Start/stop the NVIDIA BNR Container

The NVIDIA BNR (Broadcast Noise Removal) container applies AI-based noise suppression to your microphone audio. Use the controls on the Audio tab to start, stop, or check the state of the container without leaving AetherSDR.

Before you start

• AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. The Audio tab is not accessible when disconnected.
• The NVIDIA Broadcast container must be installed on your system independently of AetherSDR. AetherSDR controls it but does not install it.

Steps

1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Audio tab.
3. Locate the NVIDIA BNR section near the bottom of the tab.
4. To have the container start automatically each time AetherSDR launches, click Autostart Container so it is active.
5. To start the container immediately, click Start.
6. To stop a running container, click Stop.
7. To query the current state without changing it, click Check Status. The colored status dot next to the controls updates to reflect Running, Stopped, or Unknown.

What each control does

Control	Kind	Behavior
Autostart Container	Button	When active, AetherSDR starts the NVIDIA BNR container automatically on launch.
Start	Button	Starts the NVIDIA BNR container immediately.
Stop	Button	Stops a running NVIDIA BNR container immediately.
Check Status	Button	Queries the container state and updates the status dot.
NVIDIA BNR status dot	Indicator	Colored dot showing the container state: Running, Stopped, or Unknown.
TX Follows Active Slice	Button	TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation.
Active Slice Follows TX	Button	Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice.
Voice / CW / Digital filter sharpness sliders	Slider	Sets filter sharpness (0=lowest latency to 3=sharpest) per mode. Slider is disabled when Auto is enabled. Commands sent as radio filter_sharpness <mode> level=<N>.
Auto (Voice / CW / Digital)	Button	Enables automatic filter-level selection for that mode and disables the manual sharpness slider. Commands sent as radio filter_sharpness <mode> auto_level=1.
Connect / Disconnect (TGXL)	Button	Opens/closes direct TCP connection to the TGXL on port 9010. Saves IP and port to TGXL_ManualIp and TGXL_ManualPort on connect so AetherSDR auto-reconnects on startup. Required to recover TUNE on firmware 4.2+. When connected, the TUNE button sends the native autotune command directly to the TGXL instead of the radio-side path broken in firmware 4.2. If the IP field is empty and the radio has discovered the TGXL, the discovered IP is pre-filled.
Connect / Disconnect (PGXL)	Button	Opens/closes direct TCP connection to the Power Genius XL (default port 9008). Saves IP and port to PGXL_ManualIp and PGXL_ManualPort.
Connect / Disconnect (Antenna Genius)	Button	Opens/closes connection to the Antenna Genius (default port 9007). Saves IP and port to AG_ManualIp and AG_ManualPort. The row shows a Connected status only when the device identified on that connection is an Antenna Genius (not a ShackSwitch).
Connect / Disconnect (ShackSwitch)	Button	Opens/closes connection to a ShackSwitch antenna switch via the AG UDP/TCP protocol on port 9007. Saves IP to SS_ManualIp and port to SS_ControlPort. ShackSwitch is detected by the ShackSwitch field in the AG broadcast beacon. Auto-discovery via UDP also works without this row. The row is hidden from Connected status if an Antenna Genius (non-ShackSwitch) is the connected device.
⚙ Web UI (ShackSwitch)	Button	Opens the ShackSwitch device's local web configuration interface in the system browser. Uses the beacon's webPort if greater than 1024, otherwise falls back to SS_WebPort or port 5000.
Select Installer...	Button	Opens a file picker that accepts .msi (FlexRadio v4.2+ WiX installer), .exe (older self-extracting installer), or a pre-extracted .ssdr firmware file. The firmware stager auto-detects format from the first 8 bytes (OLE/MSI magic vs PE/COFF MZ) and extracts the .ssdr without external tools. Label was Browse .ssdr... in versions prior to v0.9.3.
APD tab	Tab	External Adaptive Pre-Distortion sampler configuration — per-TX-antenna selection of the feedback sample port (INTERNAL / RX_A / RX_B / XVTA / XVTB) and an equalizer reset button. Tab is hidden unless the radio reports apd configurable=1. Only FLEX-8x00 series with SmartSDR 4.2.18+ firmware exposes this; 6000-series and pre-4.2.18 radios keep the tab invisible.
ANT1 / ANT2 / XVTA / XVTB sampler combos (APD)	Combo box	Selects the feedback path the radio uses to sample the outgoing RF for APD training for that TX antenna. Choose an external RX/XVTR input when driving an external linear amplifier. Options are populated live from the radio's apd sampler sub-object. Falls back to INTERNAL if the radio reports an unrecognised value.
Equalizer Reset (APD)	Button	Sends apd reset to the radio, clearing all per-antenna APD training data so adaptation starts fresh.
Themes tab	Tab	UI customization tab — currently hosts the Slice Colors section.
Use Aether defaults / Custom colors	Radio button	Switches the slice color scheme between the built-in AetherSDR palette and a fully custom per-slice set. Backed by SliceColorManager::useCustomColors().
Slice A–H color buttons	Button	Click any lettered button (A–H) to open a color picker and assign a custom color for that slice. Changes are visible immediately in VFO widgets, panadapter overlays, and CAT channel badges. Buttons are disabled when Use Aether defaults is selected. Up to 8 slices.
Reset All to Defaults (Themes)	Button	Resets all custom slice colors to the built-in AetherSDR palette.

Firmware update (Radio tab)

Use the controls on the Radio tab to check for firmware updates and upload firmware to the radio.

Checking for updates

1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Radio tab.
3. Click Check for Update. AetherSDR queries the FlexRadio update server.
4. If firmware is up to date, the status label reads "Firmware is up to date (vx.x.x)." in green.
5. If an update is available, the status label reads "Update available: vx.x.x — Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com, then click Select Installer... to stage it." in amber.

Staging and uploading firmware

In v0.9.3 the Browse .ssdr... button was renamed Select Installer... and now accepts the full SmartSDR installer as downloaded from FlexRadio, in addition to a pre-extracted .ssdr file.

1. Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com if you do not already have it locally.
2. Click Select Installer.... A file picker opens that accepts:
3. .msi — FlexRadio v4.2+ WiX installer
4. .exe — older self-extracting installer
5. .ssdr — pre-extracted firmware file
6. Select the file. AetherSDR stages the firmware automatically. The stager detects the file format from the first 8 bytes and extracts the .ssdr payload without requiring any external tools. The status label shows "Preparing firmware from filename..." while staging is in progress.
7. When staging completes, click Upload Firmware. A progress bar and status label track the upload.

Notes

• If the status label does not update after clicking Select Installer..., verify the selected file is a valid .msi, .exe, or .ssdr.
• Do not disconnect from the radio while an upload is in progress.

Frequency calibration (RX tab)

In v0.9.2.1 the RX tab frequency calibration controls are available regardless of whether a GPSDO is installed. Previously, when a GPSDO was detected, the calibration fields were hidden and replaced with a message stating correction was not required. The tab now always shows the Cal Frequency (MHz) field and the Start button.

A status label appears beside Start and provides inline feedback throughout the calibration sequence:

Status text	Meaning
Starting...	AetherSDR has sent the calibration commands to the radio.
Busy	The Start button is disabled; calibration is in progress.
(error text)	A problem was reported; check the value in Cal Frequency (MHz).

When GPSDO hardware is present, the label at the top of the group reads "GPSDO installed. Manual frequency offset calibration available." (green). Without GPSDO the label reads "Manual frequency offset calibration available." (amber). In both cases the controls below the label behave identically.

10 MHz Reference Source combo (v0.9.7)

In v0.9.7 the 10 MHz Reference Source: combo box and the lock-status label beside it were updated to provide richer display.

Combo box population: The list of available sources is now built dynamically each time the RX tab opens, based on what the radio reports. A source is included if the radio currently has it selected, if it is actively in use, or if the corresponding hardware is present. The always-present entry is Auto. Additional entries appear as follows:

Entry	Shown when
TCXO	Radio reports TCXO hardware present, or TCXO is the current setting or active state.
GPSDO	Radio reports GPSDO hardware present, or GPSDO is the current setting or active state.
External 10 MHz	Radio reports an external reference detected, or External is the current setting or active state, or oscillator status has been received.

Note: the entry previously labelled External is now labelled External 10 MHz.

Lock-status label: The label to the right of the combo shows the current oscillator state in a richer format than before:

Condition	Label text (examples)
No status received yet	Waiting for oscillator status
Auto mode, radio resolved to a source	Auto -> GPSDO Locked
Setting differs from active state	TCXO -> GPSDO Locked
Setting matches active state	GPSDO Locked
Active source unlocked	GPSDO Unlocked
External selected, no signal detected	External 10 MHz Unlocked (not detected)

The label color remains green when locked and red when unlocked. Before any status arrives from the radio the label is shown in a muted blue-grey.

To calibrate frequency offset

1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the RX tab.
3. Enter a known-accurate reference frequency in Cal Frequency (MHz) (for example, a WWV or WWVH carrier).
4. Verify the value is correct. If the field is empty, the status label shows "Enter cal frequency" and calibration