AetherClock overview¶
AetherClock is a precision timebase display and clock-alignment diagnostic applet for the AetherSDR application. It shows the radio's GNSS (GPS) lock status, measures clock drift between the radio and your local PC in nanoseconds, and allows you to align your PC clock to the radio's GPS-disciplined reference for sample-accurate timestamping.
How it works¶
The AetherClock applet connects to your FLEX-8600 radio and displays three pieces of information:
- GNSS lock status indicator — Shows whether the radio's GPS receiver has a valid time fix. The possible states are:
- Locked — The radio has a valid GNSS time reference.
- Unlocked — No GNSS signal is available.
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Acquiring — The radio is searching for a satellite fix.
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Clock drift indicator — The measured difference between the radio's GPS-disciplined clock and your local PC clock, displayed in nanoseconds. A small value (ideally under 1000 ns) indicates the clocks are well-aligned.
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Align Clock button — Triggers an alignment of your local PC clock to the radio's GPS reference. This synchronizes the local timebase so that timestamps applied to recorded or streamed IQ data are sample-accurate.
The applet requires an active connection to a FLEX-8600 radio. It does not persist any user settings.
DAX channel selection¶
The DAX chooser in the AetherClock applet lets you assign a DAX channel to the currently selected slice. The number of DAX channels available matches your radio's slice capacity:
- Radios that support fewer slices (for example, a FLEX-6300 with 2 receivers) show a shorter DAX channel list.
- Radios that support more slices (for example, a FLEX-6700 with 8 receivers) show DAX channels up to that limit.
If the radio does not expose a DAX plane at all, the DAX chooser and the associated "no DAX channel" warning banner are hidden. On such radios, audio flows over the native seam feed and a zero DAX channel is the normal, correct state.
Opening the applet¶
Open the Applet Panel (typically docked at the bottom of the main window) and click the AetherClock tile (labeled CLK).
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| GNSS lock indicator | Status indicator | Shows the radio's GPS/GNSS lock status (Locked, Unlocked, Acquiring). |
| Clock drift | Numeric display | Displays measured drift between radio's GPS clock and local PC clock in nanoseconds. |
| Align Clock | Push button | Triggers alignment of the local PC clock to the radio's GPS reference. |
| DAX channel selector | Drop-down list | Assigns a DAX channel (DAX 1 through DAX N, where N matches the radio's slice capacity) to the selected slice, or turns DAX off. Hidden on radios that do not expose a DAX plane. |