Quite interesting thread.
Stupid question:
Did you assign the scanner to a fire group?
Did you try experimenting with different distances to the wake? (based on different rated wake scanners have different max distances, though I do not know how this applies to SC)
1) Yes, I also deployed the hardpoints etc

2) I managed to as close as 15mn (or something like this) to it, and it was still out of range
- - - Updated - - -
Didn't know this was supposed to be a thing. If you can I would be interested to know how.
Quoted from here :
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=160862
Client change log:
- Prevent crash if we lose network connection while dying
- When a client requests contact with an as-yet-unseen different client, don't crash
- OSX: Fix crash in stellar forge
- OSX: Fix crash in supercruise
- OSX: Fix crash loading nebula textures
- Fix monotonic timer crash
- Fix crash in control bindings activity
- OSX: Fix input memory leaks
- Crash fix for a rarely reported issue ship being docked to a station that is not in a state to provide interfaces
- Fix prospector drone crash
- Promote people when they complete a rank up mission
- Fixes for malformed mission text strings, including minor faction symbols missing hashes
- Tweaks and cleaning up of salvage and smuggle delivery missions
- Fix having 0 shields after an ungraceful exit
- Fix to enable all wake scanners to work in super cruise
- Don't allow ships to score the last hit (or kill-assist) on themselves
- Fixed status labels/icons in expansion and control screens not matching what's going on in the graph
- Add skill for major factions in modify reputation detail
- Added language check when reading the cached powers list
- Fix faction consequence generators for donation missions
- OSX: Fix for pitch/yaw 'jolt' when using mouse input and launching, or returning to flight from another game state
- OSX: Fix for the mouse cursor remaining visible when it should not after OSX 'auto-shows' the dock
- OSX: Fixes for issues with the Apple Magic mouse and MacBook trackpad "scroll wheel"
- Reduced the stalk base alpha, and the radius from the cursor upto which they are drawn.
- reduced the dot, system label and region label sizes. The screen was feeling a bit too cluttered.
- Various text fixes