Welcome to the new FlexRadio Community! Please review the new Community Rules and other important new Community information on the Message Board.
If you are having a problem, please refer to the product documentation or check the Help Center for known solutions.
Need technical support from FlexRadio? It's as simple as Creating a HelpDesk ticket.

After front switch power down there is an overvoltage error displayed when power supply is turned of

Joe WD5Y
Joe WD5Y Member ✭✭
edited June 2019 in SmartSDR for Windows
I thought I read where Tim mentioned that if you allow the radio to power down completely with the front switch and the display cleared that you should not see the overvoltage error when removing the power supply later. I just wanted to double check and if this is a repost I apologize. as I know this was reported before the last software update. To power down, I normally close the application down 1st then push the front switch then later after display is cleared turn off the power supply. 6500 Latest Update Ethernet through hub 73's Joe WD5Y

Comments

  • W5XZ - dan
    W5XZ - dan Member ✭✭
    edited June 2019
    I see that too, FWIW...think it's a 'known defect' ... think it should say "UNDER voltage" as the 12 vdc supply winds down... 73
  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin
    edited December 2016
    Yes, you are correct. There is a bug where the error message text indicates the wrong voltage state.
  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin
    edited March 2017
    First Dan is right, the error message text is wrong as it should say under voltage not over voltage. This is a previously reported defect. But the generation of the error message is correct and here is why. After you press the front panel power switch and the radio shuts down, the main processors and the RF components of the radio are no longer active. At this point there is one processor in the radio that is still running because you have DC power applied to the radio. This process, called PSoC is monitoring the input voltages and when you power off your power supply the result is a voltage decay rather than going from 13.8 VDC to 0 volts. Because of the voltage decay you will momentarily see a low voltage error message. This is normal because it is what is actually happening. If you pull the power cable from the radio rather than turning off your power supply, there isn't a voltage decay process and you will not see the under voltage message.
  • Joe WD5Y
    Joe WD5Y Member ✭✭
    edited June 2019
    All of this makes sense as you really want as much protection in place as possible. As long as power is on the radio even if the front switch is off you would definitely want protection from over/under voltage. The only real issue is the wording of saying over voltage when it is actually under voltage. What is great here is it sounds like the Flex 6000 series is almost bullet proof protecting itself. 73's Joe WD5Y
  • W5XZ - dan
    W5XZ - dan Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    isn't it interesting the PSoC looks at delta V / time, or how quickly voltage decreases? 73
  • Steve-N5AC
    Steve-N5AC Community Manager admin
    edited December 2016
    The PSoC is currently setup to look at all the supply rails in the radio hundreds of times a second. The radio knows the operational limits on all supplies and protects the radio. The radio is also designed to survive much lower voltages than most radios (we thought about the guy operating on a battery after an emergency). While the PA runs directly on the supplied voltage, everything else in the radio has an internal supply that corrects for external voltage drops. So while you won't get full PA power out at 10V on the radio, it will still operate. Currently, we stop operation at 9.5V.
  • Joe WD5Y
    Joe WD5Y Member ✭✭
    edited August 2014
    Thanks for the explanation Steve. It sounds like the Flex 6000 sure has many protection features running in the background. I appreciate the fore-thought that goes into this; stuff happens that causes damage and we need all of the protection available!
  • Steve-N5AC
    Steve-N5AC Community Manager admin
    edited February 2017
    I believe it is currently set at 16V, Dan Steve

Leave a Comment

Rich Text Editor. To edit a paragraph's style, hit tab to get to the paragraph menu. From there you will be able to pick one style. Nothing defaults to paragraph. An inline formatting menu will show up when you select text. Hit tab to get into that menu. Some elements, such as rich link embeds, images, loading indicators, and error messages may get inserted into the editor. You may navigate to these using the arrow keys inside of the editor and delete them with the delete or backspace key.