Tuesday, March 03, 2020

WSPR Watch app comes to macOS

Some years ago I created an iOS app called WSPR Watch that queries the WSPRnet.org website and displays spots. As WSPRnet is free, my app is free (unlike at least one other).

Last year Apple released the ability to easily port iPad apps to macOS and so with just a few changes I was easily able to produce a macOS version.

Here's how it looks showing spots received by Phil, VK7JJ, who has particularly low noise reception in Tasmania.




The app has been approved by Apple is now available in the macOS App Store. Because of the Catalyst porting system it is only visible to people running macOS 10.15 Catalina.

I hope you like it.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I am absolutely thrilled that WSPR Watch is now available in the Mac App Store! I wish I could run it. I have an old MacPro5,1 that is still among the most powerful Macs ever made (excluding the new $10K MacPro7,1's). Unfortunately it will never run Catalina. I have just upgraded to High Sierra and may eventually upgrade to Mojave. High Sierra appears to be stable and the last macOS that breaks less features than it adds. I understand that Mojave is a big feature killer and starts to slow the machine down.

At any rate I'd love to have access to the WSPR Watch on my Mac. I use it all the time on my iPhone and iPad. I just don't see myself upgrading to an expensive new MacPro in the immediate future. High Sierra it is; Long Live High Sierra (I hope and pray).

I don't know why Apple makes it so difficult to support previous operating systems. High Sierra is just not that old. Having done some Xcode developing myself it is just frustrating.

Keep up the great work. Love the iPhone app.

Peter Marks said...

Thanks Unknown,

I'd love it if I could help you easily but the technology to allow a simple port of an iPad app to macOS only works on Catalina and later.

73