123 commits since v26.7.1. Highlights:
- Local D-STAR via a ThumbDV. Complete local D-STAR using a connected ThumbDV / DV3000U hardware vocoder — RX/TX digital voice, headers, callsigns, repeater routing, and 20-character messages. The Waveforms window handles ThumbDV discovery and lifecycle, AetherModem gains a D-STAR station/routing page, and Network Diagnostics reports digital-voice delivery metrics. Cross-platform serial, no proprietary drivers shipped. (Software AMBE is intentionally not included — a hardware dongle is required.)
- MCP server for AI-assistant control. The automation bridge is now exposed over the Model Context Protocol — schema-validated tools, gated behind a Radio Setup toggle with token auth. TX keying stays behind
AETHER_AUTOMATION_ALLOW_TX. - BNR on RTX 50-series / Blackwell. The in-process NVIDIA AFX denoiser now ships packs for consumer Blackwell (RTX 50-series) on Windows and Linux; the app auto-detects the GPU and downloads the matching model. GPUs with no published pack disable BNR gracefully and steer to DFNR.
- KiwiSDR. Per-receiver passwords (stored in the OS keychain), a fix for a waterfall-history memory leak (~170 MB per receiver), idle-connection release, and sharper waterfall rendering.
- Searchable Radio Setup & Network Diagnostics. Both reworked from flat tab rows into categorized, symptom-searchable browsers.
- Adaptive RX filter (ESSB auto-fit) — the SSB receive passband auto-fits to the signal.
- QRZ callsign lookup. Resolve callsigns against QRZ.com — name, location, and grid — from a dedicated lookup dialog and from an automatic contact card when the CW decoder catches a call, backed by a 7-day local cache.
- WAVE showcase visualizations — GPU-rendered 3D Ridge, Tunnel, and Horizon scope modes on a rewritten QRhi scope path.
- More: CHIRP-next CSV import, microwave weak-signal bands (13/9/5/3cm), radio-declared band capability, Stream Deck+ Encoder dials, an operator transmit timer in the status bar, TCI CW Skimmer support, USB Cable Type / LDPA + Bit master-detail, and a Help-menu revamp — plus a broad wave of VFO, spectrum, display, crash, and controller fixes.
- Removed: Lean Mode (the app always renders at full quality now).
Full details: see CHANGELOG.md.
🙏 Contributors
Thank you to everyone who shipped v26.7.2 — features, fixes, on-air testing, and review:
- @ten9876 — Jeremy (KK7GWY)
- @jensenpat — Pat
- @rfoust — Robbie Foust
- @NF0T — Ryan B (NF0T)
- @motoham88 — Tony (KX3H)
- @Ozy311 — Ozy
- @skerker — Jeff Skerker
- @nigelfenton — Nigel Fenton
- @dsocha — Dariusz Socha (SQ5X)
- @milenjb — milenjb
- @wa2n-code — Wayne Roth (WA2N)
- @pelazas — Carlos Pelazas
- @kk4cnm — Daniel Nelms (KK4CNM)
- Don (cloaked.agency)