Skip to content

Radio Setup Dialog

The Radio Setup dialog is the master per-radio configuration window. It contains tabs for radio information, network settings, GPS, TX configuration, Phone/CW, RX calibration, audio, antenna names, filters, transverters, USB cables, peripherals, serial ports, APD, themes, and SmartLink pinned certificate management.

Opening the Radio Setup dialog

  • Select Settings > Radio Setup... from the main menu.

Radio tab

The Radio tab displays radio identification, licensing information, and firmware update controls.

Radio information (read-only)

Control Description
Radio SN Chassis serial number. Click the copy button next to the value to copy the serial number to the clipboard.
Region Regulatory region (USA by default).
HW Version Hardware version string.
Options Licensed radio options.
FlexControl Detected state of FlexControl hardware.
multiFLEX multiFLEX enabled state.
Model Radio model.

Each read-only value field has a copy button. Click the clipboard icon to copy the value to the system clipboard. A brief "Copied" popup confirms the action. Copy buttons are visually dimmed when the value is empty or unavailable.

User-configurable fields

Control Description Notes
Nickname User-friendly radio nickname.
Callsign Station callsign.
Station Name Identifies this AetherSDR client to other multiFLEX stations. Defaults to the OS hostname if empty. Stored in AppSettings with key StationName. Sent to radio as "client station ".

License information

The License Info section displays subscription status, expiration date, radio ID, and licensed version. Each field includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.

Firmware update

Control Description
Check for Update Queries for firmware updates.
Select Installer... Opens a file dialog for a SmartSDR installer (.msi, .exe) or pre-extracted .ssdr firmware file. Passes the selected path to FirmwareStager which extracts .ssdr payload and emits progress.
Upload Firmware Starts firmware upload with progress bar and status.
Firmware status Empty until a firmware upload begins, then shows progress and result text.

Remote control and reboot

Control Description Notes
Remote On Enables remote wake / remote-on.
Reboot Radio Reboots the connected radio. Only enabled when the radio is connected. Clicking shows a confirmation dialog. On WAN/SmartLink connections, you must reconnect manually after the radio finishes booting. On LAN connections, AetherSDR automatically reconnects. The dialog closes after reboot is initiated. New in v26.6.3 (#3334).

The SmartLink tab manages pinned SmartLink TLS certificates. Lists each pinned certificate with host, SHA-256 fingerprint, and pinned date. Cert-pin mismatch now hard-pauses the handshake with a modal dialog.

Control Description
Pinned SmartLink Certificates (section) Section header for the pinned certs table. Lists every host this client has pinned on first connect (trust-on-first-use).
Host / SHA-256 fingerprint / Pinned (table columns) 3-column read-only table: Host (hostname), SHA-256 fingerprint (monospace), Pinned (YYYY-MM-DD or "(pre-phase 2)").
Forget selected Removes the selected host's pinned cert fingerprint so the next connect re-pins silently.
Forget all Clears every pinned cert (with confirmation). Next connect to each radio silently re-pins. Shows a confirmation dialog before wiping.

Network tab

The Network tab displays radio network information and provides network configuration options.

Network information (read-only)

Control Description
IP Address / Mask / MAC Address Read-only network addresses. Each includes a clipboard copy button.

Network settings

Control Default Range Setting Key Description
Enforce Private IP Connections: Rejects non-RFC1918 peers. Toggle button shows "Enabled" when checked.
Network MTU: 1450 576-9000 bytes NetworkMtu Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels.
DHCP / Static Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes.
IP Address: / Mask: / Gateway: Static IP configuration fields (visible only in Static mode).
Apply Pushes the network configuration to the radio.

GPS tab

The GPS tab displays GPS presence and live position data.

Control Description
GPS status Shows lat/lon/alt/time/satellites information when a GPS is installed and active.

TX tab

The TX tab controls transmit timings, interlocks, power limits, tuning modes, and slice/TX follow behavior.

TX band settings

Control Description
TX Band Settings Opens the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog.

Timings

Control Description
Timings TX hang / delay timings.
Field Description Notes
ACC TX: ACC TX delay in milliseconds. Command: interlock set acc_tx_delay=<ms>
TX Delay: TX delay in milliseconds. Command: interlock set tx_delay=<ms>
RCA TX1: RCA TX1 delay in milliseconds. Command: interlock set tx1_delay=<ms>
Timeout (sec): Interlock timeout in seconds. Displayed and entered in whole seconds; the radio stores the value internally in milliseconds. Command: interlock set timeout=<seconds * 1000>

Interlocks

Control Description
TX REQ: RCA Enables RCA interlock input.
TX REQ: Accessory Enables accessory interlock input.

Power and tuning

Control Default Range Description
Max Power: 0-100% Sets radio-level TX power cap.
Tune Mode: Selects how the tune button behaves.

Waterfall display

Control Description
Show TX in Waterfall: When enabled, the TX signal is drawn in the waterfall display.

Slice/TX follow behavior

Control Default Setting Key Description
TX Follows Active Slice False TxFollowsActiveSlice TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation.
Active Slice Follows TX False ActiveFollowsTxSlice Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice.

Phone/CW tab

The Phone/CW tab configures microphone, CW keyer, and RTTY defaults.

Level meter

Control Description
Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive Shows mic level meter even in RX.

CW keyer

Control Default Range Description
Iambic: Enabled / Disabled Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio.
Iambic Mode: A / B A A / B Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive pair.
Swap: Swaps dit/dah.
Sideband: LSB / USB Selects CW pitch sideband.
CWX: Enables CWX macro keying.

Decode

Control Default Setting Key Description
Decode: True CwDecodeOverlay Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter.

RTTY

Control Description
RTTY Mark Default: Default RTTY mark frequency.

RX tab

The RX tab provides frequency calibration controls and 10 MHz reference source selection.

Frequency calibration

The calibration controls are visible regardless of whether a GPSDO is installed.

  • If a GPSDO is installed, a green status line reads "GPSDO installed. Manual frequency offset calibration available."
  • If no GPSDO is installed, a yellow status line reads "Manual frequency offset calibration available."

Calibration procedure

  1. Open Settings > Radio Setup... and click the RX tab.
  2. Enter a known-accurate reference frequency in Cal Frequency (MHz):.
  3. Click Start. The button changes to Busy and is disabled while calibration runs. A status label to the right of the button shows progress text.
  4. "Starting…" appears immediately.
  5. If you leave the Cal Frequency (MHz): field empty and click Start, the status label shows "Enter cal frequency" in amber and the calibration does not start.
  6. Wait for the status label to indicate completion. The Start button re-enables automatically.
  7. Confirm or adjust the result using Freq Offset (ppb):.
Control Description Notes
Cal Frequency (MHz): Frequency used for calibration, entered in MHz to six decimal places. Sent to the radio as radio set cal_freq=<value>.
Start Begins the calibration sweep. Disabled and labelled Busy while a calibration is in progress. Resets freq_error_ppb to 0 before starting. Requires a non-empty cal frequency.
Freq Offset (ppb): Manual frequency offset correction in parts per billion.

10 MHz reference

Control Default Range Description Notes
10 MHz Reference Source: Auto Auto / TCXO / GPSDO / External Selects oscillator reference source. Options shown depend on hardware installed. Lock status (Locked / Unlocked) is shown alongside the combo and updates live. When Auto is selected and the radio has resolved to a specific source, the label shows "Auto -> " to indicate the active hardware. If an External 10 MHz source is selected but no external signal is detected, the label appends "(not detected)". The label reads "Waiting for oscillator status" until the radio reports its first oscillator state.

Audio tab

The Audio tab configures radio audio outputs, compression, PC devices, boost, buffer, recording, and NVIDIA BNR.

Radio audio outputs

Control Description
Line Out: Line-out gain slider.
Mute (Line Out) Mutes line-out.
Headphone: Headphone gain slider.
Mute (Headphone) Mutes headphone.
Front Speaker: / Mute Mutes front speaker (model-specific).

Audio compression

Control Default Setting Key Description
Audio Compression (SmartLink): Auto AudioCompression Selects audio codec for SmartLink/LAN: Auto, Uncompressed, or Opus.

System sleep

Control Default Setting Key Description
Prevent system sleep while connected False InhibitSleepWhileConnected Keeps OS awake while radio is connected to prevent audio/TCP/UDP stream drops during idle.

PC audio devices

Control Description
PC Audio Devices: Input: Picks host audio input device.
PC Audio Devices: Output: Picks host audio output device.

Audio boost and buffer

Control Default Range Setting Key Description
Audio Boost: AudioBoost Enables extra gain on the client audio path.
Audio Buffer: 200 50-1000 ms AudioBufferMs Increases audio buffer in milliseconds for VPN/SmartLink jitter.

Recording

Control Default Range Setting Key Description
Recording: Radio Side Radio Side / Client Side RecordingMode Picks radio-side or client-side recording.
Save to: QsoRecordingDir Folder for saved recordings (client-side only). Defaults to Documents/AetherSDR/Recordings.
... Browses for recording folder.
Auto-record on TX False QsoRecordingAutoRecord Automatically records while transmitting.
Idle timeout: 120 10-3600 sec QsoRecordingIdleTimeout Seconds of silence before recording stops.

NVIDIA BNR

Control Description
NVIDIA BNR: Autostart Container Enables automatic container startup.
NVIDIA BNR: Start / Stop Manually starts or stops the NVIDIA Broadcast noise-removal container.
NVIDIA BNR: Check Status Checks container status.
NVIDIA BNR status dot
⚡ Athena AetherSDR Assistant
Hi! I'm Athena, the AetherSDR AI assistant. Ask me anything about installation, configuration, or troubleshooting.