How to downgrade to a previous version of SSDR

Tim K9WX

I am troubleshooting a CW performance issue. It started about the time I upgraded to SSDR v2.10.1 from v2.9.2. I thought I might roll back to v2.9.2 to see if that changes my experience.

Section 5.1 of the most recent version of the SSDR user's guide (which is dated September 2019, is there nothing more recent?) says,

"If the active version of SmartSDR requires an older radio firmware version, a pop-up window will be shown to verify that this is being done intentionally.

"Clicking (the downgrade) button will remove the current version of the firmware and install an older version that is compatible with the version of SmartSDR you are running. Click (the cancel button) to maintain the existing version of the firmware."

What I actually see, when I launch SSDR v2.9.2, is this window:

Am I doing this correctly? It is disconcerting to see a button that says "update" when what I would really be doing is downgrading.

Tim K9WX

KD0RC

Hi Tim, yes, this is what you should see when either upgrading or downgrading. Be careful downgrading, as some things may not compatible (typically, profiles). Check the release notes for warnings about things like doing a factory reset, not using profiles from a higher level release, etc.

Also be sure to export your profiles for when you eventually re-upgrade to the current release. Some downgrades are seriously not recommended as they put your SD card at risk of failure. The recent upgrades did a lot to improve the reliability of the SD cards.

Neil D Friedman N3DF

Per Tim of FlexRadio, downgrading the firmware to a version before SmartSDR v2.10.0 will result in Windows consuming all the available disk space in the display on M-Model radios and Maestros .

Lasse SM5GLC

This is what Tim told me when asking about downgrading:

if you want to downgrade, you can do that too, but you MUST factory reset the radio after downgrading the firmware in the radio and you cannot use any profiles created with later versions of SmartSDR. Import the profile you created with SmartSDR v2.4.10. The reason for this is the database in the radio is not backward compatible and once you upgrade to v2.9.1, the database is in the v2.9.1 format.

The Maestro has no restrictions or caveats related to down or upgrading.

Having a spare SD card would be good insurance just in case the current SD car does not pass the media integrity test that is performed when upgrading to SmartSDR v2.9.1. You can order one from our website

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BTW I never did upgrade, as the issues regarding CW is still there in the newest version, as users have reported. It seems 2.4.10 is the one for CW ops :)

/Lasse SM5GLC

Neil D Friedman N3DF

See Tim’s message in “SmartSDR v2.10.1 is Now Available,” above.

Mike-VA3MW

@Neil D Friedman N3DF

Not exactly true. It does mean that Windows might send some forced updates but it could take a long time to fill up. Runing v 2.2.2 will quickly clean up the space.

Neil D Friedman N3DF

Mike—so Tim does “not exactly” give correct advice? I quoted his post precisely.

Trucker

https://community.flexradio.com/discussion/comment/20606970#Comment_20606970

Mike, the version of Windows in the Maestro and the M model radios are locked down and do not take Windows updates from Microsoft Update. The only way any Windows updates can be applied to either one is if they are included in an update from Flex Radio. I was told this by Stephen Hicks quite some time ago. And Tim Ellison has said the same thing.

James

WD5GWY

Mike-VA3MW

Yes, that is very true and that is 100% what we thought and made the mistake of assuming. The space was not consumed by FlexRadio data.

However,

Microsoft broke its own rules and pushed out Edge updates to devices to embedded devices such as the Maestro. I was the one that figured this out and I have the screen shots to prove it. :)

In fact, it isn't only Edge. There was another product that we don't use that was pushed.

We were not the only industry affected.

Trucker

So, Microsoft can bypass a locked down version? That really is bad if that's the case.

James

WD5GWY

Mike-VA3MW

Yes, we thought the same thing.