diff --git a/app.go b/app.go
index fc9f000..39feb82 100644
--- a/app.go
+++ b/app.go
@@ -379,6 +379,10 @@ type App struct {
 	dbBackend           string      // "sqlite" | "mysql" — the logbook backend actually opened at startup
 	dbBackendErr        string      // non-empty when a configured MySQL backend failed and we fell back to SQLite
 	catFlexSpots        bool        // push cluster spots to the FlexRadio panadapter
+	liveActMu           sync.Mutex  // guards the entry-strip activity reported for live status
+	liveFreqHz          int64       // last freq/band/mode the UI reported (fallback when CAT is off)
+	liveBand            string
+	liveMode            string
 	awardSnapMu         sync.Mutex  // guards the award QSO snapshot
 	awardSnap           []qso.QSO   // light-scanned + enriched logbook snapshot reused across award computations
 	awardSnapRev        string      // logbook revision the snapshot was built at ("" = none)
diff --git a/docs/livestatus/tm74-status.php b/docs/livestatus/tm74-status.php
index 43cb71d..1c6e1c6 100644
--- a/docs/livestatus/tm74-status.php
+++ b/docs/livestatus/tm74-status.php
@@ -22,22 +22,29 @@ $DB_USER = 'opslog';
 $DB_PASS = 'CHANGE_ME';
 $STALE_SECONDS = 120;          // an operator is "active" if seen within this window
 
+// PHP 8.1+ makes mysqli THROW on errors by default; turn that off so a missing
+// `live_status` table (not yet created by OpsLog) just yields an empty list
+// instead of a fatal "table doesn't exist".
+mysqli_report(MYSQLI_REPORT_OFF);
+
 $mysqli = @new mysqli($DB_HOST, $DB_USER, $DB_PASS, $DB_NAME);
 if ($mysqli->connect_errno) {
     http_response_code(500);
     exit('DB error');
 }
 
+// The table is created by OpsLog on first publish; tolerate it not existing yet.
 $rows = [];
 $sql = "SELECT operator, station, freq_hz, band, mode, updated_at
         FROM live_status
         WHERE updated_at >= UTC_TIMESTAMP() - INTERVAL ? SECOND
         ORDER BY band, freq_hz";
-if ($stmt = $mysqli->prepare($sql)) {
+if ($stmt = @$mysqli->prepare($sql)) {
     $stmt->bind_param('i', $STALE_SECONDS);
-    $stmt->execute();
-    $res = $stmt->get_result();
-    while ($r = $res->fetch_assoc()) $rows[] = $r;
+    @$stmt->execute();
+    if ($res = $stmt->get_result()) {
+        while ($r = $res->fetch_assoc()) $rows[] = $r;
+    }
 }
 
 $station = $rows ? $rows[0]['station'] : 'OpsLog';
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index 3c094b3..0ee7119 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import {
   QSOAudioBegin, QSOAudioCancel, QSOAudioRestart,
   GetAwardDefs,
   GetUIPref,
+  ReportLiveActivity,
 } from '../wailsjs/go/main/App';
 import { Combobox } from '@/components/ui/combobox';
 import { applyAwardRefs } from '@/lib/awardRefs';
@@ -678,6 +679,12 @@ export default function App() {
     setMainPaneRight(valid(r) ? r : 'map2');
   }, []);
   useEffect(() => { loadMainPanes(); }, [loadMainPanes]);
+  // Report the current entry-strip band/mode/freq to the backend so the live
+  // operator status (multi-op) has band/mode/freq even when the CAT is off.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const hz = freqMhz ? Math.round(parseFloat(freqMhz) * 1_000_000) : 0;
+    ReportLiveActivity(hz || 0, band || '', mode || '').catch(() => {});
+  }, [band, mode, freqMhz]);
   // Cluster filter sidebar visibility — shared by the Cluster tab and the
   // Main-view cluster pane (portable UI pref). Hiding it keeps the filters
   // active, it just reclaims the width.
diff --git a/frontend/src/version.ts b/frontend/src/version.ts
index ba4bd7e..9f9bc6a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/version.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/version.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Single source of truth for the app version shown in the UI (header + About).
 // Bump this on a release (the release script updates it alongside telemetry.go).
-export const APP_VERSION = '0.11.1';
+export const APP_VERSION = '0.11.2';
 
 // Author / credits, shown in Help -> About.
 export const APP_AUTHOR = 'F4BPO';
diff --git a/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.d.ts b/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.d.ts
index a6c6dc7..932972e 100644
--- a/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.d.ts
+++ b/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.d.ts
@@ -367,6 +367,8 @@ export function RenderEQSL(arg1:number,arg2:number):Promise<string>;
 
 export function ReplaceAwardReferences(arg1:string,arg2:Array<awardref.Ref>):Promise<number>;
 
+export function ReportLiveActivity(arg1:number,arg2:string,arg3:string):Promise<void>;
+
 export function RescanAwards():Promise<void>;
 
 export function ResetAwardDefs():Promise<Array<award.Def>>;
diff --git a/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.js b/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.js
index 9909f65..31b6dc9 100644
--- a/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.js
+++ b/frontend/wailsjs/go/main/App.js
@@ -706,6 +706,10 @@ export function ReplaceAwardReferences(arg1, arg2) {
   return window['go']['main']['App']['ReplaceAwardReferences'](arg1, arg2);
 }
 
+export function ReportLiveActivity(arg1, arg2, arg3) {
+  return window['go']['main']['App']['ReportLiveActivity'](arg1, arg2, arg3);
+}
+
 export function RescanAwards() {
   return window['go']['main']['App']['RescanAwards']();
 }
diff --git a/livestatus.go b/livestatus.go
index 4987740..dc512be 100644
--- a/livestatus.go
+++ b/livestatus.go
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ func (a *App) SetLiveStatusEnabled(on bool) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	if on {
+		applog.Printf("livestatus: enabled (logbook backend=%q, mysql conn=%v)", a.dbBackend, a.logDb != nil)
 		go a.publishLiveStatus() // show up right away
 	} else {
 		a.clearLiveStatus()
@@ -52,16 +53,13 @@ func (a *App) SetLiveStatusEnabled(on bool) error {
 // liveStatusLoop heartbeats the current activity while enabled. Started once at
 // startup; cheap no-op when disabled or not on MySQL.
 func (a *App) liveStatusLoop() {
+	defer func() { _ = recover() }() // never crash the app from here
+	applog.Printf("livestatus: loop started")
+	a.publishLiveStatus() // attempt immediately, don't wait the first tick
 	t := time.NewTicker(15 * time.Second)
 	defer t.Stop()
-	for {
-		select {
-		case <-a.ctx.Done():
-			a.clearLiveStatus()
-			return
-		case <-t.C:
-			a.publishLiveStatus()
-		}
+	for range t.C {
+		a.publishLiveStatus()
 	}
 }
 
@@ -71,28 +69,47 @@ func (a *App) liveStatusActive() bool {
 }
 
 // liveStatusOperator returns this instance's operator id (the operator callsign,
-// falling back to the station callsign for a single-op setup).
+// falling back to the station callsign for a single-op setup). The callsign and
+// operator live on the ACTIVE PROFILE (station_profiles table), NOT in the
+// settings KV — read them there.
 func (a *App) liveStatusOperator() (op, station string) {
-	if a.settings == nil {
+	if a.profiles == nil {
 		return "", ""
 	}
-	o, _ := a.settings.Get(a.ctx, keyStationOperator)
-	s, _ := a.settings.Get(a.ctx, keyStationCallsign)
-	op = strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(o))
-	station = strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(s))
+	p, err := a.profiles.Active(a.ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", ""
+	}
+	station = strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(p.Callsign))
+	op = strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(p.Operator))
 	if op == "" {
 		op = station
 	}
 	return op, station
 }
 
-// publishLiveStatus upserts this operator's current activity. Best effort.
+// ReportLiveActivity is called by the UI with the current entry-strip freq/band/
+// mode, used as a fallback for live status when the CAT isn't connected.
+func (a *App) ReportLiveActivity(freqHz int64, band, mode string) {
+	a.liveActMu.Lock()
+	a.liveFreqHz = freqHz
+	a.liveBand = strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(band))
+	a.liveMode = strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(mode))
+	a.liveActMu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// publishLiveStatus upserts this operator's current activity. Best effort, with
+// explicit logging so a silent no-op is diagnosable.
 func (a *App) publishLiveStatus() {
-	if !a.liveStatusActive() {
-		return
+	if a.logDb == nil || a.dbBackend != "mysql" {
+		return // not a MySQL logbook — nothing to do (silent, runs every 15s)
+	}
+	if !a.GetLiveStatusEnabled() {
+		return // disabled (silent)
 	}
 	op, station := a.liveStatusOperator()
 	if op == "" {
+		applog.Printf("livestatus: nothing published — no operator/callsign set (Settings → Station)")
 		return
 	}
 	var freqHz int64
@@ -103,8 +120,21 @@ func (a *App) publishLiveStatus() {
 			freqHz, band, mode = st.FreqHz, st.Band, st.Mode
 		}
 	}
+	// Fall back to whatever the entry strip last reported (so band/mode/freq are
+	// published even when the CAT isn't connected).
+	a.liveActMu.Lock()
+	if freqHz == 0 {
+		freqHz = a.liveFreqHz
+	}
+	if band == "" {
+		band = a.liveBand
+	}
+	if mode == "" {
+		mode = a.liveMode
+	}
+	a.liveActMu.Unlock()
 	if err := a.ensureLiveStatusTable(); err != nil {
-		applog.Printf("livestatus: ensure table: %v", err)
+		applog.Printf("livestatus: CREATE TABLE failed: %v", err)
 		return
 	}
 	_, err := a.logDb.ExecContext(a.ctx,
@@ -114,8 +144,10 @@ func (a *App) publishLiveStatus() {
 			"band=VALUES(band), mode=VALUES(mode), updated_at=UTC_TIMESTAMP()",
 		op, station, freqHz, band, mode)
 	if err != nil {
-		applog.Printf("livestatus: publish: %v", err)
+		applog.Printf("livestatus: INSERT failed: %v", err)
+		return
 	}
+	applog.Printf("livestatus: published op=%s station=%s %dHz %s %s", op, station, freqHz, band, mode)
 }
 
 func (a *App) ensureLiveStatusTable() error {
diff --git a/telemetry.go b/telemetry.go
index b481ca2..fbfa0b9 100644
--- a/telemetry.go
+++ b/telemetry.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	// appVersion is stamped on every heartbeat (and could feed the About box).
-	appVersion = "0.11.1"
+	appVersion = "0.11.2"
 
 	// posthogHost is the PostHog ingestion endpoint. EU cloud by default; change
 	// to https://us.i.posthog.com for a US project.