AetherSDR Radio Setup Dialog¶
The Radio Setup dialog is the master configuration window for per-radio settings. It contains tabs for radio information, network, GPS, transmit, phone/CW, receive, antennas, audio, filters, transverters, USB cables, peripherals, APD, Themes, SmartLink, KiwiSDR, and optionally serial ports.
Opening the Radio Setup dialog¶
- Click
Settings > Radio Setup....
Dialog layout¶
The Radio Setup dialog uses a persistent dialog that remembers its size and position between sessions. Geometry is saved in RadioSetupDialogGeometry in the application settings.
Tabs whose content may exceed the dialog's visible height (Themes, Audio, Filters, Peripherals, KiwiSDR) are wrapped in a vertical scroll area. The scrollbar appears only when content overflows; on wide screens there is no visual change.
Radio tab¶
The Radio tab displays radio identification and firmware management controls.
Radio information (read-only)¶
| Control | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Radio SN | Chassis serial number |
| Region | Regulatory region (e.g., USA) |
| HW Version | Hardware version string |
| Model | Radio model (e.g., FLEX-8600) |
| Options | Licensed radio options |
| FlexControl | Detected state of FlexControl hardware |
| multiFLEX | multiFLEX enabled state |
| License Info | Subscription status, expiration date, Radio ID, and licensed version |
Each read-only field has a copy button to its right that copies the displayed value to the clipboard. When the value is empty or unavailable, the copy button is dimmed.
User-configurable fields¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Enter a friendly name for the radio |
| Callsign | Enter the station callsign |
| Station Name | Identifies this AetherSDR client to other multiFLEX stations. Defaults to the OS hostname if empty. Stored in StationName. |
Remote On¶
Click Remote On to enable remote wake / remote-on capability for the radio.
Reboot Radio¶
Click Reboot Radio to reboot the connected radio. A confirmation dialog appears before the reboot.
- On a LAN connection: AetherSDR disconnects and automatically reconnects once the radio finishes booting.
- On a SmartLink/WAN connection: AetherSDR disconnects. You must reconnect manually after the radio finishes booting.
The button is disabled when the radio is disconnected or reconnecting.
Firmware update¶
- Click Check for Update to query the radio for available firmware versions.
- If an update is available, the status label displays the version and instructs you to download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com.
- Download the SmartSDR installer (.msi for v4.2+, .exe for older releases).
- Click Select Installer... and choose the downloaded installer or a pre-extracted .ssdr file in the file picker.
- A progress bar and status label show the extraction progress. When staging completes, click Upload Firmware to transfer the firmware to the radio.
Network tab¶
The Network tab displays radio network information and allows configuration.
Network information (read-only)¶
| Control | What it shows |
|---|---|
| IP Address / Mask / MAC Address | Current network addresses |
Configuration¶
| Control | What it does | Valid range |
|---|---|---|
| Enforce Private IP Connections: | Toggle to reject non-RFC1918 peers | On / Off |
| Network MTU: | Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels. Stored in NetworkMtu. |
576–9000 bytes |
| DHCP / Static | Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes | DHCP / Static |
| Agent Automation (MCP): | Toggle to enable 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. | Enabled / Disabled |
| 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. |
— |
| Copy (Access Token) | Click to copy the access token to the clipboard | — |
| Rotate (Access Token) | Click to generate a new token and apply it immediately, locking out any client still using the old one | — |
| Allow TX via MCP: Enable transmit control | Check to let an MCP client key the transmitter (MOX/PTT/TUNE/ATU/CWX). Off by default; first enable raises an operator-responsibility confirmation. | On / Off |
| Observe only: Read-only (block all driving) | Check to make the bridge observe-only: MCP clients can read state but every mutating verb (set/invoke/connect/tune/capture) is refused. | On / Off |
| 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. | 0.25–4 MB (presets) |
| granted: (VITA-49 RX buffer) | Shows the buffer size the kernel actually granted (vs the requested preset). | — |
When Static is selected, enter the IP Address:, Mask:, and Gateway: in the text fields, then click Apply to push the configuration to the radio.
GPS tab¶
The GPS tab shows GPS presence and live information when a GPS module is installed and active.
GPS information (read-only)¶
| Indicator | What it shows |
|---|---|
| GPS status | Latitude, longitude, altitude, UTC time, and number of satellites when GPS is active |
TX tab¶
The TX tab configures transmit parameters.
TX Band Settings¶
Click TX Band Settings to open the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog.
Timings¶
Use the Timings spinboxes to set TX hang and delay timings in milliseconds. The Timeout (sec) field displays the interlock timeout in seconds for readability; the radio stores this value internally in milliseconds.
Interlocks¶
Toggle TX REQ: RCA and Accessory to enable interlock inputs.
Power and Tune¶
| Control | What it does | Valid range |
|---|---|---|
| Max Power: | Sets radio-level TX power cap | 0–100 % |
| Tune Mode: | Selects how the tune button behaves | — |
Display¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Show TX in Waterfall: | Toggle to draw TX signal in the waterfall |
Slice following behavior¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| TX Follows Active Slice | TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation. Stored in TxFollowsActiveSlice. |
| Active Slice Follows TX | Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g., WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice. Stored in ActiveFollowsTxSlice. |
Phone/CW tab¶
The Phone/CW tab configures microphone, CW keyer, and RTTY defaults.
Level meter¶
Toggle Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive to show the mic level meter even during receive.
CW keyer¶
| Control | What it does | Valid range |
|---|---|---|
| Iambic: | Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio | Enabled / Disabled |
| Iambic Mode: A / B | Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive pair. | A / B |
| Swap: | Swaps dit/dah | On / Off |
| Sideband: | Selects CW pitch sideband | LSB / USB |
| CWX: | Enables CWX macro keying | On / Off |
| Decode: RX | Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter for received CW. Stored in CwDecoder (nested JSON, rx field). |
On / Off |
| Decode: TX | Decodes the operator's own CW keying via client-side sidetone, useful as a self-training tool for paddle/bug timing. Stored in CwDecoder (nested JSON, tx field). |
On / Off |
RTTY¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| RTTY Mark Default: | Sets the default RTTY mark frequency |
RX tab¶
The RX tab provides frequency calibration and reference source selection.
Frequency calibration¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cal Frequency (MHz): | Enter the known-accurate reference frequency in MHz to use for calibration |
| Start | Begins the frequency calibration sweep |
| Freq Offset (ppb): | Displays or manually sets the current frequency offset in parts per billion |
10 MHz Reference Source¶
| Control | What it does | Valid range |
|---|---|---|
| 10 MHz Reference Source: | Selects the oscillator reference source. Options depend on installed hardware. | Auto / TCXO / GPSDO / External |
The lock status label beside the control updates live.
Calibration tab¶
The Calibration tab provides manual frequency calibration for radios that cannot calibrate themselves (e.g., HL2). This tab is hidden unless the connected radio supports host-side frequency calibration.
Manual frequency calibration¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cal Frequency (MHz): | Enter the known-accurate reference frequency in MHz to use for calibration |
| Start | Begins the frequency calibration sweep |
| Freq Offset (ppb): | Displays or manually sets the current frequency offset in parts per billion |
The calibration state is re-read whenever the dialog is shown or a different radio is connected, so a Trim press cannot commit the previous radio's calibration value.
Antennas tab¶
The Antennas tab configures antenna names for each antenna port on the radio. This tab is lazy-built when first clicked.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| ANT1: | Enter a custom name for antenna port 1 |
| ANT2: | Enter a custom name for antenna port 2 |
| XVTA: | Enter a custom name for transverter port A |
| XVTB: | Enter a custom name for transverter port B |
Audio tab¶
The Audio tab configures radio audio outputs, compression, PC devices, boost, buffer, recording, and NVIDIA BNR.
Radio audio outputs¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Line Out: | Slide to adjust line-out gain |
| Mute (Line Out) | Click to mute line-out |
| Headphone: | Slide to adjust headphone gain |
| Mute (Headphone) | Click to mute headphone |
| Front Speaker: / Mute | Click to mute front speaker (model-specific) |
Audio Compression¶
| Control | What it does | Valid range |
|---|---|---|
| Audio Compression (SmartLink): Auto / Uncompressed / Opus | Selects the audio codec used over SmartLink/LAN. Stored in AudioCompression. |
Auto / Uncompressed / Opus |
System sleep prevention¶
Check Prevent system sleep while connected to keep the OS awake while the radio is connected. Stored in InhibitSleepWhileConnected.
PC Audio Devices¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| PC Audio Devices: Input: | Select the host audio input device |
| PC Audio Devices: Output: | Select the host audio output device |
Audio Boost¶
Toggle Audio Boost: on to enable extra gain on the client audio path. Stored in AudioBoost.
Audio Buffer¶
Enter a value in Audio Buffer: to set the client-side audio buffer in milliseconds. Increase this when using VPN or SmartLink connections with unstable latency. Stored in AudioBufferMs.
| Valid range | Default |
|---|---|
| 50–1000 ms | 200 ms |
Recording¶
| Control | What it does | Valid range |
|---|---|---|
| Recording: Radio Side / Client Side | Picks radio-side or client-side recording. Stored in RecordingMode. |
Radio Side / Client Side |
| Save to: | Folder for saved recordings (client-side only). Defaults to Documents/AetherSDR/Recordings. Stored in QsoRecordingDir. |
— |
| ... | Click to browse for recording folder | — |
| Auto-record on TX | Check to automatically record while transmitting. Stored in QsoRecordingAutoRecord. |
On / Off |
| Idle timeout: | Seconds of silence before recording stops. Stored in QsoRecordingIdleTimeout. |
10–3600 sec (default 120) |
NVIDIA BNR¶
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Autostart Container | Click to configure automatic container startup |
| Start | Click to start the NVIDIA Broadcast noise-removal container |
| Stop | Click to stop the container |
| Check Status | Click to check container status |
A colored status dot indicates the container state (Running/Stopped/Unknown).
Filters tab¶
The Filters tab configures filter sharpness per mode.
Filter sharpness¶
Use the sliders for Voice, **