CWX Panel
Status: Supported · Applies to: FlexRadio, IC-7300MK2, IC-705 (early)
The CWX (CW Transmit) panel sends Morse code typed on your keyboard or stored in macros, keyed by the radio's own CW text keyer. On a FlexRadio it uses the radio's CWX keyer; on a supported Networked Icom radio the same panel drives the radio's CI-V text keyer and is labelled CWK.
Requirements
- Mode: CWX keys the transmit slice, so it is available when the TX slice is in CW or CWL. The indicator is greyed out otherwise, and switching the TX slice out of CW closes the panel.
- Radio support: the indicator is hidden on radios without a radio-side CW text keyer (for example the Hermes-Lite 2), and the panel closes with it.
- On Icom (CWK): supported on the IC-705 and IC-7300MK2. The speed range follows the radio, and the Live and Setup views are hidden because the CI-V keyer has no live keying or stored macros.
Using the CWX panel
Opening CWX
Click the CWX indicator in the status bar at the bottom of the screen (or use Tools → CW Keyer). The panel opens beside the panadapter.
The CWX panel and the DVK Panel share the same space — opening one closes the other.
Sending text
The panel has three views, chosen with the buttons at its top: Send, Live and Setup (see Views). In Send, type text and send it; sent text appears as history bubbles above the entry line. In Live, characters are keyed as you type them.
Speed sets the keyer speed in WPM (5–100 on FlexRadio).
Right-click a sent bubble for Resend (sent again exactly as typed, per-word speed changes included) or Clear History.
When the CWX queue empties, AetherSDR releases the transmitter straight away, so the radio returns to receive right after the last character.
Macros and shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F1–F12 | Send the matching macro. Works app-wide while the TX slice is in CW/CWL, even with the panel closed. |
| Escape | Abort the CW being sent |
F1–F12 follow the transmit slice's mode: in CW they fire CWX macros, in voice modes they play DVK recordings (see DVK Panel), and only one of the two responds. CWX macros 1–12 can also be assigned to FlexControl, MIDI and other controller buttons.
Keyboard and MIDI keying (local iambic keyer)
Beyond text entry, AetherSDR has a local iambic / straight-key keyer that respects the radio's break-in setting. Three actions can be bound to keys or MIDI controls:
| Action | Default key |
|---|---|
| Trigger straight key | unbound |
| Trigger CW Left Paddle (dits) | unbound |
| Trigger CW Right Paddle (dahs) | unbound |
Bind keys under Settings → Configure Shortcuts... and turn on Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts (off by default), or map a MIDI control in MIDI Controller Mapping. Further CW actions include speed up/down, sidetone, iambic on/off, iambic mode A/B, swap paddles and break-in.
- With break-in on, a paddle or straight-key press keys the radio directly. With break-in off, MOX must be on for the CW to go out.
- Element timing is scheduled against an exact clock with a sample-accurate sidetone, and iambic Mode B behaves correctly when both paddles are released together.
- The break-in delay holds when you change speed.
- CW keying and TUNE lock each other out: you cannot key CW while TUNE is on, or start TUNE while a key is down.
The sidetone plays on your selected audio output and follows the radio's sidetone pitch and level.
To watch your own sending, turn on the TX decode of the CW Decoder.
Reference
Views
| View | What it does |
|---|---|
| Send | Type text and send it. Sent text appears as history bubbles above the entry line. |
| Live | Characters are keyed as you type them. |
| Setup | Delay, QSK, speed step and the twelve F1–F12 macros. |
Setup settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Delay | Break-in delay, 0–2000 ms |
| QSK | Full break-in on or off |
| Step | How many WPM each + or - speed prefix changes the speed (1–20) |
| F1–F12 | Twelve macro texts |
Special characters
The legend under the macros lists the special characters:
- Prosigns:
=(BT),+(AR),((KN),&(BK),$(SK) - Speed changes:
+wordsends that word faster,-wordslower;++/--change by twice the step. A+or-only counts as a speed prefix at the start of a word — a standalone+is still AR.
Known issues
- Receive audio can go silent after a CW transmission and only return after a TUNE cycle (#5312).
Troubleshooting
Receive audio goes silent for about a minute after sending CWX
On FLEX firmware v4.2.18, a CWX break-in delay of 0 makes the radio mute all receive audio for roughly 70 seconds after CWX text is sent. The panadapter keeps running, but audio, the CW decoder and the S-meter go dead. This is a firmware defect, fixed in v4.2.20 (#5945).
- Update the radio to firmware v4.2.20 or later. See Firmware Update.
The CWX indicator is greyed out
The transmit slice is not in a CW mode.
- Switch the TX slice to CW or CWL.
The CWX indicator is missing
The radio has no radio-side CW text keyer, as on the Hermes-Lite 2. Use the local keyer instead (see Keyboard and MIDI keying).
A paddle or key press sends nothing
Break-in is off, so the keyer waits for MOX.
- Turn on break-in, or turn on MOX before keying.
- Check that TUNE is off; CW keying is locked out while it is on.