Problem with v3.4.21

Trucker

I have noticed that when I power the radio on it doesn't come back to the last band used. I don't turn off the power supply as doing that seemed to cause problems at times in the past. In v3.3.33 I never had a problem with the radio not being on the same band it was on when turned off. And then ( usually the next day) powering on and everything is the same as the day before. I wonder if there is a new setting somewhere that I am overlooking?

James

WD5GWY

KD0RC

Hi James, I have not seen that behavior in 3.4.21 (Flex 6400). When you upgraded, did you do a cold boot? If not, power off the radio with the front panel button (or the REM ON jack). Wait a couple of minutes for everything to completely shut down, then remove power. Wait another couple of minutes for the supply to truly go to zero (i.e. for the big ol' caps to discharge) and then turn the supply back on. Finally, power up the rig with the front button.

Now check to see if you still have the situation; if so, submit a help desk ticket.

If you have already done all of that, then it is time for a help desk ticket.

bahillen

Instead of just turning off power supply, I unplug it from the radio. The capacitors in some power supplies will keep voltage for some time.

73

Bill

W9JJB

KD0RC

Hi Bill, that is a good point. I have enough junk connected to my supply that it bleeds to zero pretty quickly. As the voltage goes past the low limit in my 6400, the power button starts blinking red, then goes out altogether.

Trucker

https://community.flexradio.com/discussion/comment/20601471#Comment_20601471

Yes, I did do a cold boot and reset the radio after the update. I had to redo all my settings as I didn't do a database backup. What happens is, when I start up the radio instead of being on the previous session's band, it will be on 20 meters. Lately, I have been on 10 meters. But, on power up, it will be on 20 meters. My thoughts are that SmartSDR is not saving the current session information before shutting down. And when powered back up is reusing a database that was last used on 20 meters.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that 20 meters is the default band for the radio that is used if the Persistence Database is corrupted or doesn't exist. I might try down grading and then reinstall the update to see if that fixes the problem. If not, I will open a Help Desk ticket.

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

Well, not sure what is going on. I just powered the 6600M back on after being off all night. It came up on 10 meters where I had been using it most of yesterday before turning it off to use the antenna and tuner with a Kenwood radio I have been working on .

I guess I embarrassed it and it decided to work right!

James

WD5GWY

KD0RC

I'm glad that you got it working!

Trucker

https://community.flexradio.com/discussion/comment/20601487#Comment_20601487

Spoke too soon. Shutdown this afternoon ( 10 meters) and this evening when I rebooted the radio, it came up on 20 meters. ( 14.100 ) I downgraded to V3.3.33 and did a complete reset ( power off the power supply and disconnect the dc line) waited several minutes and reconnected the radio and turned on the power supply again. Waited a few more minutes and booted the radio up. It came up on 20 meters again! Same default frequency. So, downgrading didn't fix the problem. I will probably submit a Help Desk Ticket Monday. But, I am not certain that it is a hardware problem. I think the Persistence Database is not being saved when powering off the radio. So, it comes back to the default settings. I may go ahead and try the upgrade again. Just to see if that makes any difference.

so much fun!

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

The saga continues.... late last night I updated to v3.4.21. I did the entire power cycle ( removing power etc) and a full factory reset. Rebooted, radio came up on the 20 meters default frequency ( 14.100) along with associated settings ( AGC-T at 57! ) in CW mode, etc. I went through each band and made settings for each band. Including settings for my microphone. I also redid the Function buttons for the NR,ANF and WNB. ( which works great for a neighbor's A/C and heating unit when it cycles on when I am on 40 meters) I then went to 40 meters and worked a couple of stations. Got good audio reports as always. Powered the radio off. ( but, not the power supply) Then went to bed. Got up this morning and turned the radio on. Booted up fine on 40 meters on the same frequency it was on when turned off last night.

I'm a happy camper now!

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

Happy camper didn't last long. Powered off the radio this afternoon while on 10 meters ( lots of DX on today) Powered up this evening and came back up on 40 meters!!! Cannot win for loosing on this one. I submitted a Help Desk Ticket. I did read thru the 6400M and 6600M manual and in the list of what the Persistence Database saves, there is no mention of previous band or mode anywhere in the list. Maybe, my 6600M is just tired of my choices of operating and is hinting where "IT" thinks I should be operating at the time!

James

WD5GWY

John KB4DU

Has the persistence database been reset?

Trucker

https://community.flexradio.com/discussion/comment/20601529#Comment_20601529

Yes, I opened a Help Desk ticket last night. I described what was happening and what I have tried to resolve it. Tim emailed me this morning and said from my detailed description that it was evident my SD card was starting to fail. So, Flex Radio is sending me a new SD card. Tim indicated that the SD card is used for storing the Persistence Database and other information for the radio. So, it looks like my problem will soon be solved. It is odd that the card failed. I had to change it a couple of years ago. I would not have thought that card would have failed in such a short time. The original card in my 6600M was the one that came with the radio when the 6600M was released.

James

WD5GWY

Great service from the Help Desk as usual!

John KB4DU

Steve Hicks talked about the card issues at the Orlando Hamcation. They Changed to a card with more error detection and correction. But I’m not sure we got the complete story about why the change was needed.

Mike-VA3MW

Here is the complete story. We have been pretty open about it. Over the 'sd card' erra, it was actually a number of issues that had the same symptom

• Bad media from the vendor supplying the card
• An error we made a long time ago that wore about the SD card prematurely and coupled with bad supplier media made it seem worse than what it should have been
• Old but good cards that finally - just wore out

Watch the video for the details.

73

https://www.youtube.com/live/3TDRmP8GpbE?feature=share

Trucker

Mike, an extra bit of information. The SD card that is being replaced is a replacement card I received from Flex Radio in August of 2021. Just barely a year and a half old. In that particular instance, I had the three red flashes from the power button indicating a boot failure. After installing the new card, I haven't had any problems until this problem cropped up recently. I sent the original SD card to Flex Radio ( Steve Hicks) so it could be tested to find out why it failed. I never heard back from anyone as to what the problem may have been. Maybe, it was part of the batch of bad cards you mentioned in your post.

James

WD5GWY

Mike-VA3MW

It depends on the history of the original card and what versions of SmartSDR have been on it. That starts to tell part of the story, but, unfortunately, when a card dies, it is really hard to figure out what happened since you can't actually read it.

Trucker

https://community.flexradio.com/discussion/comment/20601650#Comment_20601650

I forgot to mention that the Help Desk asked me to send the card to Steve. And they included a prepaid envelope to return it to him for examination. I am guessing he has some specialized tools to examine the cards to try and determine what caused it to fail. This last card barely lasted a year and a half. Much less than the original that came with the 6600M when it was received in 2017.

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

New 8 GB SanDisk Industrial micro SD card arrived from Flex Radio today. (thanks Tim for the quick response) Unfortunately, the problem I am having still exists. I followed the pdf instructions that I was given a link to and still the same issue as before. I am beginning to think there is an issue with the front panel and it's pc. I can run my radio from SmartSDR on my PC and it saves everything including the last session information properly. I tried it several times today and it works as expected. Just the front panel is having an issue. I even looked to see if there is a backup battery that might be going deal and causing the front panel pc to not be able to save data. But, if there is one, it is well hidden. Oh well, at least we tried.

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

Just another day in Paradise. Powered off the radio, leaving it on 10 meters and 28.400 Mhz. Just powered it on again and it's on 10 meters, 28.400Mhz. This is going to be a tough cookie to track down!! I am certain of one thing, it is not the Micro SD card causing this. But, who knows????? Maybe gremlins!!!!

Trucker

Three times in a row now, and it comes up where it's supposed to be each time. Maybe it was just mad at me!

Trucker

Still working!!! Thanks Tim for your help and patience!

Trucker

Well, I am guessing this is going to be a random problem. Powered off last night while on 40 meters. ( power supply still on 24/7) Powered on this morning and radio boots up on 80 meters! I am at a loss as to why this is still happening. I was also for a while last night using SmartSDR on my PC. Also, on 40 meters. I had shut SmartSDR on the pc down first before I finally Powered off the radio. I started SmartSDR on my pc this morning as well. And it came up on 40 meters just like I had left it when I shutdown last night. Funny SmartSDR for Windows on the pc gets it right. But, SmartSDR in the front panel seems not able to retain the last band etc used. And seems to come up differently at random times. It almost makes me wish I had bought the 6600 non M model instead of the 6600M. I like a standalone radio with the option to also use a PC when I want to. But, this makes me think something in the front panel pc is starting to go south. I was under the impression that the Persistence Database was saved to the radio itself. And that is why Tim felt the SD card was starting to fail. But,if the front panel is a tablet pc, then it is possible it is saving to the tablet's on board memory.

James

WD5GWY

Stan VA7NF

Another observation that may be related. Whenever I change from Ant1 to Ant2 (or back) the RF gain always reverts to 0.

Trucker

Stan,

I believe the problem I am having and possibly yours as well, is a software issue. For me,and after doing more than one full resets and still having the same problem, I think the issue is with the Persistence Database and how it saves settings. It has no problem saving last band used settings for SmartSDR in the pc. And returning to those settings when SmartSDR is started again. But, for the M model radios, it seems it can only return to the first band setup after a full reset. And cannot recall anything but that initial set of settings after being shutdown and later restarted.

So, this problem seems to be effecting only an M model radio. In my case a 6600M. I just hope they figure out what is happening and fix it at some point James

WD5GWY

Stan VA7NF

I didn't mention my radio is a 6700, therefore no -M model involved on my side.

Trucker

Ok, then it may not be specific to the M model radios. This has become so unpredictable that I finally had to turn my 6600M off and use my Kenwood TS-890 for the rest of today. I restarted my Help Desk ticket. But, I don't think there's anything that can be done since it isn't, in my opinion, a hardware problem. I haven't read of anyone reporting the same issue in a long time. So, it may never be resolved.

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

I have been testing and retesting getting my 6600M to retain last band used and returning to it when started up again. It now only starts up on 15 meters no matter what band I was on previously. The Help Desk has not been able to figure out what is going on. I have finally decided to put the 6600M aside for a while as it is becoming very frustrating trying to get it to remember what band it was on previously. I use a doublet antenna and manual tuner with my radios. I don't want to chance damaging the radio by transmitting on the wrong band by accident, because the radio isn't on the band I left it on. I do use a cheat sheet for settings. But, it is always possible I could forget to check before transmitting. So, the backup radio gets to play for a while till I can figure out what to do about the 6600M.

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

Glutton for punishment here. Tried again this morning. Started radio and it came up on 80 meters. Set my antenna tuner to 10 meters. Then set the 6600M to 10 meters. Checked SWR . All appeared be fine. Powered the radio off ( power button flashing green, indicating it SHOULD be saving the Persistence Database, including last band used information. Waited several minutes, then powered the radio back on. Came up on 80 meters instead of 10 meters where it should have been, if, it had saved the database correctly. It is a shame there is no way the user can view the Persistence Database to see if it is actually saving data correctly. If FRS considers this something too complicated for the user to do, then they should find a more reliable way to ensure database integrity for people like me. Oh well, the saga continues..........

James

WD5GWY

WX7Y

Trucker, Are you using the same Client device each time you have brought the radio online.

The reason I ask is with my radios if I use the Maestro it comes up on say 10 meter band and the next time I use my desktop it is on the last band I used my desktop on like 40, if I use my iPad it comes up on the last band I used it on, if I use my laptop same thing, it uses the last band I used my laptop on.

This leads Me to believe the band last used is stored in the Client but I'm probably wrong.

Trucker

I have a 6600M with the front panael Maestro display. Also use my pc with SmartSDR for Windows at times. I can confirm from Tim at Flex Radio, that the last band used information is stored in the radio itself ( on the SD card) and not on the Maestro, pc or my radio's front panel. At first that is what I thought was happening as SmartSDR on my pc will come back up on the correct, previous band more often than the radio's front panel. But, Tim told me that isn't where the database is stored. Plus, at times, SmartSDR on the pc will not come up on the correct, previous band, just like the radio itself. I wish there was a way for us the end users, to actually view the Persistence Database in order to see if the data is actually being updated on shutdown. I would think that would help users and Flex Radio's tech support track down problems like this. One would think they would have something like that. Or at least have the radio generate an error message and allow the user to access that information to share with the Help Desk when issues like this happen. I guess that would make too much sense.

James

WD5GWY

Trucker

Received an email from Tim this morning with instructions on resetting the Persistence Database. Followed the instructions to the letter. Including proper wait times between steps. Radio still does what it wants to do. It still will NOT come back to the last band and mode when last shutdown and restarted. Email diagnostics are not going to work. I give up. The radio does what it wants to do.

James

WD5GWY