Report preparation

• I used the AI-assisted bug report tool (Help → Support → File an Issue)
• I have attached a support bundle or log file

What happened?

🐞 Bug: Incorrect hardcoded panadapter bandwidth limits in RadioModel restrict valid zoom range

What happened

Panadapter zoom limits in AetherSDR are incorrectly constrained due to hardcoded values in RadioModel.

Specifically:

• minPanBandwidthMhz() is hardcoded to 0.010 MHz (10 kHz) for all models
• maxPanBandwidthMhz() uses simplified model-based limits that do not match actual hardware capabilities
• Maximum bandwidth is arbitrarily limited to values such as 7 MHz and 14 MHz, which do not reflect actual radio bandwidth limit values observed on other client software packages.

double maxPanBandwidthMhz() const {
    if (m_model.contains("6700") || m_model.contains("8600"))
        return 14.0;
    if (m_model.contains("8400"))
        return 7.0;
    if (m_model.contains("6500"))
        return 7.2;
    return 5.4;
}

double minPanBandwidthMhz() const { return 0.010; }  // 10 kHz — all models

These values do not reflect real FlexRadio limits.

Impact

• Minimum zoom is artificially limited (~10 kHz), preventing access to narrower bandwidths
• Maximum zoom is arbitrarily capped (e.g., 7 MHz / 14 MHz), preventing access to full hardware-supported range (e.g., ~14.745601 MHz)
• Results in inconsistent and inaccurate panadapter behavior across different radio models

What I expected

Panadapter zoom limits should match the actual hardware-defined bandwidth limits for each radio model.

Correct values (examples):

• FLEX-6500: 0.004920 MHz → 14.745601 MHz
• FLEX-8600: 0.001230 MHz → 14.745601 MHz

These actual limits were observed in TCP packet captures taken when using the official SmartSDR software.

Note: I do not have access to other radio models to verify their exact limits, but they should follow their respective hardware specifications rather than fixed assumptions.

Steps to reproduce

1. Connect to a FLEX-6500 or FLEX-8600
2. Open a panadapter
3. Attempt to:
   • Zoom in to minimum bandwidth
   • Zoom out to maximum bandwidth
4. Observe:
   • Minimum is clamped to ~10 kHz (too high)
   • Maximum is capped below the true hardware limit

Environment

• OS: Linux
• Client: AetherSDR (Qt6/C++20)
• Radios tested:
  • FLEX-6500
  • FLEX-8600

Suggested fix

• Replace hardcoded limits in RadioModel with accurate per-model values
• Remove arbitrary caps (e.g., 7 MHz / 14 MHz) and use real hardware limits
• Update:
  • minPanBandwidthMhz() → model-specific minimums
  • maxPanBandwidthMhz() → correct maximums (e.g., 14.745601 MHz where applicable)
• Avoid substring matching (contains) for model detection if possible—use a structured model identifier

Better approaches (preferred order)

1. Query limits from radio via FlexLib (if available)
2. Maintain a precise per-model lookup table
3. As fallback, correct existing constants

Suggested labels

• bug
• spectrum
• GUI
• protocol

Additional notes

The current implementation appears to rely on approximate or legacy assumptions:

• A uniform minimum (10 kHz) is applied to all models
• Maximum limits are simplified and arbitrarily capped (e.g., 7 MHz / 14 MHz)
• These values do not align with actual hardware capabilities

Given that Flex radios expose precise capabilities, this logic should ideally be data-driven rather than hardcoded.

What did you expect?

No response

Steps to reproduce

No response

Radio model & firmware

No response

Linux distro & Qt version

No response