Proper Use of Flexcontrol

[dk3ww]

Request preparation

• I used an AI assistant to help structure this request
• I checked for existing issues covering the same feature

What would you like?

A better way to use the Flexcontrol would be to use the wheel to adjust the volume or, for example, to change the output power. To return to frequency tuning with the wheel, you would then click the wheel contact. The buttons are intended for a configurable selection of functions that can be assigned to the wheel.

[aethersdr-agent]

Triage Analysis

This is a feature request to make the FlexControl wheel assignable to different functions (volume, TX power, etc.) instead of being hardcoded to frequency tuning, with buttons used to switch between wheel modes.

Current behavior

• Wheel rotation (D;/U; commands) is hardcoded to frequency tuning in MainWindow.cpp:1466–1479. The tuneSteps signal always adjusts the active slice frequency via a coalesce timer — there is no concept of a "wheel mode."
• Buttons 1–3 (tap, double-tap, hold) are already configurable via settings combos in RadioSetupDialog.cpp:2898–2902. Available actions include StepUp, StepDown, ToggleMox, ToggleTune, ToggleMute, ToggleLock, VolumeUp, VolumeDown, etc.
• The FlexControlManager (src/core/FlexControlManager.cpp) correctly parses all wheel and button events — no driver changes needed.

Proposed implementation

1. Add a wheel mode state to MainWindow (src/gui/MainWindow.h):

• Add an enum FlexWheelMode { Frequency, Volume, Power, RitXit, ... } and a member m_flexWheelMode.

2. Modify the tuneSteps handler (src/gui/MainWindow.cpp:1466):

• Instead of always tuning frequency, dispatch based on m_flexWheelMode:
  • Frequency → existing tune logic (coalesce timer)
  • Volume → adjust activeSlice()->setAudioGain() by steps
  • Power → adjust transmitModel().setRfPower() by steps
  • etc.

3. Add new button actions for mode switching:

• Add actions like WheelVolume, WheelPower, WheelFrequency to the button action list in both RadioSetupDialog.cpp:2898 and the dispatch block in MainWindow.cpp:1494–1545.
• Each action sets m_flexWheelMode to the corresponding mode.
• WheelFrequency (or a dedicated "wheel click" mapping) returns to frequency mode, matching the reporter's suggestion of "click to return to frequency."

4. Update RadioSetupDialog UI (src/gui/RadioSetupDialog.cpp:2823):

• Add the new Wheel* actions to the button action combo boxes.
• Optionally add a visual indicator of the current wheel mode.

Files affected

• src/gui/MainWindow.h — new enum + member
• src/gui/MainWindow.cpp — modified tuneSteps handler + new button actions
• src/gui/RadioSetupDialog.cpp — new actions in combo list

Questions for the reporter

1. Which parameters would you most want to control with the wheel? (Volume, TX power, RIT/XIT offset, RF gain, squelch, others?)
2. For the "click to return to frequency" behavior — do you mean pressing one of the three physical buttons, or does your FlexControl have a clickable wheel shaft? (The standard FlexControl protocol sends X1S–X3S for the three buttons but doesn't have a separate wheel-click event.)
3. Would you want a visual on-screen indicator showing the current wheel mode?

[aethersdr-agent]

Claude here — fix applied in PR #1291: #1291

What was changed: Add assignable FlexControl wheel modes for volume and TX power (#1282)

Files touched:

• src/gui/MainWindow.cpp
• src/gui/MainWindow.h
• src/gui/RadioSetupDialog.cpp

— AetherClaude (automated agent for AetherSDR)

[ten9876]

Claude here — merged into main. You can now assign WheelFrequency, WheelVolume, or WheelPower to any FlexControl button in Radio Setup → Serial. Press the button to switch what the wheel controls, press again (or another button) to switch back. Will be in the next release.

73, Jeremy KK7GWY & Claude (AI dev partner)