Use the VFO panel¶
The VFO panel is a floating per-slice control panel anchored to the VFO marker on the spectrum display. It provides quick access to the most frequently used per-slice settings — mode, filter presets, antenna selection, AF gain, pan, squelch, AGC, RIT/XIT, DSP noise reduction buttons, and DAX assignment — without leaving the spectrum view.
Before you start¶
- Ensure the radio is connected and at least one slice is active.
Open the VFO panel¶
Click the VFO marker flag on the spectrum display for the target slice. The VFO panel opens in expanded mode.
Collapse or expand the VFO panel¶
Click the Collapse toggle button (arrow icon) at the right edge of the VFO panel title bar to collapse it to a compact frequency-only strip. Click again to expand.
Use the tabs¶
The VFO panel contains several tabs:
- Audio tab — AF gain, pan, mute, squelch, and AGC controls
- DSP tab — noise reduction algorithm buttons (NR, NR2, RN2, NR4, MNR, DFNR, BNR, NRL, NRS, RNN, NRF), ADSP button, and AetherVoice button
- Mode tab — mode selection and filter preset buttons
- X/RIT tab — RIT and XIT incremental tuning
- DAX tab — DAX audio channel assignment
Tab labels are implemented as checkable push buttons that support keyboard focus. Press Tab to navigate between tab labels; press Enter or Space to activate the focused tab. Right-click the Audio tab label to toggle mute directly for the current slice.
What each control does¶
| Control | Tab | Label | Default | Valid range | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RX antenna button | — | RX (icon) | — | — | Opens antenna selection menu for the receive antenna of this slice. The menu shows the radio's RX antenna list when available; otherwise falls back to the general antenna list. |
| TX antenna button | — | TX (icon) | — | — | Opens antenna selection menu for the transmit antenna of this slice. Only antennas suitable for transmission (not RX-only ports) are shown. |
| Frequency display | — | (frequency readout) | — | — | Shows the current slice frequency. Click once to begin direct frequency entry; type the frequency in MHz and press Enter or Tab. On XVTR bands, the maximum supported frequency is 50000 MHz. On 2m/70cm bands (100-999 MHz range), bare integers with 4-6 digits automatically insert a decimal after the third digit (e.g., 1446 → 144.6, 14696 → 146.96, 144600 → 144.600). On microwave bands a bare integer is interpreted directly as MHz. If the slice is locked, direct entry is cancelled and blocked — see the Lock button notes below. |
| Slice badge | — | (coloured badge with slice letter) | — | — | Shows the slice letter in a coloured badge. Supports rich text formatting for HTML rendering (#2606). Click to toggle focus on the corresponding slice. |
| Filter width label | — | (bandwidth readout) | — | — | Shows current filter bandwidth. Click to cycle through filter preset buttons in the Mode tab. Uses RxApplet::formatFilterWidth as the single source of truth. |
| AF Gain slider | Audio | — | 100 | 0-100 | Sets the audio output level for this slice. Not persisted. |
| Pan slider | Audio | — | 50 | 0-100 | Sets left/right stereo pan for this slice (50 = centre). The slider fill anchors from the centre outward, with a centre-mark dot on the groove to show the neutral position. |
| Mute button | Audio | Mute | off | — | Mutes audio output for this slice without changing the AF gain setting. |
| Squelch toggle button | Audio | Squelch | off | — | Enables or disables squelch for this slice. Disabled in DIGU, DIGL, CW, CWL, and RTTY modes. |
| Squelch slider | Audio | (adjacent to Squelch button) | — | 0-100 | Sets the squelch threshold. |
| AGC combo | Audio | FAST | FAST | FAST, MED, SLOW, OFF | Sets the AGC attack/release speed for this slice. |
| NR button | DSP | NR | off | — | Enables the corresponding noise reduction algorithm. Availability depends on radio series and build. |
| NR2 button | DSP | NR2 | off | — | Enables the NR2 noise reduction algorithm. Right-click to open AetherDSP Settings. |
| RN2 button | DSP | RN2 | off | — | Enables the RN2 noise reduction algorithm. |
| NR4 button | DSP | NR4 | off | — | Enables the NR4 noise reduction algorithm. Right-click to open AetherDSP Settings. |
| MNR button | DSP | MNR | off | — | Enables the MNR noise reduction algorithm. Right-click to open AetherDSP Settings. |
| DFNR button | DSP | DFNR | off | — | Enables the DFNR noise reduction algorithm. Right-click to open AetherDSP Settings. |
| BNR button | DSP | BNR | off | — | Enables the BNR noise reduction algorithm. |
| NRL button | DSP | NRL | off | — | Enables the NRL noise reduction algorithm. |
| NRS button | DSP | NRS | off | — | Enables the NRS noise reduction algorithm. |
| RNN button | DSP | RNN | off | — | Enables the RNN noise reduction algorithm. |
| NRF button | DSP | NRF | off | — | Enables the NRF noise reduction algorithm. |
| ADSP button | DSP | ADSP | — | — | Opens the AetherDSP Settings dialog. Non-checkable. |
| AetherVoice button | DSP | AetherVoice | off (not checkable) | — | Toggles the Aetherial Audio Channel Strip. |
| Mode combo | Mode | USB | USB | USB, LSB, CW, CWL, AM, SAM, DIGU, DIGL, FM, NFM, DFM, RTTY | Sets the demodulation mode for this slice. |
| Filter preset buttons | Mode | 1, 2, 3, 4 | — | — | Applies a saved filter width preset. Right-click to save the current filter width into that slot. |
| RIT toggle | X/RIT | RIT | off | — | Enables receiver incremental tuning. Scroll-wheel adjusts offset in 10 Hz steps. |
| XIT toggle | X/RIT | XIT | off | — | Enables transmitter incremental tuning. Scroll-wheel adjusts offset in 10 Hz steps. |
| RIT/XIT offset label | X/RIT | (offset readout) | — | — | Shows the current RIT or XIT offset. |
| DAX channel combo | DAX | Off | Off | Off, 1-8 | Assigns a DAX audio channel to this slice. |
| Marker thickness button | — | (line thickness icon) | 1 px | Off, 1 px, 3 px | Cycles the VFO marker line thickness. Persisted per slice. |
| Filter edges button | — | (filter edge icon) | shown | — | Toggles the filter edge lines on the spectrum passband. Persisted per slice. |
| Collapse toggle | — | (arrow icon) | expanded | — | Collapses the VFO panel to a compact frequency-only strip. Persisted per slice. |
| Lock button | — | 🔒 (locked) / 🔓 (unlocked) | unlocked | — | Locks the VFO frequency. When locked, scroll-wheel tuning and direct frequency entry are blocked. In collapsed mode, scrolling over the panel is blocked. The frequency display shows a LOCKED overlay. Unlocking clears the overlay centrally in SliceModel (#2983). |
Indicators¶
| Indicator | States | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| TX badge | TX (red), hidden | Shown when this slice is the active transmit slice. |
| SPLIT badge | SPLIT (amber), hidden | Shown when TX is assigned to a different slice than the active receive slice. The badge is styled with improved contrast for readability. |
| LOCKED overlay | LOCKED (text), hidden | Shown on the frequency display when the VFO is locked. Cleared on unlock. |
Tuning with the scroll wheel¶
The scroll wheel tunes the slice frequency. The tuning step depends on the current mode. If the Reverse mouse wheel setting is enabled in Interaction Settings, the tuning direction is inverted, so scrolling up decreases the frequency and scrolling down increases it.
Open the Aetherial Audio Channel Strip from the VFO DSP tab¶
Opens the Aetherial Audio Channel Strip — the unified TX/RX DSP suite — directly from the VFO panel without navigating through menus.
Before you start¶
- Ensure the radio is connected and at least one slice is active.
- The VFO panel must be visible on the spectrum display (click the VFO marker flag if collapsed).
Steps¶
- Click the VFO marker flag on the spectrum display for the target slice to open the VFO panel.
- Locate the AetherVoice button on the DSP tab of the VFO panel.
- Click AetherVoice. The Aetherial Audio Channel Strip appears.
What each control does¶
| Control | Label | Default | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| AetherVoice button | AetherVoice | off (not checkable) | Toggles the Aetherial Audio Channel Strip — the unified TX/RX DSP suite. Spans 2 columns in the 4-column DSP grid. |
Related¶
Open AetherDSP Settings from the VFO DSP tab¶
Opens the AetherDSP Settings dialog (client-side noise reduction algorithms) directly from the VFO panel without navigating through menus.
Before you start¶
- Ensure the radio is connected and at least one slice is active.
- The VFO panel must be visible on the spectrum display (click the VFO marker flag if collapsed).
Steps¶
- Click the VFO marker flag on the spectrum display for the target slice to open the VFO panel.
- Locate the ADSP button on the DSP tab of the VFO panel.
- Click ADSP. The AetherDSP Settings dialog appears.
What each control does¶
| Control | Label | Default | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADSP button | ADSP | n/a | Opens the AetherDSP Settings dialog (client-side NR2 / NR4 / DFNR / RN2 / BNR / MNR). Non-checkable. Click raises and focuses the modeless dialog. |
Notes¶
- Right-click the NR2, NR4, MNR, or DFNR buttons to open the AetherDSP Settings dialog for that specific algorithm.
Related¶
- Open Aetherial Audio Channel Strip from the VFO DSP tab
Use squelch on a VFO panel¶
Enables or disables squelch for a slice and adjusts the squelch threshold from the VFO panel on the spectrum display.
Before you start¶
- Ensure the radio is connected and at least one slice is active.
- The VFO panel must be visible on the spectrum display (click the VFO marker flag if collapsed).
Steps¶
- Click the VFO marker flag on the spectrum display for the target slice to open the VFO panel.
- Click the Audio tab.
- Click the Squelch toggle button to enable squelch for this slice.
- Drag the adjacent slider to set the squelch threshold (0-100).
Important notes¶
- Squelch is automatically disabled in DIGU, DIGL, CW, CWL, and RTTY modes. In digital, RTTY, and CW modes, audio feeds external decoders via DAX, where squelch is not meaningful and can gate weak signals. In CW mode, the radio also locks squelch on at a fixed level and rejects client-side changes.
- When switching to a mode where squelch is disabled, the squelch state is saved and restored when switching back to a voice or FM mode.
- Squelch settings are not persisted and reflect live radio state only.
What each control does¶
| Control | Label | Default | Valid range | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squelch toggle button | Squelch | off | — | Enables or disables squelch for this slice. |
| Squelch slider | (adjacent to Squelch button) | — | 0-100 | Sets the squelch threshold. |