Traditional (CAT) radios

The proxy can host conventional transceivers alongside SDRs: it controls the radio over CAT (serial or network), moves RX/TX audio over the radio’s USB audio interface, and presents the result to every PodSDR client like any other radio — same spectrum display, same controls, same web/cloud access.

Supported models

Quick single-radio setup (CLI)

./podsdr-proxy --static-dir ./web --tls \
    --cat-port /dev/ttyUSB0 --radio ic7300 \
    --audio-in "USB Audio CODEC" --audio-out "USB Audio CODEC"

For more than one radio, or a network Icom, use [[traditional]] blocks in the configuration file (or the web config panel / the podsdr-proxy configure wizard, both of which can autodetect the serial port).

Audio wiring

Traditional radios deliver audio, not IQ, so get the direction right:

• audio_in — a capture device on the proxy host: the radio’s USB-audio output (what you hear).
• audio_out — a playback device: the radio’s USB-audio input (what gets transmitted).

Level trims: rx_audio_gain_db (config/web UI) balances quiet rigs against your SDRs; tx_audio_gain_db (config, CLI, or live from the client’s audio panel — the “TXa” control) sets drive into the rig. Both are −40…+40 dB, 0 = unity.

force_data_mode = true (the default) flips the radio into its DATA mode when transmitting, so the rig’s own mic compressor/EQ stays out of a path that PodSDR is already processing.

Panadapter

By default the spectrum display for a CAT radio is computed from its RX audio, so it’s only as wide as the receiver’s filter. On radios with a CI-V scope (IC-7300, IC-705 — USB or network), set cat_spectrum = true to stream the radio’s own wideband panadapter instead. A high CI-V baud rate (e.g. 115200) makes the scope noticeably smoother.

CW keying

CW is keyed over a serial control line: cw_key_line = "dtr" or "rts", optionally on a dedicated cw_key_port separate from the CAT port. The proxy buffers keying ~150 ms to absorb network jitter, so remote CW stays clean.

Network Icom radios

Set host (plus username/password, and control_port if not 50001) in a [[traditional]] block and leave port unset. Control, RX audio and TX audio all travel over the Icom network protocol — no USB or audio cables. The CI-V scope (cat_spectrum) works over the network too.

Receive-only bands

Per-radio rx_only_bands = [[low_hz, high_hz], ...] blocks all transmission (PTT, TUNE, CW, macros) while tuned inside a range — enforced by the proxy, not just the client UI. Useful for rigs whose PA must not be keyed on some bands, or transverter setups. Station-wide ranges can be set at the top level of the config; see Configuration file.

Sharing caveat

A serial port is exclusive: one client session drives a given CAT radio at a time. A second client trying to connect to the same CAT radio will fail to open the port. (Cloud listener roles are the exception — they receive audio without contending for control.)