Fix AetherSDR crash on quit when TCI is enabled and a radio is connected¶

AetherSDR v0.9.6 and earlier could crash on exit when the TCI server was running and a radio was connected. Version 0.9.7 fixes this. If you are still seeing a crash on quit, the steps below confirm you are running the corrected version and guide you through a clean TCI configuration.

Before you start¶

You are running AetherSDR v0.9.7 or later. Earlier builds contain the use-after-free defect that caused the crash; upgrading is the only complete fix.
A FLEX-8600 radio is connected and visible in the application.
The TCI applet is visible. If it is not, click the TCI tray button on the right sidebar to show it.

Steps¶

Quit AetherSDR using File > Quit or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Q.
If the application crashes at this point, confirm your installed version is v0.9.7 or later. If it is not, upgrade before continuing.
After upgrading, reopen AetherSDR and connect to your radio.
Open the TCI applet by clicking the TCI tray button on the right sidebar if it is not already visible.
In the Port field, confirm the port value is between 1024 and 65535. The default is 50001. If the field is blank or out of range, type 50001 and press Enter — the field snaps to 50001 automatically for out-of-range values.
Click Enable to start the TCI server.
Confirm the status indicator next to Enable shows :<port> (0 clients) rather than (port in use). If it shows (port in use), see Troubleshooting below.
Use the radio normally, then quit with File > Quit. The application should exit cleanly.

What each control does¶

Control	Default	Valid range	Persisted key
`Port` field	`50001`	1024–65535	`TciPort`
`Enable` toggle	Off	On / Off	—
RX1 gain+meter	0.5	0.0–1.0	`TciRxGain1`
RX2 gain+meter	0.5	0.0–1.0	`TciRxGain2`
RX3 gain+meter	0.5	0.0–1.0	`TciRxGain3`
RX4 gain+meter	0.5	0.0–1.0	`TciRxGain4`
TX gain+meter	0.5	0.0–1.0	`TciTxGain`

Out-of-range values entered in the Port field snap to 50001. If Enable is toggled on and the bind fails, the button snaps back to off and the status shows (port in use).

Tips¶

If you use Settings > Autostart TCI with AetherSDR, the TCI server starts automatically on each launch. This setting was present before v0.9.7 and is safe to use after upgrading.
The crash in earlier versions occurred because the TCI server was torn down after the radio model had already been released. In v0.9.7 the teardown order was corrected: the TCI server is shut down while the radio model is still alive. No configuration change on your part triggers or avoids this — upgrading to v0.9.7 is the fix.

Troubleshooting¶

Status shows (port in use) after clicking Enable — Another process is already bound to that port. Enter a different port number in the Port field and press Enter, then click Enable again.
Application still crashes on quit after upgrading — Confirm you are running v0.9.7 or later. Check Help > About for the version string. If the version is correct and crashes persist, disable Enable before quitting to isolate whether TCI is still involved.
Enable snaps back to off immediately — The port bind failed. The status label turns red and shows (port in use). Change the port value and try again.