Set per-band TX max power and tune mode

Use this page to cap transmit power on a per-band basis and choose how the Tune function behaves. These settings are stored on the radio and apply regardless of which client connects.

Before you start

• AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. The TX tab is not accessible without an active connection.

Steps

1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the TX tab.
3. Click TX Band Settings to open the dedicated per-band power and tune dialog.
4. In the per-band table, locate the band you want to configure.
5. Adjust the power limit for that band as needed. The valid range for Max Power: is 0–100 %.
6. To change tune behavior, select the desired option from the Tune Mode: combo box.
7. Close the dialog when done. Settings are applied immediately to the radio.

What each control does

Control	Kind	Valid range / options
TX Band Settings	Button	—
Max Power:	Spin box	0–100 %
Tune Mode:	Combo box	See radio firmware options
Show TX in Waterfall:	Toggle button	Enabled / Disabled
TX Follows Active Slice	Button	TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation.
Active Slice Follows TX	Button	Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice.
Voice / CW / Digital filter sharpness sliders	Slider	0–3. Sets filter sharpness (0 = lowest latency, 3 = sharpest) per mode. Slider is disabled when Auto is enabled. Commands sent as radio filter_sharpness <mode> level=<N>.
Auto (Voice / CW / Digital)	Toggle button	Enables automatic filter-level selection for that mode; disables the manual sharpness slider. Commands sent as radio filter_sharpness <mode> auto_level=1.
Connect / Disconnect (TGXL)	Button	Opens/closes direct TCP connection to the TGXL on port 9010. Saves IP and port to TGXL_ManualIp and TGXL_ManualPort on connect so AetherSDR auto-reconnects on startup. Required to recover TUNE on firmware 4.2+. When connected, the TUNE button sends the native autotune command directly to the TGXL instead of the radio-side path broken in firmware 4.2. If the IP field is empty and the radio has discovered the TGXL, the discovered IP is pre-filled.
Connect / Disconnect (PGXL)	Button	Opens/closes direct TCP connection to the Power Genius XL (default port 9008). Saves IP and port to PGXL_ManualIp and PGXL_ManualPort.
Connect / Disconnect (Antenna Genius)	Button	Opens/closes connection to the Antenna Genius (default port 9007). Saves IP and port to AG_ManualIp and AG_ManualPort. The row shows a Connected status only when the connected device is an Antenna Genius (non-ShackSwitch). If a ShackSwitch is the connected device, this row is hidden from Connected status.
Connect / Disconnect (ShackSwitch)	Button	Opens/closes connection to a ShackSwitch antenna switch via the AG UDP/TCP protocol on port 9007. Saves IP to SS_ManualIp and port to SS_ControlPort. ShackSwitch is detected by the ShackSwitch field in the AG broadcast beacon. Auto-discovery via UDP also works without manually entering an IP. Row shows Connected status only when the connected device is a ShackSwitch.
⚙ Web UI (ShackSwitch)	Button	Opens the ShackSwitch device's local web configuration interface in the system browser. Uses the beacon's webPort if greater than 1024, otherwise falls back to SS_WebPort or port 5000.
Select Installer...	Button	Opens a file picker that accepts .msi (FlexRadio v4.2+ WiX installer), .exe (older self-extracting installer), or a pre-extracted .ssdr firmware file. The firmware stager auto-detects format from the first 8 bytes (OLE/MSI magic vs PE/COFF MZ) and extracts the .ssdr without external tools. Label changed from Browse .ssdr... in v0.9.3.
APD (tab)	Tab	External Adaptive Pre-Distortion sampler configuration — per-TX-antenna selection of the feedback sample port (INTERNAL / RX_A / RX_B / XVTA / XVTB) and an equalizer reset button. Tab is hidden unless the radio reports apd configurable=1. Only FLEX-8x00 series with SmartSDR 4.2.18+ firmware exposes this; 6000-series and pre-4.2.18 radios keep the tab invisible.
ANT1 / ANT2 / XVTA / XVTB sampler combos (APD)	Combo box	Selects the feedback path the radio uses to sample the outgoing RF for APD training for that TX antenna. Choose an external RX/XVTR input when driving an external linear amplifier. Options are populated live from the radio's apd sampler sub-object. Falls back to INTERNAL if the radio reports an unrecognised value. Default: INTERNAL.
Equalizer Reset (APD)	Button	Sends apd reset to the radio, clearing all per-antenna APD training data so adaptation starts fresh.
Themes (tab)	Tab	UI customization tab — currently hosts the Slice Colors section.
Use Aether defaults / Custom colors	Radio button	Switches the slice color scheme between the built-in AetherSDR palette and a fully custom per-slice set. Backed by SliceColorManager::useCustomColors().
Slice A–H color buttons	Button	Click any lettered button (A–H) to open a color picker and assign a custom color for that slice. Changes are visible immediately in VFO widgets, panadapter overlays, and CAT channel badges. Buttons are disabled when Use Aether defaults is selected. Up to 8 slices.
Reset All to Defaults (Themes)	Button	Resets all custom slice colors to the built-in AetherSDR palette.

Connecting peripheral devices (Peripherals tab)

The Peripherals tab provides manual IP connection for external devices including the TGXL, PGXL, Antenna Genius, and ShackSwitch. Each device has its own row with Connect / Disconnect buttons and a status indicator.

ShackSwitch

The ShackSwitch row behaves as follows:

• Enter the ShackSwitch IP address and click Connect. AetherSDR saves the address to SS_ManualIp and port to SS_ControlPort and connects using the AG UDP/TCP protocol on port 9007.
• If the radio has already discovered the ShackSwitch via UDP beacon, the IP field may be pre-filled.
• The row shows a Connected status only when the connected device is identified as a ShackSwitch. If a standard Antenna Genius is connected instead, the ShackSwitch row does not show Connected, and the Antenna Genius row does.
• Click ⚙ Web UI to open the ShackSwitch's local web interface in your system browser. AetherSDR determines the port as follows:
• Uses the webPort advertised in the beacon if it is greater than 1024.
• Falls back to the value stored in SS_WebPort.
• Falls back to port 5000.

Firmware update (Radio tab)

The Radio tab contains controls for checking for firmware updates and uploading firmware to the radio.

How to update firmware

1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Radio tab.
3. Click Check for Update.
4. If an update is available, the status label shows the available version and instructs you to download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com.
5. If the firmware is already current, the status label shows "Firmware is up to date."
6. Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com if one is available.
7. Click Select Installer....
8. The file picker accepts .msi (FlexRadio v4.2+ WiX installer), .exe (older self-extracting installer), or a pre-extracted .ssdr file.
9. The firmware stager detects the file format automatically and extracts the .ssdr without requiring external tools.
10. While the stager prepares the firmware, the progress bar is shown and the status label reads "Preparing firmware from \<filename>...".
11. Once staging completes, click Upload Firmware to transfer the firmware to the radio. Progress and result are shown in the status label.

Firmware update controls

Control	Kind	Notes
Check for Update	Button	Queries for available firmware updates. Enables or updates the status label with the result.
Select Installer...	Button	Opens a file picker. Accepts .msi, .exe, or .ssdr. Stager auto-detects format. Previously labelled Browse .ssdr... (changed in v0.9.3).
Upload Firmware	Button	Starts the firmware upload. Progress bar and status label update throughout.

Frequency calibration (RX tab)

The RX tab contains controls for manual frequency offset calibration and 10 MHz reference source selection. In v0.9.2.1 the calibration controls are always shown regardless of whether a GPSDO is installed. When a GPSDO is present, the status label reads "GPSDO installed. Manual frequency offset calibration available." (green). When no GPSDO is present, the label reads "Manual frequency offset calibration available." (amber).

How to run a frequency calibration

1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the RX tab.
3. Enter a known-accurate reference frequency in Cal Frequency (MHz):.
4. Click Start.
5. The button label changes to Busy and becomes disabled while calibration runs.
6. The status field to the right of the button shows progress text ("Starting…" then live state).
7. Before starting, AetherSDR resets the frequency error to zero (radio set freq_error_ppb=0) and then issues radio pll_start.
8. If you leave Cal Frequency (MHz): empty and click Start, the status field shows "Enter cal frequency" and the calibration does not proceed.
9. When calibration completes, the button re-enables and the status field shows the result.
10. If you need to set an offset manually, enter a value in Freq Offset (ppb):.

Calibration controls

Control	Kind	Notes
Cal Frequency (MHz):	Spin box	Frequency used for calibration. Must not be empty before clicking Start.
Start	Button	Begins calibration. Resets freq_error_ppb to 0, then issues radio pll_start. Disabled while busy.
Freq Offset (ppb):	Spin box	Manual frequency offset in parts per billion.
10 MHz Reference Source:	Combo box	Selects the oscillator reference. Available options depend on installed hardware. The combo is populated dynamically: Auto is always present; TCXO and External 10 MHz appear when the radio reports those sources are present or were previously active; GPSDO appears when a GPSDO is detected. The label "External" from earlier firmware versions is normalised to "External 10 MHz". The lock status indicator next to the combo updates live. When the selected source is Auto, the status text shows the resolved source (e.g. "Auto -> GPSDO"). When the configured source differs from the active source