Author Archives: Andy Gawthrope

SPE Expert Controller – DNS Support

I’ve been adding support for a network/serial adapter to be identified by a Fully Qualified Domain Name or DNS name in addition to its IP address to SPE Expert Controller today.

Using a name makes identification more human friendly; we remember names more easily than IP addresses, especially IPv6 addresses! Perhaps more importantly tho, using a DNS name adds support for deployments where an amplifier / network/serial adapter is deployed in a system using dynamic DNS.

Whilst making changes I’ve also added a Paste button, allowing the endpoint field to be completed using clipboard content. This is most helpful when using an IPv6 address or a long DNS name. Those with a keen eye will also spot the little ‘hand’ graphic; It is thumb-up for valid information and thumb-down when invalid.

As of yet there is no release date for the next version. If you have feature requests please get in touch using the Contact form on this website.

Andy

macOS Tahoe 26.0 and SPE Expert Controller

This week was WWDC 25, the annual Apple developer conference were Apple announce’s their next software. This year, one of the many announcements was a UI redesign which they called ‘Liquid Glass’. It will provide a common ‘look and feel’ across their hardware including the Mac. It looks a little different to recent versions of macOS such as Sonoma and Sequoia with visual effects to provide improved separation between UI controls and content.

The good news is that Apps built for earlier macOS versions will continue look just the same on Tahoe. However, that backwards support will be dropped from whatever follows Tahoe. But that’s not something to worry about for a while.

The other thing to note is that Tahoe will be the last version of macOS that will support Intel processors. So, if you are using an Intel Mac and wish to use whatever macOS follows Tahoe then you are going to need new hardware.

Out of curiosity to take an early peek I downloaded the first developer beta and installed SPE Expert Controller v1.2.0. Sure enough, just as Apple said, it looks and works just the same as it does on Sequoia. That’s pretty reassuring and is an early indication that it should work just fine even if it were not updated.

However, my thinking is that I’ll rebuild SPE Expert Controller for Tahoe later this summer so that a Liquid Glass version is available for the public release of Tahoe, presumably around September / October 2025.

Andy

Website – It’s now live

This website is now live!

Going forward it will be the master repository for all software and support related matters for SPE Expert Controller, simGPS and future ham radio Apps.

I hope you find the information you require on the site and, if not, please do use the Contact page to drop me a message. I’ve already added a couple of questions to the SPE Expert Controller FAQ based on questions I’ve received.

73’s, Andy, G0RVM

Website – Update No. 2

The new website is pretty much up and running now. It provides Download and Support information for two apps: SPE Expert Controller and simGPS. Additionally I’ve made available slideware from talk’s I’ve done for radio clubs over the years.

Details about network / serial adapters and serial cable wiring is detailed in the Support section for SPE Expert Controller.

Website – Update No. 1

These last few days I’ve been adding lots of content to the Support | SPE Expert Controller section and it now provides an FAQ, User Guides, Release Notes, info about Network/Serial adapters and serial cable wiring. Other sections such as Software, About etc are now being worked on….

Website creation begins

It’s now the end of March 2025 and this post formally identifies that I’ve started work to create this website. It’s going to take a while but, as you are reading this, the server is now up and running and providing some basic content….this post!