a pre-release until the fixes are confirmed on the physical radio.

---

Historical source note (2026-10-02): This tag was not moved during the repository history cleanup. Its source archive still contains the older review documents, and the attached app retains the former About-window repository URL. The attached ZIP and its checksum have not changed.

Lab599 Utility v2.272 (Build 278)

Lab599 Utility v2.272 (Build 278)

This update clarifies the audio and CAT connections and improves FT8 audio-device pairing.

• The tested AD-508 assembly connects directly from the TX-500 REM/DATA port to Mac USB-C. macOS enumerated it as a generic USB Audio input and output. The stock blue CAT cable connects separately to the radio's CAT port as a serial adapter. A generic device name does not establish a cable model or the physical location of its audio converter.
• Live Audio, FT8 and CW no longer label every preferred USB audio device as an AD-508. The previous preferred-device ordering remains in place for the tested setup.
• When CoreAudio exposes separate input and output endpoints with a shared device UID prefix, FT8 pairs those endpoints instead of choosing the first similarly named USB output. The selection remains visible and editable in the app.
• The offline Help, English README and Persian quick start reflect the tested connections. Lab599's 2025 product catalog lists AD-508 and AD-509 as distinct products; it does not establish converter placement for every cable revision.

Validation: The complete local test suite passed, including FT8 tests for two same-named USB interfaces and a bidirectional interface. The universal arm64/x86_64 app built and passed code-signature verification. The connected Mac enumerated the AD-508 audio device and the stock FTDI CAT adapter. The installed older app held the CAT serial port during this check, so v2.272 was not used to query the physical radio or transmit RF. Keep this release marked as a pre-release until the rebuilt app is validated with the radio.

Download: Lab599-Utility-v2.272-macOS-universal.zip contains the macOS 12+ app, offline illustrated Help, English and Persian guides, and license notices. Compare its SHA-256 with SHA256SUMS.txt. The app is locally signed, not Apple notarized. Manufacturer firmware is not included.

---

Historical source note (2026-10-02): This tag was not moved during the repository history cleanup. Its source archive still contains the older review documents, and the attached app retains the former About-window repository URL. The attached ZIP and its checksum have not changed.

Lab599 Utility v2.271 (Build 277)

Lab599 Utility v2.271 (Build 277)

This maintenance release fixes the Live Audio waterfall palette test on Retina Macs. The test now renders both 1x and 2x snapshots on every test Mac and converts its view-space sample point to bitmap pixels using each snapshot's horizontal and vertical scale. This is a test-only change; the app's palette rendering, audio processing and radio behavior are unchanged.

Thanks to EA3JIC for the precise report and suggested patch. The change was reviewed before implementation; no supplied patch was applied blindly.

Validation: The old test reproduced the reported failure with a forced 2x snapshot; the corrected AudioMonitorTests suite passed at both 1x and 2x (15/15). The full build-utility.sh --test-only suite passed, and the universal arm64/x86_64 app was rebuilt and its code signature verified. No physical radio or RF transmission was used for this release validation.

Download: Lab599-Utility-v2.271-macOS-universal.zip contains the macOS 12+ app, offline illustrated Help, English and Persian guides, and license notices. Compare its SHA-256 with SHA256SUMS.txt. The app is locally signed, not Apple notarized. Manufacturer firmware is not included.

---

Source archive note (2026-10-02): This historical tag was moved to the corresponding commit in the cleaned repository history. Tracked files outside the retired reverse-engineering/ directory are unchanged. Attached downloadable files and their checksums were not changed. Historical text in this release may still refer to the retired directory. The source archive for this tag still contains older review documentation; the retired reverse-engineering/ directory is absent from the tag tree.

Lab599 Utility v2.270 (Build 276)

Lab599 Utility v2.270 (Build 276)

This release adds an offline, illustrated Help section inside the app. Open it from the sidebar or Help → Lab599 Utility Help. A topic index links to setup, CAT diagnostics, Station, FT8/FT4, CW, Voice Keyer, Live Audio, logging and cloud services, DX Cluster, Radio Screen, Telemetry, Settings, Memory, Time Sync, firmware updating, documentation, feedback and troubleshooting.

The guide includes 15 screenshots captured from the app with no physical radio connected. Simulation and demo views are identified in their captions. It distinguishes a listed serial port from a verified CAT connection, explains that digital audio needs a separate route, and gives the firmware update sequence and its model-verification limits. The Help page is bundled locally, needs no network access, and has no executable scripts or remote media.

Validation: The guide's image files, internal links and accessibility descriptions were checked. The universal arm64/x86_64 app was built and its code signature verified. The in-app Help layout was visually checked. No physical radio or RF transmission was used for this release validation.

Download: Lab599-Utility-v2.270-macOS-universal.zip contains the macOS 12+ app, offline Help, English and Persian guides, and license notices. Compare its SHA-256 with SHA256SUMS.txt. The app is locally signed, not Apple notarized. Manufacturer firmware is not included.

---

Source archive note (2026-10-02): This historical tag was moved to the corresponding commit in the cleaned repository history. Tracked files outside the retired reverse-engineering/ directory are unchanged. Attached downloadable files and their checksums were not changed. Historical text in this release may still refer to the retired directory. The source archive for this tag still contains older review documentation; the retired reverse-engineering/ directory is absent from the tag tree.

Lab599 Utility v2.269 (Build 275)

Lab599 Utility v2.269 (Build 275)

This release corrects the macOS CAT adapter guidance in v2.268.

Lab599 Utility opens a macOS /dev/cu.* serial port for CAT. It does not use FTDI's D2XX direct-access API, so installing the D2XX library is not an application requirement. A working USB-to-serial driver is still necessary for a USB CAT adapter. macOS may provide one automatically, or a compatible driver may need to be installed for that Mac and adapter. Lab599 has shipped FT232 and PL2303 adapters. The CAT Connection screen now states these limits and asks operators to identify their adapter before troubleshooting.

An older personal FT8 PDF bundled with previous releases incorrectly described D2XX as mandatory and included manual system installation commands. That PDF has been removed from this package. It should not be used as a driver-installation guide. The Lab599 manual says manual installation is needed if the OS does not install the adapter driver automatically. The current Lab599 downloads page lists FTDI and PL2303 driver packages labeled for Windows; FTDI's VCP page provides macOS VCP information for FTDI adapters.

A visible serial port alone does not prove CAT communication. Check it in CAT Studio. Digital operation additionally requires a working audio connection and appropriate radio and audio settings. The app has not been validated with every macOS release and adapter combination.

Validation: Full local automated suite passed; universal arm64/x86_64 build and code signature checked. No physical radio or adapter was used for this release validation.

Download: Lab599-Utility-v2.269-macOS-universal.zip contains the macOS 12+ app, English and Persian guides, and license notices. Compare its SHA-256 with SHA256SUMS.txt. The app is locally signed, not Apple notarized. Manufacturer firmware is not included.

---

Source archive note (2026-10-02): This historical tag was moved to the corresponding commit in the cleaned repository history. Tracked files outside the retired reverse-engineering/ directory are unchanged. Attached downloadable files and their checksums were not changed. Historical text in this release may still refer to the retired directory. The source archive for this tag still contains older review documentation; the retired reverse-engineering/ directory is absent from the tag tree.

Lab599 Utility v2.268 (Build 274)

Lab599 Utility v2.268 (Build 274)

This update corrects the CAT connection page after a content and safety review.

The previous Driver Install page incorrectly called FTDI D2XX mandatory, treated a library file as proof of a working or authorized driver, gave one set of menu numbers for different radios, and offered administrator-level installation and broad removal of system files. The app itself opens macOS serial ports; it does not use the D2XX direct-access API.

The replacement CAT Connection page lists possible /dev/cu.* ports without claiming that a listed port is a connected radio. It explains the LAB599 CAT protocol and 9600-baud setup, offers a direct route to CAT Studio for a read-only communication check, and links to Lab599 manuals and FTDI's VCP guidance for FTDI-based adapters. It no longer installs, removes, signs, or clears quarantine from system driver files. The unused D2XX binary and headers have been removed from the app and source package. This update does not change any driver already installed on your Mac.

The full local test suite passed. The universal arm64/x86_64 app was built and its code signature verified. The CAT page was visually checked in the built app. Serial-port listing was tested with simulated names; no physical radio or USB adapter was used for this release validation.

Download: Lab599-Utility-v2.268-macOS-universal.zip contains the macOS 12+ app, English and Persian guides, and license notices. Compare its SHA-256 with SHA256SUMS.txt. The app is locally signed, not Apple notarized. Manufacturer firmware is not included.

---

Source archive note (2026-10-02): This historical tag was moved to the corresponding commit in the cleaned repository history. Tracked files outside the retired reverse-engineering/ directory are unchanged. Attached downloadable files and their checksums were not changed. Historical text in this release may still refer to the retired directory. The source archive for this tag still contains older review documentation; the retired reverse-engineering/ directory is absent from the tag tree.

Lab599 Utility v2.267 (Build 273)

Lab599 Utility v2.267 (Build 273)

This update addresses five usability and accuracy reports from EA3JIC. Thank you for testing the app so carefully and sharing the optional patches.

• Preferences: Station fields now participate in the Tab key order. The window fits the visible screen, remains resizable, and scrolls its Station content on shorter displays while keeping Save & Apply available.
• Full screen: The main window no longer applies normal-window size limits just after entering macOS full screen.
• CAT model labels: The documented ID505; reply is shown as TX-500MP. ID500; is labeled as the TX-500 family; ID019; identifies the TS-2000 protocol; and the legacy accepted ID501;/ID502; replies no longer imply a specific model. Labels require an exact reply. This does not add or claim full TX-500MP feature support.
• Band-plan source: The Station button opens the official IARU document for the active saved profile's Region 1, 2, or 3. The embedded frequency chart remains a simplified Region 1 reference and must not be used as authorization for another region.
• Live Audio: Switching between Cyber Cyan and Phosphor Amber recolors existing waterfall rows immediately. The audio callback and renderer share the level buffer through a short lock rather than racing on stored colors.

The full local test suite passed with simulated radios and isolated cloud data. The universal arm64/x86_64 app was built and its code signature verified. Physical TX-500MP behavior, on-air operation, and real display configurations beyond the test machine have not been validated in this release. Firmware transfer safeguards and protocol are unchanged.

Download: Lab599-Utility-v2.267-macOS-universal.zip contains the macOS 12+ app, English and Persian guides, and license notices. Compare its SHA-256 with SHA256SUMS.txt. The app is locally signed, not Apple notarized. Manufacturer firmware is not included.

---

Source archive note (2026-10-02): This historical tag was moved to the corresponding commit in the cleaned repository history. Tracked files outside the retired reverse-engineering/ directory are unchanged. Attached downloadable files and their checksums were not changed. Historical text in this release may still refer to the retired directory. The source archive for this tag still contains older review documentation; the retired reverse-engineering/ directory is absent from the tag tree.