v0.7.12.1 — Equipment Safety Hotfix
Who Should Upgrade
Upgrade immediately if you use AetherSDR's "Inhibit amplifier during TUNE" feature with a non-FlexRadio amplifier (e.g. Elecraft, SPE, Acom, or any third-party amplifier connected via RCA TX1/TX2 relay outputs).
Not affected:
- Users without external amplifiers (barefoot operation)
- Users with a FlexRadio PGXL — the PGXL has its own interlock logic built into the radio-to-amplifier protocol and does not rely on client-side TX output inhibit
- Users who never enabled "Inhibit amplifier during TUNE"
The Problem
In v0.7.12, the "Inhibit amplifier during TUNE" feature only suppressed the ACC TX output (DB9 accessory connector, pin 11). However, most third-party amplifier PTT wiring uses the RCA TX1 and/or TX2 relay outputs — not ACC TX. This meant the amplifier was keyed during ATU tune cycles despite the inhibit setting being enabled, potentially sending a tune carrier through the amplifier into a mismatched load.
Additionally, the inhibit only triggered on barefoot TUNE — it did not intercept TGXL autotune or internal ATU autotune (atu start) commands.
How to Verify If You Were Affected
- Were you running v0.7.12 (or earlier) with "Inhibit amplifier during TUNE" enabled?
- Is your amplifier PTT wired to RCA TX1 or TX2 on the back of your Flex radio?
- Did you use TUNE, ATU, or TGXL autotune while the amplifier was in-line?
If yes to all three, your amplifier may have been keyed during tune cycles when you expected it to be inhibited. Check your amplifier's fault log or SWR history for any unexpected tune events.
What Changed
New: Settings → Inhibit during TUNE is now a multi-select submenu:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| None | No outputs suppressed (default) |
| ACC TX | DB9 accessory connector output |
| TX1 | RCA TX1 relay output |
| TX2 | RCA TX2 relay output |
| TX3 | RCA TX3 relay output (typically preamp protection — leave unchecked unless your amp is on TX3) |
Select whichever outputs your amplifier PTT is wired to. Multiple selections allowed — the menu stays open for easy multi-select.
All three tune paths are now covered:
- Barefoot TUNE button (
transmit tune 1) - TGXL external tuner autotune (
tgxl autotune) - Internal ATU autotune (
atu start)
On tune start, selected outputs are suppressed via interlock bandset <N> <output>=0. On tune completion (or disconnect), all suppressed outputs are automatically restored.
Your old "Inhibit amplifier during TUNE" setting is automatically migrated to the ACC TX checkbox.
Other Changes
- Code of Conduct: fixed placeholder text, broken links, normalized project name
- CONTRIBUTING.md: linked to CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
- Release workflow: supports 4-part hotfix version numbers (X.Y.Z.P)
73, Jeremy KK7GWY & Claude (AI dev partner)