Profile Manager overview¶
The Profile Manager lets you create, load, rename, and delete the three profile types stored on the FLEX-8600: Global, Transmit, and Microphone. Use it to save and restore complete radio states, switch between operating configurations, and control whether transmit changes are saved automatically.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. The Profile Manager requires an active radio connection.
- The Profile Manager dialog remembers its size and position between sessions.
How it works¶
Open the Profile Manager from Profiles > Profile Manager.... The dialog contains four tabs — Global, Transmit, Microphone, and Auto-Save — plus a Close button at the bottom.
Global, Transmit, and Microphone tabs
Each of these three tabs has the same layout:
- A Profile name text field at the top. Type a name here before saving or creating a new profile, or select an existing profile from the list to populate this field automatically. The Save (or Create) button is disabled when the name field is empty, preventing accidental clicks with no target.
- Load, Save (or Create), and Delete buttons. Load and Delete are disabled until you select a profile in the list. Selecting a profile also copies its name into the Profile name field.
- A result status line below the buttons. This line appears momentarily to confirm a successful save or to show an error message. It disappears when you start typing in the Profile name field or load a different profile.
- A Profile list showing all saved profiles for that category. The active profile is highlighted. Double-clicking a profile in the list loads it immediately, equivalent to selecting it and clicking Load.
- On the Transmit and Microphone tabs, an informational note below the buttons explains the autosave model for these profile types.
When you click Save on the Global tab, the radio saves the current state under the name in the Profile name field, overwriting an existing profile if one with that name already exists. If the field is empty, the currently selected profile name is used instead. A status message appears confirming success or reporting an error.
When you click Create on the Transmit or Microphone tab, the radio creates a new profile under the typed name. It cannot overwrite an existing transmit or microphone profile — if a profile with that name already exists, a dialog appears asking if you want to enable Auto-Save so your changes to the existing profile are captured automatically.
When you click Delete, a confirmation dialog appears before the profile is removed.
The profile list updates automatically when the radio reports a change, so additions or deletions made elsewhere are reflected without reopening the dialog.
Auto-Save tab
The Auto-Save tab contains a single checkbox and a short description. When Auto-save profile changes is checked, changes to TX and microphone settings are written back to the active profile automatically. This state is read live from the radio model, not from local AppSettings. When unchecked, you must use Save or Create explicitly to preserve any changes.
The checkbox synchronizes automatically with the radio's auto-save state. Changes made from any source — the profile dialog's "Enable Auto-Save" confirmation, TCI clients, profile loads, or remote SmartSDR clients — are reflected in the checkbox without reopening the dialog.
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Global (tab) | Tab | Manages global profiles. |
| Transmit (tab) | Tab | Manages transmit profiles. |
| Microphone (tab) | Tab | Manages microphone profiles. |
| Auto-Save (tab) | Tab | Controls automatic profile saving. |
| Profile name | Text field | Name used when saving a new profile. Populated automatically when a profile is selected. Enables or disables the Save/Create button as text is typed or cleared. Typing clears any status result from a previous save. |
| Profile list | List | All profiles for this category; active one highlighted. |
| Load | Button | Loads the selected profile onto the radio. Disabled when nothing is selected. Clears the status line. |
| Save | Button | On the Global tab only. Saves the current radio state under the typed name, overwriting an existing profile if one with that name exists. Disabled when the name field is empty. Shows a status message on completion or error. |
| Create | Button | On the Transmit and Microphone tabs only. Creates a new profile under the typed name. Cannot overwrite an existing profile; if a name collision occurs, a dialog offers to enable Auto-Save. Disabled when the name field is empty. Shows a status message on completion or error. |
| Delete | Button | Deletes the selected profile after confirmation. Disabled when nothing is selected. |
| Auto-save profile changes | When enabled, TX changes are written back to the active profile automatically. State is read live from the radio model's auto_save status, not from local AppSettings. Sends 'profile autosave on/off' to the radio on toggle. | New in v26.7.4: reads/writes radio model directly. No longer persisted via AutoSaveTransmitProfile AppSettings key. |
| Close | Button | Closes the dialog. |
Tips¶
- Double-clicking a profile in the list loads it immediately without needing to click Load.
- The Profile name field is filled in when you select a profile, so you can load or overwrite a profile without retyping its name.
- On the Transmit and Microphone tabs, the Save button is labelled Create because the radio cannot directly overwrite existing transmit or microphone profiles — changes are captured via Auto-Save while the profile is active.
- If you see a dialog when clicking Create on a transmit or microphone tab saying a profile already exists, you can click Enable Auto-Save to turn on automatic saving without switching to the Auto-Save tab.
- The Auto-Save checkbox updates automatically when auto-save is enabled or disabled by any means — a profile load, a TCI command, a remote client, or the confirmation dialog on the Transmit/Microphone tabs.
- The status line after saving shows either a success message (e.g., "Profile saved.") or an error message (e.g., "Save timed out."). Typing in the name field clears this status so you always see fresh feedback.
- When loading a transmit profile, the radio uses the
profile tx loadcommand internally. This change is transparent and does not affect the user experience. - Disabled buttons are visually dimmed so you can tell at a glance which actions are available.