Radio Setup¶
The Radio Setup dialog (Settings > Radio Setup...) 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 certificate management, (optionally) FlexControl serial, KiwiSDR public receiver, and automation/QRZ lookup settings.
The dialog remembers its size and position between sessions.
Radio tab¶
The Radio tab displays radio identification, license information and firmware update controls.
Scroll support: In v26.6.3 the Radio tab (and other tabs with stacked content groups) was wrapped in a vertical QScrollArea. This prevents the dialog from exceeding the screen height on small or high-DPI displays. The scrollbar is hidden when content already fits.
| Control | Behavior | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Radio SN | Chassis serial number (read-only). Includes a clipboard copy button (tray icon) next to the value. | — |
| Region | Radio regulatory region (read-only). | USA |
| HW Version | Hardware version string. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value. | — |
| Remote On | Enables remote wake / remote-on. | — |
| Options | Shows licensed radio options. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value. | — |
| FlexControl | Detected state of FlexControl hardware (read-only). | — |
| multiFLEX | multiFLEX enabled state (read-only). | — |
| Model | Radio model. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value. | — |
| 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. Stored in AppSettings. Sent to radio as 'client station |
— |
| License Info | Displays license details from the radio (Subscription / Expiration / Radio ID / Licensed version). Each field includes a clipboard copy button next to the value. | — |
| Check for Update | Queries for firmware updates. | — |
| Upload Firmware | Starts firmware upload with progress bar and status. | — |
| 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. | — |
| Reboot Radio | Reboots the connected radio. Opens a confirmation dialog before sending the reboot command. When connected via SmartLink/WAN, auto-reconnect is not supported after reboot; reconnect manually after the radio finishes booting. On LAN, AetherSDR automatically reconnects once the radio comes back online. The dialog closes after reboot. Disabled when the radio is disconnected; enabled/disabled automatically based on connection state. | — |
Copy buttons¶
Each read-only indicator on the Radio tab (Radio SN, Region, HW Version, Options, FlexControl, multiFLEX, Model, License Info fields) includes a small copy button that appears on hover. Click the button to copy the displayed value to the clipboard.
Summary area¶
The Radio tab also shows: - Firmware status — Empty until a firmware upload begins, then displays progress and result text. - License Info — Subscription status, expiration date, Radio ID, and licensed version.
Network tab¶
The Network tab displays radio network information and advanced network options.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| IP Address / Mask / MAC Address | Read-only network addresses. Each includes a clipboard copy button. | — | — |
| Enforce Private IP Connections: | Rejects non-RFC1918 peers. | — | — |
| Network MTU: | Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels. | 1450 | NetworkMtu |
| DHCP / Static | Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes. | — | — |
| IP Address: / Mask: / Gateway: | Static IP configuration fields. | — | — |
| Apply | Pushes the network config to the radio. | — | — |
GPS tab¶
The GPS tab shows GPS presence and live lat/lon/alt/time/satellites info.
TX tab¶
The TX tab configures TX timings, interlocks, max power, tune mode, waterfall display, slice/TX follow and TX Band Settings.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| TX Band Settings | Opens the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog. | — | — |
| Timings (in ms) | TX hang / delay timings. | — | — |
| Interlocks - TX REQ: RCA / Accessory | Enables RCA and accessory interlock inputs. | — | — |
| Max Power: | Sets radio-level TX power cap (0-100%). | — | — |
| Tune Mode: | Selects how the tune button behaves. | — | — |
| 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. | False | TxFollowsActiveSlice |
| 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'. | False | ActiveFollowsTxSlice |
Note on timeout field: The "Timeout" field is labeled Timeout (sec) and displays the value in seconds. Internally the radio stores it in milliseconds; the setting is converted automatically when sent.
Phone/CW tab¶
The Phone/CW tab configures microphone, CW keyer, and RTTY defaults.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive | Shows mic level meter even in RX. | — | — |
| 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. | A | — |
| Swap: | Swaps dit/dah. | — | — |
| Sideband: | Selects CW pitch sideband (LSB | USB). | — |
| CWX: | Enables CWX macro keying. | — | — |
| Decode: | Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter. | True | CwDecodeOverlay |
| RTTY Mark Default: | Default RTTY mark frequency. | — | — |
Note: In v0.9.1, Mode A and Mode B buttons were added beside the Enabled toggle. Mode A = Curtis A; Mode B = Curtis B. These also drive the local software iambic keyer (IambicKeyer) which mirrors the radio's iambic state for sub-5 ms sidetone.
RX tab¶
The RX tab provides GPSDO frequency offset calibration and 10 MHz reference source configuration.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Frequency (MHz): | Frequency used for manual calibration. | — | — |
| Start | Starts the frequency calibration sweep. | — | — |
| Freq Offset (ppb): | Manual frequency offset in ppb. | — | — |
| 10 MHz Reference Source: | Selects oscillator reference source. Options shown depend on hardware installed (TCXO/GPSDO/External). | Auto | — |
10 MHz reference source display¶
The 10 MHz Reference Source: combo box on the RX tab is populated dynamically based on the hardware present in the connected radio and the current oscillator setting and state reported by the radio. The following sources may appear:
| Entry | When shown |
|---|---|
| Auto | Always shown. |
| TCXO | Shown when the radio reports a TCXO is present, or when the current or reported state refers to TCXO. |
| GPSDO | Shown when the radio reports a GPSDO is present, or when the current or reported state refers to GPSDO. |
| External 10 MHz | Shown when the radio reports an external reference is present or active, or when the current or reported state refers to external. |
The combo selects the saved oscillator setting automatically when the dialog opens. If the saved setting is not in the list, the current reported state is tried; if that is also absent, Auto is selected.
Lock status label¶
The status label next to the combo box shows richer information:
- When Auto is selected and the radio has switched to a specific source, the label reads Auto -> \<source> followed by Locked or Unlocked.
- When the requested source differs from the active source, the label reads \
The label color is green when locked and red when unlocked. Before the radio reports any oscillator state, the label is shown in a neutral gray.
Antennas tab¶
The Antennas tab allows you to assign friendly names to each antenna port on the radio.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANT1 / ANT2 / XVTA / XVTB | Text fields to set user-friendly names for each antenna port. | — | — |
Audio tab¶
The Audio tab configures radio audio outputs, compression, PC devices, boost, buffer, recording and NVIDIA BNR container.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (SmartLink): Auto / Uncompressed / Opus | Selects audio codec for SmartLink/LAN. | Auto | AudioCompression |
| Prevent system sleep while connected | Keeps OS awake while radio is connected to prevent audio/TCP/UDP stream drops during idle. | False | InhibitSleepWhileConnected |
| PC Audio Devices: Input: / Output: | Picks host audio in/out devices. | — | — |
| Audio Boost: | Enables extra gain on the client audio path. | — | AudioBoost |
| Audio Buffer: | Increases audio buffer in milliseconds for VPN/SmartLink jitter. Applied to AudioEngine::setRxBufferCapMs(). | 200 | AudioBufferMs |
| Recording: Radio Side / Client Side | Picks radio-side or client-side recording. | Radio Side | RecordingMode |
| Save to: | Folder for saved recordings (client-side only). Defaults to Documents/AetherSDR/Recordings. | — | QsoRecordingDir |
| ... | Browses for recording folder. | — | — |
| Auto-record on TX | Automatically records while transmitting. | False | QsoRecordingAutoRecord |
| Idle timeout: | Seconds of silence before recording stops. | 120 | QsoRecordingIdleTimeout |
| NVIDIA BNR: Autostart Container / Start / Stop / Check Status | Controls the NVIDIA Broadcast noise-removal container. | — | — |
Filters tab¶
The Filters tab provides low-latency / sharp filter options per bandwidth.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice / CW / Digital filter sharpness sliders | Sets filter sharpness (0=lowest latency to 3=sharpest) per mode; slider is disabled when Auto is enabled. Commands sent as 'radio filter_sharpness |
— | — |
| Auto (Voice / CW / Digital) | Enables automatic filter-level selection for that mode; disables the manual sharpness slider. Commands sent as 'radio filter_sharpness |
— | — |
| Use Low Latency Filters for Digital Modes | Forces low-latency filters in DIGU/DIGL. | — | — |
XVTR tab¶
The XVTR tab provides per-transverter configuration — RX Only, valid, remove, plus Create New Transverter. Contains nested tabs, one per xvtr, and a '+' tab.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| RX Only: | Forces RX-only on that transverter. | — | — |
| Remove (xvtr) | 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.
| Control | Behavior | Default | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cables list / Status | Detected USB cables per type with Plugged/Unplugged status. | — | — |
| Name: / Enabled / Speed / Data Bits / Parity / Stop Bits / Flow / Source / Auto Report / BCD Type / Polarity / Bit Configuration (0-7) | Per-cable serial parameters and behavior. | — | — |