Radio Setup
The Radio Setup dialog is the master per-radio configuration window. It contains tabs for radio information, network, GPS, TX, Phone/CW, RX, Antennas, Audio, Filters, XVTR, USB cables, peripherals, APD, Themes, SmartLink, and Serial (FlexControl).
Opening Radio Setup
Click Settings in the main menu.
Select Radio Setup... .
The dialog remembers its position and size between sessions.
Radio (tab)
The Radio tab shows radio identification, license information, and firmware update controls. Each read-only value has a copy button that appears with a document icon on hover or focus; click it to copy the value to the clipboard. A brief "Copied!" popup confirms the action.
The following fields are read-only indicators of the connected radio:
Control
Description
Radio SN
Chassis serial number (read-only). Includes a clipboard copy button (tray icon) next to the value.
Region
Radio regulatory region (e.g., USA).
HW Version
Hardware version string. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.
Options
Licensed radio options. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.
FlexControl
Detected state of FlexControl hardware.
multiFLEX
multiFLEX enabled state.
Model
Radio model. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.
License Info
Subscription details, expiration date, Radio ID, and licensed version. Each field includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.
Radio identification fields
Control
Description
Nickname
User-friendly radio nickname.
Callsign
Station callsign.
Station Name
Identifies this AetherSDR client to other multiFLEX stations. Defaults to the OS hostname if empty. Setting key: StationName.
Remote control and reboot
Control
Description
Remote On
Enables remote wake / remote-on.
Reboot Radio
Reboots the connected radio. Click to see a confirmation dialog. On LAN connections, AetherSDR automatically reconnects after the radio finishes booting. On SmartLink/WAN connections, you must reconnect manually. The button is disabled when the radio is disconnected.
Firmware update
Control
Description
Check for Update
Queries for firmware updates.
Select Installer...
Opens a file dialog for a SmartSDR installer (.msi, .exe) or pre-extracted .ssdr firmware file. Passes the selected path to FirmwareStager which extracts .ssdr payload and emits progress.
Upload Firmware
Starts firmware upload with progress bar and status.
Click Check for Update to query for firmware updates. If an update is available, the status label displays the version number and instructs you to download the installer.
Download the installer from flexradio.com (.msi for SmartSDR 4.2+, .exe for older releases).
Click Select Installer... and choose the downloaded file. AetherSDR accepts .msi, .exe, or a pre-extracted .ssdr file and stages the firmware automatically.
Click Upload Firmware to transfer the staged firmware to the radio. A progress bar and status text show the upload progress.
Network (tab)
The Network tab displays radio network information and provides advanced network options.
Control
Description
IP Address / Mask / MAC Address
Read-only network addresses. Each includes a clipboard copy button.
Network settings
Control
Description
Enforce Private IP Connections
Toggle to reject non-RFC1918 peers.
Network MTU
Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Valid range: 576-9000 bytes. Default: 1450. Setting key: NetworkMtu. Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels.
IP configuration
Switch between DHCP and Static using the toggle button.
In Static mode, enter the IP Address , Mask , and Gateway .
Click Apply to push the network configuration to the radio.
GPS (tab)
The GPS tab shows GPS presence and live information including latitude, longitude, altitude, time, and satellite count.
TX (tab)
The TX tab provides transmit configuration including timings, interlocks, power limits, tune mode, and waterfall display options.
TX Band Settings
Click TX Band Settings to open the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog.
Timings
Control
Description
Timings (in ms)
TX hang / delay timings.
Interlocks
Control
Description
Interlocks - TX REQ: RCA / Accessory
Enables RCA and accessory interlock inputs.
Power and tune
Control
Description
Max Power
Sets radio-level TX power cap. Valid range: 0-100%.
Tune Mode
Selects how the tune button behaves.
Waterfall and slice tracking
Control
Description
Show TX in Waterfall
Draws TX signal in the waterfall.
TX Follows Active Slice
TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX . Disabled automatically during Split operation. Setting key: TxFollowsActiveSlice. Default: False.
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 . Setting key: ActiveFollowsTxSlice. Default: False.
Phone/CW (tab)
The Phone/CW tab configures microphone, CW keyer, and RTTY defaults.
Microphone
Control
Description
Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive
Shows mic level meter even in RX.
CW keyer
Control
Description
Iambic
Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio.
Iambic Mode: A / B
Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive pair. Default: A.
Swap
Swaps dit/dah.
Sideband
Selects CW pitch sideband. Valid range: LSB, USB.
CWX
Enables CWX macro keying.
Decode
Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter. Setting key: CwDecodeOverlay. Default: True.
RTTY
Control
Description
RTTY Mark Default
Default RTTY mark frequency.
RX (tab)
The RX tab provides GPSDO frequency offset calibration and 10 MHz reference source selection.
Frequency calibration
In Cal Frequency (MHz): , enter the frequency of a known-accurate reference signal.
Click Start to begin the calibration sweep. The button label changes to Busy while the sweep runs.
When the sweep completes, review the measured offset in Freq Offset (ppb): .
If you prefer to set the offset manually, edit Freq Offset (ppb): directly.
Calibration status messages
Message
Colour
Meaning
Starting...
Blue-grey
The calibration command sequence has been sent to the radio.
Enter cal frequency
Amber
Cal Frequency (MHz): was empty when Start was clicked.
Busy
—
Shown on the Start button itself while a sweep is in progress.
10 MHz reference source
Control
Description
10 MHz Reference Source
Selects oscillator reference source. Valid values: Auto, TCXO, GPSDO, External 10 MHz. Options shown depend on hardware installed.
The lock status label beside the combo box displays the current oscillator state:
Display
Meaning
Auto -> GPSDO (locked)
Auto selected, radio chose GPSDO, locked
GPSDO (locked)
Source matched and locked
External 10 MHz (not detected)
External selected but no signal detected
Colour coding:
- Green (#00c040): Oscillator is locked.
- Red (#c04040): Oscillator is unlocked.
- Blue-grey (#8aa8c0): Oscillator state not yet received.
GPSDO status banner
Green banner : GPSDO is installed. Manual frequency offset calibration is available.
Amber banner : No GPSDO installed. Manual frequency offset calibration is available.
Antennas (tab)
The Antennas tab allows you to assign custom names to each antenna port on the radio.
Steps
Select an antenna port from the list.
Enter a custom name in the text field.
The name is sent to the radio and appears in antenna selection controls throughout AetherSDR.
Audio (tab)
The Audio tab configures radio audio outputs, compression, PC devices, boost, buffer, recording, and NVIDIA BNR container.
Radio audio outputs
Control
Description
Line Out
Line-out gain slider.
Mute (Line Out)
Mutes line-out.
Headphone
Headphone gain slider.
Mute (Headphone)
Mutes headphone.
Front Speaker / Mute
Mutes front speaker (model-specific).
Audio compression
Control
Description
Audio Compression (SmartLink)
Selects audio codec for SmartLink/LAN. Options: Auto, Uncompressed, Opus. Setting key: AudioCompression. Default: Auto.
Power management
Control
Description
Prevent system sleep while connected
Keeps OS awake while radio is connected. Setting key: InhibitSleepWhileConnected. Default: False.
PC audio devices
Control
Description
PC Audio Devices: Input / Output
Picks host audio input and output devices.
Audio boost and buffer
Control
Description
Audio Boost
Enables extra gain on the client audio path. Setting key: AudioBoost.
Audio Buffer
Increases audio buffer in milliseconds for VPN/SmartLink jitter. Valid range: 50-1000 ms. Default: 200. Setting key: AudioBufferMs.
Recording
Control
Description
Recording
Picks radio-side or client-side recording. Setting key: RecordingMode. Default: Radio Side.
Save to
Folder for saved recordings (client-side only). Setting key: QsoRecordingDir. Defaults to Documents/AetherSDR/Recordings.
...
Browses for recording folder.
Auto-record on TX
Automatically records while transmitting. Setting key: QsoRecordingAutoRecord. Default: False.
Idle timeout
Seconds of silence before recording stops. Valid range: 10-3600 sec. Default: 120. Setting key: QsoRecordingIdleTimeout.
NVIDIA BNR
Control
Description
Autostart Container
Enables automatic start of the NVIDIA Broadcast noise-removal container.
Start
Starts the NVIDIA BNR container.
Stop
Stops the NVIDIA BNR container.
Check Status
Checks the running state of the container.
A coloured status dot indicates the container state: green for Running, red for Stopped, grey for Unknown.
Filters (tab)
The Filters tab provides low-latency and sharp filter options per bandwidth mode.
Filter sharpness
Control
Description
Voice / CW / Digital filter sharpness sliders
Sets filter sharpness per mode (0=lowest latency to 3=sharpest). Disabled when Auto is enabled.
Auto (Voice / CW / Digital)
Enables automatic filter-level selection for that mode. Disables the manual sharpness slider.
Digital mode filters
Control
Description
Use Low Latency Filters for Digital Modes
Forces low-latency filters in DIGU/DIGL.
XVTR (tab)
The XVTR tab provides per-transverter configuration. It contains nested tabs, one per configured transverter, plus a '+' tab for creating new ones.
Transverter management
Control
Description
RX Only
Forces RX-only on that transverter.
Remove
Deletes the transverter definition.
Create New Transverter
Adds a new transverter entry.
USB Cables (tab)
The USB Cables tab assigns USB serial adapters to CAT, BCD, bit, and PTT cable types.
Cable configuration
Control
Description
Cables list / Status
Detected USB cables per type with Plugged/Unplugged status.
Name
Cable name.
Enabled
Enables the cable.
Speed
Baud rate.
Data Bits
Data bits configuration.
Parity
Parity setting.
Stop Bits
Stop bits setting.
Flow
Flow control.
Source
Cable source.
Auto Report