Boot Sequence 6600M

William Osborne

MY 6600M starts up very slow and requires operator intervention. It goes to a screen where I have to select the firmware version then to a screen where I have to hit run and then boots. Whole process takes minutes. Is there a way to make it boot directly to the last used state improving speed and not requiring me to enter selections?  This is the way ALL others radio start up!

Thanks Bill--K5ZQ

AH0U

For those of us use to pushing the in button and then immediately start listening, the Flex is a new experience.... you must be patient

Neil D Friedman N3DF

Do the "others" store and offer a choice of software versions?

William Osborne

Neil, The question I am asking is there a way to avoid all of these choices unless I want to make them?  Much as I avoid going to BIOS and choosing a boot device every time I start my computer!

Thanks Bill

Lou

Negative Bill....some leave it on 24/7. ...I elect to shut down at night. In the AM,
I start my coffee in the AM...start the 6600...grab my coffee and go play radio.

No way around the sign in screens.

73

Lou N2TU

Neal_K3NC

Bill
Normally my 6600M comes up in the mode it was in from the last powerdown, so if I was using ssdr it will boot and wait for SSDR to come up, if I was using the console last, it will automatically bring up that last version of software without the need to reselect and reboot it. If a new version of software has been released since you previous version it will make you go thru that select process to make sure you dont want to use the next version.

You should not have to select and load software everytime you power up. If you are, you should probably create a helpdesk ticket and let the support guys help you out!

William Osborne

Neal you are saying that I have this issue because there is a ver3 which I do not want to run. Is that correct?

Thanks for the info, Bill

Al Dewey

I was wondering the same thing.  Most of the time, my 6600m comes up to the screen requiring me to select operate and then the SW version.  I am at Version 3.0.19.  Every once in a while it boots all the way up on its own not requiring the Version selection.  Although I use CAT and DAX, I rarely use SSDR.  I run the radio from the front panel.  I always power the radio down using the button on the upper left of the radio.  I do not just cut the 12V.

Is this really a bug or is there some setting wrong?  I would prefer to not have to go through the extra steps every time I turn on my radio.

73,

Al, K0AD

William Osborne

Al, I just did an interesting experiment. I connected the SmartSDR software on my PC to the 6600M. Then, I turned off the 6600M. When, I restarted the 6600M the SmartSDR panel says "connect" after the 6600M starts and I hit connect, then operate the 6600M without going through selecting the Version of firmware and the "run" button.  I believe this is a bug in the interface of the 6600M front panel client as opposed to how the PC with SmartSDR is treated.

Try it and see what you get, please.

Thanks Bill

Neal_K3NC

Bill, no not really! How do you shutdown your radio at the end of the day? Do you have the  radio powered down (no voltage  going to the cable)?

William Osborne

Neal, I power down with the green button, but leave the 12V power supply on all the time.

Thanks Bill

Neal_K3NC

Bill

My brain is full of sludgey brown goo but I seem to remember that if the IP address of your radio changes then it will force you to go thru the software selection routine. If I am remembering correctly, the problem might be that your DHCP server (usually youri router) is handing out a different IP address when the old one times out. You might see if you could go into the router and you could assign an addressto  the radio's  IP address.

Tim N9PUZ

Interesting comment about the IP address changing.  I shut down my 6400M with the radio's power button and then turn off the station power supply when I'm done for the day. Most of the time when I power back up the 6400M with Version 3.xx software goes back to operating mode just where I left it. Occasionally, but at irregular intervals, it comes up to the screen where I have to select the software I want and press run.

It had not occurred to me that the address might be changing. Now I hope it does it again so I can check!

Tim N9PUZ

William Osborne

Neal,
You may have the best memory on this site.  I went into the router and reserved the IP address of the 6600M Linux user. It  booted the first try directly to the front panel, but the second time back to having to select the software.   However, using the PC and SmartSDR it starts with out the selecting the ver nonsense everytime.  I do think this maybe a bug in my radio.

Bill

Al Dewey

Bill;

I do not use  the SmartSDR software.much.  Most of my computer  interfacing is with the N1MM Plus logging software.

However, when I do what you say, the SmartSDR software just comes back connected.  I am not even ask to "connect".  The front 6600M front panel stops at the "Info / Operate / SmartLink Setup" screen.

Interesting but it does not solve the main issue of always having to reload the software when I start the radio from the 6600M front panel.

The DHCP issue discussed elsewhere on this thread sounds interesting.  I am going to pursue that.

73,

Al, K0AD

Warren Wegerer

Bill,
I have the same problem plus a few other complications that happen to me. It happens on both my 6600M and my 6400M. In addition to needing to select Connect and a version number, mine sometimes loads but hangs. By hang I mean part of the screen displays but the receiver doesn't come up, no spectrum display, etc. I started working this with Neal when he was still at Flex and he indicated he believed it a problem with IP assignment. He confirmed if the radio gets a different IP address it will take the long branch and require user intervention. I never finished working the debug- ran out of time back then- and the hang is also surprising. When the radio went back to Flex for the PEN they checked it out and said all is OK. The suspicion is that I have to use a Wi-Fi link to get internet to my shack, and there is suspicion that something in that setup is at fault. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one having issues like this, though I'm sorry for you having to go through this. I too frequently start the radio first thing so I can go through several power cycles and have it ready when I want to operate.
Warren - K6WKW

William Osborne

Al, I agree the SmartSDR operation does not solve the issue.  I have submitted a trouble ticket to Flex.  If I find any answers, I will post here and/or send you an email.

 You please do the same, this is really a frustrating issue.

Thanks Bill-K5ZQ

KI4P

well, mine comes right up! all i do is start the 6400, when light stays green, i simply click the Smart SSDR icon and up it comes, slick as a button! you can select to have it connect to last radio used,if i understand your question?

KM6CQ - Dan

I start my 6600, wake up  my iPad and tap the SSDR icon. I'm on. 

Dan 

Warren Wegerer

Perhaps we should be conscious of the M vs. non M H/W versions. The M users are starting the man-machine interface simultaneously to the radio, and getting two IP addresses assigned at virtually the same time, while the non-M users can power the radio up and THEN start SSDR, separating the IP assignment process through time.

William Osborne

Warren, you maybe on to a very good idea. I changed both the 6600M windows IP and the Linux IP addresses to be reserved in the router, so it gets the same ones all time.  It has now booted as expected 4 times in a row, i.e., directly to the  state of the radio when it was turned off.  Yesterday, I put the Linux IP to a reserved state and it booted correctly about 40-50% of the time, better than never but not great.  But, now that I added the windows IP it seems to boot correctly all the time.
Knock on wood maybe it is fixed!
Thanks for the idea,
Bill--K5ZQ

Paul Bradbeer

OK...seeing that no-one has done it yet, I'll ask the **** question... Given that the 6400M is a standalone rig, why does it even need to contact a router and get IP addresses before it starts up? Paul M0CVX

Michael N3LI

The radio is a server with a radio front end. People who are using it with various softwares like fldigi or WSJT-X will run DAX and CAT to the radio from their computer. I don't have the M model of the 6600, but CAT and DAX would still be needed for that model.

Otherwise, what happens if you boot your M model without any network at all?

KC2QMA_John

"all good things come to those who wait"
ALSO


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSs6DcA6dFI

Paul Bradbeer

Yes I understand that (I use JTDX a lot). My point is, the 6400M and 6600M have a version of ssdr embedded; the front panel is hard wired. So to answer your question...without a network connection the M models should work fine if all you need is mic,key and antenna. I may try that tomorrow

Pat KØPC

I've only had my 6600 & Maestro a few days but here's my observation. If I turn the power supply off after shutting down the radio then I have to select the radio and version on the next startup. If I leave the P/S on all the time the radio starts up without the selections.
I looked at the IP addresses of both the 6600 and the Maestro and they stayed the same for all the tests I did tonight.
73, Pat KØPC

Pat N6PAT

fyi .. I am Pat Kane. All my life I was asked if my last name was spelled C-a-i-n. Did you ever get asked if your name was spelled K-a-n-e? Just wondering.

73 Pat N6PAT

Al Dewey

Pat (K0PC);

I did the same tests as you and it did not seem to make a difference.  Sometimes it boots with the requirement to select the OS and sometimes it boots directly to the operating screen.  It did not seem to make a difference whether I turned off the 12V power supply after turning off the rig or whether I left it on.

Your test did make me go check my IP addresses and they never change.  The radio is always at IP address 10.0.0.25 and the front panel is always at 10.0.0.24.  This makes me think the current theory on this thread indicating that DHCP in the router may be causing the problem is not really the issue.  I think there is a bug somewhere.

It's not the biggest issue in the world especially if you only turn your radio on once a day but it is a little annoying.

Heard you on CWT the other night.  You were sounding good.

73,

Al, K0AD

William Osborne

Sorry, guys I decided it worked too quick.  I turned it on this morning and had to go through the entire select SW version sequence to start up. This is with the IP addresses fixed and the +12VDC connected to radio all the time.  So, based upon this mornings results I do not believe any of the things we have discussed so far (IP's, power, etc)  is the source of the problem.

 I also tried it without the network connected and it also made me go through the pick a version nonsense!!

No joy in Mudville,
Bill--K5ZQ

Geoff_W8GNM

I am having a similar problem to those described earlier in this thread. For the past 6 months, my Flex 6600M has autonomously booted v 2.7.6 all the way up to the previous operating slice without any intervention. The radio is normally turned ON or OFF from the front panel and the 12V power supply is left on continuously.  The microSD card was replaced and upgraded by Flex customer service more than 6 months ago which fixed several other problems.

The front panel and the radio have separate, reserved, IP addresses on my router’s DHCP server and they always wind up on the same two reserved IP addresses.

After adding a new PGXL amplifier to the system with its own reserved IP address, the 6600M no longer boots all the way up to the previous slice. Instead, it stops at the select software page and requires me to select v 2.7.6 from a group of choices including a prior version 2.4.10 and several v 3.xx versions that have not been downloaded. After I select v 2.7.6 and press RUN, the radio continues to boot up, but sometimes does not turn on slice A which requires me to again interact with the radio to turn on Slice A.

This new and inconvenient behavior stated after I added the PGXL to the LAN.  I tried disconnecting the PGXL from the LAN, but the 6600M still no longer completes the boot process on it’s own all the way up to the previous slice conditions.

I have tried disconnecting the 6600M from the LAN and booting it on its own. I this case, there was a new behavior with the boot process stopping at the "PLEASE WAIT …………"  page until I pressed the VERSION-> button and then selected v 2.7.6 from the choice of now only that version and v 2.4.10 (no other choices this time). I then pressed RUN to complete the boot process. I noticed that the TX profile loaded the DEFAULT TX profile and the normal TX profile I use is now missing. The normal MIC and GLOBAL profiles that I created earlier did load correctly.

I then started the SmartSDR computer application, disconnected the front panel from the radio and connected the radio to the SSDR GUI.  It also loaded the DEFAULT TX profile and my normal TX profile that I created earlier was still missing.  I switched back to the radio front panel to re-create my normal TX profile, then back to the SSDR GUI to export the TX, MIC, and GLOBAL profiles to a new backup copy on my computer.

I have tried all of the prior suggestions from this thread, but cannot get the 6600M to boot all the way up to the previous slice without intervention.  I opened a ticket on this problem behavior, but it was referred to the software engineering team and the ticket was closed without resolution.

Geoff_W8GNM

With some help from Tim in customer service, I was able to resolve my problem by following the following procedure when my 6600M stopped at the "Operate" screen, I tapped on the Setup icon (the cogwheel) in the lower left-hand corner of the screen to open the Startup Setup menu. I then enabled the Auto Connect button so that it is illuminated. This should instruct the radio to boot to the last configuration on the screen before you shut down. I then pressed the the arrow in the upper left of the screen to finish manually booting the radio. After waiting several minutes with the radio booted all the way up, I shut down the radio and waited another two minutes after shutdown was completed. I then pressed the power button to boot the radio and this time it came all the way up to my previous slice without any intervention from me. I don't know how the "Auto Connect" function got disabled, but changing it back to enable it fixed my problem. 73, Geoff