SDR Ver 3

Mark NS9N

SDR Ver 3 so for those of us who don’t need two operators, how long before we will need buy the upgrade before we miss out on other new features? Or will new features be also available on Ver 2 for sometime in the future?

WA2SQQ

Nice upgrade, but how about us "single ops"? I bet we make up most of the user base.

bobby

You get to wait for the next bus v4.0

Mike VE3CKO

FRS has always release free updates between major updates, like they did for v1 and v2. So there will be free updates of v3 up to the release of v4. They have said many times they don't say what features or fixes being worked on until the release is imminent. There have been lots of discussions on this.
Again as they have stated, there will be no more new features added to previous versions. In other words there will be no more new features for v2 as they have already announced the pending release of v3 so any new features will be in that. They also did announce they will be releasing a v2 final release called v2.5 which they said will include a number of fixes.
I hope this helps.

James Whiteway

After v2.x did you see a single update/ bugfix for v1.x?
I didn't. I didn't see anything till I bought my 6600M . And it came with v2.x.
There were and are several bugs or incomplete features that carried over from v1.x to v2.x. maybe v2.50 update will contain those fixes and completed features.
If not, I will be hesitant ( read that as won't) to purchase v3.x in hopes of getting basic features like the ANF working.
James
WD5GWY

AH0U

Where/when did they announce V2.5??

Michael Coslo

I thought that 1.9.13 was the wrap-up after the first 2.xx was released. Could be wrong though. They don't continually update the old versions forever. 

What is it that causes the ANF to not work? I find the adjustment range to be way overkill, but I set mine on low settings, click it, and the tuner-upper goes away. I've used it to notch out heterodynes. What am I not understanding?

James Whiteway

It's an "unofficial" announcement in the announcement of v3 thread.

Ken Davis

I hesitate to ask this question but I have to. I am at V1,xx on a 6300. When V4.xx comes along will I have to buy V2 and V3 to get to V4? I think I know the answer but go ahead, make my day :-)

Jeff Schwartz

As I understand the limited release info at this point I think for the “single” ham using an “M” version radio or a Maestro user will now be able to have an active version of SDR running on your PC simultaneously as well as on the Maestro or M screen with radio control from both as desired. At least I hope that’s part of the multiFlex platform.

bobby

No you can just buy the newest version which will contain all the previous fixes and features that you missed before. So if a new version comes out that has a feature you cant live without then you buy it otherwise you skip the versions that have bugs you cant live with and wait for the features you cant live without, kinda like girlfriends.

Burt Fisher

Why would anyone want that?

KY6LA_Howard

I leave my 6700 on 20 and 40M FT8 all the time looking for new countries. (I am stuck at 201 on FT8)....If I pops up, I get a text message, then I grab my iPad - wherever I am in the house or traveling and work them...- at the same time, my 6700 keeps on chugging away. 

KY6LA_Howard

@Burt

If you had friends who would share radios with you, you could work wide area diversity  I have a friend not far away whose 6700 hears the EU much better than I do while I hear the Pacific much better than he does... we can share our receivers to copy the hard to hear ones ...but still use our own TX and antennas to work them.

Ken Davis

I love the analogy. Thanks

Asher - K0AU

Slightly off topic, but V3 has me thinking about a Maestro for remote operation with my 6700. What's a link to best approach to control my AG2x8, Alpha and Green Heron when I'm operating remote with a Maestro? Does the Maestro provide a VPN tunnel to access other Ethernet devices?

James Whiteway

Try using it in an actual QSO that you're monitoring and have a tuner upper/jammer key up continously over the conversation you are listening to. No matter the settings you use, ( I'm not the only one to experience.this) the tuner upper's tone will **** right thru the top of an on going conversation. Voice, beeeep, voice beeeep........ on and on. The ANF works fine on a tuner upper that is not doing so over a conversation. Then it will knock it out. But, otherwise, it's next to useless. Testing solely on a single tune up signal won't show the priblem. My ICOM 706 KMIIG and many other radios I've owned, deal with this issue without problems. Even PowerSDR's ANF works correctly with a Flex 1500. So, I figure a $5,000.00 6600M should too. And it shouldn't cost any extra to get it working right. BASIC features and functions should not be considered Upgrades that have to be paid for. When I bought my 6300 a well known FRS salesman told me that SSDR would( v1.x at rhe time) have ALL of the FEATURES and FUNCTIONS ( like ANF and All Mode Squelch to name a couple) of PowerSDR, BEFORE there would be a paid version upgrade. (v2.x) I based my 6300 purchase on that statement. It never happened. I have owned a 6300, 6500 and now a 6600M ,which came with v2.x. still incomplete BASIC features to date. So, that has been my experience. Hardware wise, these radios are top notch. Software wise, SSDR needs work. James WD5GWY

Duane_AC5AA

If it's one guy on the same freq, just drop a TNF on him.  

Asher - K0AU

I'm on the fence about this one. I don't really expect any more free software features than I get on the first day of v1.05 on my 6700 (although I kind of hope to get security fixes). Flex has delighted me by delivering a lot more functionality than I got on day 1 in 2013. I bought V2 and it's kind of a bust from my perspective. I'm trying to get excited about V3, but it's designed for a very specific use case that I don't have.

All that said, I want to support their software efforts. I fear they've taken on an impossible task, to deliver all the features we collectively want with a small team that appears to be funded by new hardware revenue. I'd buy a Maestro today if it supported a use case I have (does a remote Maestro work with an AG2x8 switch that has a native Windows app?)

I keep wondering if they need to open up an API somewhere on the radio, but I doubt they're tooled up to support 3rd party programming inside the radio.

I also think Flex has made a mistake by making their roadmap a secret. I was here on the Flex Community when things got slightly nasty about roadmap, but what we're getting now is lots of pent up frustration. New software is greeted with, "I wanted bug fixes/different features/I thought the feature would work differently"

I'm just trying to figure out best station practices, and it's really hard to work out the best way to fit things together or if I'm due for any hardware upgrades.

Bottom line is I agree with your sentiment about the hardware and I'd like to be constructive about how Flex can do a better job to set and meet expectations about software.

AH0U

As far as the AG8x2 many of us has asked this for years and the best sand latest response from Fkex is that that is a 4o3a issue and not our issue... 4o3a says we are working on that with Fkex... take your pick but don’t hold your breath waiting for a fix

Asher - K0AU

Well it's $1200 of Maestro revenue for Flex if they or Ranko can solve it. Along with controlling my GH controller and a couple of other RS-232 peripherals. There's no revenue in finger pointing. Or just provide a VPN tunnel so I can do it myself. But if I have to build my own VPN, then who needs SmartLink?

James Whiteway

Try that with the M model's touch screen. Almost impossible to do. Besides that, the ANF should work. No one should have to jump thru hoops to gets a BASIC feature working. The TNF was designed to notch out consistant interference that you have no control over. Using it is a bandaid to fix what should already be working. If a ICOM 7300's ANF can do it, a high end radio like the 6000 Series should be just a walk in the park to handle it. James WD5GWY

Asher - K0AU

I get the issue. It's hard for me to tell what should be easy for them. I've found DSP signal processing guys are a different group than other software people, and I have no visibility into how many DSP engineers they have vs Windows, Linux, UI and other disciplines. My guess is they need more people and the question is how do we collectively support their business model so we all get what we want?

James Whiteway

Asher, FRS will never allow access to the radio's internals. Nor should they. Allowing 3rd party access to the Linux OS and the associated hardware proccessors to outside developers would be a support nightmare. I for one, am content to play around with creating my own GUI client. I want nothing to do with the internal OS and drivers. Too easy to mess things up to the point the radio is useless and has to be sent in for a reflash. James WD5GWY

VA6FH

All that I want to know is why I would pay money for a feature that I would NEVER use, And, how much is the upgrade … I haven't seen that in any documentation. … Don … VA6FH (6300)

Asher - K0AU

Apple didn't have an iPhone App store on day 1. But they came around. Flex could provide safe hooks in various places. Wouldn't a native skimmer be a great DSP feature? Or a TNF/ANF that works! But I doubt they have the skills or staffing in the building to support a 3rd party ecosystem inside the radio. I've looked at using the VITA link and feeding it into a TI DSP dev board with Ethernet, but I don't have the signal-processing skills to do anything useful.

Asher - K0AU

That one's easy! If Flex adds features that sell more radios, then they can hire more people and get us even more features. For this to work they have to show they're building features for contesters, DXers, ragchewers... Which means committing to some roadmaps. If I only get 1/3 of the features I want each year, I'm still better off.

Craig_KØCF

It was explicitly stated: $199.

Larry _ NY8T

Its more than just multiFlex,

" In addition to the multiFLEX feature, this first release of SmartSDR 3.0 will also include: new band settings menu/panel that allow a user to set certain settings per band like power levels, TX
inhibit, ACC/TX1/TX2/TX3 enables, RCA/ACC TX request enable and HWALC
 TX/MIC Profile Changes – all settings are now saved on the fly (as settings are changed) "

Steven WA8Y

Version 2 still has bugs the latest release disabled the recorder. None of the versions improve the noise reduction.

k3Tim

I'm really looking forward to V3. Running SDR on the PC running FT8 and using Maestro for SWL. The programmable band markers will also be nice especially if one can set the SW bands. 

V2 was released on or about 26 July 2017. At $199 that works out to 32 cents per day.  A bargain in my book...

_..--
 TiM