Adjust mic gain and enable the accessory mix

Use this page to set the microphone input level and mix in the accessory input alongside the primary mic source in Phone mode.

Before you start

• AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. The Phone/CW applet requires an active radio connection.
• The active slice must be in a voice mode (USB, LSB, AM, FM) so the Phone sub-panel is visible. If the slice is in CW mode, the CW sub-panel is shown instead.

Steps

1. Open the Phone/CW applet in the Applet Panel on the right sidebar. If it is not visible, click the P/CW tray button.
2. Locate the Mic source combo box. Confirm the source you want to adjust is selected (for example, MIC, BAL, LINE, ACC, or PC).
3. Drag the Mic gain slider left or right to set the input level. The numeric readout to the right of the slider updates as you drag. The valid range is 0–100; the default is 50.
4. When Mic source is set to PC, the value is stored client-side as PcMicGain. The radio always reports mic_level=0 for the PC source; AetherSDR retains the value locally.
5. When RADE mode is active, the slider also acts as a client-side RADE gain control and is stored under the same PcMicGain key. The slider value is not sent to the radio in this state.
6. Watch the Level gauge above the controls. Aim for peaks between −20 and −10 dBFS during normal speech. The gauge turns red above 0 dBFS.
7. To mix in the accessory input alongside the active mic source, click +ACC so it is lit. Click it again to disable the mix.

What each control does

Control	What it does	Default
Mic gain	Sets the microphone input level. When Mic source is PC or RADE mode is active, the value is persisted locally as PcMicGain and is not sent to the radio.	50
+ACC	Enables the accessory mic input mix alongside the selected primary source.	—
Level gauge	Shows microphone input peak level in dBFS. Turns red above 0 dBFS.	—
Compression gauge	Shows the amount of speech compression being applied. Fill is reversed (full left = 0 dB, no compression; full right = -25 dB, maximum compression). In v0.9.7, the gauge is gated on the radio's interlock TRANSMITTING state and speech processor enable: it reads 0 dB during RX to prevent stale readings from the TX chain. In v26.5.3, the meter value is inverted from the previous display: MeterModel exposes compression as a positive 0–25 dB amount, and the gauge converts it to the reversed display (0 at the right edge, -25 at the left edge).	—
ALC (Phone panel)	Shows automatic level control reading from MeterModel::swAlcChanged (post-software-ALC SSB peak in dBFS). Fills right-to-left: empty at -20 dBFS, full at 0 dBFS. In v26.5.3, the gauge is initialized to -20 dBFS at construction and immediately set to its floor value to prevent transient display flicker.	—
ALC (CW panel)	Mirrors the Phone-panel ALC gauge; both read from MeterModel::swAlcChanged for consistent readings across voice and CW. In v26.5.3, the gauge is initialized to -20 dBFS at construction and immediately set to its floor value to prevent transient display flicker.	—

CW sidetone controls

When the active slice is in CW mode, the CW sub-panel replaces the Phone sub-panel. The following controls govern CW sidetone behavior.

How the sidetone works (v0.9.1 and later)

A single Sidetone toggle and Sidetone volume slider control both the radio's DAX-fed monitor and the client-side low-latency sidetone generator (CwSidetoneGenerator, approximately 10 ms latency) in lockstep. Enabling or disabling Sidetone enables or disables both simultaneously. Moving Sidetone volume sets both mon_gain_cw on the radio and the local generator volume at the same time.

Pitch and stereo pan always follow the radio's cw_pitch and mon_pan_cw settings automatically. There are no separate local pitch or follow controls.

The sidetone bus is shared with Quindar tones; sidetone and Quindar tones are mutually exclusive at the mode level.

v0.9.2.1 change: separate local sidetone controls removed

Prior to v0.9.2.1, the CW sub-panel included a separate Local STn toggle, a local volume slider, a Follow pitch-follow toggle, and a manual pitch slider. These controls are removed in v0.9.2.1. The Sidetone toggle and Sidetone volume slider now drive both the radio-side and client-side sidetone together, and pitch and pan always follow the radio automatically.

If you previously used the Local STn button independently of the main Sidetone toggle, use the Sidetone toggle going forward. The local low-latency generator remains available and active whenever Sidetone is on.

v0.9.8 changes: QLineEdit value fields

In v0.9.8 the four CW value labels (Delay, Speed, Sidetone Volume, and Pitch) are now editable text fields. Click any value and type a number directly. The slider moves to match when you press Enter or tab away. This matches SmartSDR behavior.

v26.5.3 changes: sidetone audio output routing

In v26.5.3, the CW sidetone now routes to the user-selected audio output instead of the default output (#2899). This ensures the sidetone is heard on the same device you have selected for other audio streams, rather than always using the system default audio output.

v26.6.1 changes: theme support

In v26.6.1, the Phone/CW applet fully adopts the AetherSDR theme system. All visual elements — including slider grooves and handles, label text, and push button backgrounds — now use theme colors instead of hardcoded values. The applet container itself is styled with the applet/digi theme class, ensuring consistent appearance across all supported themes.

CW sub-panel controls

Control	What it does	Default	Range / Values	Setting key
Delay (CW)	Sets the CW break-in delay. Drag the slider or click the value field and type a number (0–2000). In v0.9.8, the value is cached immediately when typed so the radio emission doesn't snap the slider back (#2428).	500 ms	0–2000 ms (step 10)	—
Speed (CW)	Sets the CW keying speed in words per minute. Drag the slider or click the value field and type a number (5–100).	20 WPM	5–100 WPM	—
Sidetone	Toggles CW sidetone. Enables/disables both the radio's DAX-fed monitor and the client-side low-latency generator in lockstep. On Windows, the sidetone stream starts immediately on connect (v0.9.3, #2105). The sidetone bus is shared with Quindar tones (mutually exclusive at the mode level). In v26.5.3, the sidetone routes to the user-selected audio output (#2899).	—	On / Off	—
Sidetone volume	Sets CW monitor volume. Controls both mon_gain_cw on the radio and the local sidetone generator volume simultaneously. Drag the slider or click the value field and type a number (0–100).	50	0–100	—
L / R pan (CW)	Sets CW monitor stereo pan. Applies to both the radio-side monitor and the local sidetone generator. Double-click to recenter.	50	0–100	—
Pitch < / >	Sets the CW sidetone and decode pitch. Type a value (100–6000) in the text field or click the < and > buttons to step by 10 Hz. Pitch is also followed automatically from the radio's cw_pitch setting.	600 Hz	100–6000 Hz (step 10)	—
Breakin	Toggles full break-in (QSK). In v0.9.7, the CW keyboard and MIDI paths fully honor this setting: with Breakin ON (QSK) key edges trigger TX and the break-in delay holds the relay; with Breakin OFF keys are queued and the operator engages PTT manually. The previous auto-PTT envelope that masked Breakin OFF and eliminated QSK hang time has been removed.	—	On / Off	—
Iambic	Toggles the iambic paddle keyer.	—	On / Off	—
ALC (CW panel)	Shows automatic level control reading from MeterModel::swAlcChanged (post-software-ALC SSB peak in dBFS). Fills right-to-left: empty at -20 dBFS, full at 0 dBFS. Mirrors the Phone-panel ALC gauge. In v26.5.3, the gauge is initialized to -20 dBFS at construction and immediately set to its floor value to prevent transient display flicker.	—	-20 to 0 dBFS (red > -3 dBFS)	—

Tips

• The Level gauge is suppressed to −150 dBFS when the radio is not transmitting and monitor-in-receive is off. This is normal; the gauge becomes active when you transmit. When Mic source is set to PC, the gauge uses client-side metering and is not subject to this suppression — it appears immediately on connect (v0.9.3, #2086). When RADE mode is active, the gauge also uses client-side metering and is active during RX.
• The Compression gauge reads 0 dB whenever the radio is not in the TRANSMITTING interlock state (v0.9.7). This prevents stale TX chain readings from appearing during RX. The gauge becomes active as soon as you transmit with the speech processor enabled. In v26.5.3, the compression meter value is inverted: MeterModel exposes compression as a positive 0–25 dB amount, and the gauge converts it to the reversed display (0 at the right edge, -25 at the left edge). The gauge now correctly shows zero compression at 0 dB and maximum compression at -25 dB.
• If you use the PC source, note that the PcMicGain value is not sent to the radio — it is managed entirely by AetherSDR. Switching away from the PC source and back restores the saved value. RADE mode shares this same PcMicGain setting.
• With Breakin off in v0.9.7, key presses are queued and TX is not engaged automatically. Engage PTT manually before sending. If you expect full QSK operation, confirm Breakin is lit before keying.
• The client-side sidetone generator provides approximately 10 ms latency, which is useful at higher CW speeds where the radio's round-trip DAX latency becomes noticeable. Because both are controlled by the single Sidetone toggle, there is no risk of one being active without the other.
• Double-click L / R pan (CW) to return the pan position to center (50).
• In v0.9.8, the Delay, Speed, Sidetone Volume, and Pitch value fields accept direct numeric input. Type a value and press Enter or tab away — the slider moves to match. The fields validate input and enforce the valid range automatically.
• In v26.5.1, the ALC gauge on both the Phone and CW panels was updated to use the software ALC meter (post-software-ALC SSB peak dBFS) instead of the previous HWALC (RCA voltage) path. Both gauges now read from the same MeterModel::swAlcChanged source, so the reading is consistent across voice and CW modes. The range is -20 to 0 dBFS, with the gauge filling from right to left. Values outside this range pin at the nearest end.
• In v26.5.3, the ALC gauge on both panels is initialized to -20 dBFS at construction and immediately set to its floor value. This prevents a transient flicker that could appear on startup before the first meter update arrives from the radio.
• In v26.5.3, the CW sidetone now routes to the user-selected audio output instead of the default output. If you do not hear sidetone after updating, verify that your desired audio output device is selected in AetherSDR's audio settings.
• In v26.6.1, all visual elements in the Phone/CW applet use theme colors. If you change the active theme, the applet updates automatically to match. The slider handles, push button backgrounds, and label colors all respond to the current theme settings.

Troubleshooting

• **Mic gain slider snaps back or reads