Radio Setup

The Radio Setup dialog is the master per-radio configuration window. It provides access to radio information, network settings, GPS, TX configuration, Phone/CW settings, RX calibration, audio configuration, antenna names, filter options, transverter definitions, USB cable assignments, peripheral connections, APD sampling, theme appearance, KiwiSDR integration, callsign lookup, and FlexControl serial port setup.

Before you start

• AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. Many fields are populated from live radio data.
• The dialog remembers its size and position between sessions. If the dialog appears off-screen, delete the RadioSetupDialogGeometry entry from your settings file.

Opening Radio Setup

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. The dialog opens at its last-used position and size.

Radio tab

The Radio tab shows identifying information reported directly by the radio — serial number, hardware version, regulatory region, and licensed options. Use this page to verify what hardware and options your radio has before troubleshooting or contacting support.

Steps

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. The dialog opens on the Radio tab by default.
3. Read the values in the Radio Information group:
4. Radio SN — the chassis serial number.
5. HW Version — the hardware version string reported by the radio.
6. Region — the radio's regulatory region (defaults to USA if the radio does not report one).
7. Options — the licensed options active on this radio (for example, GPS, PGXL).

What each control does

Label	Kind	Behavior
Radio SN	Indicator (read-only)	Chassis serial number. Includes a clipboard copy button (tray icon) next to the value.
HW Version	Indicator (read-only)	Hardware version string. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.
Region	Indicator (read-only)	Regulatory region. Displays USA if the radio reports none.
Options	Indicator (read-only)	Licensed radio options. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.
Remote On	Push button	Enables remote wake / remote-on.
FlexControl	Indicator	Detected state of FlexControl hardware.
multiFLEX	Indicator	multiFLEX enabled state.
Model	Indicator (read-only)	Radio model. Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.
Nickname	Text field	User-friendly radio nickname.
Callsign	Text field	Station callsign.
Station Name	Text field	Identifies this AetherSDR client to other multiFLEX stations. Defaults to the OS hostname if empty. Stored in AppSettings as StationName.
License Info	Indicator	Displays license details from the radio (Subscription, Expiration, Radio ID, Licensed version). Each field includes a clipboard copy button.
Check for Update	Push button	Queries for firmware updates.
Select Installer...	Push button	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	Push button	Starts firmware upload with progress bar and status.
Reboot Radio	Push button	Reboots the connected radio with a confirmation dialog. AetherSDR disconnects and (on LAN) auto-reconnects once booting finishes. Only enabled when connected and the backend supports a client reboot (e.g. HL2 is RX-only so the button is disabled). On SmartLink/WAN the operator must reconnect manually after the reboot. New in v26.8.4 (#4448).
Agent Automation (MCP):	Enables the in-app automation bridge so an AI coding assistant (via the MCP server) can introspect and drive the running app. Off by default; the operator opts in.	New in v26.8.4 (#3646). Persisted via AutomationBridgeSettings. The AETHER_AUTOMATION launch environment variable force-enables the bridge regardless of this toggle and disables the control in the UI. Transmit-keying stays blocked unless AETHER_AUTOMATION_ALLOW_TX is set.
Access Token:	Read-only display of the MCP access token; paste it into the assistant's AETHER_MCP_TOKEN environment variable. Stored in the OS secret store.	New in v26.8.4. Auto-mints a 128-bit hex token when the bridge is enabled without one. Placeholder '(loading…)' until the keychain read lands.
Copy (Access Token)	Copies the access token to the clipboard.	New in v26.8.4.
Rotate (Access Token)	Generates a new token and applies it immediately, locking out any client still using the old one.	New in v26.8.4.
Allow TX via MCP: Enable transmit control	Lets an MCP client key the transmitter (MOX/PTT/TUNE/ATU/CWX). Off by default; first enable raises an operator-responsibility confirmation.	New in v26.8.4. Enforced in the bridge; no client can flip it. Overridden by AETHER_AUTOMATION_ALLOW_TX (force on) and AETHER_AUTOMATION_NO_TX (pinned off). A force-unkey watchdog limits bridge-originated TX.
Observe only: Read-only (block all driving)	Makes the bridge observe-only: MCP clients can read state but every mutating verb (set/invoke/connect/tune/capture) is refused.	New in v26.8.4 (#4188). Enforced in the app, so a client cannot bypass it. AETHER_AUTOMATION_READONLY launch variable pins it on for headless/CI runs.
VITA-49 RX buffer:	Snap-to-preset slider setting the kernel receive buffer (SO_RCVBUF) for the VITA-49 stream socket; larger absorbs panadapter/waterfall bursts so packets aren't dropped.	New in v26.8.4 (#3810). Presets 256 KB to 4 MB. The system caps the grant at net.core.rmem_max; a live 'granted: ' label shows what the kernel actually granted.
granted: (VITA-49 RX buffer)	Shows the buffer size the kernel actually granted (vs the requested preset).	New in v26.8.4. Shows '(applies on connect)' when no connection is active.

All Radio Information fields are read-only. No persisted settings keys are associated with them.

Rebooting the radio

The Reboot Radio button is located in the Radio Information group.

1. Click Reboot Radio.
2. A confirmation dialog appears:
3. On LAN connections: "AetherSDR will disconnect and automatically reconnect once the radio finishes booting."
4. On WAN/SmartLink connections: "AetherSDR will disconnect. SmartLink/WAN sessions do not auto-reconnect today — you will need to reconnect manually once the radio finishes booting."
5. Click OK to confirm. The dialog closes automatically after confirming.
6. The radio reboots. AetherSDR disconnects and reconnects automatically on LAN, or waits for manual reconnection on WAN.

Copying radio information

Each value in the Radio Information group has a small copy button to its right. Click the copy button to copy the value to the clipboard.

Copy target	What is copied
Radio SN	The chassis serial number string.
HW Version	The hardware version string (with v prefix).
Region	The regulatory region string.
Options	The licensed options string.
Remote On	The "Remote On" label text.
FlexControl	The FlexControl state string.
multiFLEX	The multiFLEX state string.
Model	The radio model string.
Nickname	The nickname text.
Callsign	The callsign text.
Station Name	The station name text.
License Info	The full license details string.
Check for Update	The "Check for Update" label text.
Select Installer...	The file path text after browsing.
Upload Firmware	The "Upload Firmware" label text.

The copy button appears as a small document icon. It is only clickable when the associated value is non-empty and not a dash placeholder. When clicked, the value is copied to the system clipboard and a brief "Copied!" popup appears near the button.

Network tab

The Network tab shows radio network information and advanced network options.

Steps

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Network tab.

What each control does

Label	Kind	Behavior
IP Address / Mask / MAC Address	Indicator (read-only)	Read-only network addresses. Each includes a clipboard copy button.
Enforce Private IP Connections:	Toggle button	Rejects non-RFC1918 peers.
Network MTU:	Spinbox	Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Range 576-9000 bytes, default 1450. Stored in AppSettings as NetworkMtu.
DHCP / Static	Toggle button	Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes.
IP Address: / Mask: / Gateway:	Text field	Static IP configuration fields.
Apply	Push button	Pushes the network config to the radio.

GPS tab

The GPS tab shows GPS presence and live lat/lon/alt/time/satellites info.

Steps

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the GPS tab.

No additional settings keys or controls beyond what is shown in the tab.

TX tab

The TX tab shows TX timings, interlocks, max power, tune mode, waterfall display, slice/TX follow and TX Band Settings shortcut.

Steps

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the TX tab.

What each control does

Label	Kind	Behavior
TX Band Settings	Push button	Opens the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog.
Timings (in ms)	Spinbox	TX hang / delay timings.
Interlocks - TX REQ: RCA / Accessory	Toggle button	Enables RCA and accessory interlock inputs.
Max Power:	Spinbox	Sets radio-level TX power cap. Range 0-100 %.
Tune Mode:	Combo box	Selects how the tune button behaves.
Show TX in Waterfall:	Toggle button	Draws TX signal in the waterfall.
TX Follows Active Slice	Push button	TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation. Stored in AppSettings as TxFollowsActiveSlice.
Active Slice Follows TX	Push button	Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice. Stored in AppSettings as ActiveFollowsTxSlice.

TX Timings

Field	Display unit	Radio storage unit	Behavior
ACC TX:	ms	ms	Accessory TX delay.
TX Delay:	ms	ms	TX keying delay.
RCA TX1:	ms	ms	RCA TX1 delay.
Timeout:	seconds	ms	Interlock timeout. Displayed in whole seconds for readability; the radio expects and stores milliseconds.

Phone/CW tab

The Phone/CW tab shows microphone, CW keyer, RTTY defaults.

Steps

1. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Phone/CW tab.

What each control does

Label	Kind	Behavior
Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive	Toggle button	Shows mic level meter even in RX.
Iambic:	Toggle button	Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio.
Iambic Mode: A / B	Push button	Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive pair.
Swap:	Toggle button	Swaps dit/dah.
Sideband:	Combo box	Selects CW pitch sideband (LSB
CWX:	Toggle button	Enables CWX macro keying.
Decode: RX	Toggle button	Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter for received CW. Stored in AppSettings as CwDecoder (nested JSON, rx field). New in v26.5.3: split from single CwDecodeOverlay toggle into independent RX/TX toggles.
Decode: TX	Toggle button	Decodes the operator's own CW keying via client-side sidetone, useful as a self-training tool for paddle/bug timing. Stored in AppSettings as `