SmartSDR v4.x and the new 8000 radios

Trucker

One question that I have not seen asked yet, will the new 8000 radios come with a free upgrade to V4.x of SmartSDR when it is released? That would be a nice incentive for folks who, like me, are on the fence about trading in their 6000 radios for a new 8000 radio.

Otherwise, one could expect at least another $200 (if not more) on top of the cost of the new radios in order to get all the latest features that are exclusive to the 8000 radios.

James

WD5GWY

ka9ees

Matt Youngblood told me at Dayton that v4.0 isn't even on their radar for the moment.

Trucker

Well, given the improvements that are exclusive to the 8000 radios, they will either be cramming a lot into the SmartSDR updates to v3.7.4 and above, or, it's going to be quite a while before those features that are exclusive to the 8000 radios appear. And the installation package download will get even larger to accommodate all of the 6000 and 8000 radios. Plus, installation errors ( installer trying to install a feature exclusive to the 8000 radios) will make for some real headaches for Tech Support. It's either that or when the radios phone home for an update, the server will query the radio for model number and current version of the firmware and send only the package for that particular model. If the particular radio is eligible for the upgrade.

People have mentioned in the past that the firmware download for SmartSDR ( for the radio itself) has grown considerably. ( I haven't noticed it as I am on a high speed fiber connection) But, users on slower connections certainly do notice the difference.

Anyway, I still think it would be a nice incentive to potential buyers if the sale included an upgrade to V4. Unless of course paid firmware and software upgrades will no longer be offered. Just free upgrades and updates for the life of the radio!

James

WD5GWY

ka9ees

@Trucker

v3 is still on sale for 149.

Trucker

They won't stop selling the current version until the next version is introduced. You can be pretty certain that when version 4 comes out, it won't be $149.00. The $149.00 price tag was to try and get everyone they could on the same version instead of having to support version 2.x. fortunately, they still offer critical fixes for version 2 users. But, they are usually several days to weeks after version 3 updates. And certainly no new features for version 2.

James

WD5GWY

Dan Trainor

v4 could be years out for all we know. All future improvement to SmartSDR firmware or client software are unknown to the public. No information is known or to be known. Even if a Flex employee says they are thinking about XYZ feature or bug fix, it is still to be considered as unknown with low probability of implementation and release.

Trucker

Unfortunately Dan, you may be closer to the mark than most of us would be happy to know. But, if the past is any indicator, you are probably right in your statement.

James

WD5GWY

Mike VE3CKO

I can't remember where I saw it recently, but there was a mention a pending v3.8 release. Just what will be in there, we'll find out soon enough. Besides APD, Michael Walker has more than hinted, (see the video) analog meters, integrated NTP server, FT8 Wideband and advanced noice reduction. This could the SmartSDR release in August when the are planning to start shipping pre-ordered 8000s but for both 6000 & 8000 series. No point worrying yet as I think we can all safely assume FlexRadio will include free of charge for 8000 series radios the software necessary for APD. If they decide to move forward with some sort of APD solution for the 6000 series, there will be some cost for the hardware adaptor, and it's anyone's guess if put backwards compatibility for 6000 APD in v3.8 or force an upgrade to a future v4.

Trucker

Yes,I saw that video. I like the analog meters option. I have been using the Woodbox Radio analog meter for years. It is one of the most realistic I have seen till the one in the Kenwood 890 and 990 display. And then there's meter Nirvana, all the different meters ( analog and digital) in Thetis for the Anan and Hermes Lite radios. If meters are your thing, the meter selection in Thetis is amazing.

James

WD5GWY

Russ Ravella

Yeah, Flex showed a slide deck on some YouTube channel which included v3.8 features which explicitly mentioned the analog meters and integration of TGXL control/display into win and Maestro versions of SSDR. In fact, the presenter (Mike Walker I think) apologized for them taking longer than they had promised. He said it was due to the s/w team being pulled off on a commercial project. I hope they also include some more bug fixes. It seemed to me at the time it was clearly targeted for 6XXX radios (which will of course include 8XXX as well).

Russ KR6W

Trucker

That will certainly be cool. If they are integrated into SmartSDR that will make them start up and shutdown with SmartSDR unlike the Woodbox meter that has to be started and stopped separately. ( unless I have missed a setting somewhere)

James

WD5GWY

Mike VE3CKO

I put the meters startup into a batch file so at least they came up during a bootup. A while back I had a computer crash and rebuilt windows on a SSD and had not setup the Woodbox meters. Good to seem them coming built-in to SSDR.

They're adding TGXL integrated control, I've been hoping for Antenna Genius integration as welll. I use the Maestro remotely daily on the LAN and what do they say, necessity is the mother of invention. So I've added Alan's WA9WUD AG flow I heavily modified to my node-red dashboard which gives me AG control via any browser, in my case, my Android phone, iPad, laptop whatever. This is where my node-red self inflicted nightmare began.

David Decoons, wo2x

agh I wrote the AG flow, both for V3 and V4 API. Like you, I wanted to select antennas easily from iPhone. (Well before Marcus added tools to his apps).

73

Dave wo2x

Mike VE3CKO

Dave ah, sorry. You have done so much for node red and deserve your due credit.

ka9ees

@Mike VE3CKO

Wow! I like that dashboard!