Spot which antennas cannot TX on the current band (amber or dim)¶
The antenna buttons in the Antenna Genius applet are colour-coded to show TX and RX permission on the current band. This lets you see at a glance which antennas are available for transmit before you click one.
Before you start¶
- The Antenna Genius applet must be open. Click the "AG" tray button on the right sidebar to show it.
- The applet must be connected to a device. The status label must read "Connected — \<name> v\<version>".
- The radio must be on the band you want to check. Button colours update automatically when the band changes.
Steps¶
- Look at the antenna buttons in the Port A or Port B section.
- Read the button colour:
- Blue (checked) — the selected antenna has TX and RX permission on the current band.
- Amber (checked) — the selected antenna has RX-only permission on the current band; transmit is not available on this antenna.
- Dim (unchecked, visually muted) — the antenna has no permission on the current band for either TX or RX.
- If you need a TX-capable antenna, click a button that is not dim. After selection, confirm it lights blue rather than amber.
What each control does¶
| Control | Colour / State | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Port A antenna buttons | Blue | Antenna selected; TX and RX permitted on the current band. |
| Port A antenna buttons | Amber | Antenna selected; RX only on the current band — no TX. |
| Port A antenna buttons | Dim | No permission on the current band. |
| Port B antenna buttons | Blue | Antenna selected; TX and RX permitted on the current band. |
| Port B antenna buttons | Amber | Antenna selected; RX only on the current band — no TX. |
| Port B antenna buttons | Dim | No permission on the current band. |
Buttons are also disabled and dim when the same antenna is already selected on the other port. See Swap radios that share the AG (antennas in use by the other port are locked out) for details on that case.
Tips¶
- Button colours refresh automatically when the radio changes band, so you do not need to reopen the applet after a band change.
- If you use AUTO mode, the applet selects antennas based on band-follow rules. The same colour coding applies to the automatically selected antenna. See Enable AUTO mode so the AG follows radio band changes.
Troubleshooting¶
- All buttons are dim after connecting — The applet may not yet have received band information from the radio. Confirm the radio is tuned to a valid band and that the status label shows "Connected". If the applet was opened before the radio was on a band, change bands once to trigger a refresh.
- Colours do not update when changing bands — The band-follow update requires an active connection to the Antenna Genius device. Verify the status label still reads "Connected — \<name> v\<version>" and that no error is displayed.
- A ShackSwitch device is not auto-connecting here — ShackSwitch devices discovered over UDP are handled by the ShackSwitch applet, not the Antenna Genius applet. If you see a ShackSwitch appear in the Device combo but it does not auto-connect, open the ShackSwitch applet to manage it.