SSDR on PC vs 6600M/Maestro GUI

Tom W3FRG

What is the reason that SSDR for windows running on a PC monitor and that which I see on an "M" display, or ported directly from the radio via hdmi to a monitor, so different?
SSDR on a PC monitor is so much easier and complete to operate and make changes, etc.
Will the "M" display GUI eventually catch up ?
I'm sure there is an obvious answer which is above my knowledge.

Tom W3FRG

Craig Williams

I would guess they got tired of hearing people and/or competitors complain the Flex radios do not have knobs. So no you can get knobs. Wonder what they will whine about next.

Ken Hansen

Two factors, in my opinion limit the Maestro interface when compared with SSDR on a PC display: Lower resolution/higher DPI/smaller physical size of the Maestro And the bluntness of the human finger poking at the touch screen, compared to a mouse pointer on a PC running SSDR Running SSDR on a smaller touch-screen laptop can be frustrating without using a mouse

Tom W3FRG

I suppose in particular, based on your excellent statements, the reason one cannot Import/Export Profiles from a "M" or Maestro because it would be difficult using a touch screen.

Tom W3FRG

KF4HR

I think the difference is a matter of screen real estate, and what FRS must have been up against trying to fit all the menu goodies on an 8 inch screen, while trying to maintain good ergonomics for those that prefer knobs & buttons. 

I occasionally run iOS SSDR on my 10" iPad and also a Maestro.  Both of these work fine and offer nice portability, but for ease of operation I much prefer operating SSDR on a large PC screen. 

David Decoons, wo2x

Tom, the mirroring of the M display on a larger monitor via HDMI does not allow mouse connectivity to use the side panels on SmartSDR for Windows. The most common controls are on knobs and drop down menus accessible from the M series touch screen display. That is the primary difference.

I use SmartSDR for Windows here on a 49" 4k monitor with SmartSDR set for the top third of the screen. Other apps are then using the screen real estate under it. I find when sitting at the main operating position I use the mouse vs touch screen.

The other thing is when mirroring the front display on a larger monitor you cannot run other apps on that monitor at the same time (logging software, cluster, etc.

Dave wo2x

John - AF3K

Hi Tom, 

My own conclusion (thus far at least) after using Windows, "M" and iOS interfaces is that it is better to have the code optimized for each device - even if the cost is a lag in SmartSDR feature compatibility between the devices.

73,
John, AF3K

Tom W3FRG

Hi Dave,

Yes, I agree and am finding that out on the SSDR PC screen. Just isn't enough space, HI.

Tom W3FRG

KF4HR

Dave - I'm just curious.  What brand and model 49" TV did you go with?

KF4HR

Charley Snodgrass

Actually, I was a bit surprised when I set up the "M"... "lookie here! A USB port!" and I plugged in a mouse... no joy.
I would much rather use a mouse, my aim with my finger is not very good, so I end up not hitting what I want - changing something that now needs to be changed back (another poke w/ my inaccurate finger)
Would sure be nice if they would allow both touch and mouse inputs!

Charley

KC0CD  

David Decoons, wo2x

It is a Sony KD-50X690E 4K TV. I originally bought an LG 50" 4K TV to use as a monitor but it had a nasty birdie right in the middle of the FT-8 frequency range on 30 meters. The Sony has been working fine.

I am driving it with an Nvidia 1080TI video card with 8GB ram so plenty fast.

Make sure whatever 4k monitor and video card combo you use it supports YCbCr444. This is important for clarity of text when used as a PC monitor.

Dave wo2x

NX6D Dave

The reason is that the Maestro and M Model systems are not general purpose computers with user accessible file systems.  This means not only is there no way to save/restore files, but there is also no support for third party apps such as OneDrive or Dropbox, which could be used to save/restore files.  This is a carefully considered decision.  Expanding the capability of the embedded Windows system in the Maestro and M Models would dramatically complicate user support questions.  Any change of that type directly cuts into their ability to work on the radio.

Michael Coslo

Reall estate. A computer screen has it, a small screen on an SDR radio doesn't. There is simply no way to have all of the information and capabilities of SSDR on the tiny screens that have to be used if you are going to have a screen on the radio. 

Steven WA8Y

They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Like someone said it frees up screen space on your "PC in shack screen". I like that I can squeeze to zoom in or out and how I can slide the band spread back and forth on the Maestro. I also like adjusting the mic gain and power level, pass bands, etc on the Maestro. I like seeing the frequency flag (to the Hertz) as I scroll through the panafall. I don't like seeing the band spread adjustment come up if my mouse is in the noise level, but that's neither here nor there. I don't like that the transmit control Windows aren't labeled and I can't see all of them unless I dedicate a large amount of screen space to Smart SDR. But I have to say I like the Maestro and I like smart SDR. Kind of silly but I now have two CW paddles.

Robert Lonn

After 3 months of using a Flex, 6600M,, It would have been nice to be able to plug in a MOUSE directly into the 6600M to eliminate having to touch the screen... Second would have been able to plug in the Flex Control into the 6600M.. It makes operating the radio a lot easier.. Naturally you have both a mouse and the Flex Control available for your SSDR software..  


Like many of you, I have a large 50" TV set i n The shack hooked to the 6600M... Having a mouse to point to things, means you can focus on the monitor on the wall rather then focusing on the 6600M screen to make changes to things...

Not sure if this ability is something Flex can accomplish with the radio... We know this is a features the icom IC-7610 offers,, but they had no choice sine they did not put a Receiver "B" tuning knob on the radio like Flex did...

Robert

NX6D Dave

If I had a large TV in the shack, I'd run SmartSDR on it, not the screen from the 6600M.

David Decoons, wo2x

I agree with Dave. Having a 50” monitor dedicated to the radio is a waste of screen real estate. Running SmartSDR allows using DAX, CAT, DDUTIL, HF Auto app, JTAlert and WSJT-x all on one monitor. Mirroring the M display has merit in certain circumstances but I prefer SmartSDR Dave wo2x

Wayne

Actually the real reason is that the profiles are encrypted when stored and thats why you can only save them and reload them from a pc not like the icom wher you can just write your setups to a flashdrive plugged in the usb or an sd card in the card slot on the radio which is soooo the way to do it makes it true stand alone sdr rig with knobs.

Wayne

You can with an lg monitor i can divide my lg monitor into up to 4 separate screens in fact i can also divide the screen into 2 sub monitors displaying input simultaneously from 2 different computers makes it very convienient.

ctate243

I have to agree with this.

Robert Lonn

The radio is on HDMI-1 and my Laptop Computer is on HDMI-2, so the monitor can do both, plus HDMI-3 is my Cable TV Box for TV viewing, and HDMI-4 is for my 4K BluRay player, so the TV set is getting a lot of use...  :-) 

Robert