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VarAC V15.0.18 is here! With Frequency Scanner, VarAC Skins, Uplifted UI, AI Translations, 2750 Hz BW support and much more!

So, it has been a while since our last VarAC release, but we're confident this list of new features, improvements, and bug fixes speaks for itself. We've been incredibly busy behind the scenes.

 

Before we dive into everything that's new in VarAC V15 (and there is a lot!) , I'd like to draw your attention to a new product we recently launched: SafecomLink for PACTOR.

 

While VarAC is a free community platform, SafecomLink for Pactor

is our professional solution. However, due to overwhelming demand from amateur radio operators who own PACTOR modems, we introduced SafecomLink for PACTOR – Ham Radio Edition.

 

The community is growing quickly. We now have a dedicated calling frequency on 14.120 MHz, and we're having a blast building this new network together. Whether you own a 30-year-old PACTOR modem and just want a SafecomLink license, or decide to purchase a brand-new Pactor modem bundled with SafecomLink, you're welcome to join. It's certainly not the cheapest setup, but when it comes to HF digital communications, it's a Rolls-Royce.

 

Please note: A SafecomLink station can only communicate with another SafecomLink station (Like in VarAC)



Now, let's get back to VarAC.

Buckle up - there's a lot to cover!

 


📢 Introducing: Frequency scanner

 

Many of you already use the Frequency Scheduler, but we always felt that something was missing.

 

Some operators prefer to "park" on multiple frequencies at the same time, ensuring they are always available across different bands for incoming connections. This is especially useful if you operate an Email/AI Gateway as a service to the community, but it is also valuable if you want to remain available for QSOs or VMail relays on multiple frequencies.

 

Defining a scanning plan is done from the same location where you manage your Frequency Scheduler. However, this time you will find a new section:

 

Frequency Scanner


VarAC provides you with great flexibility when organizing your scanning plan. For each frequency, you can define:


  • How much time to stay on that frequency

  • During which hours this frequency should be scanned

  • Whether to send a beacon

  • Whether to tune the antenna


Once you finalize your plan, activating it is simple: Clicking the main Frequency Scheduler button on the main screen now toggles between two modes: Scheduler Mode and Scanner Mode.

 

Activating Frequenct Scanner


OK. Now let's move on to some UI improvements.

 

📢 Introducing: Uplifted UI

 

Upon the first launch of V15, you will notice something different: no more sharp edges. Everything is now more "curvy" and modern.

 

This visual refresh is being introduced first to the main screen and will gradually make its way into every section of VarAC.

 

In addition, common functionality buttons have been consolidated for a cleaner interface:


  • Connect / Disconnect Modem → Combined into a single button.

  • CQ / End CQ → Combined into a single button.

  • Connect / Disconnect Station → Combined into a single button.


But that's not all...

 

📢 Introducing: VarAC Skins

 

You can now create your own unique look and feel for VarAC by applying any image as your VarAC Skin (background).

 

You can configure this under Settings → Appearance and Sounds.

 

Want to feel like you're inside the Matrix? Load a Matrix skin. In the era of AI, the possibilities are endless... you can generate any background image you'd like using your favorite AI engine and make VarAC truly your own. 


VarAC Skin



Many of you alread took the challange and completing the VarAC Academy online treaining. This is a great opportunity to remind every one that if you want to be up to speed with VarAC fundamentlas - the VarAC Acdemy Online training is the best prgroam to achieve that.

 

📢 Introducing: On-Screen VarAC Master Diploma

 

Those who fininsh the academy, not only got a nice star next to their callsing, clicking this star will now present their diploma to everyone

 

VarAC Master Diploma

If you are still unfamiliar with the VarAC Master online training program, it is a 13-lesson course that includes exams, a diploma, and an on-air recognition badge.

 

Click to learn more about the VarAC Academy and watch a short video overview:



Now let's talk about translations while chatting with operators around the globe.

VarAC introduced translation capabilities a long time ago. However, the implementation was based on Google Translate and was a bit "clumsy", as each translation opened a separate browser window.

 

📢 Introducing: AI Translation

 

You can now translate any message in the datastream, broadcast, and any VMail using the new AI Translation feature. This feature uses the AI API that you can configure under Settings → AI.

 

Simply select your preferred AI translation language, and you're all set.

When you want to translate a message into your desired language, right-click it and select "AI Translate".

 

In-QSO translate using AI


PLEASE NOTE: When using free-tier API keys from Gemini, there is a daily limit on the number of requests you can make.

 

To monitor your current usage, we have added a new button in the AI Settings:

 

AI API Limit Check


Okay, there’s more to discover in V15.0.18. For the next set of updates, we will be switching to “auto” mode:


VMail template support in Standard Mode – VMail templates can now be used in Standard Mode, not only in EmComm Mode.

 

Non-blocking VMail operations – Composing, replying, editing, and reading VMails no longer lock the user interface.

 

Improved VMail template character handling – When using templates, the template length is no longer counted toward the VMail character limit.

 

Compact UI Mode – Added a lightweight chat-focused interface mode for users who prefer a minimal experience: Reduced buttons and gauges and focused only on sending and receiving text.

 

VARA 2750Hz Bandwidth Support – Added support for the 2750Hz VARA bandwidth mode.

 

New default BBS directory – If no BBS directory is configured, the default location is now: /bbs , under the VarAC installation directory.

 

Double-click Disconnect Modem protection – Disconnecting the modem now requires two clicks on the DISCONNECT MODEM button to prevent accidental disconnection.

 

Sticky Ignore-DCD setting – The Ignore-DCD option now remembers its last state. And it is no longer restricted by a time limit.

 

Email Gateway Reply-To Configuration – Added new settings to control the default Reply-To behavior when using email gateways:

  • Use your own email address

  • Use the gateway email address

Enhanced Alert Tag email notifications – Alert tag emails now include additional information:

  • Locator

  • Available services (BBS / AI / Email)

  • CQ type

  • VarAC rank (when applicable, e.g., "Master")

     

     

Theme updates - The default theme is now "Alister". The previous "Default" theme has been renamed to "Clean".

 

Cluster-specific Tune level memory – Tune level settings are now stored separately for each cluster instance instead of globally.

 

Improved frequency recovery – When "Read frequency every 2 seconds" is enabled, VarAC now verifies that the transceiver reached the requested frequency after a change. If not, it will retry up to 10 times.

 

Hamlib Rigctld behavior update – Changed the default behavior so changing frequency will no longer automatically change the filter bandwidth.

 

Separate beacon sound controls – Incoming and outgoing beacon sounds can now be configured independently.

 

Improved Last-Heard list beacon/CQ filtering – Beacon and CQ entries are now de-duplicated per callsign and band instead of callsign only. This allows viewing the latest CQ/Beacon activity of a station on each band.

 

Improved Unattended Links visibility – When "Unattended Links" is disabled, the option is now highlighted in red to indicate limited functionality.

 

VARAFM Last Heard enhancement – <LHR> requests in VARAFM now return 20 records (instead of 10 in HF mode).

 

New Hindi translation – Added Hindi language support, contributed by VU3YBH (Manmohan Bhagat).

 

Main screen button tooltips – Added helper tooltips for key buttons: Connect, Connect Modem, Abort, Call CQ

 

Updated default DX Cluster reporting destination – Changed the default DX Cluster used for reporting.

 

Extended startup Last-Heard history – VarAC now displays beacon activity from the previous 24 hours on startup (previously 12 hours).

 

QSY-to-beacon grace period – Added a delay between frequency changes and beacon transmissions to prevent beacons from being sent before the radio has completed the QSY process.

 

CAT PTT test improvements – The TEST PTT function now supports comma-separated command sequences for testing CAT commands.

 

Improved database backup handling – Backups now include the actual database file when using a custom database file path. 

To upgrade from an existing VarAC version:

  1. Download the VarAC Installer and run it.

  2. Select the current folder where your VarAC resides.

  3. The installer will keep your existing settings and history.

 

Just reminding you all that we are always there for you on our Forum, our Facebook group, and also on our Telegram group.

 

73, Irad 4Z1AC & the VarAC team.  



For Linux / Pi / Mac users:




Bug Fixes:

 

Major QSY issue fixed – Resolved an issue where moving to a slot after a CQ call answered on a slot did not always move to the correct frequency.

 

QSL window exception fixed – Applying the "Fade to Black" effect in the QSL window without an assigned image no longer causes an exception.

 

Canned message shortcut typo fixed – Corrected the typo in canned message shortcuts ("Their").

 

Broadcast sound settings fixed – Disabling broadcast sounds now works correctly.

 

Restart-required settings cleanup fixed – Fixed an issue where changing settings requiring a restart could leave a "zombie" VarAC process running.

 

Beacon transmission during slot sniffing fixed – Beacons are no longer transmitted while sniffing slots during a CQ call.

 

Callsign history QSO retrieval fixed – Fixed an issue preventing retrieval of previous QSO chat messages from the callsign history module.

 

Email reply-to validation improved – Fixed an issue allowing multiple reply-to callsigns when sending emails.

 

Pathfinder dropdown fixed – Fixed an issue where the dropdown displayed "ALL" and only a limited number of historical callsigns.

 

BBS illegal filename handling fixed – Attempting to retrieve files with illegal characters from BBS no longer crashes VarAC on the BBS side.

 

Unattended Links broadcast status fixed – Fixed an issue where broadcasts appeared to be sent successfully while Unattended Links was disabled and the operator was away, even though they were not actually transmitted.

 

Broadcast email/PTT timing fixed – Fixed an issue where slow email services triggered by broadcasts could prevent VarAC from keying the PTT in time.

 

Alert Tag email filtering fixed – Users no longer receive Alert Tag emails for messages they sent themselves; notifications are now limited to received messages.

 

Canned Messages settings visibility fixed – Resolved visibility issues with some elements in the Canned Messages settings screen.

 

Manual modem disconnect loop fixed – Fixed an issue where manually disconnecting the modem could trigger an unwanted modem restart loop.

 

Graceful shutdown logging improved – Removed unnecessary "Thread Abort" exceptions from the VarAC log during normal shutdown or modem disconnection.

 

Profile button visibility fixed – Fixed an issue where the Change Profile button disappeared after disconnecting.

 

Profile button translation fixed – Corrected incorrect translated text displayed on the Profile button.

 

Linux compatibility fixes

  • Fixed the "★" symbol display in beacons.

  • Fixed callsign tooltips for AI, Email Gateway, and BBS services.

Image compression duplicate handling fixed – Sending the same image multiple times no longer fails due to attempting to create an already existing compressed image.

 

Unread VMail deletion fixed – Fixed an issue where unread VMails could not be deleted.

 

Relay notification deletion fixed – Fixed an exception occurring when deleting the last relay notification entry from the table.

 

Frequency Scheduler fixes

  • Fixed an issue where entries 16–30 were not loaded.

  • Fixed incorrect error reporting where entry 12 was flagged instead of the actual problematic entry 11.

Startup CQ button state fixed – On first startup, when the modem was not connected, the CQ button is now correctly disabled.

 

Email Gateway status display fixed – Fixed an issue where the Email Gateway was incorrectly shown in orange and reported as operating in cluster mode without a sender node.

 

AI/BBS incoming connection status fixed – Fixed incorrect notifications indicating AI and BBS incoming connections were enabled when they were actually disabled.

 

VMail editing cursor issue fixed – Fixed an issue where editing a callsign/email address in a VMail caused the cursor to jump to the end after every character typed.

 

Beacon band detection display fixed – When a beacon's band cannot be determined, it is no longer incorrectly highlighted as a known callsign on a new band.

 

VMail relay alert popup scaling fixed – Increased the popup size to prevent clipping on displays using scaling above 100%.

 

Database Fixer false warning fixed – Fixed an issue where DB Fixer incorrectly reported that the is_varac_master column was missing.

 

Startup frequency loading fixed – Fixed an issue where "Load Last Frequency" did not work correctly on startup.

 

Cluster instance stability improved – Fixed an issue where a cluster instance encountering a database lock while updating keepalive information could be incorrectly evicted from the cluster for 30 seconds until restart.

 

Relay notification self-triggering fixed – Fixed an issue where VarAC sent relay notifications to the operator's own callsign when transmitting a beacon.

 

Relay notification settings enforcement fixed – Fixed cases where VarAC did not correctly honor relay notification enable/disable settings.

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