Radio Setup¶
The Radio Setup dialog is the master per-radio configuration window. It contains tabs for radio information, network, GPS, TX, Phone/CW, RX, audio, antennas, filters, XVTR, USB cables, peripherals, APD, themes, serial port, and SmartLink pinned certificate configuration.
Opening the dialog¶
- Open
Settings > Radio Setup.... - The dialog opens as a persistent window. Its size and position are saved between sessions.
Radio tab¶
The Radio tab displays radio information, identification, license info, and firmware update controls.
Radio information¶
| Control | Type | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Radio SN | Chassis serial number (read-only). | Includes a clipboard copy button (tray icon) next to the value. New in v26.5.3 (#2976). |
| Region | Indicator | Radio regulatory region. |
| HW Version | Hardware version string. | Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value (#2976). |
| Model | Radio model. | Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value (#2976). |
| Options | Shows licensed radio options. | Includes a clipboard copy button next to the value (#2976). |
| FlexControl | Indicator | Detected state of FlexControl hardware. |
| multiFLEX | Indicator | multiFLEX enabled state. |
| 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. Sent to radio as 'client station \<name>'. |
| License Info | Indicator | Displays license details from the radio (Subscription, Expiration, Radio ID, Licensed version). |
| 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. |
| Reboot Radio | Push button | Reboots the connected radio. Disabled when the radio is disconnected. Shows a confirmation dialog before rebooting. On LAN connections, AetherSDR auto-reconnects after the radio boots; on SmartLink/WAN, manual reconnection is required. New in v26.6.3 (#3334). |
| 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. |
Each read-only value has a copy-to-clipboard button next to it (a small icon appearing on hover). Click the button to copy the value.
Remote On¶
Click Remote On to enable remote wake / remote-on functionality.
Reboot Radio¶
Click Reboot Radio to restart the connected radio. A confirmation dialog warns:
- LAN connection: AetherSDR disconnects and automatically reconnects once the radio finishes booting.
- SmartLink/WAN connection: AetherSDR disconnects. You must reconnect manually after the radio reboots.
The button is disabled when the radio is disconnected or reconnecting. It re-enables automatically when the radio reconnects.
Firmware update¶
Check for Update queries the radio for available firmware updates. When a newer version is found, AetherSDR displays an informational message:
Update available: vX.Y.Z Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com, then click 'Select Installer...' to stage it.
Select Installer... (renamed from Browse .ssdr... in v0.9.3) accepts three file types:
| File type | Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SmartSDR WiX installer | .msi | FlexRadio v4.2 and later |
| SmartSDR self-extracting installer | .exe | Older SmartSDR releases |
| Extracted firmware file | .ssdr | As in previous AetherSDR versions |
The firmware stager detects the format automatically from the first 8 bytes of the file (OLE/MSI magic versus PE/COFF MZ header) and extracts the .ssdr payload without requiring any external tools.
To stage firmware from a local installer¶
- Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com.
- Open
Settings > Radio Setup.... - Click the Radio tab.
- Click Select Installer....
- In the file picker, select the .msi, .exe, or .ssdr file.
- AetherSDR extracts and stages the firmware. Watch the progress bar and status line for progress and any errors.
- When staging is complete, click Upload Firmware to send the firmware to the radio.
Network tab¶
The Network tab displays radio network information and advanced network options.
Network information¶
| Control | Type | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| IP Address / Mask / MAC Address | Indicator | Read-only network addresses. Each includes a clipboard copy button (#2976). |
Network settings¶
| Control | Type | Default | Range | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enforce Private IP Connections | Toggle button | — | — | Rejects non-RFC1918 peers. |
| Network MTU | Spinbox | 1450 | 576–9000 bytes | Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes. Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels. Stored in AppSettings. |
| DHCP / Static | Toggle button | — | — | Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes. |
| IP Address / Mask / Gateway | Text field | — | — | Static IP configuration fields. |
| Apply | Push button | — | — | Pushes the network config to the radio. |
GPS tab¶
The GPS tab shows GPS presence and live latitude, longitude, altitude, time, and satellites information.
TX tab¶
The TX tab contains TX timings, interlocks, max power, tune mode, waterfall display, slice/TX follow options, and a TX Band Settings shortcut.
TX Band Settings¶
Click TX Band Settings to open the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog.
Timings¶
The TX timings section includes spinbox fields for millisecond values.
| Control | Display label | Default | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC TX | ACC TX: | — | ACC timing delay in ms. |
| TX Delay | TX Delay: | — | TX delay in ms. |
| RCA TX1 | RCA TX1: | — | RCA TX1 delay in ms. |
| Timeout | Timeout (sec): | — | Interlock timeout displayed in seconds. The radio stores this value in milliseconds. |
Interlocks¶
TX REQ: RCA and TX REQ: Accessory toggle buttons enable RCA and accessory interlock inputs.
Power and tune¶
| Control | Type | Default | Range | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Power | Spinbox | — | 0–100% | Sets radio-level TX power cap. |
| Tune Mode | Combo box | — | — | Selects how the tune button behaves. |
Waterfall and slice follow¶
| Control | Type | Default | Setting key | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show TX in Waterfall | Toggle button | — | — | Draws TX signal in the waterfall. |
| TX Follows Active Slice | Push button | False | TxFollowsActiveSlice |
TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with 'Active Slice Follows TX'. Disabled automatically during Split operation. |
| Active Slice Follows TX | Push button | False | ActiveFollowsTxSlice |
Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with 'TX Follows Active Slice'. |
Phone/CW tab¶
The Phone/CW tab configures microphone, CW keyer, and RTTY defaults.
Microphone¶
Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive toggles showing the mic level meter even in RX.
CW keyer¶
| Control | Type | Default | Range | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iambic | Toggle button | — | Enabled / Disabled | Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio. |
| Iambic Mode | Push button | A | A / B | Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive pair. |
| Swap | Toggle button | — | — | Swaps dit/dah. |
| Sideband | Combo box | — | LSB / USB | Selects CW pitch sideband. |
| CWX | Toggle button | — | — | Enables CWX macro keying. |
| Decode | Toggle button | True | — | Enables the CW decode overlay on the panadapter. Setting key: CwDecodeOverlay. |
RTTY¶
RTTY Mark Default spinbox sets the default RTTY mark frequency.
RX tab¶
The RX tab contains GPSDO frequency offset calibration and 10 MHz reference source selection.
Frequency calibration¶
| Control | Type | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Frequency (MHz) | Spinbox | Frequency used for manual calibration. |
| Start | Push button | Starts the frequency calibration sweep. |
| Freq Offset (ppb) | Spinbox | Manual frequency offset in ppb. |
10 MHz Reference Source¶
The 10 MHz Reference Source: combo box lists available oscillator sources dynamically based on hardware present and the radio's reported oscillator state.
| Label | Internal value | When shown |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | auto | Always shown |
| TCXO | tcxo | Shown when TCXO hardware is present, oscillator status has been received, or the current or saved setting is tcxo |
| GPSDO | gpsdo | Shown when GPSDO hardware is present or the current or saved setting is gpsdo |
| External 10 MHz | external | Shown when an external reference is present, oscillator status has been received, or the current or saved setting is external |
Lock status display¶
The lock status label beside the combo shows richer information than plain text:
| Situation | Example text shown |
|---|---|
| Oscillator status not yet received | Waiting for oscillator status |
| Auto mode has resolved to a source | Auto -> GPSDO Locked |
| Saved setting differs from active state | TCXO -> GPSDO Locked |
| Setting and state agree | GPSDO Locked |
| External selected but reference not detected | External 10 MHz Unlocked (not detected) |
The label color updates automatically: green (#00c040) when locked, red (#c04040) when unlocked, and grey (#8aa8c0) while waiting for status.
Audio tab¶
The Audio tab configures radio audio outputs, compression, PC devices, boost, buffer, recording, and NVIDIA BNR container.
Radio audio outputs¶
| Control | Type | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Line Out | Slider | Line-out gain. |
| Mute (Line Out) | Push button | Mutes line-out. |
| Headphone | Slider | Headphone gain. |
| Mute (Headphone) | Push button | Mutes headphone. |
| Front Speaker / Mute | Push button | Mutes front speaker (model-specific). |
Audio compression¶
Audio Compression (SmartLink): toggles between Auto, Uncompressed, and Opus. Setting key: AudioCompression.
System sleep¶
Prevent system sleep while connected checkbox keeps the OS awake while radio is connected to prevent audio/TCP/UDP stream drops during idle. Default: False. Setting key: InhibitSleepWhileConnected.
PC audio devices¶
PC Audio Devices: Input: and Output: combo boxes pick host audio input and output devices.
Audio boost¶
Audio Boost toggle button enables extra gain on the client audio path. Setting key: AudioBoost.
Audio buffer¶
Audio Buffer text field sets the audio buffer in milliseconds for VPN/Smart