smart sdr version 3

Jean Drolet

JohnSweeney

Marc Lalonde

Ted VE3TRQ

I really liked the previous "short loved" version of your comment, Marc - it was so appropriate :-)

Johan _ SE3X

Good sign though! someone screewed up when preparing website for the release of V3. First sign of life of the new version .. Maybe a Christmas present for us users? Just praying the multi client will be in this release

Sergey R5AU

Ver 3 should consist global features on top , however within ver2 plenty of improvements should be released / issues solved

Lawrence Kellar KB5ZZB

On a sales E-Mail earlier this week, Flex wrote that any radio bought now would receive a free upgrade to Version 3.0 (a $199 value). Wonder what the new “Killer Feature” will be? Multi Client? Quote from email: “If you purchase a new FlexRadio , we will include a free upgrade to Version 3 of SmartSDR when SmartSDR ships in the coming months. That alone is worth $199.”

Chris DL5NAM

bobby

Christmas present for flex ... havent even got a year of free updates on 2 and now they want more money for fixes that havent materialized including a decent noise blanker ... really, Ho Ho Ho. Merry Chrstmas :-( You do the math 8000 users upgrade x $200 a pop ... WOW ... 1.6 Million Dollars for software with new features. (bugs) and free beta testers! Cost to the company Ziltch .. staff is already salaried and figured into the budget .. pure profit!

[Deleted User]

Can you forward the email to me as I just purchased a 6600 and it will arrive here tomorrow

Lawrence Kellar KB5ZZB

Marc Lalonde

ya big finger + dyslexia make lot of funny thing 

Lionel

Might be mostly profit, but many companies reinvest some of the bottom line in future capabilities to maintain a reasonable growth of both top and bottom line. I’m okay with Flex operating a profitable business and adding capability to my radio. An interim release of 2.x.x would be welcomes but I assume a jump to a 3.x release has significant new capability. As a serial first adopter I’ll have an interesting experience.

Pat N6PAT

Johan _ SE3X

Bobby .. I choose Flex over ANAN and other suppliers because if investing many USD in a radio (in my case the 6700) I prefer to do business with a company like Flex, that makes money on software as well and are more likelly to stay in business for a long time.

Very few companies will survive, long term, selling only hardware. When using freeware to handle the radio, they miss out an important part of the business.

Flex both sell hardware and make money on software. That makes me fell my investment is protected as much as possible.

Updating, paying those 200 USD, are voluntary. I f.ex, are awaiting the multi client functionality. If it's not in V3, I'm very likely to stay with V2. And I will be fine with that for a long time forward.

James Whiteway

Yes, Automatic Notch Filter working, BEFORE having to pay for another version would be nice too. Basic functions that WORK , should be made for all previous versions without having to pay again. I don't mind paying for NEW features in a new version. But, paying in hopes of getting what should be already working properly, bugs me. If that's the case here, it'll take a lot to convince me it's worth the price of continuing to own a Flex, just to continue to wait for fixes that may or may not, ever materialize. James WD5GWY

Johan _ SE3X

Quote "" Basic functions that WORK , should be made for all previous versions without having to pay again. ""

Do take for granted that you have put those demands to Microsoft about their Windows software before upgrading .. Any success? if you ever been a Windoz user?

Ted VE3TRQ

To be fair to Microsoft, Flex does not need to support hardware from hundreds of independent hardware manufacturers stretching over a dozen years. Flex manufactures both the hardware and the software, and only needs to support two major technology versions (albeit with some variation). And I don't use Microsoft operating systems if I can avoid it.

Bill -VA3WTB

James Whiteway

Johan, I've been a Windows user since the DOS versions. As Ted rightly pointed out, Microsoft supports ( or at least attempts to) far more configurations of hardware and software than FRS does. There's no comparison between the two.
I'm not asking for anything special or specific to me. I simply expect basic features to work, and work well.
More so, since an older generation of FRS's software offerings does have those basic features working well.
My hopes/ expectations are that those basic features get the attention they need and are added to current versions of SSDR. Not provided in a full version upgrade that costs more money.
Again, I have no problem paying for a full version upgrade if it offers something completely new and unique. We should not have to pay for bug fixes or half baked current features and functions.
James
WD5GWY

Bill -VA3WTB

Good point James,,there is never a cost for bug fixes.  We have never paid for bug fixes. But the bug fixes are done at the same time as feature sets. For me even if Flex never gets around to finishing every possible known feature, even missing a couple basic ones, I would still not look at buying another radio at this time.

I can buy another product and find things that are not so good as well, then what?

Remember it took 8 years of development to get PSDR to the place it was when Flex let it go.

Pat N6PAT

What do you think about a free trial period on new releases? I had issues with 2.4.9 so I wouldn't want to spend $199 for 3.0 if I have issues with that version. I would really like to try before I buy

Ted VE3TRQ

Frankly, I'd rather that Flex spent time on features and bug fixes rather than putting in ways of crippling the software. Think about all the software that you've used in the past that had obtrusive rights management built in. I'd rather just wait until all the good folks on this forum report the bad things in a new version before I upgrade to it - one of the BIG benefits of this community. There will always be those willing to be on the bleeding edge and report on it. Ted VE3TRQ (somewhat tongue in cheek, but not too much :-)

James Whiteway

Bill, you are correct. There are other options out there that have better basic functions currently. BUT, they lack some things that my 6600M has that I would be hard pressed to do without. It all boils down to what one is willing to do without. And as you know, the ANF is one feature that works well in PSDR, but, not so well in SSDR.
The one big difference between PSDR and SSDR is, we never had to pay to get new features or bug fixes. It might have taken 8 years to get it to the point it was when the new hardware and SSDR came along. But, it did finally happen. And, at no additional cost.
    There are a lot of issues (bugs) that have been reported here over the past year with SSDR, some of which have been addressed and others that have not. Issues like the ANF, Noise Blanker etc not working well. have been ongoing in SSDR since the first version was released. And they continued into the next paid upgrade.
And it would appear that that trend will continue. I hope not. But, I would not be surprised to see it happen. I know FRS needs to generate more income, but, even though they claim to be a "software" company and not a "hardware" company, they are actually both. Without the hardware, there'd be no need for the software. They go hand in hand.
    As it stands, the hardware is great, the software on the other hand, not so great.
(the "not so great" being basic features that don't work like they should/could)
There is a lot to like about SSDR, but, from talking to friends that are also Flex owners, it seems FRS wants to only focus on Contest type of features, instead of realizing that not all of their customer base are Contesters. And those non-contesters spend money too. Maybe that's the whole point here. FRS really doesn't want non-contesters to use their hardware and software. Or they feel there's not enough non-contesters buying their products to warrant making their radios attractive to a wider audience.
    Anyway, off my soapbox. I know Bill, and probably others as well, are tired of reading what I think should be working in SSDR.
James
WD5GWY

Bill -VA3WTB

Pat, If the updates were only about features maybe a trial would work. How ever, each updates are full of fixes and under the hood tweaks we don't see. We don't pay for seperate updates, we pay for a new version. with out paying for a new version we would not enjoy the the full benefit of all the updates.

Any new version could go two years before moving on to a new one. Version 2 has gone better than a year of updates, if we see 4 updates per year in a version, how can we try that version? We would have to wait till the version is complete, a year later to try it.

James, one reason to work closely with the contesting community is because of the benefits we all get from that. Learing how to create software with high performance features is good for all. Many things that have been improved for the contesters has also improved the things we as non contesters do with our radios.

The reason Flex is seen as a software company is simple. Once the radio hardware is designed and tested that is the end of it. what you end up with is all there is. finished.
Gerald say's the hardware is the easy part, once you have a plan and you sellect your parts, you pretty well know what you have and how it will work.

The software on the other hand is the really hard part. And so very costly, many times more then the cost of the hardware development. And un like the hardware, the software is constantly evolving. SSDR is brand new ground, new code. Everything Flex changes in the code know one knows what it will do till much testing is done. Nothing done in SSDR has been done before, there are no examples to copy. Every line of new code in inventing. Depending what the featurs are some testing could take weeks,,or several months to see how well it works. Even then a feature may need further tweaking in months to come.

Rich McCabe

KC8P

Bill -VA3WTB

Why would you say they are working on V3 without finishing V2? We just don't know where they are in the V2 releases. I think an update could be coming by Christmas because of when the last one was released.

Pat N6PAT

KC8P

Bill, This is just a pure speculation, but I do work for IT and know a little bit about development process...it consumes a lot of money and resources. I hope for an another update to version 2, hopefully by end of this year.

James Whiteway

I don't see where a free trial that times out after a certain point would be an issue. The radio "phones home" for a new version, if the trial period is up, then the radio's software downgrades to the previous version. As should SSDR do when the trial period is up.
The "under the hood" tweaks would get downgraded in the process as well. As for any "fixes" those should apply to the user's current version thru a separate update. Not thru trialware. And the "fixes" shouldn't cost anything either. More so, if they fix issues with previous versions that should have been fixed prior to the new version.
  I really think someone from FRS should chime in here and clear up exactly what they plan to do as far as this new version and fixing current version(s) shortcomings.
If they have no plans to fix the basic issues that a LOT of people have, then they should say so. Then, the user can decide if V3.x is worth the money or not.
I for one, hope they do plan to actually fix things in the current version that have continued on since v1.x. But, I'm not holding my breath waiting!
James
WD5GWY