A lightweight Windows tool to stream audio from VB-Audio Virtual Cable over VBAN — the simple, Voicemeeter-free companion to SWLStation.
VBANServer is a lightweight Windows console application that captures audio from any input device and streams it over the local network using the VBAN protocol (VB-Audio Network).
It was designed as a companion to the SWLStation iOS app, providing a clean and simple way to stream radio audio from a Windows PC to an iPhone or iPad — without requiring the full Voicemeeter application.
If you've followed the VB-Cable tutorial, you already have a virtual audio cable routing SDR audio. VBANServer picks up right where that left off — it takes the audio from the virtual cable and broadcasts it as a VBAN stream over your WiFi network.
Voicemeeter is a powerful audio mixer that supports VBAN streaming, but for the specific use case of one-way audio streaming from a ham radio receiver, it is overkill. Voicemeeter adds complexity to the audio routing chain: it requires careful configuration of inputs, outputs, virtual buses, and VBAN settings — and it runs a full GUI application in the background.
VBANServer does one thing well: capture audio from a device (like VB-Audio Virtual Cable) and stream it via VBAN. No GUI, no mixer, no extra configuration layers. It runs from the command line, can be launched with a batch file at boot, and stays quietly out of the way.
Audio signal flow from SDR to iOS
If you haven't installed VB-Audio Virtual Cable yet, follow the VB-Cable tutorial first. VBANServer needs an audio input to capture from — the virtual cable is what connects your SDR software's audio output to VBANServer's input.
Download VBANServer from the official page:
The download is a .zip archive containing the executable and a readme file.
Unzip the archive to a folder you'll keep permanently — for example:
C:\Tools\VBANServer\The folder should contain VBANServer.exe and the accompanying documentation. No installer is needed — the application is a standalone executable.
Open a Command Prompt, navigate to the folder, and check that VBANServer starts correctly:
C:\Tools\VBANServer> VBANServer.exe --helpThis should display the list of available command-line options. If you get an error about .NET runtime, download the .NET 8 Runtime from Microsoft, or use the self-contained build which bundles the runtime.
The fastest way to get audio streaming is with a single command. First, list your available audio devices to find the correct name:
C:\Tools\VBANServer> VBANServer.exe --listLook for your VB-Audio Virtual Cable in the output — it will typically contain the word CABLE in its name. Then start streaming:
C:\Tools\VBANServer> VBANServer.exe --device "CABLE" --samplerate 16000This captures audio from VB-Audio Cable at 16 kHz mono and broadcasts it via VBAN on the local network using UDP port 6980 with the default stream name Stream1.
The --device option uses partial name matching, so you don't need to type the full device name. "CABLE" will match any device whose name contains that word.
Now open SWLStation on your iPhone or iPad. Set the VBAN stream name to Stream1 (the default) and make sure your device is on the same WiFi network as the PC. Audio from the SDR software should start streaming immediately.
VBANServer provides several options to customize the stream. Here is the full reference:
| Option | Short | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| --device <name> | -d | First device | Audio input device (partial name match) |
| --port <port> | -p | 6980 | UDP port for VBAN packets |
| --stream <name> | -s | Stream1 | VBAN stream name (must match receiver) |
| --samplerate <hz> | -r | 16000 | Sample rate in Hz |
| --channels <num> | -c | 1 | Number of channels (1 = mono) |
| --target <ip> | -t | 255.255.255.255 | Target IP (disables broadcast if set) |
| --record [seconds] | 10 | Record raw audio to a local WAV file | |
| --list | -l | List available audio input devices | |
| --help | -h | Show help |
Stream to a specific device instead of broadcasting to the entire LAN — useful when you want to reduce network traffic or when broadcast is blocked by your router:
> VBANServer.exe --device "CABLE" --samplerate 16000 --target 192.168.0.9Record a short WAV sample of the audio input for debugging — this helps verify that VBANServer is actually receiving audio from the virtual cable:
> VBANServer.exe --device "CABLE" --samplerate 16000 --record 10Use a custom stream name — if you have multiple VBAN streams on the network, each one needs a unique name:
> VBANServer.exe --device "CABLE" --samplerate 16000 --stream "MyRadio"For ham radio audio, 16000 Hz is the recommended sample rate. It provides a good balance between audio quality and network bandwidth — more than enough for voice and SSB signals, while keeping packet sizes small and efficient over WiFi.
VBANServer supports all standard VBAN sample rates from 6000 Hz up to 705600 Hz. Higher rates like 44100 or 48000 Hz can be used if you need full-fidelity audio, but for typical ham radio listening 16000 Hz is ideal.
The complete signal chain from SDR receiver to your iOS device involves three components working together: the SDR software, VB-Audio Virtual Cable, and VBANServer.
Complete audio path from SDR hardware to iPhone/iPad
In your SDR software (SDRuno, SDRconnect, or any other), set the audio output device to CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable). This sends the demodulated radio audio into the virtual cable instead of your speakers.
If you haven't configured this yet, refer to the VB-Cable tutorial for detailed instructions.
Open a Command Prompt and run VBANServer pointing to the virtual cable:
> VBANServer.exe --device "CABLE" --samplerate 16000VBANServer will confirm that it found the audio device and started broadcasting. Keep this window open — closing it stops the stream.
Open SWLStation on your iPhone or iPad. Set the VBAN RX stream name to match the one used by VBANServer — the default is Stream1. Make sure your iOS device is connected to the same WiFi network as the Windows PC.
Audio from the SDR receiver will now stream to your device over WiFi.
VBAN uses UDP for audio transport, so occasional packet loss on WiFi is expected and may result in minor audio glitches. For the best experience, ensure a strong WiFi signal between the PC and your iOS device.
If you want VBANServer to start automatically every time Windows boots, you can create a batch file and place it in the Windows Startup folder.
Open Notepad and create a file with the following content:
@echo off
REM --- VBANServer autostart script ---
cd /d C:\Tools\VBANServer
start "" VBANServer.exe --device "CABLE" --samplerate 16000Save the file as start_vbanserver.bat in the VBANServer folder (e.g. C:\Tools\VBANServer\start_vbanserver.bat).
Adjust the path and the command-line options to match your actual setup. If you use a custom stream name or target IP, add those flags to the batch file as well.
Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, type the following, and press Enter:
shell:startupThis opens the Windows Startup folder for your user account. Create a shortcut to the start_vbanserver.bat file and place it in this folder. Alternatively, you can copy the .bat file directly into the folder.
From now on, VBANServer will start automatically every time you log in to Windows.
If you want VBANServer to start even before logging in (e.g. on a headless machine), consider registering it as a Windows Service using sc create or a tool like NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager).
First, make sure that the stream name in SWLStation matches the one used by VBANServer (default: Stream1). Then verify that both devices are on the same WiFi network. You can also use the --record flag to capture a short WAV file and check that VBANServer is actually receiving audio from the virtual cable.
> VBANServer.exe --device "CABLE" --samplerate 16000 --record 10Play the resulting WAV file on the PC — if it's silent, the problem is upstream (SDR software is not sending audio to the virtual cable).
VBAN sends audio as outbound UDP packets on port 6980. If Windows Firewall is blocking this traffic, you need to allow VBANServer.exe through the firewall for private networks, or manually create an outbound rule for UDP port 6980.
Since VBAN uses UDP, packet loss on WiFi is expected and will cause occasional glitches. To minimize this, ensure a strong WiFi signal. If broadcast mode doesn't work well on your network, try unicast by specifying the target device's IP address with --target — this reduces network traffic and can improve reliability on congested networks.
Run VBANServer.exe --list to see all available audio input devices. The virtual cable device name may vary — look for anything containing CABLE or VB-Audio. Use the exact name shown in the listing (partial match is supported).
If VBANServer displays an error about missing .NET runtime, download and install the .NET 8 Runtime from Microsoft. Alternatively, use the self-contained build of VBANServer which includes the runtime and has no external dependencies.