RX Controls Applet Reference¶
Pick a filter width preset for the current mode¶
Use the filter width preset buttons in the RX Controls applet to quickly apply a standard passband width for the active mode. Presets are saved per mode in FilterPresets.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. The RX Controls applet requires an active radio connection.
- Select the slice you want to adjust using the slice tabs (A..H) if more than one slice is active.
- Set the slice mode first. Preset values differ by mode, and presets are not shown for FM, NFM, or DFM modes.
Steps¶
- Open the RX Controls applet. If it is not visible, click the RX tray button on the right sidebar.
- If the slice tab row is visible, click the tab (A through H) for the slice you want to adjust.
- Confirm the mode shown in the Mode combo is correct. Filter presets change when the mode changes.
- Click any of the filter width preset buttons to apply that bandwidth immediately. The current filter width shown in the filter width label (for example,
2.7K) updates to reflect the applied preset. - To save the current filter passband as a preset, right-click any filter width preset button and choose to save the current width. The value is stored in
FilterPresets.
What each control does¶
| Control | Behavior | Default presets by mode |
|---|---|---|
| Filter width presets | Click to apply a preset filter width; right-click to save current width as a preset. Buttons hidden for FM/NFM/DFM modes. | Presets are per-mode. The width readout (shared with VfoWidget via RxApplet::formatFilterWidth) uses mode-aware logic so SSB/digital modes display the correct labelled width (#2197). The stepFilterWidth(direction) method walks the per-mode preset list for mode-correct widen/narrow (#2208). |
| Filter width label | Read-only indicator showing the current filter bandwidth (for example, 2.7K, 500, 6.0K). Updates when a preset is applied or when the passband edges are dragged. |
— |
| Filter passband widget | Drag the low or high edge to set a custom passband. Use presets for standard widths. | — |
| Mode | Preset widths (Hz) | |
| --- | --- | |
| USB, LSB | 1800, 2100, 2400, 2700, 2900, 3300 | |
| AM, SAM | 5600, 6000, 8000, 10000, 12000, 14000 | |
| CW (all variants) | 50, 100, 250, 400, 500, 600 | |
| DIGU, DIGL, NT | 100, 300, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000 | |
| RTTY | 250, 300, 350, 400, 500, 1000 | |
| FM, NFM, DFM | No presets (buttons hidden) | |
| RADE | No presets (client-side only, radio echoes back real mode) | |
| REV / XFC | For FM repeater operation, REV inverts the TX offset sign to work a reversed repeater pair. On backends that support a transmit-frequency check, the button relabels to XFC: pressing it holds the transmit frequency check for the duration of the press, and while held it briefly forces the radio toward the transmit frequency to confirm coverage. | The button toggles REV (checkable) normally, or becomes a momentary XFC down-button when the connected radio backend advertises hasTransmitFrequencyCheck. The held XFC is released on hide, deactivate, capability change, or disconnect. |
| SQL / AUTO | Three-way cycle button: each click steps Off → SQL (manual threshold) → AUTO (algorithm tracks the noise floor) → Off. In AUTO mode the button shows amber 'AUTO'; in manual mode green 'SQL'. Disabled (and auto-turned off) in RTTY and digital modes (DIGU, DIGL) where squelch would notch out FSK characters (#2504). | Manual and Auto both turn the radio squelch on. The auto-squelch algorithm lives in the panadapter; the level is the dB margin above the measured noise floor. Mirrored by an identical button in the VFO panel's Audio tab. |
| Slice tabs (A..H) | Selects which slice the RX applet is bound to. Row hidden if maxSlices <= 1. Rebuilt correctly on reconnect or when slice count changes. | — |
| Slice badge | Displays the letter of the currently bound slice (A..H), coloured by slice identity. | — |
| Tune lock (🔓/🔒) | Toggles tune-lock on the slice; locked slice ignores frequency changes. | — |
| RX antenna (ANT1) | Menu listing available antennas; selecting sets the slice RX antenna, or routes to an assigned KiwiSDR receiver profile when a virtual antenna token is chosen. Blue label. | Populated from radio antenna list + KiwiSDR virtual antenna tokens. Falls back to ANT1/ANT2 when list is empty. |
| TX antenna (ANT1) | Menu listing TX-capable antennas; sets slice TX antenna. Red label. RX-only ports (prefix 'RX') filtered out. | — |
| QSK | Amber indicator when CW break-in is active. Read-only; controlled via CW applet Breakin button. | — |
| TX badge | Click to set this slice as the TX slice. | — |
| Mode combo | Sets slice mode; reshapes filter and step presets. RADE option requires HAVE_RADE build flag. DSTR and FreeDV filtered when unsupported. Selecting a real radio mode tears down a running WFM software-demod overlay. | — |
| Frequency label | Displays current VFO frequency with dotted grouping. Click to switch into edit mode. | — |
| Frequency edit | Enter MHz and press Enter to tune and recenter; supports kHz/Hz auto-scaling. Escape cancels and restores previous frequency. XVTR-aware (up to 50000 MHz). 3-digit band convenience on 2m/70cm. | — |
| STEP | < / > or mousewheel cycles through per-mode step sizes. | — |
| Tone mode (FM) | Selects CTCSS tone mode on FM/NFM/DFM. Visible only in FM family modes. | — |
| CTCSS tone value | Selects CTCSS tone frequency sent with transmit. Includes all 41 standard EIA/TIA-603 tones plus intermediated non-standard values (69.3, 159.8, 165.5, 171.3, 177.3, 183.5, 189.9, 196.6, 199.5 Hz) for legacy repeater compatibility. Enabled only when Tone mode = CTCSS TX. | — |
| Offset (FM) | Sets FM repeater offset frequency in MHz (0.0-100.0 MHz, step 0.1). | — |
| − (offset down) | Sets repeater offset direction to 'down' (TX below RX). | — |
| Simplex | Sets repeater offset direction to simplex (TX = RX). Default checked. | — |
| + (offset up) | Sets repeater offset direction to 'up' (TX above RX). | — |
| Mute (🔊/🔇) | Single-click mutes/unmutes this slice (deferred by click-discrimination interval). Double-click mutes/unmutes all owned slices. Icon flips only when the radio acknowledges via SliceModel::audioMuteChanged. | Mute state NOT saved/restored on reconnect — radio is source of truth. |
| AF gain | Adjusts slice audio output gain (0-100). | — |
| L/R pan | Pans slice audio between left (0) and right (100). Double-click resets to centre (50). Shows centre-mark visualization. | — |
| Squelch level | Manual: 0-100 (or 0-99 on Kiwi replacement receive); Auto: 5-20 dB margin persisted to AutoSqlMarginDb. Disabled in RTTY/digital modes and in Off mode. | — |
| AGC mode | Sets slice AGC mode (Off, Slow, Med, Fast). Hidden in FM family modes. | — |
| AGC threshold | Sets AGC threshold (or AGC off-level when AGC mode is Off). Right-click opens 'Calibrate AGC-T against noise floor…'. | — |
| RIT / RIT 0 / RIT offset | Toggle Receive Incremental Tuning; zero the offset; adjust by 10 Hz steps. | — |
| XIT / XIT 0 / XIT offset | Toggle Transmit Incremental Tuning; zero the offset; adjust by 10 Hz steps. | — |
Narrowing and widening the filter passband via step¶
The stepFilterWidth(direction) method lets you walk through the per-mode preset list from any application shortcut or key binding. Pass +1 to widen the passband to the next larger preset, or -1 to narrow to the next smaller preset. Because stepFilterWidth routes through applyFilterPreset, all modes — including LSB, CWL, DIGL, RTTY, AM, and CW — use the correct edge geometry for that mode rather than a symmetric assumption.
Internally, the method finds the preset whose width is closest to the current slice's passband, then moves to the next or previous entry in the list (clamped to valid bounds). If the current width already equals the nearest preset and the step would move beyond the list, the operation is ignored.
Filter preset storage format (v0.9.5.1)¶
Starting in v0.9.5.1, filter presets stored in FilterPresets can represent either a plain bandwidth or a fully specified passband with explicit low and high edge offsets. Both formats are accepted when loading saved presets.
- Width-only format — A single integer representing bandwidth in Hz (for example,
2700). When applied, the radio positions the passband symmetrically around the carrier according to the mode's default offset rules. - Lo:Hi format — Two integers separated by a colon representing the low and high passband edge offsets in Hz (for example,
300:3000). The width is derived ashi − lo. Thehivalue must be greater than thelovalue or the entry is ignored.
Entries in either format may appear in the same saved preset list for a given mode. The list is comma-separated. Up to six entries are loaded for the RX Controls applet (matching the maximum number of preset buttons displayed).
If a saved preset list is changed externally or a reconnect causes the radio to report a different slice count, the preset buttons are rebuilt automatically to reflect the stored values.
Noise reduction and DSP filter button visibility¶
The following table summarises which noise-reduction and DSP filter buttons are visible based on radio series and mode.
| Button | 6000-series | 8000-series (extended DSP) | Hidden when |
|---|---|---|---|
| NR | Yes | Yes | FM mode |
| NR2 | Yes | Yes | FM mode |
| NB | Yes | Yes | FM mode |
| NRL | Yes | Yes | FM mode |
| NRS | No | Yes | FM mode |
| RNN | No | Yes | CW or FM mode |
| NRF | No | Yes | FM mode |
Prior to V0.9.4, the NRL button was only shown on 8000-series radios (extended DSP). Starting in V0.9.4, NRL is also available on 6000-series radios. NRS, RNN, and NRF remain 8000-series only.
Slice tab and badge colors (v0.9.3)¶
Starting in v0.9.3, slice tab buttons and the slice badge use per-slice colors managed by the SliceColorManager singleton rather than a fixed color table. The active border, background highlight on the tab buttons, and the badge background all reflect the color assigned to that slice. Colors persist across sessions and are also reflected in VFO widgets and meter strips. No action is required; the colors update automatically when