Build log, 13 November: a scanner that behaves like a scanner, Wi-Fi from the app, and Wavelens on your computer

13 Nov 2026 · 5 min read · Build log · Scanner · Raspberry Pi · iOS · Desktop

Most of this week went into the Scanner on the Full Spectrum kit, and most of that came from testers telling us where it didn't behave like the scanner they already own. Here is what landed on main between 6 and 13 November, and why.

The Scanner tab: Hold, Ignore, favourites

• Hold, not Lock. Scanners call it hold, so we do too. On a call, HOLD TG plays only that talkgroup until you tap RELEASE TG; the badge reads TG HOLD. HOLD on the transport row still holds the whole system.
• Ignore, and Ignore 2 hr. IGNORE silences a talkgroup. IGNORE 2 HR silences it for two hours and then lets it back in by itself. The calls list says which are held or ignored, with the time left.
• The unit ID has its own line under the talkgroup.
• Favourite and ignored systems. Under Systems nearby, star a system to scan it first, or ignore it to leave it out of the hunt and the rotation. Ignored systems stay in the list, greyed, so you can bring them back.
• Calls you filtered out are skipped, not followed. A receiver follows one call at a time. A talkgroup muted by the category filter or ignored used to be followed with the audio off, so a wanted call could start and be missed. Now the decoder stays on the control channel and those calls only show in the list.
• Local systems only. The scan list is the listed systems for the unit's area, and talkgroup names are never borrowed from another system that reuses the number. Receiver gain and frequency correction are on the Scanner tab.
• On the air, on Live and the HUD. A PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO · ON THE AIR strip shows the calls the local control channel is carrying, with a play button.

Hold, Ignore and the system lists are in the iOS app too.

Under the hood: right speed, right channel

• Digital voice at the right speed. In AUTO, YSF, D-STAR and conventional P25 and DMR played at half speed, an octave low: the decoder's output was read as mono when it was stereo. The bridge now checks the audio's layout as it arrives and corrects itself in under 60 ms.
• The sweep tunes the channel, not beside it. The RTL-SDR sweep read every carrier half a bin high, a few kHz off. On our bench a control channel decoded 184 clean frames in 14 seconds on-channel, against 44 (and 59 bad ones) beside it.
• Follow skips data channels listed in RadioReference as Telm or Data (they are a buzz), and checks any FM channel it tunes for a digital carrier.
• Fewer silences. A decoder that quits is restarted on the same channel instead of going back to find the system. A dongle that drops off USB gets listening back when it returns, and a radio that hangs gets its USB power cycled, a few times at most before it asks for a replug.

Setting up a new Scanner

• Join Wi-Fi from the app. A Scanner out of the box is on no network, and its admin page needs one. Now the Companion screen has Wi-Fi on the Pi: tap Join Wi-Fi, pick a network, type the password. It goes over Bluetooth; the password is never logged.
• Where will you use it? The app asks for a country and postcode or ZIP (or Use my location), and the Pi downloads the public licence records for that area.
• Switches on the admin page. Settings has four on/off switches: Wi-Fi set-up from the app, updates and area from the app, Bluetooth pairing without a prompt, and SSH. Turn off what you don't use.

iPhone and computers

• iOS works on its own. The iOS beta now scans with the iPhone's own Bluetooth, so it hears devices that describe themselves, like trackers and Remote ID drones, with no companion. iOS hides Bluetooth addresses and gives apps no Wi-Fi scan, so for the rest it still needs a Spotter. It can also pair with the Full Spectrum Scanner and play its audio.
• Wavelens for Windows, Mac and Linux. A free desktop app: the live list with the same signatures as the phones, alerts, and with Full Spectrum the Scanner with audio. A computer can't hear these bands itself, so it needs a Spotter on USB or Bluetooth, or the kit nearby. No map, trips or tails (a computer has no GPS track). Downloads aren't code-signed yet, so Windows and macOS ask you to confirm once.

Next

All of the Pi changes are in companion 2026.11.12.9, which Scanners pick up through the free updater.

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