Make your first QSO with AetherSDR¶

This page walks you through connecting to your FLEX-8600, tuning to a frequency, checking the antenna and power settings, and making a contact. Follow these steps in order the first time you use AetherSDR.

Before you start¶

Your FLEX-8600 is powered on and connected to the same LAN as your computer, or you have SmartLink credentials and a remote radio available.
AetherSDR is installed and launched.
You know which band and mode you want to operate (for example, 14.225 MHz USB).
Your microphone or keyer is connected and configured in the radio.

Steps¶

1. Connect to the radio¶

When no radio is connected, AetherSDR shows the Connect to a Radio panel in the main window. If you have already closed it, open it via Settings > Connect to Radio....
The default mode is Local. If your radio is on the same LAN, leave this selected.
Wait a few seconds for the Available radios list to populate via automatic discovery. Your FLEX-8600 should appear by name.
Click your radio in the Available radios list to highlight it.
Click Connect Selected Radio.
The status label changes from "searching" through "connecting" to "connected". The main panadapter view opens when the connection succeeds.

If the list stays empty, click Retry Discovery. If the radio is on a different subnet, click Connect by IP and enter the radio's IP address in the Radio IP address field, then click Connect by IP (manual). The Radio IP address field is a drop-down that also shows up to three previously used addresses; select a recent entry or type a new one. For a remote radio over the internet, click Remote with SmartLink instead and sign in.

By default, Connect to last radio on start up is checked, so AetherSDR will automatically reconnect to the most recently used radio each time it starts. If you prefer to choose a radio manually at each startup, uncheck this option in the Connect to a Radio panel. The setting is saved immediately when you change it (AutoConnectToLastRadio).

2. Select the correct antenna¶

In the right sidebar, click the RX tray button to open the RX Controls applet (it is visible by default).
Find the blue-labelled antenna combo box (RX antenna, default ANT1). Click it and select the antenna port your receive antenna is connected to.
Find the red-labelled antenna combo box (TX antenna, default ANT1). Click it and select the antenna port your transmit antenna is connected to. RX-only ports are not listed here.

3. Set the operating mode and frequency¶

In the RX Controls applet, click the Mode combo and select your mode — for example, USB for upper sideband phone.
Click the Frequency label to switch it to edit mode (the Frequency edit field appears).
Type your target frequency in MHz (for example, 14.225) and press Enter. The panadapter recenters on the new frequency. Press Escape to cancel without changing frequency.
Choose a filter width by clicking one of the Filter width presets buttons. For USB, the available presets are 1800, 2100, 2400, 2700, 2900, and 3300 Hz. 2700 Hz is a common starting point for SSB.

4. Set transmit power¶

Click the TX tray button in the right sidebar to open the TX Controls applet.
Drag the RF Power slider to your desired power level (default 100, range 0–100). Watch the RF Pwr meter during a transmission to confirm actual output.
Check the SWR meter. A reading above 2.5 is shown in red; investigate your antenna system before transmitting if so.
If you want to run the internal ATU first, click ATU and wait for the cycle to complete. The Success indicator lights green when a match is found.

5. Check audio and gain¶

Back in the RX Controls applet, confirm the AF gain slider is at a comfortable listening level (default 70, range 0–100).
Confirm the AGC mode combo is set to Med (the default) for SSB. Adjust to Slow or Fast if needed.
If you hear no audio, check that the mute toggle (🔊/🔇) shows the unmuted state.

6. Make the contact¶

Listen on frequency. When ready to call, key your microphone or keyer.
To transmit using software keying, click MOX in the TX Controls applet. The button turns red while transmitting. Click MOX again to return to receive.
Watch the RF Pwr meter to confirm output, and the SWR meter to confirm the antenna is matched.
When the QSO is complete, click MOX to ensure you are back in receive, or simply release your hardware PTT.

Tips¶

If the other station is slightly off frequency and you do not want to move your VFO, enable RIT in the RX Controls applet and use the RIT offset spinbox (10 Hz steps) to shift your receive frequency without changing transmit. Click RIT 0 to zero it afterwards.
To prevent accidentally retuning mid-QSO, click the 🔓 toggle in the RX Controls applet to lock the slice. The icon changes to 🔒.
The L / R pan slider (default 50, range 0–100) lets you position this slice's audio in the stereo field. Double-click it to reset to centre.
If you operate split, use XIT in the RX Controls applet to offset your transmit frequency independently of the receive VFO.

Troubleshooting¶

The Available radios list is empty — Click Retry Discovery. Check that the radio is powered on and on the same network segment. Click Open Network Diagnostics to inspect the path. If the radio is on a different subnet, use Connect by IP (manual) instead.
No audio from the speaker — Check that the mute toggle in the RX Controls applet shows the unmuted (🔊) state. Check that AF gain is above 0. Verify audio device configuration in your operating system.
MOX keys but the RF Pwr meter reads zero — Confirm the correct TX antenna is selected in the red-labelled TX antenna combo box. Confirm RF Power is above 0 in the TX Controls applet.
SWR meter reads red (above 2.5) — Do not continue transmitting at full power. Check antenna connections. Run the internal ATU to find a match, or reduce power until the issue is resolved.
Frequency edit does not accept the value — Ensure you are entering a value in MHz within the valid range (0.001–54.000 MHz). Press Escape to cancel and restore the previous frequency.
Radio IP address drop-down shows a stale address — The Source warning label appears below the Advanced: Source path combo when the previously saved NIC is no longer reachable. Select a valid source interface before clicking Connect by IP (manual).