SmartSDR 2.0 upgrade fee

Manuel - W4SSB

If I buy a new 6300 now and SmartSDR V2.0 comes out during my warranty period will I have to pay for the upgrade?

GI4FZD

Do you expect it to be out by then?
Cheers
Paul

Bill -VA3WTB

Not unless there is something in the upgrade you want, otherwise no need to buy anything.

G4NRT

Will purchasers of the Maestro also be required to pay an upgrade fee? 
I only came to Flex 6000 radios during the 1.6 - 1.7 period so I do not know how much the upgrades are.  
Can someone please enlighten me?  

David G4NRT

KC9NRN

I'm hoping! I have a year starting Wednesday so hopefully going from 1.7 to 2.0 takes less than a year to accomplish!

Ken - NM9P

As far as I know, FRS has not released any information about possible pro-rata upgrade fees for buyers purchasing close to the time of the new release. 

Ken - NM9P

Tim - W4TME

First off the FLEX-6000 warranty is only a hardware warranty.  There is no software license associated with the FLEX-6000 hardware warranty during the term of the warranty.  You can read the entire hardware warranty on the respective FLEX-6000 product web page under the warranty tab. (http://www.flexradio.com)

When SmartSDR 2.0 is released, there will be a fee ($199 USD) to upgrade unless you purchased a Limited Edition 6700 or 6500 where you have a free upgrade credit or purchased additional software upgrades when you purchased your radio (this was only available for the early 6700 and 6500 before we transitioned to a fee-based software upgrade rather than the initial annual software fees).

The software upgrade details are listed on the SmartSDR for Windows product web page under the Upgrades tab http://www.flexradio.com/amateur-products/flex-6000-signature-series/smartsdr/

We will not provide any information regarding possible pro-rata upgrade fees for buyers purchasing close to the time of the new release until we get closer to the release of SmartSDR v2.0.  Right now we are focused entirely on SmartSDR v1.8.

G4NRT

No, I understand that the Maestro internal software will be upgraded in the same way as the Flex internal software is.

My point is that many of the features which were expected with the Maestro when many of us paid deposits were, in fact, absent from the initial release of SSDR to support the Maestro.

So, will Maestro owners who bought sight unseen get a discounted v2.0 upgrade when it is released?  It seems to be more or less what we all expected when Maestro was announced a year before release and it seems a little disingenuous to expect us to pay a not inconsiderable sum to make the Maestro what we expected it to be in the first place!

David

Kirk

Manuel - Looks like you would be better off holding off your purchase until v2.0 is released. 

73,

Kirk, K6KAR

Chris DL5NAM

Good joke  :-)

DrTeeth

@ David G4NRT
Anybody could say what you did in your last paragraph about their pet peev with SSDR. Flex have said that they will have to work had and come up with some 'must-haves' for people to part with their Shekels and that is so true.

Rob N4GA

Cool call sign - W4SSB

N4GA

Ken - NM9P

David, to which features are you referring?

WAN has always been planned for the paid V.2.0 and, as far as I have seen, was never promised as part of the initial software release for Maestro. They did however say that Maestro will be able to work with WAN when that is released with V.2.0.  But I don't see that as a promise of a free or reduced-price upgrade to v.2.0.

There ARE some other features that were left out of v.1.7 initially in order to speed up the release and should find their way into v.1.8, which will be a free upgrade.  How is that being disingenuous? - no harm, no foul. 

This is software defined radio.  If the hardware can be released with basic functions early and updated for free to bring the features up to ****, then you have had the pleasure of using the equipment for all the time in between.  And the design keeps getting better.  The other alternative would be to make everyone wait without their rigs until the software is "perfect."  I think most SDR users would rather play now than wait for perfection without their equipment.

Just my 2 cents.

G4NRT

@Guy G4DWV/4X1LT - I am not at all sure what my pet peeve is!  

@Ken NM9P - it is really not that big a deal!  

I was just asking a question originally which would have had a simple enough answer that the price is what it is and there will be no discounts for Maestro buyers!

It will be interesting to see how USD199 translates into GBP once v2.0 is released because I will certainly have to have it - even if just for WAN support.  Most software houses just change the dollar sign to a pound one!

I guess that there will also have to be a different distribution model than today where the software is freely downloadable from the FRS site.

David G4NRT

DrTeeth

@ David - G4NRT
"I am not at all sure what my pet peeve is! " It's a smorgasbord, LOLZ! It's really not that bad.

I hope the licensing model does not rely on authentication servers being active forever. I expect to use my Flex for as long as the hardware is able. As I do not give a flying fig about WAN, I expect to be sitting on the sidelines until my taste buds have been stimulated enough to part with my cash; hopefully at the proper exchange rate too.

Ken - NM9P

Philip KA4KOE

If the V2.0 upgrade is really kicking and punches the right buttons, yeah, I'd pay the fee. So, to the Flex 6000 software team, I wish you luck in making the V2.0 upgrade "really kicking".

donato cardarelli

In am a long time user of Flex (sdr 1000, 5000, now 6400+Maestro)... 
but sincerely speaking, 199USD  for licensing is really high...  it shoud be given for  free as all FLEX sw

It is difficult to pay 199 for a feature announced years ago but only now delivered....

Chris DL5NAM

now 6400 owner ? You must be the first!!

Hmmm, and 6400 customer get V2.0 for free; it's included :-)
Check your parcel

73 Chris

donato cardarelli

6500, ...... 
The 2.0.17 release note is clear

SmartSDR v2.0.17 is the first release of SmartSDR v2. A software license is required to run SmartSDR v2. All owners of the Limited Edition (LE) FLEX-6700 and FLEX-6500 SDRs or radios sold after May 19, 2017, have been pre-authorized for SmartSDR v2 and do not require the purchase of a SmartSDR v2 license. To run SmartSDR v2 on all other radios requires the purchase of a software license for the radio. Obtaining and validating a license for your FLEX-6000 software defined radio is a simple process.

Harold Bullard

Limited Edition 6700 or 6500 where you have a free upgrade credit or purchased additional software upgrades when you purchased your radio (this was only available for the early 6700 and 6500 before we transitioned to a fee-based software upgrade rather than the initial annual software fees).
I bought a flex 7600 during < 2.0  this was before a transition fee...please explain if elgible.

David Decoons, wo2x

If the 6700 was not the initial Signature series and was purchased before May 2017 (don’t remember exact day), then you would need to purchase an upgrade for 2.0 Dave wo2x