Turn on audio boost or enlarge the audio buffer for remote operation

Use these settings to compensate for low receive volume or audio breakup when operating AetherSDR over a VPN or SmartLink connection. Audio Boost adds extra gain on the client audio path; a larger Audio Buffer absorbs network jitter at the cost of increased latency.

Before you start

• AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. These controls are unavailable when no radio is connected.
• Open Settings > Radio Setup... and select the Audio tab before following the steps below.

Steps

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Audio tab.
3. To increase receive volume, click Audio Boost: to toggle it on. The button shows its active state when enabled.
4. To reduce audio breakup or dropouts, click the Audio Buffer: spinbox and enter a value between 50 and 1000 ms. Higher values add more buffering at the cost of latency.
5. Close the dialog. Settings take effect immediately.

What each control does

Control	What it does	Valid range
Audio Boost:	Enables extra gain on the client audio path.	On / Off
Audio Buffer:	Sets the client-side audio buffer to absorb network jitter. Increase this when using VPN or SmartLink connections with unstable latency.	50–1000 ms
Audio Compression (SmartLink): Auto / Uncompressed / Opus	Selects the audio codec used over SmartLink or LAN.	Auto / Uncompressed / Opus
TX Follows Active Slice	TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation.	On / Off
Active Slice Follows TX	Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice.	On / Off
Voice / CW / Digital filter sharpness sliders	Sets filter sharpness (0=lowest latency to 3=sharpest) per mode; slider is disabled when Auto is enabled.	0–3
Auto (Voice / CW / Digital)	Enables automatic filter-level selection for that mode; disables the manual sharpness slider.	On / Off
Connect / Disconnect (TGXL)	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. The TGXL drives radio PTT via its hardware interlock cable; no client-side keying is needed. If the IP field is empty and the radio has discovered the TGXL, the discovered IP is pre-filled.	—
Connect / Disconnect (PGXL)	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)	Opens/closes connection to the Antenna Genius (default port 9007). Saves IP and port to AG_ManualIp and AG_ManualPort. The row is hidden from the Connected state if a ShackSwitch (rather than an Antenna Genius) is the currently connected device.	—
Connect / Disconnect (ShackSwitch)	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 this row. Row hidden from Connected status if Antenna Genius (non-ShackSwitch) is the connected device.	—
⚙ Web UI (ShackSwitch)	Opens the ShackSwitch device's local web configuration interface in the system browser. Uses the beacon's webPort if > 1024, otherwise falls back to SS_WebPort or port 5000.	—
Select Installer...	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. This button was labelled Browse .ssdr... before v0.9.3.	—
APD (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)	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.	INTERNAL / RX_A / RX_B / XVTA / XVTB
Equalizer Reset (APD)	Sends apd reset to the radio, clearing all per-antenna APD training data so adaptation starts fresh.	—
Themes (tab)	UI customization tab — currently hosts the Slice Colors section.	—
Use Aether defaults / Custom colors	Switches the slice color scheme between the built-in AetherSDR palette and a fully custom per-slice set.	Use Aether defaults / Custom colors
Slice A–H color buttons	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 supported.	—
Reset All to Defaults (Themes)	Resets all custom slice colors to the built-in AetherSDR palette.	—

Peripherals tab — ShackSwitch web interface (v0.9.4 change)

In v0.9.4 the Peripherals tab gains a ⚙ Web UI button on the ShackSwitch row. Clicking it opens the ShackSwitch device's built-in web configuration interface in your system browser.

The button determines the URL as follows:

1. If the ShackSwitch is currently connected and its discovery beacon advertises a webPort greater than 1024, that port is used.
2. Otherwise the value stored in SS_WebPort is used.
3. If neither is available, port 5000 is used as a fallback.

The IP address is taken from SS_ManualIp if set. If that field is empty and the currently connected device is a ShackSwitch, the live peer address is used instead. The button does nothing if no IP address can be resolved.

The Antenna Genius row also gains a small behavioral change in v0.9.4: when a ShackSwitch is the connected device, the Antenna Genius row no longer shows a Connected status, keeping the two rows visually distinct.

How to open the ShackSwitch web interface

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Peripherals tab.
3. Confirm the ShackSwitch row shows Connected. If not, enter the device IP and click Connect.
4. Click ⚙ Web UI. Your default browser opens the ShackSwitch configuration page.

Note: If your ShackSwitch uses a non-standard web port, set it manually in SS_WebPort before clicking ⚙ Web UI.

Firmware update — selecting an installer (v0.9.3 change)

In v0.9.3 the firmware staging workflow changed. The button previously labelled Browse .ssdr... is now labelled Select Installer.... The file picker now accepts the full SmartSDR installer package in addition to a pre-extracted .ssdr file.

When Check for Update detects a newer firmware version, AetherSDR no longer downloads it automatically. Instead, the status label instructs you to download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com yourself, then use Select Installer... to stage it.

How to stage and upload firmware

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Radio tab.
3. Click Check for Update. If an update is available, the status label displays the version number and instructs you to download the installer from flexradio.com.
4. Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com to your computer (.msi for v4.2+, .exe for older releases).
5. Click Select Installer.... In the file picker, select the downloaded .msi, .exe, or .ssdr file and click Open. The status label shows Preparing firmware from \<filename>... and a progress bar appears while the stager extracts the firmware.
6. When staging completes, click Upload Firmware to transfer the firmware to the radio. A progress bar and status label track the upload.

Note: If you already have a pre-extracted .ssdr file, you can select it directly in step 5. The stager detects the format automatically.

RX tab — frequency calibration

In v0.9.2.1 the RX tab calibration section was revised. The Cal Frequency (MHz): field and Start button are now always visible regardless of whether a GPSDO is installed. When a GPSDO is present, the status label confirms it in green; when no GPSDO is installed, the label appears in amber. Both cases allow manual frequency offset calibration.

Calibration controls

Control	What it does
Cal Frequency (MHz):	Enter the known-accurate reference frequency in MHz to use for calibration. The field must not be empty before clicking Start.
Start	Begins the frequency calibration sequence. AetherSDR resets the frequency error to 0 ppb, then sends radio pll_start to the radio. The button is disabled and labelled Busy while calibration is running. A status label beside the button reports progress (Starting…, and subsequent states).
Freq Offset (ppb):	Displays or manually sets the current frequency offset in parts per billion.
10 MHz Reference Source:	Selects the oscillator reference. Available options depend on installed hardware. The status label beside the control updates live and shows the active source, lock state, and any resolution in progress (see below).

10 MHz Reference Source — status label behavior (v0.9.7 change)

In v0.9.7 the lock status label beside 10 MHz Reference Source: was revised to show richer state information.

The label text is determined as follows:

• If the radio has not yet reported oscillator state, the label shows Waiting for oscillator status.
• If Auto is selected and the radio has resolved to a specific source, the label shows Auto -> \<resolved source> followed by Locked or Unlocked.
• If a specific source is selected but the radio is actively using a different source, the label shows \ -> \<active source> followed by Locked or Unlocked.
• Otherwise the label shows the active source name followed by Locked or **Unlocked