Radio Setup¶
The Radio Setup dialog is the master per-radio configuration window. It provides access to radio information, network settings, GPS, TX configuration, Phone/CW settings, RX calibration, audio configuration, antenna names, filter options, transverter definitions, USB cable assignments, peripheral connections, APD sampling, theme appearance, KiwiSDR integration, callsign lookup, and FlexControl serial port setup.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. Many fields are populated from live radio data.
- The dialog remembers its size and position between sessions. If the dialog appears off-screen, delete the
RadioSetupDialogGeometryentry from your settings file.
Opening Radio Setup¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - The dialog opens at its last-used position and size.
Radio tab¶
The Radio tab shows identifying information reported directly by the radio β serial number, hardware version, regulatory region, and licensed options. Use this page to verify what hardware and options your radio has before troubleshooting or contacting support.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - The dialog opens on the Radio tab by default.
- Read the values in the Radio Information group:
- Radio SN β the chassis serial number.
- HW Version β the hardware version string reported by the radio.
- Region β the radio's regulatory region (defaults to
USAif the radio does not report one). - Options β the licensed options active on this radio (for example,
GPS,PGXL).
What each control does¶
| Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Radio SN | Indicator (read-only) | Chassis serial number. Includes a clipboard copy button (tray icon) next to the value. |
| HW Version | Indicator (read-only) | Hardware version string. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value. |
| Region | Indicator (read-only) | Regulatory region. Displays USA if the radio reports none. |
| Options | Indicator (read-only) | Licensed radio options. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value. |
| Remote On | Push button | Enables remote wake / remote-on. |
| FlexControl | Indicator | Detected state of FlexControl hardware. |
| multiFLEX | Indicator | multiFLEX enabled state. |
| Model | Indicator (read-only) | Radio model. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value. |
| Nickname | Text field | User-friendly radio nickname. |
| Callsign | Text field | Station callsign. |
| Station Name | Text field | Identifies this AetherSDR client to other multiFLEX stations. Defaults to the OS hostname if empty. Stored in AppSettings as StationName. |
| License Info | Indicator | Displays license details from the radio (Subscription, Expiration, Radio ID, Licensed version). Each field includes a clipboard copy button. |
| Check for Update | Push button | Queries for firmware updates. |
| Select Installer... | Push button | 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 | Push button | Starts firmware upload with progress bar and status. |
| Reboot Radio | Push button | Reboots the connected radio. Disabled when radio is disconnected. Shows a confirmation dialog before rebooting. LAN sessions auto-reconnect; WAN/SmartLink sessions require manual reconnect. |
All Radio Information fields are read-only. No persisted settings keys are associated with them.
Rebooting the radio¶
The Reboot Radio button is located in the Radio Information group. It is enabled only while AetherSDR is connected to the radio.
- Click Reboot Radio.
- A confirmation dialog appears:
- On LAN connections: "AetherSDR will disconnect and automatically reconnect once the radio finishes booting."
- On WAN/SmartLink connections: "AetherSDR will disconnect. SmartLink/WAN sessions do not auto-reconnect today β you will need to reconnect manually once the radio finishes booting."
- Click OK to confirm. The dialog closes automatically after confirming.
- The radio reboots. AetherSDR disconnects and reconnects automatically on LAN, or waits for manual reconnection on WAN.
Copying radio information¶
Each value in the Radio Information group has a small copy button to its right. Click the copy button to copy the value to the clipboard.
| Copy target | What is copied |
|---|---|
| Radio SN | The chassis serial number string. |
| HW Version | The hardware version string (with v prefix). |
| Region | The regulatory region string. |
| Options | The licensed options string. |
| Remote On | The "Remote On" label text. |
| FlexControl | The FlexControl state string. |
| multiFLEX | The multiFLEX state string. |
| Model | The radio model string. |
| Nickname | The nickname text. |
| Callsign | The callsign text. |
| Station Name | The station name text. |
| License Info | The full license details string. |
| Check for Update | The "Check for Update" label text. |
| Select Installer... | The file path text after browsing. |
| Upload Firmware | The "Upload Firmware" label text. |
The copy button appears as a small document icon. It is only clickable when the associated value is non-empty and not a dash placeholder. When clicked, the value is copied to the system clipboard and a brief "Copied!" popup appears near the button.
Network tab¶
The Network tab shows radio network information and advanced network options.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - Click the Network tab.
What each control does¶
| Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| IP Address / Mask / MAC Address | Indicator (read-only) | Read-only network addresses. Each includes a clipboard copy button. |
| Enforce Private IP Connections: | Toggle button | Rejects non-RFC1918 peers. |
| Network MTU: | Spinbox | Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Range 576-9000 bytes, default 1450. Stored in AppSettings as NetworkMtu. |
| DHCP / Static | Toggle button | Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes. |
| IP Address: / Mask: / Gateway: | Text field | Static IP configuration fields. |
| Apply | Push button | Pushes the network config to the radio. |
GPS tab¶
The GPS tab shows GPS presence and live lat/lon/alt/time/satellites info.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - Click the GPS tab.
No additional settings keys or controls beyond what is shown in the tab.
TX tab¶
The TX tab shows TX timings, interlocks, max power, tune mode, waterfall display, slice/TX follow and TX Band Settings shortcut.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - Click the TX tab.
What each control does¶
| Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| TX Band Settings | Push button | Opens the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog. |
| Timings (in ms) | Spinbox | TX hang / delay timings. |
| Interlocks - TX REQ: RCA / Accessory | Toggle button | Enables RCA and accessory interlock inputs. |
| Max Power: | Spinbox | Sets radio-level TX power cap. Range 0-100 %. |
| Tune Mode: | Combo box | Selects how the tune button behaves. |
| Show TX in Waterfall: | Toggle button | Draws TX signal in the waterfall. |
| TX Follows Active Slice | Push button | TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation. Stored in AppSettings as TxFollowsActiveSlice. |
| Active Slice Follows TX | Push button | Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice. Stored in AppSettings as ActiveFollowsTxSlice. |
TX Timings¶
| Field | Display unit | Radio storage unit | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC TX: | ms | ms | Accessory TX delay. |
| TX Delay: | ms | ms | TX keying delay. |
| RCA TX1: | ms | ms | RCA TX1 delay. |
| Timeout: | seconds | ms | Interlock timeout. Displayed in whole seconds for readability; the radio expects and stores milliseconds. |
Phone/CW tab¶
The Phone/CW tab shows microphone, CW keyer, RTTY defaults.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - Click the Phone/CW tab.
What each control does¶
| Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive | Toggle button | Shows mic level meter even in RX. |
| Iambic: | Toggle button | Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio. |
| Iambic Mode: A / B | Push button | Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive pair. |
| Swap: | Toggle button | Swaps dit/dah. |
| Sideband: | Combo box | Selects CW pitch sideband (LSB |
| CWX: | Toggle button | Enables CWX macro keying. |
| Decode: | Toggle button | Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter. Stored in AppSettings as CwDecodeOverlay. |
| RTTY Mark Default: | Spinbox | Default RTTY mark frequency. |
RX tab¶
The RX tab shows GPSDO frequency offset calibration and 10 MHz reference source.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - Click the RX tab.
What each control does¶
| Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Frequency (MHz): | Spinbox | Frequency used for manual calibration. |
| Start | Push button | Starts the frequency calibration sweep. |
| Freq Offset (ppb): | Spinbox | Manual frequency offset in ppb. |
| 10 MHz Reference Source: | Combo box | Selects oscillator reference source. Options: Auto, TCXO, GPSDO, External. Lock status (Locked / Unlocked) is shown alongside. |
Frequency calibration¶
The calibration controls are always visible regardless of whether a GPSDO is installed. The status banner at the top of the group reads:
- GPSDO installed β "GPSDO installed. Manual frequency offset calibration available." (green text)
- No GPSDO β "Manual frequency offset calibration available." (amber text)
The following controls are available in both configurations:
| Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Frequency (MHz): | Spinbox | Frequency used for calibration. Enter the known reference frequency before clicking Start. |
| Start | Push button | Starts the frequency calibration sequence. The button is disabled and its label changes to Busy while calibration is in progress. Before triggering the PLL sweep, AetherSDR resets the radio's frequency error to zero (radio set freq_error_ppb=0) and then issues radio pll_start. If the Cal Frequency field is empty, the button shows a warning and takes no action. |
| Freq Offset (ppb): | Spinbox | Manual frequency offset in parts per billion, applied after calibration completes or set directly for manual correction. |
Audio tab¶
The Audio tab shows radio audio outputs, compression, PC devices, boost, buffer, recording and NVIDIA BNR container.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup.... - Click the Audio tab.
What each control does¶
| Label | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Line Out: | Slider | Line-out gain. |
| Mute (Line Out) | Push button | Mutes line-out. |
| Headphone: | Slider | Headphone gain. |
| Mute (Headphone) | Push button | Mutes headphone. |
| Front Speaker: / Mute | Push button | Mutes front speaker (model-specific). |
| Audio Compression (SmartLink): Auto / Uncompressed / Opus | Push button | Selects audio codec for SmartLink/LAN. Stored in AppSettings as AudioCompression. |
| Prevent system sleep while connected | Checkbox | Keeps OS awake while radio is connected to prevent audio/TCP/UDP stream drops during idle. Stored in AppSettings as InhibitSleepWhileConnected. |
| PC Audio Devices: Input: / Output: | Combo box | Picks host audio in/out devices. |
| Audio Boost: | Toggle button | Enables extra gain on the client audio path. Stored in AppSettings as AudioBoost. |
| Audio Buffer: | Text field | Increases audio buffer in milliseconds for VPN/SmartLink jitter. Range 50-1000 ms, default 200. Stored in AppSettings as AudioBufferMs. |
| Recording: Radio Side / Client Side | Push button | Picks radio-side or client-side recording. Stored in AppSettings as RecordingMode. |
| Save to: | Text field | Folder for saved recordings (client-side only). Defaults to Documents/AetherSDR/Recordings. Stored in AppSettings as QsoRecordingDir. |
| ... (browse) | Push button | Browses for recording folder. |
| Auto-record on TX | Checkbox | Automatically records while transmitting. Stored in AppSettings as QsoRecordingAutoRecord. |
| Idle timeout: | Spinbox | Seconds of silence before |