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AetherSDR

AetherSDR is an open-source, cross-platform amateur-radio workstation for FlexRadio 6000, 8000, and Aurora transceivers. Native builds are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows — no Wine or virtual machines required.

AetherSDR works with the iSR Client on iShareRadio the same way as Flex SmartSDR: the iSR Client proxies the remote Flex radio to your operator workstation while the Hub manages credentials, bookings, and session access. Operators can use AetherSDR instead of SmartSDR to control a shared Flex radio through iShareRadio.

What AetherSDR includes

From the AetherSDR project:

  • GPU spectrum and waterfall — high-frame-rate panadapter with optional 3D stacked-trace mode
  • Multi-slice and multi-panadapter — up to eight detachable panadapters with independent TX assignment
  • Aetherial Audio — RX/TX DSP, noise reduction, and preset library
  • DAX virtual audio and I/Q — for WSJT-X, fldigi, VARA, JS8Call, Winlink, and similar tools
  • SmartLink remote and TCI — CAT, audio, I/Q, CW, and spots over open interfaces
  • Broad hardware control — rigctld, virtual serial CAT, MIDI, FlexControl, and Multi-FLEX alongside other clients

AetherSDR is free software under the GNU GPL v3. Downloads, release notes, and source are on GitHub and aethersdr.com.

Using AetherSDR with iSR Client

The radio-side setup follows the same Flex Radio workflow documented under Flex Radio:

  1. Configure the Flex radio for SmartLink on the station LAN.
  2. Pair the radio to the Hub — see Flex Radio pairing.
  3. Install the iSR Client on the operator LAN (the network where you run AetherSDR), not on the radio LAN — see Flex Radio installation and the iSR Client installers.

When you connect AetherSDR to a radio proxied by the iSR Client, live control and audio remain point-to-point between your workstation and the radio; the Hub acts as the match-maker for the session without exposing SmartLink credentials to the operator.