Phone/CW Applet

The Phone/CW applet is a mode-aware transmit panel that shows Phone controls (microphone, processor, monitor) in voice modes and automatically switches to CW controls (delay, speed, sidetone, iambic, pitch) when the active slice is in CW mode.

In v0.9.8, the four CW value labels (Delay, Speed, Sidetone Volume, Pitch) are now QLineEdit widgets with QIntValidator — click any value and type a number directly (SmartSDR parity).

In v26.5.3, the CW sidetone now routes to the user-selected audio output instead of the default output (#2899). The ALC gauges on both panels now initialize to -20 dBFS on startup.

In v26.6.1, all slider and label styles now use the ThemeManager for consistent theming across the application. The container widget applies a theme class of applet/digi.

Before you start

• Connect to a FLEX-8600 radio. The Phone/CW applet requires an active radio connection.
• Open the Applet Panel. If it is not visible, click View > Applet Panel.

Steps

Phone mode: enable the sideband monitor

1. Click the P/CW tray button on the right sidebar to open the Phone/CW applet.
2. Confirm the applet is showing the Phone panel (the active slice must be in a voice mode such as SSB or AM).
3. Click MON to enable the TX sideband monitor. The button highlights when active.
4. Adjust the Monitor volume slider to set the playback level (0–100).

Phone mode: adjust microphone settings

1. Select a Mic profile from the dropdown to load a named microphone processing profile.
2. Select the Mic source from the dropdown (options include MIC, BAL, LINE, ACC, PC, plus any from the radio's available mic inputs).
3. Adjust the Mic gain slider to set the microphone input level (0–100). When the source is PC, the value is stored locally in PcMicGain.
4. Click +ACC to enable the accessory microphone input mix.
5. Click PROC to toggle the speech processor.
6. Use the NOR/DX/DX+ slider to select the processor level: 0 (NOR), 1 (DX), or 2 (DX+).
7. Click DAX to enable DAX as the TX audio source.

CW mode: adjust CW settings

1. Switch the active slice to a CW mode. The applet automatically shows the CW panel.
2. Adjust the Delay slider to set the CW break-in delay (0–2000 ms, step 10). You can also type a value directly into the QLineEdit (0–2000).
3. Adjust the Speed slider to set CW keying speed (5–100 WPM). You can also type a value directly into the QLineEdit (5–100).
4. Click Sidetone to enable the CW monitor. The button highlights when active.
5. Adjust the Sidetone volume slider to set the level (0–100). You can also type a value directly into the QLineEdit (0–100).
6. Use the L / R pan (CW) slider to set stereo pan (double-click to recentre to 50).
7. Click Breakin to toggle full break-in (QSK).
8. Click Iambic to toggle iambic paddle keyer.
9. Use the Pitch < / > buttons to step by 10 Hz, or type a value directly into the QLineEdit (100–6000 Hz).

What each control does

Control	What it does	Default
MON	Enables the TX sideband monitor (Phone panel).	—
Monitor volume	Sets sideband monitor playback level.	—
DAX	Enables DAX as the TX audio source.	—
Mic profile	Loads a named microphone processing profile.	—
Mic source	Selects the microphone input source.	—
Mic gain	Adjusts microphone input level. For PC source uses local PcMicGain persistence.	50
+ACC	Enables the accessory microphone input mix.	—
PROC	Toggles the speech processor.	—
NOR/DX/DX+	Three-position processor level slider.	0
Delay (CW)	Sets CW break-in delay. Adjacent QLineEdit accepts typed values (0–2000) (v0.9.8, #2429). In v0.9.8, setCwDelay was fixed to cache the value immediately so the radio emission doesn't snap the slider back (#2428).	500 ms
Speed (CW)	Sets CW keying speed. Adjacent QLineEdit accepts typed values (5–100) (v0.9.8, #2429).	20 WPM
Sidetone	Toggles CW sidetone monitor. Also enables/disables the client-side low-latency CwSidetoneGenerator in lockstep (v0.9.1+). Both the radio's DAX-fed monitor and the local PortAudio sidetone are controlled by this single button. Pitch and pan always follow the radio's cw_pitch and mon_pan_cw automatically. In v26.5.3, sidetone audio routes to the user-selected audio output (#2899).	—
Sidetone volume	Sets CW monitor volume. Also sets the local sidetone generator volume in lockstep. Adjacent QLineEdit accepts typed values (0–100) (v0.9.8, #2429).	50
L / R pan (CW)	Sets CW monitor stereo pan. Applies constant-power pan to the local sidetone generator (v0.9.1+). Double-click to recentre to 50.	50
Breakin	Toggles full break-in (QSK). In v0.9.7, the CW keyboard/MIDI paths now fully honor this setting: with Breakin ON (QSK) key edges trigger TX and break_in_delay holds the relay; with Breakin OFF keys are queued and the operator engages PTT manually.	—
Iambic	Toggles iambic paddle keyer.	—
Pitch < / >	QLineEdit with < / > buttons (CwTriBtn). Type a value (100–6000) or click the buttons to step by 10 Hz (v0.9.8, #2429).	600 Hz
Level	Microphone input peak level in dBFS (Phone panel). Suppressed to -150 when met_in_rx is off and not transmitting.	—
Compression	Speech compression amount in dB (Phone panel). Gated on the radio's interlock TRANSMITTING state and speech processor enable: reads 0 dB during RX (v0.9.7). In v26.5.3, compression meter value is inverted: 0 dB = no compression, -25 dB = full compression.	—
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. Rewired from HWALC (RCA voltage) to SW ALC meter in v26.5.1 (#2552). In v26.5.3, initializes to -20 dBFS on startup. Mirrored by an identical gauge on the CW sub-panel.	—
ALC (CW panel)	Mirrors the Phone-panel ALC gauge; both read from MeterModel::swAlcChanged for consistent readings across voice and CW. Added in v26.5.1 (#2552) as part of the SW ALC meter split. Uses HGauge::setFillFromRight mode. In v26.5.3, initializes to -20 dBFS on startup.	—

Meter information

Meter	What it shows	Valid Range	Notes
Level gauge	Microphone input peak level in dBFS.	-40 to +10 dBFS (red > 0)	Suppressed to -150 when met_in_rx is off and not transmitting.
Compression gauge	Speech compression amount in dB (reversed fill). In v26.5.3, 0 dB = no compression, -25 dB = full compression.	-25 to 0 dB	Gated on the radio's interlock TRANSMITTING state and speech processor enable: reads 0 dB during RX (v0.9.7). In v26.5.3, inverted from previous versions.
ALC gauge (Phone)	Automatic level control — post-software-ALC SSB peak, read from MeterModel::swAlcChanged. Fills right-to-left: empty at -20 dBFS, full at 0 dBFS.	-20 to 0 dBFS (red > -3)	Rewired from HWALC (RCA voltage) to SW ALC meter in v26.5.1 (#2552). In v26.5.3, initializes to -20 dBFS on startup. Mirrored by identical gauge on CW panel.
ALC gauge (CW)	Mirror of the Phone-panel ALC gauge, identically scaled. Both read from MeterModel::swAlcChanged.	-20 to 0 dBFS (red > -3)	Added in v26.5.1 (#2552) as part of the SW ALC meter split. Uses HGauge::setFillFromRight mode. In v26.5.3, initializes to -20 dBFS on startup.

Tips

• The Sidetone button and Sidetone volume slider control both audio paths (radio DAX monitor and client-side generator) together. There is no separate control to enable or adjust the local sidetone independently.
• Pitch always follows the radio's CW pitch setting automatically. Use the Pitch < / > widget to change the radio's CW pitch, and both the decode pitch and sidetone pitch will update accordingly.
• The MON button and the Sidetone button are separate controls on separate panels. MON applies to voice modes; Sidetone applies to CW mode.
• When the mic source is set to PC, the Level gauge appears immediately on connect. In v0.9.7, the same applies when RADE mode is active: the Level gauge is shown during RX regardless of the met_in_rx setting. In other mic source modes (without RADE active), the gauge is suppressed when met_in_rx is off and the radio is not transmitting.
• When RADE mode is active, the Mic gain slider acts as a client-side RADE gain control and its value is stored in PcMicGain. The slider does not send a mic level command to the radio in this state, which prevents overwriting your hardware mic setting.
• In v0.9.8, the four CW QLineEdit fields (Delay, Speed, Sidetone Volume, Pitch) accept direct numeric input. Type a value and press Enter to apply it. Values are automatically clamped to the valid range.
• The sidetone bus is shared with Quindar tones (mutually exclusive at the mode level).
• The ALC gauge on both the Phone and CW panels now reads from the software ALC meter (MeterModel::swAlcChanged), providing meaningful dBFS readings instead of the previous meaningless HWALC (RCA voltage) data. Both gauges are identical and update in sync.
• In v26.5.3, the compression gauge value is inverted: 0 dB represents no compression, and -25 dB represents full compression. This matches the meter display convention where the gauge fills toward the negative side during compression.
• In v26.6.1, all slider and label styles now use the ThemeManager for consistent theming across the application. The container widget applies a theme class of applet/digi.

Troubleshooting

• MON or Sidetone button has no effect — Confirm the radio is connected and the active slice mode matches the panel being shown (Phone vs. CW). The applet switches panels automatically based on the active slice mode.
• Sidetone produces no audio — Check that your system audio output is configured correctly. The client-side sidetone is generated locally by AetherSDR; confirm the Sidetone button is active. In v26.5.3, verify that the sidetone audio output is routed to the correct audio device in your system settings (#2899). On Windows, the sidetone stream now starts immediately on connect (v0.9.3, #2105).
• Sidetone pitch is wrong — Pitch is derived automatically from the radio's cw_pitch setting. Adjust the pitch using the Pitch < / > widget on the CW panel.
• Level gauge does not appear on connect — If the mic source is set to PC, or if RADE mode is active, the Level gauge appears immediately on connect and remains visible during RX. For other mic sources without RADE active, the gauge is suppressed until met_in_rx is enabled or the radio begins transmitting.
• Mic gain slider appears to have no effect with RADE active — When R