AetherControl / FlexControl Configuration¶
This page describes the AetherControl / FlexControl dialog, which configures the hardware rotary controller and the virtual on-screen tuning wheel.
Opening the dialog¶
- Open the Settings menu.
- Click AetherControl....
Physical FlexControl connection¶
The Physical indicator shows whether a FlexControl device is connected and which serial port it uses.
- Click Detect to scan for a connected FlexControl.
- Click Close to disconnect the physical device.
If the physical device is unplugged, AetherSDR automatically retries the connection. The retry interval starts at 2 seconds and backs off to a maximum of 30 seconds if the device does not reappear. When the device is reconnected, it may be assigned a different serial port; AetherSDR re-detects the port automatically.
Virtual wheel¶
The Wheel is a virtual rotary control. Rotate it with your mouse or trackpad to tune the active slice. It shows the current frequency and mode readout.
| Control | Label | Behavior | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicator | Wheel | Virtual rotary control for tuning the active slice. Shows frequency and mode. | — |
| Toggle button | Compact | Hides the auxiliary buttons and shows only the wheel and frequency for a minimal UI. | — |
| Toggle button | External Spin | Enables spin-wheel tuning gestures when dragging on the panadapter. | — |
| Toggle button | Reverse | Reverses the wheel tuning direction. | FlexControlInvertDir |
| Slider | Wheel Tightness | Adjusts virtual wheel coasting drag. 0 = tight (fast stop), 100 = loose (long coast). Primarily for trackpads; does not affect the physical FlexControl. | FlexControlVirtualWheel (nested JSON, looseness field) |
| Slider | Mouse Sensitivity | Adjusts how much captured mouse/trackpad movement turns the virtual wheel. Midpoint (50) yields 1.0x scale. Primarily for trackpads; does not affect the physical FlexControl. | FlexControlVirtualWheel (nested JSON, sensitivity field) |
Wheel Tightness notes¶
- The Wheel Tightness slider replaces the old Spin Sensitivity slider (v26.5.3).
- The setting is stored as part of a nested JSON object under
FlexControlVirtualWheel. Earlier flat keyFlexControlVirtualWheelLoosenessis auto-migrated on read.
Mouse Sensitivity notes¶
- Introduced in v26.5.3.
- Pointer deltas are clamped to 15° (π/12) per event to avoid jumps.
- Lazy re-anchoring: when the pointer crosses the centre dead-zone, the anchor is dropped; the next movement re-anchors without computing a delta.
Wheel actions¶
Assign actions to pushing and double-tapping the wheel.
| Control | Label | Behavior | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combo box | Push (action) | Assigns an action to pushing the wheel (single tap). Options include mode cycle, step zoom, zoom reset, band up/down, and more. | FlexControlButtonAction_* |
| Combo box | Double-tap (action) | Assigns an action to double-tapping the wheel. | — |
Auxiliary buttons¶
Five configurable auxiliary buttons (1–5) sit below the wheel. Each button has its own single-tap and double-tap action.
- Click an aux button to select it. The button is highlighted with an aux dot.
- Choose the Aux single-tap action from the combo box.
- Choose the Aux double-tap action from the combo box.
| Control | Label | Behavior | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Push button group | Aux buttons (1-5) | Five configurable buttons, each with single-tap and double-tap actions. | — |
| Combo box | Aux single-tap | Assigns an action to single-tapping the selected aux button. | — |
| Combo box | Aux double-tap | Assigns an action to double-tapping the selected aux button. | — |
Related¶
- Reverse tuning direction on the AetherControl
- Use the virtual wheel to tune the active slice
- Adjust mouse sensitivity for the virtual wheel
- Adjust wheel tightness for the virtual wheel