Tuner overview¶
The Tuner applet gives you real-time control over a 4O3A Tuner Genius XL (TGXL) external antenna tuner directly from AetherSDR. From a single panel you can read forward power and SWR, trigger an autotune, adjust relay banks, set the tuner operating state, and — when a TGXL 3x1 antenna switch is connected — select between three antenna ports.
Before you start¶
- A Tuner Genius XL must be detected by AetherSDR. The applet is hidden until the TGXL is found.
- AetherSDR must be connected to the radio.
How it works¶
The Tuner applet appears in the right-side applet panel once a TGXL is detected. Toggle its visibility with the TUN tray button on the right sidebar.
The applet is divided into three areas:
Meters (top) — Two horizontal gauges report live readings from the TGXL. Each gauge has an external row label on the left (PWR, SWR) that shows the live value. When power drops below threshold, the label clears after 800 ms to prevent blinking from inter-packet noise. The SWR gauge defaults to 1.0 (empty) when forward power is below 5 W to avoid showing spurious idle readings.
Relay bars and buttons (middle) — Three relay-position bars (C1, L, C2) sit to the left; TUNE and OPERATE/BYPASS/STANDBY buttons sit to the right.
Antenna switch row (bottom) — Three antenna selection buttons appear only when a direct TGXL connection is active and the TGXL reports that an antenna switch is present. The row is hidden otherwise.
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Behavior | Valid range / states |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fwd Pwr | Meter (gauge) | Displays TGXL-reported forward power. Scale adjusts automatically based on whether a PGXL or Aurora amplifier is detected. The gauge has ballistics: the bar rises quickly on RF bursts but decays over approximately 800 ms for a smooth visual effect. | 0–200 W (barefoot); 0–600 W (Aurora); 0–2000 W (with PGXL) |
| SWR | Meter (gauge) | Displays TGXL-reported SWR. The gauge defaults to 1.0 (empty) when forward power is below 5 W to avoid showing spurious idle readings from the TGXL sending SWR=0.0000 (return loss = 0 dB) at idle. Gauge turns red above 2.5, yellow above 2.0. | 1.0–3.0 |
| C1 | Relay bar | Shows the C1 relay bank position. Mousewheel scroll adjusts the relay when a direct TGXL connection is active. | 0–255 |
| L | Relay bar | Shows the L relay bank position. Mousewheel scroll adjusts the relay when a direct TGXL connection is active. | 0–255 |
| C2 | Relay bar | Shows the C2 relay bank position. Mousewheel scroll adjusts the relay when a direct TGXL connection is active. | 0–255 |
| TUNE | Button | Triggers an autotune. The button turns red and reads TUNING... while tuning is in progress. When tuning completes, the button briefly displays SWR x.xx (the settled post-tune SWR) for 2.5 seconds, then returns to TUNE. When a direct TGXL connection (port 9010) is configured, sends the native 'autotune' command directly to the TGXL instead of routing through the radio's firmware path. Falls back to the radio path when no direct connection is available. Configure the direct connection in Radio Setup → Tuner. | — |
| OPERATE / BYPASS / STANDBY | Button | Cycles the TGXL relay state: OPERATE → BYPASS → STANDBY → OPERATE. Label and color reflect the current state: OPERATE (green), BYPASS (orange), STANDBY (default). | — |
| ANT 1 | Button | Selects antenna port 1 on the TGXL 3x1 switch. Visible only when a direct TGXL connection is active and an antenna switch is present. | — |
| ANT 2 | Button | Selects antenna port 2 on the TGXL 3x1 switch. | — |
| ANT 3 | Button | Selects antenna port 3 on the TGXL 3x1 switch. | — |
Indicators¶
| Indicator | States | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| TUNE button | TUNE / TUNING... / SWR x.xx | Idle / tuning in progress / captured post-tune SWR (flashes for 2.5 s). |
| OPERATE button | OPERATE (green) / BYPASS (orange) / STANDBY (default) | TGXL relay/bypass state. |
| Forward power gauge | Bar with peak hold | White tick mark shows peak forward power. Clears after 2.5 seconds of no new peaks. Gauge turns yellow at 80 W (barefoot), 400 W (Aurora), or 1000 W (PGXL). Turns red at 125 W (barefoot), 500 W (Aurora), or 1500 W (PGXL). |
| SWR gauge | Bar | Defaults to 1.0 (empty) when forward power is below 5 W. Shows actual SWR when forward power is 5 W or above. |
Accessibility¶
The Tuner applet controls include accessible names for screen readers:
| Control | Accessible name |
|---|---|
| Forward power gauge | "Forward power" |
| SWR gauge | "SWR" |
| C1 relay bar | "Tuner capacitor C1" |
| L relay bar | "Tuner inductor L" |
| C2 relay bar | "Tuner capacitor C2" |
Tips¶
- Mousewheel scrolling on C1, L, and C2 is only enabled when a direct TGXL connection is active. If scrolling has no effect, check the connection state.
- The post-tune SWR displayed on the TUNE button reflects the final settled value after a short capture window, not the SWR measured mid-sweep.
- The forward power gauge scale is set automatically. No manual configuration is required when switching between barefoot, Aurora, and PGXL setups.
- The forward power gauge has ballistics: the bar rises quickly on RF bursts but decays over approximately 800 ms for a smooth visual effect.
- The peak hold white tick mark on the forward power gauge clears automatically after 2.5 seconds of no new peaks.
- The SWR gauge stays at 1.0 (empty) when forward power is below 5 W. This prevents the gauge from showing spurious high SWR readings when the TGXL is idle and sending SWR=0.0000 (return loss = 0 dB). The gauge only shows live SWR values when forward power is 5 W or above.