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Radio Setup

The Radio Setup dialog is the master per-radio configuration window. It organizes radio identification, network, GPS, transmit, phone/CW, receive, antenna names, filters, transverters, USB cables, peripherals, APD, themes, SmartLink certificate management, and serial port settings across multiple tabs.

Opening Radio Setup

  1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
  2. The dialog opens as a persistent dialog; its geometry is saved and restored automatically across sessions.

Radio tab

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

Radio information

Control Kind Notes
Radio SN Indicator Chassis serial number (read-only). Click the copy icon next to the value to copy it to clipboard.
Region Indicator Radio regulatory region.
HW Version Indicator Hardware version string.
Model Indicator Radio model.
Options Indicator Shows licensed radio options. Click the copy icon to copy the text.
FlexControl Indicator Detected state of FlexControl hardware.
multiFLEX Indicator multiFLEX enabled state.

Identification

Control Kind Notes
Nickname Text field User-friendly radio nickname.
Callsign Text field Station callsign. Click the copy icon next to the value to copy it to clipboard.
Station Name Text field Identifies this AetherSDR client to other multiFLEX stations. Defaults to the OS hostname if empty. Stored in AppSettings. Sent to radio as 'client station '.

Copying read-only values

Each read-only information field on this tab (Radio SN, Callsign, Options, HW Version, Region, Model, IP Address, Mask, MAC Address, and License Info fields) displays a small copy icon when you hover over the value. Click the icon to copy the text to the clipboard. A brief "Copied" popup confirms the action.

License information

The dialog displays license details from the radio including subscription status, expiration date, radio ID, and licensed version. Each field includes a clipboard copy button next to the value.

Firmware update

  1. Click Check for Update to query for firmware updates.
  2. If an update is available, the status label shows the available version and instructs you to download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com.
  3. If the firmware is already current, the status label shows "Firmware is up to date."
  4. Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com if one is available.
  5. Click Select Installer....
  6. The file picker accepts .msi (FlexRadio v4.2+ WiX installer), .exe (older self-extracting installer), or a pre-extracted .ssdr file.
  7. The firmware stager detects the file format automatically and extracts the .ssdr without requiring external tools.
  8. While the stager prepares the firmware, the progress bar is shown and the status label reads "Preparing firmware from \<filename>...".
  9. Once staging completes, click Upload Firmware to transfer the firmware to the radio. Progress and result are shown in the status label.
Control Kind Notes
Check for Update Button Queries for available firmware updates.
Select Installer... Button Opens a file picker. Accepts .msi, .exe, or .ssdr. Previously labelled Browse .ssdr... (changed in v0.9.3).
Upload Firmware Button Starts the firmware upload. Progress bar and status label update throughout.

Remote On

Click Remote On to enable remote wake / remote-on capability.

Reboot Radio

Click Reboot Radio to restart the connected radio.

Control Kind Notes
Reboot Radio Button Restarts the radio. A confirmation dialog is shown before rebooting. The button is disabled when the radio is not connected. For LAN connections, AetherSDR automatically reconnects after the radio finishes booting. For SmartLink/WAN connections, you must reconnect manually. The dialog closes after initiating the reboot.
  1. Click Reboot Radio.
  2. A confirmation dialog explains the behavior difference between LAN and WAN connections.
  3. Click OK to confirm. AetherSDR sends the reboot command to the radio and closes the setup dialog.

Network tab

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

Network information

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

Network settings

Control Kind Default Valid range Notes
Enforce Private IP Connections: Toggle button Enabled — Rejects non-RFC1918 peers. The button always shows "Enabled" when checked.
Network MTU: Spin box 1450 576–9000 bytes Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels. 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 network configuration

Click Apply to push the network configuration to the radio.

GPS tab

The GPS tab displays GPS presence and live latitude, longitude, altitude, time, and satellite information.

TX tab

Use this page to configure transmit settings including timings, interlocks, max power, tune mode, waterfall display, and slice/TX follow behavior.

TX band settings

Click TX Band Settings to open the dedicated per-band power and tune dialog.

TX controls

Control Kind Default Notes
Max Power: Spin box — Sets radio-level TX power cap (0–100%).
Tune Mode: Combo box — Selects how the tune button behaves.
Timings Spin box / Text field — TX hang / delay timings.
Interlocks - TX REQ: RCA / Accessory Toggle button — Enables RCA and accessory interlock inputs.
Show TX in Waterfall: Toggle button — Draws TX signal in the waterfall.
TX Follows Active Slice Button False TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with 'Active Slice Follows TX'. Disabled automatically during Split operation.
Active Slice Follows TX Button False Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with 'TX Follows Active Slice'.

TX timing fields

Field Display label Reported unit Command suffix
ACC TX ACC TX ms acc_tx_delay
TX Delay TX Delay ms tx_delay
RCA TX1 RCA TX1 ms tx1_delay
Timeout (sec) Timeout (sec) seconds interlock_timeout (value multiplied by 1000 before sending to radio)

The interlock timeout field displays in whole seconds for readability. The radio stores and expects the value in milliseconds; AetherSDR multiplies by 1000 before sending the command to the radio.

Antennas tab

The Antennas tab allows you to assign friendly names to each antenna port on the radio.

Antenna name controls

Control Kind Notes
ANT1 / ANT2 / XVTA / XVTB Text field User-friendly label for each antenna port. Names appear in the band scope antenna selector and in the TX antenna dropdown.
  1. Click the Antennas tab.
  2. Enter a custom name for each antenna port (ANT1, ANT2, XVTA, XVTB).
  3. Names are stored in AppSettings and sent to the radio.

Phone/CW tab

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

CW keyer settings

Control Kind Default Valid range Notes
Iambic: Toggle button — Enabled / Disabled Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio.
Iambic Mode: A / B Button A A / B 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 — LSB / USB Selects CW pitch sideband.
CWX: Toggle button — — Enables CWX macro keying.
Decode: Toggle button True — Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter.

Other audio settings

Control Kind Notes
Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive Toggle button Shows mic level meter even in RX.
RTTY Mark Default: Spin box Default RTTY mark frequency.

RX tab

The RX tab contains controls for manual frequency offset calibration and 10 MHz reference source selection. Calibration controls are always shown regardless of whether a GPSDO is installed.

How to run a frequency calibration

  1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
  2. Click the RX tab.
  3. Enter a known-accurate reference frequency in Cal Frequency (MHz):.
  4. Click Start.
  5. The button label changes to Busy and becomes disabled while calibration runs.
  6. The status field to the right of the button shows progress text ("Starting…" then live state).
  7. Before starting, AetherSDR resets the frequency error to zero (radio set freq_error_ppb=0) and then issues radio pll_start.
  8. If you leave Cal Frequency (MHz): empty and click Start, the status field shows "Enter cal frequency" and the calibration does not proceed.
  9. When calibration completes, the button re-enables and the status field shows the result.
  10. If you need to set an offset manually, enter a value in Freq Offset (ppb):.

Calibration controls

Control Kind Notes
Cal Frequency (MHz): Spin box Frequency used for calibration. Must not be empty before clicking Start.
Start Button Begins calibration. Resets freq_error_ppb to 0, then issues radio pll_start. Disabled while busy.
Freq Offset (ppb): Spin box Manual frequency offset in parts per billion.
10 MHz Reference Source: Combo box Default: Auto. Selects the oscillator reference. Options: Auto, TCXO, GPSDO, External. Lock status (Locked / Unlocked) shown alongside the combo and updates live.

Audio tab

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

Audio output controls

Control Kind Notes
Line Out: Slider Line-out gain.
Mute (Line Out) Button Mutes line-out.
Headphone: Slider Headphone gain.
Mute (Headphone) Button Mutes headphone.
Front Speaker: / Mute Button Mutes front speaker (model-specific).

Audio codec

Control Kind Default Notes
Audio Compression (SmartLink): Auto / Uncompressed / Opus Button Auto Selects audio codec for SmartLink/LAN.

PC audio settings

Control Kind Notes
PC Audio Devices: Input: / Output: Combo box Picks host audio in/out devices.
Audio Boost: Toggle button Enables extra gain on the client audio path.
Audio Buffer: Text field Default: 200. Valid range: 50–1000 ms. Increases audio buffer for VPN/SmartLink jitter.

System settings

Control Kind Default Notes
Prevent system sleep while connected Checkbox False Keeps OS awake while radio is connected.

Recording settings

Control Kind Default Notes
Recording: Radio Side / Client Side Button Radio Side Picks radio-side or client-side recording.
Save to: Text field — Folder for saved recordings (client-side only). Defaults to Documents/AetherSDR/Recordings.
... Button — Browses for recording folder.
Auto-record on TX Checkbox False Automatically records while transmitting.
Idle timeout: Spin box 120 Valid range: 10–3600 sec. Seconds of silence before recording stops.

NVIDIA BNR

Control Kind Notes
NVIDIA BNR: Autostart Container / Start / Stop / Check Status Button Controls the NVIDIA Broadcast noise-removal container. Colored
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