Trigger a CW macro with F1–F12¶
Press a function key to send a pre-written CW macro string through the radio without typing. This is useful for contest exchanges, CQ calls, or any text you send repeatedly.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be connected to the radio.
- The active slice must be in CW or CWL mode. Function keys F1–F12 are silently ignored in all other modes.
- Each macro must have text stored in its slot. See Edit a CW macro string if the slots are empty.
Steps¶
- Open the CWX panel. It appears automatically when the active slice is in CW or CWL mode.
- Press the function key (F1 through F12) on your keyboard that corresponds to the macro you want to send. The macro fires immediately.
- To stop transmission mid-send, press Escape. This clears the send buffer and halts output. Any unsent portion of the text appears struck through in the send history bubble.
To send a macro using the on-screen buttons instead of the keyboard:
- Click Setup in the bottom bar of the CWX panel.
- Click the F1 through F12 button next to the macro you want to send.
What each control does¶
| Control | Behavior | Default | Valid range | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 … F12 (keyboard) | Sends the macro stored for that function key. Active when the active slice is in CW or CWL mode, regardless of CWX panel visibility. | — | — | CwxMacro_F1 … CwxMacro_F12 |
| F1 … F12 (on-screen buttons) | Same as the keyboard keys; sends the corresponding macro. | — | — | CwxMacro_F1 … CwxMacro_F12 |
| Send (view) | Shows the live send area with text entry field and send history. | — | — | — |
| Live (view) | Shows the live send view. | — | — | — |
| Setup (view) | Shows the macro editor and QSK setup. | — | — | — |
| Speed: | CW send speed in WPM, applied to all macro sends and typed buffers. | 20 WPM | 5–100 WPM | CwxSpeedWpm |
| Delay: | Inter-macro delay in milliseconds. | 5 ms | 0–2000 ms | CwxDelay |
| QSK | Enables full break-in (QSK) mode. | Off | On / Off | CwxQsk |
| Prosigns legend | Shows shortcuts for common CW prosigns (=, +, (, &, $). | — | — | — |
How Send, Live, and Setup interact¶
The Send button behavior changed in v0.9.2.1. Its action now depends on whether Live mode is currently active:
- Live is off — Clicking Send submits the contents of the send text area immediately, exactly as pressing Enter does.
- Live is on — Clicking Send first turns off Live mode and returns the panel to the normal send view. The buffer is not retransmitted. This prevents text that was already keyed character-by-character in Live mode from being sent a second time.
The Live button is now a toggle. Clicking it again while Live is active turns Live mode off. When a connected model changes the live state externally (for example, from another panel or a radio event), the Live button updates automatically to reflect the current state.
Clicking Setup always turns off Live mode before showing the macro editor view.
Send history bubbles¶
The send history area displays sent CW text in chat-like bubbles with the following behavior:
- Each bubble shows the sent text and a timestamp.
- When you press Escape to abort transmission, the unsent portion of the text appears struck through in the bubble. The portion that was already sent before the abort appears normally.
- The strikeout rendering uses the sent character count at the moment of abort. Single-line text handles correctly; multi-line wrapped strikeout is out of scope for the current implementation.
Right-click actions on send history bubbles¶
In the send history area, right-click any previously sent CW bubble to access a context menu with two options:
- Resend — Resends the same text immediately. The text is added as a new bubble in the send history with the current timestamp.
- Clear History — Removes all bubbles from the send history.
The menu has a dark theme matching the AetherSDR interface.
Tips¶
- The F1–F12 shortcuts are application-wide and enabled based on the active slice's mode, not panel visibility. This means they work even if the CWX panel is minimized or another panel is visible, as long as the slice is in CW or CWL mode. The shortcuts are mutually exclusive with the DVK panel's F1–F12 set (used in SSB/Digital modes) to avoid ambiguity.
- Pressing Escape during a macro send is the fastest way to abort. Because the radio transitions between transmit and ready states rapidly during CW, Escape works regardless of the radio's current transmit state.
- Adjust Speed: in the bottom bar before sending if you need to change the WPM for the current session.
- If you were sending live and want to re-send the same text, type it again in the send text area after clicking Send to exit Live mode, then click Send a second time (or press Enter).
- Use Resend from the history context menu to quickly repeat a previously sent macro or typed buffer without retyping.
Troubleshooting¶
- Pressing F1–F12 does nothing — Confirm the active slice is in CW or CWL mode. The shortcuts are disabled when a slice in SSB or Digital mode is active. If another application has captured the function keys, bring AetherSDR to the foreground.
- Macro sends but produces no audio or RF — The macro text for that slot may be empty. Click Setup and check the text field next to the F-key in question. See Edit a CW macro string.
- Transmission does not stop after pressing Escape — Click inside the AetherSDR window to ensure it has keyboard focus, then press Escape again.
- Clicked Send but the buffer was not transmitted — If Live mode was active when you clicked Send, the panel exits Live mode without sending. Click Send once more (or press Enter) to transmit the buffer.
- Aborted text shows strikeout incorrectly — The strikeout rendering is optimized for single-line text. Multi-line wrapped text may not display the strikeout boundary correctly. This is a known limitation.