SmartSDR+ Feature Licensing

Hi Ted… to your first question… as I understand it, if you take a pass for the next 5 years, then decide you want to 'opt in' to a new release due to the features included, then you only pay $199 and you get a) all the new features included in the release, plus the features released in the last 5 years. PLUS, b) you get a full year of upgrades. Once you purchase a release (and its year of upgrades), you get to keep all that funcationality — it will never expire.

If, after a year, another new release comes out, take a look at the functionality provided. If you want it, then you'll need to pay another $199, but if it doesn't interest you, give a pass like before. You will not lose any of the functionality already installed on the radio.

I'm not sure that a 'perpetual license' option was suggested at any point.

Mike, Don, Trucker, Russ,

Thanks for explaining that if you subscribe for a year, you retain all the features perpetually, I saw that in the original announcement after reading it carefully. From a business perspective it seems to create an incentive to hold off for a few years until a bunch of new features accumulate, at least for those who are not incented enough to always have the latest and greatest.

As a 6400 user looking at the 8400, knowing that I only get new features for a year, I feel incented to wait for a while until and see what comes out before I make the purchase. Two years of updates on a new purchase would go a long way to ease my "range anxiety". I am also very tempted to upgrade to a used 6600 rather than jump on the 8400, there just isn't enough new capability available yet on the 8000 to get me to make the jump.

Lastly, I will note that I use a tube amp (Drake L4B), when running on the low voltage position (1750 Plate V) with the Flex at 600W and on the low voltage setting, the 3rd and 5th order products are down 40+ dB. Not much benefit for APD in that scenario. The Flex exciter is amazingly clean for a 14VDC PA.

Ted, WR4T

Good find James, thanks. More than ever I think that calling it a subscription conjures up entirely the wrong image and is largely responsible for the angst we see here and elsewhere. What is being proposed is not a subscription in the sense that, say, a subscription to Office 365 is. It is a feature or version upgrade package.

After hearing Hayley's presentation I am inclined to go for the early access pack.

I need some clarifying. I downloaded smart SDR 4.01. , I also purchased the subscription. New features show locked, I assume, in 30 days they will be unlocked? Now, what happens at a release that I can down before end of 12 months but the 30 days is after my subscription date? Just asking for a friend, ME!

New Flex owner here. I see people talking about $5000 radios, and I'm glad y'all can afford them. I was finally able to buy a used 6400 for $1400, and it took a lot to get WAF for even that.

I'm a Mac user, so all this talk about SmartSDR for Windows makes me wonder how this will affect me. Is the subscription being discussed here a sub for the radio firmware or is it for the Windows software? Will I be able to install the 4.x radio firmware on my radio? I understand that we have to wait to see how Marcus handles the subscription part of this. If he goes to a subscription model, I'm not sure what I'll do: I don't use any software that requires a subscription, and don't intend on starting today.

Also, while it does not and will not affect me (I have only 1 Flex radio, and will always ever have only 1) … as others have said, I would encourage Flex to reconsider the per-radio subscription here: It penalizes people who love the product and buy more than one.

Edited to add: Like Mark above (WS7M), I have the Flex because it is network-accessible. My Flex is in a closet, and the microphone isn't even connected to it. I never use it from the front panel, and only use it via Marcus's iOS and macOS apps.

Isn't V4.01+ $50? Early adopters is $150?

Hi Len…You ae correct. It must be a combination of dreaming and not enough coffee…

Just the radios need a license. It is the same as it was previously.

The real George, what happens if you upgrade 6 months later. Does it end with the original 1 year? I think the upgrade is the $100.

Andy - The way I understand it, the whole idea of the "Aurora" was to offer a compact and light "all-in-one" radio, and 500W is more than enough for such a stand alone radio. Adding 1.5kW means that it won't fit inside the 8xxx-size case plus the integrated AC PSU requirements change. They also offer an external amp if you want full legal power.

As for the subscription model, I am not crazy about it but it's not that bad. If you pay for the "+" and activate the options, you don't need to pay the following year unless they offer new additional features that you want.

As I manage two remote 6400 radios, I don't expect many (if any) additional features for my discontinued products, as the more enhanced features will require moving to the 8xxx or the Aurora simply because the 6xxx architecture doesn't have the horsepower. I paid for one "+" to see if it's worth it as if it's not, then I will not pay for my second 6400.

Remember that once activated, we will get maintenance updates for all that we have.

Products do reach EOL and although the radio works just fine, it doesn't have the internal horsepower to handle more features. I am in the radio design and MFG business and MIL SDR radios are firmware-upgreadable as long as the internal architecture supports it.

73 de Bruno, W4AFK