Version 3 and Contesters and Bugs

James Whiteway

But, you can use whichever one you wish, however you wish. Spend your money for whatever makes you happy. I don't contest, yet I still bought a 6600M. And prior to that a 6500 and 6300. James WD5GWY

K3SF

FLAME ON

Did anybody notice that the poster clearly stated NDA was "violated"
and
if that didnt happen this whole thread might not have happened...

Maybe time to pull the NDA person aside
and
read them the condition of the NDA again
or
maybe take them off the ALPHA list

OR

was the NDA just a ploy to add some kind of validity to the thread


JUST Saying... WHAT !!!!!!

maybe ...just maybe
when the real V3 appears then there can be some real discussions about likes and dislikes

and

possibly not just some second hand hearsey...

FLAME OFF



Paul K3SF

James Whiteway

Bill, my posts regarding the issues I (and others) feel strongly about, have no other motive than to bring to FRS's attention my concerns about the lack of fully functioning basic features. Nothing more, nothing less.
  ANYTHING beyond that, that YOU read into my posts are purely your imagination. No hidden agendas. There is no conspiracy to undermine or disrupt, this community or it's members.
As for the "end game", my ONLY goal regarding this subject (basic, existing features that , either do not work or only partially work) is to let FRS know my feelings and that those issues are important to me. Even though I'm not a contester.
  I do not bring this up daily or even weekly. In fact, MOST of the posts I make regarding this subject are in response and in support of others who post here asking the same questions and expressing the same concerns that I have.
   Saying that my concerns have been noted, (by you so it seems) doesn't mean I or others cannot post about these issues. If what I post on this subject bothers you or offends you, I do apologize. But, beyond that, the easiest thing you can do is to ignore these type of posts and save yourself a lot of needless concern over whether or not it is some sort of conspiracy going to undermine or disrupt this community. There is not any conspiracy, nor has there ever been a conspiracy going on.
 One last thing, you say you don't really care, your constant responses say's otherwise. Again, skip these type of posts and you'll feel better. And it will not bring down this community in any way shape or form. This is not a Praise, tech support only forum.
Have a great day Bill.
James
WD5GWY

[Deleted User]

Couldn't have said it better James.

[Deleted User]

I don't think it was a NDA violation and I will not give out my source. It was not hearsay it was right from a V3.user. Was a simple question after v3 was announced. Is the NB, ANF, any better. Response was nope. I won't ever disclose my source so you probably have them all removed as Alpha testers.

Bill -VA3WTB

This is were ethics are involved. He or she should not have given any information other than  what Flex was willing to announce, nothing...  and then to repeat this instead of keeping it to yourself. And how exactly was this suppose to help out the community?

Ted VE3TRQ

It sure created a buzz!

Pat N6PAT

I used my radio today

KC2QMA_John

I see it this way if you don’t like the new V3 either don’t update to V3 or wait to see what others experiences are and decide at that point if V3 is for you.

Now as far as all this ranting about software that no one has even seen yet if you really want to protest the state of SSDR Just don’t buy it till it has what you want.

Vote with your wallet! Flex is like any other company they base business decisions on customer demand and return on investment. If no one buys the software updates FRS will get the message a respond to customer demand.

At one time not long ago I let all of this stuff get to me but I have changed my outlook these days and try to be more open-minded about this whole radio thing.

In Amateur radio, technology is the driving force that keeps us Hams buying new gear and is what for most keeps the hobby exciting but with all cutting edge technology there will be some bumps in the road.

I think you have to ask yourself a simple question, If you hate this company or radio so much why do you keep it? I think most come to realize that at this point Overall the flex 6000 series is still the finest transceiver available today with “Software” that is light years ahead of everyone. Is it perfect...No but this is part of journey that us hams are all on and is will just get better and better.

The thing I like best about my Flex is that I know that the sky is the limit as to where the software can go. Its also nice to know that every once and a while with a software update I virtually get a new radio.

There are a lot of things that I would like to see improved in SSDR and I know that in time it will come. I enjoy my Radio as it is today and look forward to what the future holds.

BTW: Flex offers a software developers kit (SDK) for SmartSDR so if a few hams that are really good at coding got together not only could you create your own SDR software for the Flex but you could have yourself a nice little business.

bahillen

John, well stated. At times I like operating my boat anchors with triple conversion receiver. The Flex on the other hand challenges my mind and develops my skill. I never had to pay for an upgrade to my OLD radio, I just had to buy a new radio and put the old one on the shelf. $199 is the best deal going. That $199 goes to pay the salaries of some world class software engineers. I have been very happy with the interim releases I did not have to pay for. I have talked to Gerald at ham conventions and SDr Radio is his passion not just a business. Thanks Flex. 73 Bill W9JJB

Ted VE3TRQ

You know, in the end, this flurry of discussion, both negative and positive, may well result in more sales of the Version 3 release when it DOES come out. People will want to see what the fuss is all about, resulting in a win for Flex :-)

Jimmy Collis

Well written my friend

Bill -VA3WTB

As I said, you guys still think Flex has not heard you. Please keep doing the same thing if you think you are doing the community a wonderful service. It is not my place to ask you to stop. or should I even care.

I hope bye your continuing pounding on things you get what your asking for.
i'm out....

K5ROX

Squelch is a feature.....really......ive never seen anything saying "New and improved, Includes squelch free"   And future..... its been more then 5 years.

James your right on...….

Bill -VA3WTB

what are you talking about..we have squelch,,were have you been?

James Whiteway

Bill, what he's talking about is an "all mode" squelch. Not one that's limited to a single mode(FM) like the one in SSDR. James WD5GWY

Bill -VA3WTB

Slice master?

James Whiteway

FRStack does it too. ( first to do so) But, some feel that an integrated solution as the one in PowerSDR and all radios sold for the last 20 years or so, should be standard in a radio as advanced as the 6000 Series and SSDR. James WD5GWY

Bill -VA3WTB

I see your point James, and a good one.
When Gerald started to develop SSDR the plan was to get people involved in creating software for the flex to compliment it. And the plan has worked. Keep in mind that most radios do not have 3rd party software that works so well with those radios. We are lucky.

Advantage Flex. SSDR running on a computer, able to run several types of software behind the SSDR screen doing so many cool things. Having this software working with SSDR as if it was part of the SSDR code is great.

So, we are lucky these 3rd party softwar's can do anything we may be missing in SSDR till Flex adds them, if ever. I hope they do as well.

And squelch for HF, most of us don't use it anyways. I had my Flex 3000 on air for 10 years, I can't remember ever using squelch. But for multible slices both those programs do a great job.

James, I don't own a M model radio. I wonder what they do when more slices are open using the front screen, without squelch? At least with SSDR for windows we have it if we need it.

Marc Lalonde

****  ya that is when the Flex persistence problem not **** you equipment at start of the contest !!  this is exactly what happen on last ARRL VHF January contest 

in VHF contest whit quick band change you need to trust antenna selection and power power setting , that really not a small low priority bog !! still off air after 2 week  and not yet yet knot total cost of repair to the equipment 

funny thing on Facebook my last post about that "disappear" 

James Whiteway

Bill, in my case with the 6600M, I just turn down the volume on the second panadapter (all that the display on the M models will allow at one time. Not really enough display area for all four panadapters) .  With SSDR spreading all four out over two monitors is no longer an issue. My home made version of SSDR (SortaSmart SDR !) does the multi display of panadapters that can be spread over two monitors, before it came out in v2.x. But, now it is redundant since it works fine in SSDR. 
And it looks more elegant in SSDR than in my little program.
And I do understand that a lot of people do not use the squelch, but, there are others that do. My friend Dave has a need for it. I like others rarely have the desire for it. But, it makes sense to want one as you can leave the volume for the second receiver up but, set the squelch to break when someone, like a net control comes on frequency while you are on another band or frequency in the same band. And you don't miss the start of your net. I watch a couple of nets on the weekends (Swap Nets) that it would be easier to set like I mentioned above. And go about another qso till time for the net to start, if I could just set the squelch instead of having to keep watching the panadapter for the presence of a signal on that frequency. Sometimes, with conditions being what they currently are, the Net Control's signal that where it not for seeing the faint color changes in the Waterfall, I would have missed the start of the net.
     One of the developers at FRS told me that someday, there just may be a Voice Recognition Squelch for SSDR. It recognizes the human voice and only breaks the squelch when a voice is present. At this point it is another of those ideas and possible projects. That would be very interesting to see added to SSDR. And if it came in a version upgrade would make me part with my money just to see it in action.
James
WD5GWY
 


Ken - NM9P

One thing that bears repeating is that every new major update contains the main "feature" and some smaller sub-features.  But that there are almost always subsequent point-updates with additional features and "tweaks."

I cannot comment about any major "science project" dealing with overhauling DSP features such as NB, NR, ANF, APF, etc.  I would love to see these addressed eventually myself, but have no information about plans, timetables, priorities, etc. related to these issues.  We all know that Flex plays these things pretty close to the vest due to corporate/industrial security issues.   But I know that they aware of everyone's concerns, and a flame-war will not advance the issues one iota.

There is a lot of testing in process to perfect what IS planned for the initial 3.0 release, and a lot more will be done afterwards on point-releases and updates.

In the mean time, I would suggest that rather than speculating and debating endlessly the veracity of our speculations, that we all wait and see what comes out and then decide if it warrants an individual update to our stations.

Having fun!

Ken - NM9P

Michael Coslo

I wonder how many help tickets and complaints there will be when people's radios "quit working". 

On our 7610, I was about ready to pack it up and send it in for repair, when I couldn't get audio. Turned out it was muted, which you do via pushing on the volume control.

But I wonder - should Flex use an Icom combo RF gain/Squelch?

Michael Coslo

I kinda draw the line when people start saying they are going to buy an Anon, 7610, or even a 7300. If not having a **** feature or you don't lke how an existing one is implemented, is so egregious that you are considering another radio, sell it and buy that other radio. 

I guess what I am saying is that it's nice to allow the kvetching, but a new person considering a Flex radio is going to come away convinced it is a piece of trash thea users hate with a passion because Flex simply doesn't care about it's customers.

Which impression is just wrong.

James Whiteway

Well, on the Maestro and the M model displays there is an AGCT and Squelch for the A and B receivers. But, the Squelch only works in FM mode. So, hardware wish, it's there already. It just needs a bit of code to allow Squelch to show on the Receiver Flag as an option for  the other voice modes.
Looking thru the FLEX API it appears that would not be hard to add. But, the unknown to me is what checking, if any the internal software in the radio does when a value is set for Squelch. Does the firmware/software in the radio have a lookup  that says, No, this function is not available for that mode" and rejects the request to show the Squelch on the Flag for....say SSB?  I've seriously thought at times of testing that by altering the API and recompiling the DLL's and "temporarily" swapping out the altered Dll that has the code for the squelch, to test how much checking does take place.
I've avoided yielding to that temptation simply because it would be wrong of me to alter a dll, and use it in SSDR proper.
  If my thoughts were right and the radio's firmware does not check to see if Squelch is allowed on all modes, then it could and would cause support problems if my altered dll were to be shared. But, I would not share it even if I had made it work that way.
It's up to FRS to fix that issue.
   James
WD5GWY

KC2QMA_John

Lets get some perspective here, V1 of SSDR gave us a taste of what is possible. V2 we saw a huge leap for SSDR including Plug and play remote capabilities! Now V3 promises to bring us “Multi-Client” mode and a few more big improvements. So when you think about that’s a lot of progress in a relatively short time.

I think at some point we will see more of a balance between features and bug fixes in the future with SSDR updates as more and more users move over to FlexRadio.

Bill -VA3WTB

I hear a lot about software bugs in SSDR,,,bugs bugs bugs,,but as I look around my software and test things I really don't see many bugs that effect the way I operate. Maybe we have extended the meaning of a bug? The only one I am aware of right now is the record and on air playback. Are there others I don't notice?

KY6LA_Howard

@ Bill

You are Correct in the over use of the word bugs.  

Most of these are Future Feature Requests NOT BUGS

Marc Lalonde

set power to 10% on VHF XVRTA  then go 6M on ANTB

go back to VHF  if you do it by SmartSDR it stay most of time to 10%  if you do it by CAT command it now reset @ 100% !  go back to 6M and ANT is now  ANTA or some other combination  ,really hard to miss 

that a bog ;-) since previous version have not that "Feature Requests"

KC2QMA_John

You are right I should not have used the word “Bug”, I should have said features and “Performance Enhancements”.

There now I think we all feel much better.   LOL