SDR 1.4 is it releasing?

Nick - W2NER

Well, unless Flex works weekends I guess the release of 1.4 is going to be pushed out again......

Jim Gilliam

I inferred there would be a further delay for further software changes but no time frame was mentioned. They committed for Jan 31 but now there was no time commitment other than they were on the verge of making the necessary changes and corrections.

JIm

James Kennedy-WU5E

I would rather have complete software so if it takes another week so be it.

Jim

WU5E

Nick - W2NER

I'm an engineering project manager and when you commit to a deadline you should make sure you can meet that date within a reasonable  window.  All these missed committed dates only generate negativity.  First it was end of Oct, then Nov, then Dec and then Jan.   Now what, Feb?  Better off not stating any date at all and just commit to a year or qtr..  I don't mind waiting but if your going to commit to a date and miss it more then once, make dam sure at some point your words are worth something and stck to it no matter what.

Jay -- N0FB

This is what was said in the 1.4 Release Status message from a couple days ago.: "The general release of SmartSDR v1.4 will occur when our system integration testing clears the remaining defects and yields the feature quality you and we expect. Thank you for your patience while we complete this important process. 73, Gerald - K5SDR"

Lee - N2LEE

Nick, if you sign up for the Flex emails or check the forum you will see this has been addressed in detail.

https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/smartsdr-v1-4-update

W2NER

I'm signed up for updates but apparently not for all of the important areas

RoyS

Look in the upper right on the Home page. There is your answer...

DrTeeth

You may be onto something there Burt. They may have teenagers (like I do) and relish the opportunity for more overtime.

Richard

Nick... As an "old" Program Manager you should realize that Releasing Software for the sake of Releasing is a formula for Failure.  I am sure they have had their share of Scope Creep and by the communications their main objective is not solid as of this date.  I would prefer, as a PM, that they communicate the issues (done) and get it right (noted). 

I don't want to load something into radio memory / computer and then have issues that "****" my 6700.  **** fellow PM's let us give them some leeway here.

**** - WB4VMH

W2NER

My feelings still stand and at this point I don't care anymore as I sold the radio and went back to a yaesu.

Ernest - W4EG

This post in QRZ.COM is just to let you know where W2NER is coming from.

WTT: Flex 6500 for Icom 7700

I have a four month old Flex 6500 (unlocked) with 25 amp power supply and all boxs I want to trade for an Icom IC-7700...

Bill -VA3WTB

Wow, why would anyone step so far backwards?

DrTeeth

@ **** WB4VMH

"As an 'old' Program Manager you should realize that Releasing Software for the sake of Releasing is a formula for Failure".

If there have been no releases for a while, it can be assumed that a project is dead. There is always room for improvement and tweaking. Thinking of MMTTY (last release 29th Sept 2010) and MixW v2.20 (released 3rd Sept 2010 - and the reg is nearly £50, not $50).

Before I buy any software, I check the release dates and their frequency. Some software includes free upgrades for a year - a rip-off if the last release was well over a year before. There has to be a happy medium, at least from the customers' perspective.

When we have to pay hard cash for v2 SSDR, can you imagine the riot if there were only one or two releases?

DrTeeth

Nostalgia?

Ernest - W4EG

Notice that he still reads the Flex Forum.  

I hope you are receiving the latest Yaesu updates. 

Whoops, I don't think they have post any!

There still hope for this lost sheep for a Flex radio in the future

KY6LA_Howard

The Top Ten Reasons for trading down to a 7700. ( I sold all my Icoms because the 6700 blew them away in every test and in subsequent shootout tests ) 1. Missing the comforting static of phase noise 2. Missing the interstage distortion introduced by superheterodyne stages . 3. Enjoying being blind to the full spectrum. 4. Wanting to run CWSkimmer in a tiny bandwidth. 5 The comforting feeling of bleed thru of analog filters 6. The comforting feeling of a rats nest of wires and interfaces to run digital 7. Enjoying the high learning curve of a myriad of confusing knobs and buttons 8. Wanting poorer digital decodes due to digital to analog to digital conversion chains 9. Wanting a radio that will never change or improve over time. And #10. 10. Wanting a lower Sherwood rated radio

Jay -- N0FB

Its all about what ever makes him happy.  I wish Nick luck in getting the radio that he can be content with.

SteveM

He must not really want to get rid of it as he's offering a straight up trade. I think the deal would need to be sweetened with some cash since the Icoms sell for $6000 new.

Notice the date he posted (1-31-2015). It seems like a petty attempt to punish Flex for missing the 1.4 release date.

Lee - N2LEE

Thats the great part of ham radio, there is something for everyone. Thank goodness we have so many great choices.

SteveJ

 I sold my 6500 for a similar reason as Nick's but not the only reason. I still read this forum to see what is going on with Flex because I may consider a radio in the future. Haven't given up totally on SDR.  I think it is the future of ham radio.

 I agree with Guy that if v2 doesn't have timely updates after paying $200 that could really be an issue.  I still have a problem with paying that much for an update. Sure something should be charged for a 'major' update but that is a bit extreme. 

KY6LA_Howard

By contrast, having been involved in other development processes and understanding the extreme costs involved inventing something that no one has ever done before, I am concerned that they are charging so LITTLE for a "Major" update because it takes significant financial resources to develop those updates.

SteveM

SteveJ,

As Gerald stated, it's up to Flex to provide value in the paid releases. Simply put, no one should upgrade if they are feeling ripped-off. As far as bugs, I think he intimated that they will be fixed in all major branches.

Personally, I know I will pay $200 for WAN - it's worth that much to me. After that, I might just stay put. It's hard to say.

Dan -- KC4GO

**** I'm still waiting on the software update for my Kenwood TS-480 and I purchased it in 2005... There were/are bugs in the remote software and the memory management software.  Doesn't make it a bad radio.  While I look forward to the new software I'm still enjoying what I have and keep finding new activities.  I sure wouldn't trade down in radio performance even if the 1.4 was delayed tell July/August...

Dan ---  KC4GO

Al_NN4ZZ

Howard, Agree. When we made ballpark IT project estimates, the cost was $100,000 per person per year. The $100,000 was the fully loaded cost (salary, benefits, equipment, office space, etc). Even a small team requires a significant revenue stream for on going development. FRS may use different costing metrics but in any case, it is expensive. Regards, Al / NN4ZZ

k3Tim

Keeping these expensive boxes up to date for $200 / year seems a reasonable expense to me, especially when a new feature is included in the s/w.  We've been getting updates for sometime w/o the fee so one should amortize the first fee over these past several years.

I'd rather pay this fee than rely on the charity of uncompensated developers. Long term availability of s/w updates / fixes being the consideration.  Pay now or "pay" later.

One new, cool feature in a s/w release may be well worth the annual fee making the bug fixes / other goodies icing on the cake.

If I were buying a used 6k, I'd insist it have latest s/w or discount the price appropriately.

After using the 6500 with 1.38 for several months now, I must say the s/w and radio performance are in a good position.  Re-reading the s/w manual helped and there are a lot of neat tricks in the s/w that make for enjoyable listening.

Best Regards,

k3Tim

EA4GLI

I agree. I really don´t have anything bad to say about someone that purchased the radio, used it, didn´t liked it and moved onto something else.

I did the same thing with other radios which eventually led me to the current flex 6300 I use. And I am pretty sure I will not stop there and other radios will be in my future.

What I don´t get is people that bash the product from hearsay and people that sold it and feel the need to come back to the Flex forum to tell us the new radio they got. I don´t feel the need to go back to any forum and "****" about my IC-756 or the FT-901, or any other radio I have had in the past because I move on to the Flex.

It is like going back to your old girlfriend to tell her about your new girlfriend. LOL. You might still have feelings for the former..... maybe that is what it is, even though they move on, they still have the need to come back for some more flex love/hate.

Drax

I wish Flex would start charging the $200 a year for the software like they promised when I bought the radio.  Hate to see them doing all this work for nothing.

Jim Gilliam

I wouldn't mind may 1000 a year if we could get the changes.

DrTeeth

If WAN were all I could expect from v2, I'd pass. I hope that FRS has a lot more up their collective sleeves to tempt me to part with my dosh.