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Release notes

Planned for next major versions (in no particular order)

  • Simplify setup and configuration by providing graphical user interface for setup

  • Personal user accounts for shared use of station

  • More sophisticated rotator control: support for coordinates, locators and possibly an azimuthal map to visualize rotator direction

  • Software-defined radio (SDR) based waterfall and reception support with linking to radio transceiver frequency

RELEASE wrc 0.12.0 - 2021-03-24

Major features

  • Upgrade to latest Hamlib 4 release with significant improvements in control of the following devices:

    • Icom IC-9700

    • Yaesu FTDX101

    • Yaesu FT-991(A)

    • Yaesu FTDX 5000

    • Yaesu FT-2000

    • Yaesu GS-232 and compatible rotators

    • Prosistel rotators

  • Fix audio playback issues on iPhone/iPad (Safari browser)

  • Antenna switch control over HTTP (network)

  • Generic relay/switch control via GPIO or HTTP (network)

    • Can be used for power control of station radios or other accessories

    • Relay/switches can be linked to PTT control of any radio (partially implemented)

  • Support for stereo audio reception with radios that have two independent receivers (e.g. FTDX101)

User interface

  • Display station call sign in UI

  • Add indicators/buttons for quick access to common radio functions in the radio control view

    • Functions include squelch, split, noise blanker/reduction, etc.

  • Fix support for VFO frequencies larger than 1 GHz

  • Add band plan definitions for IARU Region 1 23cm (1.2 GHz) and 13cm (2.4 GHz) bands

  • Allow browsing of tuning steps in both directions via mouse buttons (left/right) or via touch screen (short/long press)

  • Allow canceling of software CW keying using Escape button in addition to the 'x' cancel button on red background

Radio control

  • Improve browsing of radio memory channels so that it is possible browse over empty channels

  • Add VFO ops for memory in UI: VFO to MEM, MEM to VFO and MEM clear

  • Improve radio control error handling and handling of rig power ON/OFF commands

  • Add support for storing and clearing radio memory channels

  • Add shortcut configuration options for enabling/disabling RTS/DTR serial port control lines with Hamlib

  • Add configuration option to disable PTT completely in all radios or by radio

  • Improve software CW keyer timing significantly

    • Prioritize handling of CW keying commands over radio/device control

  • Allow scanning of frequencies via VFO up/down keyboard shortcuts (ALT+UP/DOWN arrows)

  • Add support for CM108 GPIO control to interface with custom radios

    • Support for PTT control and reading squelch status via the GPIO pins

Antenna switch control

  • Allow linking of radios and antenna switches: add antenna selector to radio control view for quick access to antenna switch

Rotator control

  • Allow linking of radios and rotators: add rotator control widget to radio control view for quick access to rotator

Miscellaneous

  • Support new requirements for TLS certificates (maximum validity time 398 days)

Documentation

  • All documentation translated to English and significantly improved

  • Improve network setup instructions in general, e.g. regarding port forwarding

  • Improved instructions for working digital modes

  • Added instructions for installing TLS certificate authority files in web browsers

RELEASE wrc 0.11.0 - 2020-05-04

  • New version numbering scheme

    • Releases follow numbering 0.N.0 (until 1.0.0 eventual release)

    • Bugfixes will have version number according to 0.N.M with M increasing every bugfix release

Major features

  • Text-based native CW keying via serial port (RTS/DTR control lines) or external keyer connector in radio

  • Support for physical morse key or external keyer via USB-adapter (instructions to be published)

  • Improve UI layout by having a separate tab for morse keyer

  • Allow display of more compact set of radio meters

Usability improvements

Radio control

  • Make PTT button larger

  • Move morse keyer to a separate tab in the user interface

  • Move VFO buttons and memory channel browser to a separate tab in the user interface

  • Add new modes to control which radio meters are displayed

    • Normal: S-meter, ALC, SWR, RF output and audio output level

    • Compact: S-meter during RX and one of ALC, SWR, RF output or audio output level during TX

    • All: All supported meters

  • Save state of settings, such as

    • Selected mode of radio meters displayed

    • Band plan visible on/off

    • Audio waterfall visible on/off

    • Morse keyer state (software/hardware, etc)

  • Provide "Fix issue" shortcut buttons for fixing problems with radio control or audio issues

Network connection

  • Remove "Connect" button and automatically connect to WRC server

  • Automatically reconnect to WRC server and restart audio streaming in case of connection failure

Miscellaneous

  • Add confirmation buttons for server restart, reboot and shutdown

  • Report configuration errors encountered during startup in WRC user interface

  • Make text in drop-downs, such as audio streaming button, fit small screens

  • Make error messages shorter and easier to read

    • Additional technical details about errors are available by clicking the notifications button (bell)

  • Move notifications so that they do not block use of header menu on small screens

Radio control

  • Allow in-place editing of numeric radio settings in sidebar by typing numbers

  • Fix radio power on/off issues (powering on was not possible at all times)

Audio streaming

  • Allow control of audio processing that happens in web browser

    • Auto-gain control on/off

    • Echo cancellation on/off

    • Noise suppression on/off

  • Fix issues with audio "crackle/pop" artifacts in TX audio

  • Upgrade all audio streaming-related services to latest releases, including Janus WebRTC gateway and Coturn TURN server

Network connectivity

  • Follow Apple guidelines for TLS certificates, so that they are compatible with Mac OS and iOS

  • Preliminary IPv6 support (requires configuration options)

  • IPv6 support for dynamic DNS (requires configuration options)

  • Support for use in private LAN networks without Internet connection (requires configuration options)

  • Disable TLS versions 1.0 and 1.1 for additional security

  • Use retry interval of 10 minutes in case of dynamic DNS update errors

  • Enable mDNS discovery (both IPv4 and IPv6) to allow use of .local addresses in local networks

Bugfixes

  • Allow WRC server to start up even if publicHostname domain name does not exist

  • Fix issues with audio waterfall scale

  • Fix mouse scrolling over VFO numbers resulting in scrolling of the whole page

  • Fix crashes when turning VFO fast

  • Fix bugs leading to excessive memory consumption on server

Setup

  • Allow import of externally generated TLS certificates

  • Improve layout of setup user interface

    • The main page of setup has now two choice: 1) to install certificate to a web browser and 2) to configure Web Radio Control

  • List supported antenna rotator models in setup user interface

  • Fix issues with "List devices" button not refreshing audio devices (sound cards)

  • Provide option to use USB-port-specific device names for audio devices and serial ports to allow unique identification of multiple identical serial port adapters or sound cards (requires a configuration option)

RELEASE wrc 0.1.10 - 2019-09-27

Major features

  • Web Radio Control SD-card image supports Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (in addition to the older Pi 3 models)

    • The new image is based on the most recent Raspbian Buster Linux distribution

  • Radio and rotator control and meters work normally when using wrc-proxy Hamlib proxy application with external applications. This makes it possible to monitor radio meters and change radio settings in Web Radio Control while working digital modes with applications, such as WSJT-X or fldigi!

Minor changes

  • Hamlib updated to latest development version, including fixes to controlling of EasyComm rotators and several radio model

  • Web Radio Control server is now built on Golang 1.13.1 that supports TLS 1.3 protocol and fixes several security vulnerabilities in its HTTP server implementation

  • The user name for Linux SSH or console access was changed from pi to wrchost

  • A Raspberry Pi running the Web Radio Control SD-card image can be accessed using host name webradiocontrol.local (or in some cases alternatively webradiocontrol, depending on router settings) to discover its initial IP address and to perform initial setup

    • The underlying Raspbian Linux OS is configured to use mDNS (using Avahi daemon) to use name webradiocontrol.local

    • The DHCP client in the Raspbian Linux OS is configured to advertise webradiocontrol as its host name for routers that support DNS resolution

RELEASE wrc 0.1.9-2 - 2019-08-13

  • Fix issue with GPIO pin access for relay / antenna switch control

RELEASE wrc 0.1.9-1 - 2019-08-12

Radio control

  • Add automatic timeout for PTT: PTT will be turned automatically off after 5 minutes

Bug fixes

  • Fix server crash in certain conditions when WebSocket connections fail/close

  • List GPIO pins in setup user interface

VERSION 0.1.9 - 2019-07-12

Major features

  • Antenna switch / relay control

    • Add user interface for antenna switches that select antennas using GPIO pins

    • Add support for basic switch / relay control via GPIO pins (e.g. Raspberry Pi GPIO header)

Radio control

  • Add new meters: RF power, COMP level, voltage and current

    • Support in Hamlib has been added for many recent Icom radio models

  • Add support for radio-specific Hamlib "ext level" settings in Custom sidebar menu

  • Allow morse code (CW) text sender to be used in instant mode, where characters are keyed immediately after typing

User interface

  • Refresh radio settings automatically when opening sidebar menu

Hamlib

  • Add new radio levels/functions: RFPOWER_METER, COMP_METER, VD_METER and ID_METER, MONITOR_GAIN, NOTCHF_RAW, DIVERSITY, DUAL_WATCH

  • Add support for these new levels in many recent Icom radio models

    • IC-756ProIII, IC-7000, IC-7100, IC-7200, IC-7300, IC-7400, IC-7600, IC-7610, IC-7700, IC-7800, IC-7850/7851 and IC-9700

  • Add new commands and fix many issues in Icom backends

    • Manual notch frequency, VOX delay, Anti-VOX, monitor gain, CW pitch frequency, attenuator, RIT/XIT, RIG_FUNC_TUNER, VFO_OP_TUNE, AGC levels, dual watch, noise blanker level, audio peaking filter, packet/digital modes,

  • Add separate radio models for Elecraft KX2, KX3, K3 and K3s

  • Add new commands and fix many issues in Elecraft backends

    • Attenuator, microphone gain, AGC, compression, more filters, squelch, VOX, RF gain, monitor gain, preamp, audio peaking filter, keyer speed, noise reduction, SWR/ALC metering, transmit metering mode, sub receiver on/off, diversity mode on/off, ESSB mode, RX antenna on/off, link VFOs, IF noise blanker

  • List ext level ranges/combos in rigctl(d) dump_caps command output

  • Add TX/RX ranges to hamlib rigctl(d) dump_caps command output

  • Print available antennas in hamlib rigctl(d) dump_caps command output

VERSION 0.1.8-1 - 2019-04-16

Major features

  • Major user interface improvements

    • Move radio configuration to a collapsible sidebar

    • Move most commonly used radio controls to a static header that is always visible

    • Make band plan hidden by default

    • Move RIT/XIT switches close to RIT/XIT frequency

  • Simple rotator control via Hamlib rotctld

    • Supports controlling both azimuth and elevation

    • Allows Hamlib proxy connections for rotator controls via Hamlib rotctld

    • Includes support for saved rotator positions

  • Add support for text-based CW

    • This requires rig support for text-based CW via a specialized command

  • Add favorite (starred) radio configuration items, accessible via the Quick menu in the sidebar

  • Allow backup/restore (export/import) of saved user data, including:

    • Saved frequencies

    • Favorite radio configuration items (in Quick menu)

    • Saved rotator positions

    • CW macros

  • Add support for updating IP address of WRC domain name on dynamic DNS services

    • There is direct support for the following services: DuckDNS, dy.fi, Dyn, Dynu, FreeDNS and No-IP

    • Other services can be used by configuring a custom HTTP URL for address updates

Minor changes

Audio streaming

  • Add level meter for TX audio, monitoring audio output level on the server

Radio control

  • Save and recall filter width per band

  • Add support for variable filter width for rigs that support it

  • Allow direct manipulation of split (B) VFO mode and filter in addition to the frequency

  • Make double click/tap on radio configuration slider bar reset it back to center

  • Bugfix: Fix slowness and unresponsiveness of frequency dial knob

  • Bugfix: Preamp and attenuator choices were not visible

  • Bugfix: Manual notch max frequency too high → is range available?

  • Bugfix: Touchscreen dial steps do not work correctly with negative numbers (e.g with RIT/XIT)

User interface

  • Make web browser reload user interface automatically if it is updated (in case of WRC version upgrade)

  • Display information about the operating system and hardware on Settings→About tab

  • Display system uptime and application uptime on Settings→About tab

  • Display uptime for services (e.g. audio / WebRTC) in Settings→Services tab

  • Add better error messages for connection errors

  • Settings and log viewer tabs should not be affected by scrolling

    • Collapse tabs to a dropdown on small screens

  • Bugfix: Fix long band plan description text so that it does not overflow

  • Bugfix: Dot and comma cannot be entered in any text box because of keyboard shortcuts

  • Bugfix: Dash '-' is not recognized as a keyboard shortcut in Firefox

Server

  • Allow graceful reboot and shutdown of the underlying Linux operating system and hardware (e.g. Raspberry Pi) via user interface

  • Bugfix: Fix slow restart/shutdown of WRC server (now 5 seconds instead of > 30 seconds)

Security

  • Create a new security log file that can be downloaded or viewed through user interface

    • The security log contains most important events regarding WRC and station use

      • Login/logout and failed login attempts with IP address

      • PTT on/off commands with IP address

      • Rotator position changes with IP address

      • All changes done in the setup (port 8013) user interface

VERSION 0.1.8 - 2019-04-15

  • Not released due to user interface bugs

VERSION 0.1.7-5 - 2018-11-20

Bugfixes

  • Fix TLS certificate import error (Method Not Allowed)

  • Fix software tone burst button that does not output sound

VERSION 0.1.7-4 - 2018-11-19

Major features

  • Audio streaming works now on Apple iPhone and iPad devices running Safari on iOS 12 or later

    • However, there are still issues with generated audio: software CW keyer and tone burst do not work properly on Safari

Minor changes

Audio streaming

  • Upgrade Janus WebRTC gateway to latest development version leading to 5.0 release

  • Upgrade Coturn TURN server to latest version

  • Upgrade webrtc-adapter component to version 6.4.5 for better WebRTC compatibility

Radio control

  • Upgrade Hamlib to latest development version leading to 4.0 release

User interface enhancements

  • Fix band plan description text that may wrap and change layout unpredictably

  • Fix UI header that blocks device tabs on tablet (medium-width screens)

  • Show only clock and ping in UI header on medium-width screens

  • Show UI version and build timestamp in Settings > About tab

Miscellaneous

  • Update wrc-proxy to version 0.1.7-4 (bugfixes)

  • Update documentation for working digital modes

  • Display full error information in user interface if the UI crashes

  • Add buttons in Settings > About tab for downloading diagnostics info: stack traces and memory statistics

VERSION 0.1.7-3 - 2018-11-12

Radio control / digital modes

  • Add Connect button to Hamlib proxy list to launch wrc-proxy helper application automatically

  • Update wrc-proxy to version 0.1.7-3, which supports automatic launching from web browser

  • Add installation script for wrc-proxy to register it as a URI handler to allow automatic launching of the application

    • NOTE: The installation script exists for Windows and Linux — Mac OS installation script is still in development

VERSION 0.1.7-2 - 2018-11-01

Audio streaming

  • Make PulseAudio server audio buffers smaller to reduce audio latency

  • Mute received audio when transmitting and transmitted audio when receiving by default

    • NOTE: This can be overridden by selecting Bidirectional audio in Settings → Audio devices

    • NOTE: Bidirectional audio is enabled automatically when using Hamlib proxy (with digital mode applications)

Miscellaneous

  • Bugfix: Downloading of log / config / certificate files was not working correctly

New keyboard shortcuts for software CW keyer

  • . (full stop) - Automatic key: dit

  • - (dash) - Automatic key: dah

  • / (slash) - Automatic key: dah (for US keyboard layout)

  • , (comma) - Straight key

VERSION 0.1.7-1 - 2018-10-10

Audio streaming

  • Add more performant default settings for audio resampler and Opus encoder

  • Allow more fine-grained configuration of the Opus audio encoder for received audio

  • Upgrade webrtc-adapter component to version 6.4.0 for better WebRTC compatibility

Miscellaneous

  • Bugfix: Frequency band description text does not update when tuning on the same band

  • Bugfix: Favicon is not working correctly

VERSION 0.1.7 - 2018-08-09

Major features

  • Simple audio CW support with audio generated by web browser

    • Supported keys: straight, bug and paddle

    • Configurable pitch, speed and volume

    • Keying is possible by touch/mouse and keyboard shortcuts

    • Show audio CW pitch as a yellow marker in audio visualizer

  • Better and more accurate audio visualizer (spectrogram and waterfall)

    • Keep visualizer visible even when audio streaming is stopped

Minor changes

Radio control

  • Poll S-meter/SWR/ALC values at an interval of 100ms by default

  • Upgrade Hamlib to latest version

Application management

  • Allow exporting (backing up) of an existing TLS certificate to a ZIP file

  • Allow importing of an existing TLS certificate in setup from a ZIP file

  • Filter out unnecessary audio devices in listings

Audio streaming and metering

  • Update webrtc-adapter component to version 6.3.1 for better WebRTC compatibility

  • Update Janus WebRTC gateway to latest version 0.4.3

  • Configure Janus to do full WebRTC ICE trickle

User interface and usability

  • Optimize UI speed by reducing unnecessary UI updates

  • Disable VFO/dial debounce delay by default, so that scanning is easier

  • Reduce PTT turn off delay to 250ms

New keyboard shortcuts

  • CTRL+ALT+W - Audio CW keyer: Activate/deactivate keyer and PTT

  • CTRL+ALT+E - Audio CW keyer: Automatic key: dit

  • CTRL+ALT+R - Audio CW keyer: Automatic key: dah

  • CTRL+ALT+D - Audio CW keyer: Straight key

RELEASE 0.1.6-5 - 2018-05-08

Radio control

  • Allow individual radio commands to fail when reading radio configuration

Audio streaming and metering

  • Attempt to fix Microsoft Edge browser incompatibility with WebRTC audio with no results

User interface and usability

  • Add option to disable VFO/dial debounce delay

  • Display UI notifications for actions performed via keyboard shortcuts

  • Rearrange UI layout for radio hardware action buttons and frequency band bar

  • Make UI load faster in web browsers by compressing all UI files

New keyboard shortcuts

  • ALT+V - Cycle through VFOs

  • ALT+F - Cycle through filters

RELEASE 0.1.6-4 - 2018-04-25

  • Bugfix: Add support for parsing ANY filter width in Hamlib rigctld caps output

RELEASE 0.1.6-3 - 2018-04-23

  • Bugfix: Use new version of Hamlib to fix issues with long device file names

RELEASE 0.1.6-2 - 2018-04-21

  • Bugfix: Keep listings hot-pluggable USB devices up-to-date (inside Docker container)

RELEASE 0.1.6-1 - 2018-04-21

  • Bugfix: Fix undefined variables in certain JavaScript components — fails only when rigctld is down

VERSION 0.1.6 - 2018-04-19

Major features

  • Create a ready-to-use Raspbian Linux image for WRC that can be written directly to an SD card

  • Create a Docker image that can be installed into an existing Debain-based operating system installation

  • Improve installation: Implement a web-based user interface for setting up initial WRC configuration and TLS certificates for a specified domain name

  • Keyboard shortcuts for frequently-used features, such as PTT, VFO tuning step, VFO up/down, mode and band up/down

Minor changes

Radio control

  • Make software-based tone burst activate/deactivate PTT automatically

User interface

  • Make refreshing of audio device and Hamlib proxy lists more reliable

  • Add Refresh-button for audio device and Hamlib proxy lists

  • Allow web browsers to cache user interface files longer

Audio streaming and metering

  • Improve WebRTC audio gateway configuration regarding external IP addresses to make audio connections more reliable

Hamlib fixes (merged to upstream project)

  • Allow device files names up to 512 characters (instead of 100 chars)

Keyboard shortcut documentation:

  • ALT+A - Toggle audio streaming on/off

  • ALT+W - Toggle PTT on/off

  • ALT+T - Tone burst (hold button down for tone). Hardware tone burst is preferred over software-generated tone.

  • ALT+Up (arrow key) - Tune selected dial (VFO) up a tuning step

  • ALT+Down (arrow key) - Tune selected dial (VFO) down a tuning step

  • ALT+Page Up - Tuning step up

  • ALT+Page Down - Tuning step down

  • SHIFT+ALT+Page Up - Select next dial value type (VFO / SPLIT / RIT / XIT / …​)

  • SHIFT+ALT+Page Down - Select previous dial value type (VFO / SPLIT / RIT / XIT / …​)

  • SHIFT+ALT+Up (arrow key) - Band up

  • SHIFT+ALT+Down (arrow key) - Band down

  • ALT+Left (arrow key) - Next memory channel

  • ALT+Right (arrow key) - Previous memory channel

  • SHIFT+ALT+Left (arrow key) - Next mode

  • SHIFT+ALT+Right (arrow key) - Previous mode

VERSION 0.1.5 - 2018-03-19

Major features

  • Add support for digimodes via Hamlib proxy connection

Detailed list of changes

Radio control

  • Implement wrc-proxy client application for Hamlib proxy connections

  • Pause polling of radio state when there is a Hamlib proxy connection active

  • Add indicator to user interface when a radio is being used via a Hamlib proxy connection

  • Add support for native hardware-based tone burst (a separate button)

  • Allow control of set-only (non-readable) functions/levels/parameters in radio configuration

Application management

  • Allow user to download latest application log file from the server

  • Allow user to download application configuration file from the server

  • Add support for shutting down and restarting WRC from user interface

Audio streaming and metering

  • Fix audio waterfall visualizer on iOS

  • Update webrtc-adapter component for better WebRTC compatibility on Firefox and iOS/Safari browsers

User interface and usability

  • Improve application log UI to make it easier to copy/view log entries

  • Fix radio device list view with too many columns on small screens

  • Add favicon ("R") for Web Radio Control

  • Miscellaneous user interface and layout fixes

Hamlib fixes (merged to upstream project)

  • IC-7300: Fix frequency ranges for 60m band

  • IC-7300: Allow setting RIT/XIT to zero

  • TM-D710(G): Rewrite radio control backend completely

VERSION 0.1.4 - 2018-03-09

Radio control

  • Add support for browsing radio memory channels, show selected memory number and name

Audio streaming and metering

  • Stop audio playback and recording forcefully when disconnecting from server or closing window

  • Make CPU usage lower by disabling audio waterfall visualizer when it is not visible on the page

User interface and usability

  • Miscellaneous user interface and layout fixes