Maestro Auto Boot at Power Application

KM4CJ

I am enjoying my Maestro!  Very nice quality product.  Is there a way to disable the automatic power up of Maestro when external power is applied?  I always remove power from the shack when not in use.  Whenever I come into the shack and enable power the Maestro boots and I have to shut it down if not using the Flex. 

Paul Bradbeer

I agree....this is really annoying. Maybe it's a fix in the next software load?

Tim - W4TME

I am afraid that there isn't a software option that can be employed through a software update to change this power on behavior.

Samuel Strongin

It's a problem I forgot to unplug mine , we have frequent short power interuptions during storms , I had a problem getting it to start after shutting down .

Ray - K6LJ

I agree - I have had the same issue during a storm and whenever I plug the power back in. The only option is to remove the power cord whenever you finish using the maestro and just expect it to power up the next time you want to use it. I'm sure the software doesn't like it when the radio is also off so I always have the radio on first before plugging in the power. It is not acceptable to think that it will just turn on by itself when no one is around when a short power cycle occurs and you are connected to wall power.I think the hardware guys need to look at this issue and come up with a solution externally.

KM4CJ

Tim - Thanks for the quick "Official Response"  I have an AC distribution switch panel in my 19 inch rack that houses the Flex 6500.  I will run an extension to the Maestro and dedicate a switch to it.

Tim - W4TME

"I'm sure the software doesn't like it when the radio is also off..."

As designed, it does not care one way or another.

AC9S

An irritation for me also.  I have had 4 lightning strikes over the years - fire department called twice - real honest to god fire once.  Needless to say, I disconnect everything when I am not operating.  I default to disconnecting DC to the Maestro and operating from the internal Polano when I run the Maestro.  The Maestro is nice for casual operation around the house, but for anything serious( it is a hobby, nothing about it is really serious) I prefer the big screen.

Keith - AC9S

Samuel Strongin

After the last auto on from a storm I lost all my global, mic ,and transmitter settings , a real pain .

Tim - W4TME

Profiles are stored in the radio, not the Maestro.

Mark Erbaugh

I know this thread is a year old, but I wanted to make a new comment. I already knew that connecting the Maestro to my shack 12V power buss would not work as I turn the power supply off when I'm not using it and sometimes turn it on when I'm going to do other things than run the Maestro. My solution (I thought) was to leave the Maestro plugged into it's power supply which was plugged into the wall. That worked until this morning when we had a short interruption of commercial power. I reset the microwave oven clock and the flash water heater as both need reset after a power outage, but I didn't think about the Maestro. I came home this afternoon and discovered that the Maestro had been on all day waiting for a radio.

I see in Tim's post above that a true on/off function is not available. I don't know much about PC based tablets, but I am responsible for several Apple iPads at work. Most of them are used only a couple of times a year (I work for the local Board of Elections and the iPads are used to check in voters on Election Day). While normal operation of the iPad is to hit the power button to put it to sleep, the iPad also has an option to shut it down completely. Once I am done with an election, I charge the iPads to about 50% battery level then shut them down. When I'm getting ready for the next election (several months later), I power them back on and most are still at 50% battery level. Also comparing the Maestro to the iPad, when the iPad is asleep a touch of the home button wakes it up and it is ready to go in seconds. While it appears that the Maestro can't be completely shutdown, starting the Maestro appears to be a complete reboot as it takes considerably longer.

In a related gripe about the Maestro hardware, at the Dayton Hamvention this year, I asked Tim if any progress had been made on the horrible sound of the CW sidetone generated by the Maestro. He said that the problem was a hardware issue and there was no way to improve it.

I have to say that these two issues are troubling. I have a $1000+ add-on to a $7000+ (6700) radio and we are seeing hardware limitations that seriously limit the use of the combination in pretty mainstream configurations. I'm wondering how thoroughly Flex researched the intended use of the product.

Tim - W4TME

Regarding the Maestro CW sidetone audio.  The distortion is a product of the component values and tolerances used in the AF generator circuit. It isn't a simple matter of changing the components because if it was, it would have been done already.

We think there may be a possible software fix that can be applied that would clean up the waveform.  In software development parlance, this would be a "science project", meaning we would have to vet out several ideas before we know if it is possible to do or not.  We have this on our list to address.  Unfortunately, I do not have a possible timeframe for when we might get started working on the science project.

Jlawson40

When using the Maestro in my shack, I power it from a power supply that is also used to power a 2m/ 70cm base rig. I put a in -line rocker switch in the line to the Maestro so I can apply power to it when needed. That solves the problem of Maestro booting up when I turn on the external power supply. When operating away from the shack, I use either a battery or the wall wart supplied with the Maestro. John, W8AGS

Tim - W4TME

While it may appear that way, the answer to your question is no, it was not a matter of an engineering oversight.  Our engineers always take into account the proper values and tolerances of components utilized based on proper and accepted engineering practices.  What was discovered after production, which was unexpected, is that a very slight variance in either can cause the issue.  And each Maestro is slightly different requiring different values and tolerances to improve the quality of the sidetone.  We believe we can correct the waveform using software and that is the approach we plan to take so that the fix will be global nature.

I hope this reduces your concern.  I'd like to point out that we are discussing this issue openly and address your concerns publicly, which is not something a lot of other radio manufacturers choose to do.