The Output Level Meter in the Tube applet shows the smoothed post-saturation peak level of your audio signal. Use it to confirm that the Tube stage is not clipping its output and to judge how much headroom remains after drive and output gain are applied.
Double-click the TUBE stage in the chain widget to open the Tube editor.
Locate the vertical meter on the right side of the editor, to the right of the saturation curve. The header label reads OUT.
Feed audio through the radio. The level bar rises and falls as signal passes through the Tube stage.
Read the color of the fill to judge headroom at a glance (see color meanings below).
Read the numeric value in the readout below the bar for a precise signed dB figure. The numeric readout updates at 10 Hz to keep digits readable while the bar animates every paint.
Confirms this meter shows the post-saturation output level.
Level bar
Smoothed peak fill
−60 dB (bottom) to 0 dB (top)
Uses fast-attack (alpha = 0.6) / slow-release (alpha = 0.08) ballistics. Gradient fill uses the theme token color.meter.bar.fillGradient; default colors: green (low) → lime → amber → red (top, above −3 dB). When the theme changes, the meter re-renders automatically.
dB scale ticks
Static reference grid
0, −6, −12, −20, −40 dB labelled
Tick lines extend onto the bar so absolute level is readable at a glance.
Numeric readout
Smoothed peak as a signed dB value
-inf or a signed value to one decimal place, e.g. +0.0 dB
Displays -inf when the signal is below approximately −59.5 dB. Updated at 10 Hz for readability.
The meter ballistics match those of the EQ Output Fader meter, so the visual feel is consistent if you use both applets side by side.
If the bar stays red during normal speech peaks, reduce the Output knob (range −24 dB to +12 dB, default 0.0 dB) or reduce the Drive knob (range 0 dB to 24 dB, default 0.0 dB) until amber or lower is typical for your signal peaks.
The slow-release ballistics (alpha = 0.08) mean the bar descends gradually after a peak, making it easier to catch transient overloads visually.
The numeric readout refreshes at 10 Hz rather than on every paint frame. This prevents the digits from flickering or becoming unreadable during fast level changes while the bar continues to animate smoothly.
The meter gradient is themed via the color.meter.bar.fillGradient token in the Theme Manager. Any live edits to this token in the Theme Editor cause the meter to re-render without restarting AetherSDR.