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Radio Setup Dialog

The Radio Setup dialog (Settings > Radio Setup...) is the master per-radio configuration window. It contains tabs for radio information, network, GPS, TX, Phone/CW, RX, Antennas, audio, filters, XVTR, USB cables, peripherals, APD (Adaptive Pre-Distortion), Themes, SmartLink (pinned certificates), and serial (FlexControl).

Opening the dialog

  1. Ensure AetherSDR is connected to the radio.
  2. Click Settings > Radio Setup....
  3. The dialog opens. You can drag the title bar to move the dialog and use the window edges to resize it. Dialog geometry is persisted between sessions.

If a tab contains more controls than fit vertically (e.g., on small or high-DPI displays), a scrollbar appears within that tab. The dialog itself does not grow beyond the screen edge.

Radio (tab)

The Radio tab displays radio information, identification, license information, and firmware update controls. Each read-only value has a small copy button to its right — click to copy the value to your clipboard.

Radio information

Control Kind Behavior
Radio SN Indicator Chassis serial number (read-only).
Region Indicator Radio regulatory region (e.g., USA).
HW Version Indicator Hardware version string.
Model Indicator Radio model.
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. Sent to radio as client station <name>.
Remote On Button Enables remote wake / remote-on.
Options Indicator Shows licensed radio options.
FlexControl Indicator Detected state of FlexControl hardware.
multiFLEX Indicator multiFLEX enabled state.
License Info Indicator Displays license details (Subscription / Expiration / Radio ID / Licensed version) from the radio.
Reboot: Button + confirmation Reboots the connected radio. See "Rebooting the radio" below.
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. Label changed from 'Browse .ssdr...' to 'Select Installer...' in v26.5.3.
SmartLink (tab) Pinned SmartLink TLS certificate management. Lists each pinned certificate (host, SHA-256 fingerprint, pinned date) with per-row Forget and Forget All. New in v26.5.3 (#2951 Phase 2). Lazy-built when first clicked. Phase 2 of GHSA-wfx7-w6p8-4jr2: cert-pin mismatch now hard-pauses the handshake with a modal dialog.
Pinned SmartLink Certificates (section) Section header for the pinned certs table inside the SmartLink tab. Lists every host this client has pinned on first connect (trust-on-first-use). Phase 2 of GHSA-wfx7-w6p8-4jr2. Pin schema migrated from plain strings to {fp, pinnedAt} objects.
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)'). Backed by WanCertCache in WanConnection.cpp.
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 QMessageBox::question before wiping.
#### Rebooting the radio
  1. Click Reboot Radio.
  2. A confirmation dialog appears:
  3. SmartLink/WAN session: The message reads "AetherSDR will disconnect. SmartLink/WAN sessions do not auto-reconnect today — you will need to reconnect manually once the radio finishes booting."
  4. Local session: The message reads "AetherSDR will disconnect and automatically reconnect once the radio finishes booting."
  5. Click OK to confirm. The dialog closes and AetherSDR disconnects. On local connections, reconnection happens automatically.
  6. The button is disabled when the radio is disconnected.

Firmware update

Control Kind Behavior
Check for Update Button Queries the FlexRadio update server for firmware updates.
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 and extracts the .ssdr without external tools.
Upload Firmware Button Starts firmware upload with progress bar and status.
Firmware status Indicator Empty until a firmware upload begins, then progress and result text.

Checking for updates

  1. Click Check for Update. AetherSDR queries the FlexRadio update server.
  2. If firmware is up to date, the status label reads "Firmware is up to date (vx.x.x)." in green.
  3. 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

  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.

Network (tab)

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

Control Kind Behavior
IP Address / Mask / MAC Address Indicator Read-only network addresses.
Enforce Private IP Connections: Toggle Rejects non-RFC1918 peers.
Network MTU: Spinbox Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes (576-9000, default 1450). Stored in AppSettings as NetworkMtu. Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels.
DHCP / Static Toggle Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes.
IP Address: / Mask: / Gateway: Text fields Static IP configuration fields (enabled in Static mode).
Apply Button Pushes the network configuration to the radio.

GPS (tab)

The GPS tab displays GPS presence and live latitude/longitude/altitude/time/satellites information.

Control Kind Behavior
GPS information Indicator Live GPS data when a GPS module is installed and has a fix.

TX (tab)

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

Control Kind Behavior
TX Band Settings Button Opens the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog.
Timings Spinbox TX hang / delay timings. See subtleties below.
Interlocks - TX REQ: RCA / Accessory Toggle Enables RCA and accessory interlock inputs.
Max Power: Spinbox Sets radio-level TX power cap (0-100%).
Tune Mode: Combo box Selects how the tune button behaves.
Show TX in Waterfall: Toggle Draws TX signal in the waterfall.
TX Follows Active Slice 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 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.

Timings

Field Display unit Radio unit Behavior
ACC TX: milliseconds milliseconds Delay after PTT before TX starts.
TX Delay: milliseconds milliseconds Additional TX hold delay.
RCA TX1: milliseconds milliseconds RCA interlock TX1 delay.
Timeout: seconds milliseconds Interlock timeout. Displayed in seconds for readability; stored on the radio in milliseconds. Entry value is multiplied by 1000 before sending.
TX2: milliseconds milliseconds Second TX timing delay.

Phone/CW (tab)

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

Control Kind Behavior
Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive Toggle Shows mic level meter even in RX.
Iambic: Toggle Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio.
Iambic Mode: A / B Button pair Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive.
Swap: Toggle Swaps dit/dah.
Sideband: Combo box Selects CW pitch sideband (LSB | USB).
CWX: Toggle Enables CWX macro keying.
Decode: Toggle Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter. Stored in AppSettings as CwDecodeOverlay.
RTTY Mark Default: Spinbox Default RTTY mark frequency.

RX (tab)

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

Control Kind Behavior
Cal Frequency (MHz): Spinbox Frequency used for manual calibration.
Start Button Starts the frequency calibration sweep.
Freq Offset (ppb): Spinbox Manual frequency offset in parts per billion.
10 MHz Reference Source: Combo box Selects oscillator reference source. Options shown depend on hardware installed. Lock status (Locked / Unlocked) is shown alongside and updates live.

Frequency calibration

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

A status label appears beside Start and provides inline feedback:

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).

10 MHz Reference Source

The combo box is populated dynamically based on what the radio reports:

Entry Shown when
Auto Always present.
TCXO Radio reports TCXO hardware present, or TCXO
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