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Connect to a Radio

The connection panel is the first screen shown when AetherSDR starts. It lets you pick between a local LAN radio, a SmartLink remote radio, or a manual/VPN IP connection.

Connection modes

Choose one of three modes with the buttons at the top of the panel:

  • Local — discovers and connects to radios on your local network.
  • SmartLink — connects to WAN radios through your FlexRadio SmartLink account.
  • Manual — connects directly to a radio by IP address or host name, including over VPN.

Before you start

  • AetherSDR must be open and not yet connected to a radio, or you must disconnect first before changing connection settings.
  • Know which connection mode you are using: Local, SmartLink, or Manual.

Connect to a local radio

  1. Open the connection panel. It appears automatically before a radio is connected. If a radio is already connected, click Settings > Connect to Radio... and disconnect first.
  2. Confirm Local is selected at the top of the panel.
  3. Wait for discovery to complete. The Available radios list populates with radios found on your LAN.
  4. Click the radio you want to connect to, then click Connect Selected Radio.
  5. If no radios are found, click Retry Discovery to re-run LAN discovery.
  1. Open the connection panel.
  2. Click Remote with SmartLink at the top of the panel.
  3. Enter your SmartLink account Email and Password, then click Sign In.
  4. When the Remote radios list populates with radios available to your account, click the radio you want.
  5. Click Connect Remote Radio to start the WAN connection.
  6. To log out of SmartLink, click Sign Out.

Connect by IP or host name (manual / VPN)

  1. Open the connection panel.
  2. Click Connect by IP at the top of the panel.
  3. In the Radio IP address field, enter the radio's IP address or host name.
  4. Numeric addresses are canonicalised, so 192.168.001.5 and 192.168.1.5 count as the same address.
  5. Host names are supported, including mDNS names such as ic-705.local. The field remembers host names as well as numeric addresses.
  6. The field stores up to three recently used addresses. Select a previous address from the drop-down or type a new one.
  7. If the local machine has more than one network interface, use Advanced: Source path to pick the NIC used for this connection.
  8. Check Use low bandwidth mode if you are connecting over a slow link.
  9. Click Connect by IP (manual) to start the connection.

Enable low-bandwidth mode

Low-bandwidth mode reduces the rate of audio and data streams sent from the radio. Use it when connecting over a slow or congested link — such as a cellular hotspot, a long-distance VPN, or a satellite connection — to reduce dropouts and improve stability.

  1. On the connection panel, locate the Use low bandwidth mode checkbox near the bottom.
  2. Check Use low bandwidth mode to enable reduced-rate streams.
  3. Connect using your preferred mode as normal. The setting is negotiated at connect time.

What each control does

Control Kind Default
Local / SmartLink / Manual (mode buttons) Radio button Local
Available radios List (not set)
Connect Selected Radio Push button —
No local radios found yet Indicator —
Retry Discovery Push button —
Remote with SmartLink Push button —
Connect by IP Push button —
Open Network Diagnostics Push button —
SmartLink account: Email Text field (not set)
SmartLink account: Password Text field (not set)
Sign In Push button —
Sign Out Push button —
Remote radios List (not set)
Connect Remote Radio Push button —
Radio IP address Text field. Accepts numeric IP addresses and host names. Stores up to three recently used addresses. Stored as ManualRadioIp; recent entries stored as RecentConnectByIpAddresses. (not set)
Network Diagnostics Push button —
Connect by IP (manual) Push button —
Advanced: Source path Combo box (not set)
Use low bandwidth mode Checkbox (not set)
Connect to last radio on start up Checkbox. When checked, AetherSDR auto-connects to the last used radio on startup and on broadcast-discovery / routed-radio probe. When unchecked, the connection dialog opens and the user must pick a radio manually each session. Stored as AutoConnectToLastRadio. True (checked). New in v0.9.7. Existing users keep previous behavior automatically.
Disconnect Push button —

Indicators

Indicator Meaning
Status label Current connection state (searching / connecting / connected / errored).
Manual result label Result text after probing a manual IP (success or error).
Source warning label Warns when the selected source NIC is stale or unreachable.

Tips

  • Enable Use low bandwidth mode before initiating the connection. This setting is negotiated at connect time.
  • The local radio list now shows up to 240 pixels tall and scrolls internally. On small displays (e.g. a 1024x600 panel), the list no longer grows past the Connect button — remaining radios are always reachable via the vertical scrollbar.
  • Right-click any discovered radio in the local list to set a custom nickname without connecting first. Non-Flex radios (HL2, simulator, etc.) store the nickname client-side by serial number; Flex radios do not offer this option to avoid conflicting with the on-radio name set in Radio Setup.
  • If audio still breaks up after enabling low-bandwidth mode, check your VPN or routing path using Settings > Network....
  • The Radio IP address field now remembers up to three recent addresses. If you previously saved an IP under the legacy LastRoutedRadioIp setting, AetherSDR migrates it automatically the first time you open the connection panel.
  • To prevent AetherSDR from connecting automatically at startup — for example, when you want to choose a different radio — uncheck Connect to last radio on start up.
  • The connection panel now uses a frameless window with a custom title bar when FramelessWindow is enabled in settings (default: True). The Connect to Radio title appears in the window title bar. To resize the dialog, drag from any edge or corner. When the frameless window is hidden and then shown again, its previous geometry is preserved.
  • When probing a manual IP, AetherSDR collects radio status information such as model, nickname, callsign, and MultiFlex status during the connection negotiation. This information appears in the radio list after a successful probe.
  • The SmartLink login form now includes accessibility hints for password managers on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Password managers can recognize and auto-fill credentials for the SmartLink account fields.
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