Open the Full Compressor Editor for Knee and Limiter Controls¶
The applet tile exposes five knobs — Thresh, Ratio, Attack, Release, and Makeup — but the knee width and limiter controls are only available in the floating editor. This page explains how to open that editor for either the TX or RX compressor.
Before you start¶
- The Aetherial Audio (TXDSP) parent container must be visible in the applet panel.
- The COMP stage must exist in the CHAIN widget for the side you want to edit (TX or RX).
Steps¶
- Locate the CHAIN widget for the side you want to edit — TX or RX.
- Double-click the COMP stage in the CHAIN widget.
- For the TX side, this opens the floating editor titled Aetherial Compressor — TX.
- For the RX side, this opens the floating editor titled Aetherial Compressor — RX.
- Use the controls in the floating editor to adjust knee and limiter settings. The editor contains all controls from the applet tile plus the knee and limiter sections not available in the tile.
What each control does¶
The floating editor includes the five knobs shared with the applet tile plus two additional sections: knee and limiter. All values are persisted per side.
TX side¶
| Control | Default | Valid range | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thresh | -18.0 dB | -60.0 to 0.0 dB | ClientCompTxThresholdDb |
| Ratio | 3.0 | 1.0 to 20.0 | ClientCompTxRatio |
| Attack | 20.0 ms | 0.1 to 300.0 ms | ClientCompTxAttackMs |
| Release | 200 ms | 5 to 2000 ms | ClientCompTxReleaseMs |
| Makeup | 0.0 dB | -12.0 to 24.0 dB | ClientCompTxMakeupDb |
| Knee | — | — | ClientCompTxKneeDb |
| Limiter enabled | — | — | ClientCompTxLimEnabled |
| Limiter ceiling | — | — | ClientCompTxLimCeilingDb |
RX side¶
| Control | Default | Valid range | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thresh | -18.0 dB | -60.0 to 0.0 dB | ClientCompRxThresholdDb |
| Ratio | 3.0 | 1.0 to 20.0 | ClientCompRxRatio |
| Attack | 20.0 ms | 0.1 to 300.0 ms | ClientCompRxAttackMs |
| Release | 200 ms | 5 to 2000 ms | ClientCompRxReleaseMs |
| Makeup | 0.0 dB | -12.0 to 24.0 dB | ClientCompRxMakeupDb |
| Knee | — | — | ClientCompRxKneeDb |
| Limiter enabled | — | — | ClientCompRxLimEnabled |
| Limiter ceiling | — | — | ClientCompRxLimCeilingDb |
Defaults and valid ranges for Knee and Limiter ceiling are not specified in the available documentation; see the floating editor for current values.
Applet tile controls¶
When the compressor is shown in the applet panel (compact mode), the following controls and indicators are available without opening the floating editor:
| Element | Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer curve | — | indicator | Draws the input/output transfer curve plus a live ball showing the current envelope level. View-only in the applet; editable in the floating editor. |
| Gain-reduction bar | — | meter | Horizontal amber strip, right-filled. Scale maxes at 20 dB reduction; a tick at -6 dB marks a typical working amount. Refreshed ~30 Hz. |
| Knob | Thresh | knob | Linear mapping. Sets the level above which compression starts. Default -18.0 dB, range -60.0 to 0.0 dB. Setting key: ClientCompTxThresholdDb (TX) or ClientCompRxThresholdDb (RX). |
| Knob | Ratio | knob | Logarithmic mapping (1 * 20^n). Sets how hard peaks are held once threshold is crossed. Default 3.0, range 1.0 to 20.0. Label formatted as 'X.XX:1'. |
| Knob | Attack | knob | Exponential mapping (0.1 * 3000^n). Sets how quickly the compressor clamps down after the threshold is crossed. Default 20.0 ms, range 0.1 to 300.0 ms. Label formatted 'X.X ms' below 10, 'X ms' above. |
| Knob | Release | knob | Exponential mapping (5 * 400^n). Sets how quickly gain returns after the input drops back below threshold. Default 200 ms, range 5 to 2000 ms. Label formatted 'X ms'. |
| Knob | Makeup | knob | Linear mapping. Adds back gain lost to compression. Default 0.0 dB, range -12.0 to 24.0 dB. Label shows explicit '+' sign for positive values. |
Tips¶
- Changes made in the floating editor are reflected immediately in the applet tile's transfer curve and gain-reduction bar.
- The TX and RX editors are fully independent. Opening one does not affect the other.
- The floating editor is frameless. Drag its title bar to reposition it.
- When the compressor stage is bypassed, the entire applet tile dims to approximately 55% opacity. This matches the dim effect used on the EQ curve and gives a clear at-a-glance indication that the stage is not processing audio.
- To type a precise value into any knob in the applet tile, click on the value label directly. A small inline text editor appears. Type the new value and press Enter or click elsewhere to commit. Press Escape to cancel the edit and restore the previous value. This feature is available on all five knobs (Thresh, Ratio, Attack, Release, Makeup) in the applet tile. Values are clamped to the valid range automatically.
Troubleshooting¶
- Double-clicking COMP in the CHAIN widget does nothing — The COMP stage may be bypassed or the audio engine may not be connected. Check that the stage is active and that AetherSDR has an audio engine running.
- Knee and limiter controls are not visible — You may be looking at the applet tile rather than the floating editor. The tile does not expose knee or limiter controls. Double-click the COMP stage in the CHAIN widget to open the full editor.
- The applet tile appears dimmed — The compressor stage is currently bypassed. Enable the COMP stage in the CHAIN widget to restore full opacity and resume processing.
- Inline editing does not appear when clicking the knob value — Ensure you click directly on the value text (the numeric label below the knob), not on the knob graphic itself. The inline editor only activates when clicking the text area.