Amplifier overview¶
The Amplifier applet provides real-time telemetry and OPERATE/STANDBY control for a connected Power Genius XL (PGXL) amplifier. Use it to monitor forward power, SWR, drain current, temperature, drain voltage, mains voltage, amplifier efficiency, and fan speed.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be connected to a Flex radio.
- A Power Genius XL amplifier must be detected by the radio. The applet and its tray button are hidden until the radio reports a PGXL.
How it works¶
The Amplifier applet appears in the right-side applet panel when AetherSDR detects a PGXL amplifier on the network. Toggle it open or closed with the AMP tray button on the right sidebar.
All telemetry is pushed from the radio in real time. The gauges update as the PGXL reports new values; no polling or manual refresh is needed. The OPERATE / STANDBY button reflects the amplifier's current state and lets you switch between the two.
In v26.7.4, the temperature display gained a unit toggle. Click the temperature label to switch between Celsius (°C) and Fahrenheit (°F); the choice is persisted across sessions.
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| PWR | Value + Gauge | Shows PGXL forward power output as a numeric value and a gauge. The gauge bar rises quickly on RF bursts and decays over ~800 milliseconds, making brief transmissions still visible. The gauge is red above 1500 W. The SWR gauge resets to 1.0 when forward power drops below 5 W. |
| SWR | Value + Gauge | Shows PGXL SWR at the amplifier output as a numeric value and a gauge. The gauge is red above 2.5. The gauge only updates when forward power is 5 W or greater — SWR is not meaningful at idle. |
| Id | Value + Gauge | Shows PGXL drain current as a numeric value and a gauge. The gauge is red above 60 A. |
| Temp | Clickable text | Shows PGXL heatsink temperature as xx.x C (default) or xx.x F. Click to toggle between Celsius and Fahrenheit. The preference is saved and restored next session. Added in v26.7.4. |
| Vdd | Text indicator | Shows PGXL drain voltage as Vdd xx V. When the drain supply is off (standby), shows Vdd — V instead of 0.0 V. |
| Vac | Text indicator | Shows PGXL mains voltage as Vac xx V. |
| MEffA | Text indicator | Shows the PGXL amplifier efficiency metric (meffa). Hidden until the first meffa telemetry arrives. Added in v26.5.1. |
| ● RADIO | Text indicator | Shows the source of telemetry data. Appears after first telemetry arrives. |
| Fan: Std / Fan: Contest / Fan: Bcast | Button | Fan speed control button with textual label. Hidden until a direct PGXL connection delivers the first fan mode status. Click to cycle through STANDARD, CONTEST, and BROADCAST. In v26.7.4 the label was changed from a single letter (S/C/B) to a descriptive text. |
| OPERATE | Button | Toggles the amplifier between OPERATE and STANDBY. Hidden until the radio reports amplifier state. Shows OPERATE (green) when the PGXL is in IDLE, OPERATE, TRANSMIT_A, or TRANSMIT_B state. Shows STANDBY when the PGXL is in STANDBY, POWERUP, or FAULT state. |
The three gauges use a color-coded bar: green below the yellow threshold, yellow-amber in the caution zone, and red above the red threshold. Tick labels on each gauge are color-matched to their zone.
The temperature unit preference is the only persisted setting — all other values come live from the PGXL.
Layout¶
The Amplifier applet displays telemetry in two sections:
- Top section: Three rows, each with a label on the left and a gauge on the right:
- PWR — forward power (0–2000 W, red > 1500 W)
- SWR — SWR (1.0–3.0, red > 2.5)
-
Id — drain current (0–70 A, red > 60 A)
-
Bottom section: A text information stack on the left and the OPERATE button on the right:
- Temperature (Temp, clickable to toggle °C/°F)
- Drain voltage (Vdd)
- Mains voltage (Vac)
- Amplifier efficiency (MEffA)
- Data source indicator (
● RADIO) - Fan speed control button
The numeric value labels (PWR, SWR, Id) show the field name and live value in bold light-blue text.
Temperature unit toggle¶
- Click the temperature label to switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit.
- The chosen unit persists across AetherSDR sessions.
- The label shows one decimal place regardless of unit.
Accessibility¶
All gauges have accessible names set to "Forward power", "SWR", and "Drain current" respectively. The fan speed button sets its accessible name dynamically, for example "Fan speed: STANDARD". The temperature toggle button has an accessible description "Toggles amplifier temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit" and can be reached with Tab key focus.