Apache Labs Community Forum

Now I feel a bit stupid, but can someone explain to me where the "Master AF Gain" symbol comes from?
I checked all the settings regarding Master AF but couldn't find anything.
I imported an old database and now this symbol is visible.

It is like a virus, that shows when andromeda cat is on, from an area of code in console.cs called AndromedaCATEnabled. It has also spread to another area of code, and is also made visible when when a G2 is enabled, inside AndromedaG2Enabled in Andromeda.cs. It is like a virus, spreading, ever so slowly.

It shows the function of the "multifunction" control on an Andromeda or G2V2 front panel. The "Andromeda CAT enabled" control has been there for a few years; G2 was only recently added. If Andromeda CAT or G2 enables are not ticked, it doesn't display.

The display is needed because the control function is user settable. Press the encoder button, and when the encoder is turned you can choose what function it performs. Press it again, and the button has that function. But you need to be able to see what function has been selected, so you can know to stop turning. The "master AF gain" is the function it powers up with.

So if you don't have a front panel, don't tick those buttons and it will stay hidden; if you do have one, that display is your friend.

I don't expect it to spread any further.

Certainly, my comments were entirely tongue-in-cheek. However, when someone is unsure how to disable a feature and I need to sift through the code to assist them, it indicates that we need to change or improve something. It's the old chestnut where Thetis is burdened with support for 8-12 radios, even though we typically use just one. We have previously discussed removing all the various code paths for different hardware; perhaps it's time to dedicate some thought to this issue, ideally before HL2 becomes intertwined with it.

In other, somewhat related news, I am currently working on changing the database handling, and an initial prototype is provided below. I’ve grown tired of constantly replacing, importing, and dealing with database issues, and I need a better solution for my own sanity.

good stuff Richie, look forward to that.

Well I'm certainly keen to help on the h/w specific issues.

There are (at least) 2 classes:
variable hardware that comes with a radio - ie almost everyone will have on variant or another. eg PA; stepped or switched attenuator; LPF/HPF/BPF; scaling factors for voltage/current/forward/reverse power

things that some people don't have: like Andromeda front panel, G2 front panel, Aries ATU, Ganymede PA (which I think is dead anyway).

I'd suggest at least several steps:
1. make a list of the h/w we are concerned about
2. identify where there are UI controls for it
3. (in principle (because it's a monstrous task) identify where in the code the features are relevant.

For radio-specific hardware: at least a lot of it could be table driven, and the code put in one place (the code for "does this radio have a stepped attenuator" is dotted everywhere for example).

For non-radio-specific hardware: perhaps entries in "setup" should be moved to their own forms, and there could be a way to register those forms with setup so that it has a "hardware specific" tab that can populate itself with buttons.

I can help in the 1st instance by helping to identify what h/w we might be concerned with.

OK, I found my mistake. I had imported the database from my Andromeda SDR into the Anvelina SDR.

The Andromeda panel was obviously activated in the imported database. I had now deactivated this, but the change only became active after restarting Thetis. (I had simply forgotten the Master AF Gain (MultiFunction) symbol in connection with Andromeda.)
btw. Master AF Gain should be renamed Multifunction since it is only relevant in Andromeda or G2.

Now everything is back to normal. I thank everyone who has thought about this.