Reviewed September 24, 2026 against source v1.7.41. Features and fixes are labeled by version. Check release availability.
Check your installed version
Checked September 24, 2026: the latest public release is v1.7.41, published September 24. These guides were checked against source commit b577b42. The v1.7.41 changes below are included in that public release; earlier installed versions can behave differently.
Check the version shown in SPECTER before following version-specific instructions. Older website download links or installations can lag the latest release. Consult the public release page for current availability. This documentation update does not itself install an application update.
v1.7.41: current public release
- Event-clip eligibility: enabled alert classes, receiver alert switches and thresholds, and spectrum-analyzer alert permission now govern event clips as well as alert qualification. Hiding popups or applying popup cooldown does not discard evidence of an otherwise qualified RF alert.
- TinySA range confirmation: start and stop are applied as one center-and-span change. The displayed confirmation follows the instrument's current range rather than combining a new width with an old center.
- Workspace order: SDR radios at the top, spectrum analyzers beneath them, and the radiation strip at the bottom. Slot assignments and sweep partitioning are not changed by the visual order.
- Bounded logs:
Logs\sidecar.logis capped at 10 MB, with the previous capped log kept assidecar.log.1. An oversized inherited log is trimmed to its newest 10 MB on the first write. - Activity tone pacing: live activity sounds honor their repeat gap instead of using the Settings preview override.
v1.7.40: channel activity and audible alerts
- ACTIVITY WATCH monitors a tuned receiver channel and can play audio, sound a tone, show a dialog, and save WAV audio with available pre-roll.
- Audible alerts give new aircraft, NOTICE, ALERT, and CRITICAL their own separately enabled sounds.
- The Geiger trace has its own row so stacked receivers do not squeeze it.
v1.7.39: tinySA and receiver identity
- The tinySA scan loop keeps autonomous display sweeps paused between app-requested scans, avoiding the old wide-span reply mix-up. Normal display sweeping is restored when the app releases the instrument.
- A new-receiver dialog offers name, antenna, and bearing without reopening the setup wizard.
- GIVE UNIQUE SERIAL assigns a supported factory-serial RTL dongle a persistent hardware identity, with verification and a required unplug/replug afterward.
- The receiver engine is installed as a directory instead of unpacking a large single-file bundle on every launch. Startup no longer incurs that repeated extraction; actual launch time still depends on the computer and security software.
Related guides
Start with Getting started, then use Workstation controls, Recording and alerts, and Troubleshooting. Existing screenshots show real application views but may predate these controls or layout changes.