QSO Director Adds Hamlib-Compatible and TCI Rig Control Servers

QSO Director is making it easier than ever to use multiple amateur radio applications with the same transceiver.

New Hamlib-compatible and TCI server options have been added to QSO Director’s rig control system, allowing third-party software to connect to and control a radio through QSO Director rather than competing with it for direct access to the radio.

This provides a simple and efficient way to share radio control between QSO Director and other applications while allowing QSO Director to maintain its direct, high-performance connection to the transceiver.

Share Your Radio Without Sharing the Connection

One of the challenges of running several amateur radio applications simultaneously is that they may all need access to the same radio.

Traditionally, this can mean configuring virtual serial ports, COM port splitters, network bridges or other workarounds. In some cases, applications may also poll the radio independently, increasing traffic over the radio connection and potentially affecting responsiveness.

QSO Director’s new server functionality provides a cleaner alternative.

QSO Director remains responsible for communicating directly with the radio using the best available interface, while compatible third-party applications can connect to QSO Director instead.

In effect, QSO Director becomes the central point for radio control.

This means a third-party application can request information such as the current frequency or mode, or issue supported rig-control commands, without needing its own physical connection to the transceiver.

Hamlib-Compatible Rig Control Server

The new Hamlib-compatible server provides an interface designed to work with software capable of connecting to a Hamlib rigctld server.

Hamlib is widely supported throughout the amateur radio software ecosystem, making this option useful for integrating QSO Director with applications that already understand the familiar Hamlib network rig-control interface.

Instead of configuring the third-party application to connect directly to a serial or USB port, it can be pointed at QSO Director’s Hamlib server.

QSO Director then handles communication with the actual radio.

This can significantly simplify configurations where several applications need to know or control the current operating frequency and mode.

TCI Server Support

QSO Director now also provides a TCI server option.

TCI (Transceiver Control Interface) is a network-based protocol designed for communication between amateur radio applications and provides another modern way for compatible software to interact with the radio through QSO Director.

Applications supporting TCI can connect to QSO Director over the network and receive radio state information and issue supported control commands without requiring direct access to the radio itself.

Having both Hamlib-compatible and TCI server options gives users considerably more flexibility when building multi-application station configurations.

Keep QSO Director’s High-Performance Radio Integration

An important advantage of this architecture is that enabling compatibility with another application doesn’t mean sacrificing QSO Director’s own radio integration.

Where QSO Director provides a native interface for a radio, it can continue using that interface directly, including high-performance network and spectrum functionality where supported all while exposing radio control to other applications through the server.

Rather than having multiple applications independently polling the radio, QSO Director can maintain the radio state and make that information available to connected software.

This is particularly valuable with modern transceivers where QSO Director can use native network protocols rather than relying solely on traditional serial CAT control.

A Simpler Multi-Application Station

A typical station might have QSO Director running alongside digital-mode software, contesting tools, logging utilities, amplifier or antenna software, or specialist applications that also need access to the transceiver.

Previously, getting all of those applications talking to the same radio could require a collection of virtual ports and configuration workarounds.

With the new server support, the arrangement can be much simpler:

Radio → QSO Director → Third-Party Applications

QSO Director maintains the connection to the radio, while other compatible applications connect to QSO Director using either the Hamlib-compatible or TCI interface.

The result is a cleaner station configuration, fewer competing connections to the radio and a straightforward way to integrate QSO Director into an existing amateur radio software environment.

Designed for an Integrated Station

The addition of Hamlib-compatible and TCI servers is another step towards QSO Director’s goal of providing a central software platform for the amateur radio station.

Modern stations increasingly consist of multiple interconnected applications and devices. Good integration shouldn’t require users to choose which application is allowed to control the radio or rely on complicated serial-port sharing arrangements.

By allowing QSO Director to act as both a radio controller and a rig-control server, existing software can continue to work alongside it while QSO Director maintains the direct connection to the transceiver.

Whether you’re integrating digital-mode applications, specialist operating software or other station tools, the new Hamlib and TCI server options provide a much easier way to let them share your radio.

Join Us on the Journey

By joining QSO Director in Early Access, you’re not just buying software, you’re helping shape its future. Your feedback, ideas, and real-world use will play a vital role in what comes next.

I’m incredibly grateful for your support and excited for the journey ahead.

START YOUR FREE TRIAL TODAY

Let’s build the future of amateur radio software — together.

73 James – M0YOM