Very slow boot of the 6300 on 1.5

Larry Loen WO7R

Since installing Power SDR 1.5 on my 6300, I have experienced very long boot times.  Sometimes, it never finishes (or I give up after 5 minutes or more).  After a few power on/off cycles it has "so far" come back.  But, I wonder if something is dying?  It also takes longer on power off also (used to be 10 seconds, now more like 30).  I am running "remote" with the RCA plug to control actual boot up / boot down. 

Steve G1XOW

I've seen the same thing several times myself. I am not remote, I'm connection direct PC to 6300 with CAT6e. The green light just flashes and never ends. It must get locked-up in some way. Previous versions did not do this. I have to de-power to get it to work again.

Steve G1XOW

Mike KD2CJJ

Upgrade to 1.5.1

Tim - W4TME

This is a previously reported issue.  https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/calibration-not-finished-led-power-flashes-without-...

If the radio is shut down by pressing and holding the power button until it shuts down, then immediately powered back on with a single press and release of the power button (not a press and hold), then the radio will start up normally. 

This will be fixed in the next release of SmartSDR.

Larry Loen WO7R

Thanks, Tim.  To Mike:  I should have said 1.5.1, which is what I am running.  Since I'm running remote, I can't do all that fancy button pushing.  Apparently, I will have to do some trial-and-error turning it on and off and wait for the right combination of luck or whatever it is.  The radio does (so far) seem to finally come up after a couple of power on/off cycles.  If it helps you with the fix, Tim, the problem seems much more likely to happen after the radio has been off for quite a while.

Tim - W4TME

We have characterized the issue and yes, the radio being cold is one of the factors that exposes the timing issue.  The fix we implemented is working well in test.  It will be in the next release of SmartSDR.

Burt Fisher

How cold is cold?

k3Tim

"How High is Up?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_High_Is_Up%3F

Tim - W4TME

cold = not powered on so that the internal heat dissipated by the internal components have risen the unit temperature above a rest state.

Larry Loen WO7R

I have come up with a workaround for remote users. This may not interest anyone but me, but in case this applies to you (or you just want to know "how cold is cold") this does the job:

1.  Power on 12v source.
2.  Turn on your radio using the RCA plug in the back however you do this remotely.  This is roughly like pressing the front panel button.
3.  Wait 180 seconds.
4.  Turn off your radio using the RCA plug in the back however you do this remotely.
5.  Wait another 35 seconds.
6.  Turn on your radio as in step 2.  After a minute or so, the radio will come up normally.

Apparently, 180 seconds is long enough for the rig to warm up enough to get out of whatever the problem is.

Tim - W4TME

It is a lot easier that what you published.  If after 2 minutes the Power LED is still flashing, press and hold the power button to shut it down than press it again to power it back up.

Larry Loen WO7R

If you are in the shack, sure.  But, as you probably now recall, I am not.  This is a workaround for remote users.  In my case, it's a 20 minute drive to push the button.  Even a 3.5 minute procedure runs circles around that!

Tim - W4TME

Good point.

John AD6NR

Any estimated schedule for the "fix" to this problem?  I had to cycle my Flex 6300 several times during the Sweepstakes Contest this weekend (not related to the Flex) and it sure was irritating to have to wait even the 3 minutes it takes to do this - in the middle of a contest!    

Tim - W4TME

it will be released with SmartSDR v1.6.   Hopefully that will be soon (early Dec). You don't have to wait 3 minutes.  The radio will usually boot within a minute, so you can shave 2 minutes off your wait time before doing the second boot.

Jay Nation

IMHO
Instead of worrying about making the radio boot faster, I'd rather they concentrate on bug fixing the bugs that require a power cycle, to clear, first.  

Which I think they are fixing.

The fastest reboot time, is the reboot you never have to do.

With fewer features, the radio might boot up much faster, But I want even more features, even when they require increasing the boot time a few more seconds.

It's a radio, not a funny car. Hole shots are important to competitors, so are engines that don't destroy themselves every time they're raced.

I want faster boot ups, and more "shiny stuff". I don't expect to get both yesterday. Good software requires time. I think they are using their time wisely, what feeds them, also feeds Amateur Radio. The bugs and bug fixes, are just part of the process of getting it right. Version 1.6 will be a step closer to right.

73, Jay - NO5J