How to receover from SmartSDR 4.x not running on 6600?

edtyler · January 3

I have been trying to get assistance from Flex's Helpdesk but they are not respomding, so I though I would try here to get some answers from my fellow users. Any help you can provide will be appreciated.

Here is the text of the second message I sent to Flex Helpdesk with no response for more than 10 days.

It has been suggested in this forum that a factory reset and then a manual rebuild of all profiles *may* or may not fix the problem. This radio was purchased in 2019 and has had many successful updates from Flex, but I can't really do that, given the radio's current state.

I miss using my Flex 6600 and would like to have a working radio. Any help would be appreciated..
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This is a follow-up to your previous request #76911 "Smart SDR 4.0.1 keeps disconnecting from Radio after upgrade"

I did not get an email advising this ticket was updated or closed, so I have simply stopped using my Flex doorstop.

It will be very difficult for me to find all of the updates I have made to the stick profiles from memory. Because the radio/SSDR crashes so often, it might take hours of reboots to extract all of my customizations. So, it seems simplest to downgrade to a working 3.x release and then identify all of my changes on a working radio.

What release should I downgrade to? Is a downgrade as simple as:

1) start the desired SSDR release on Windows.

2) Downgrade the Firmware

3) power off radio, remove 12VDC for 2 minutes.

4) Power on radio, holding power on button untl it turns purple to factory reset radio.

5) reload working profile from 3.10.

6) Power off/on radio, then start SSDR 3.x and start using the radio..

I really wish v4.x would work for me, but it looks unlikely at this point. I paid $150 for access to update 4.x features, but I don't suppose I will be able to use them any time soon.

One final question: Will V4.x work on Win7? I understand that it may not be recommended, but I am asking if there are any known issues with V4.x on Win7?

Thanks,
Dale

Mike-VA3MW · January 3

It has been suggested in this forum that a factory reset and then a manual rebuild of all profiles *may* or may not fix the problem. This radio was purchased in 2019 and has had many successful updates from Flex, but I can't really do that, given the radio's current state.

This is very likely the solution to your problem and about 99% likely it will resolve your issue.

edtyler · January 3

Thanks for your reply. Does this mean that the procedure I outlined is correct?

Also, any comments on running SmarSDR 4.x on Windows 7 would be appreciated.

Erika - KØDD · January 3

I would copy off your existing profiles to another storage device like a quality sandisk unit. Then delete them out of the directory.

I would do an uninstall of all of your versions of ssdr. Including the dax and cat drivers. If anything is left in those directories delete those. Restart your computer. Factory reset the 6600. Cold boot. Then Download a fresh version of 4.1.5 install and update the radio. Cold boot radio. Restart computer. Then manually rebuild a basic profile. Use radio and see how it works. Dont even have old profiles or versions. You'll need to refresh if you have subscriptioned v4. Youll have a basic simple profile to start. Fresh everything. If it acts up. Your problem may be sd card. But my guess is your radio will be fine sometimes this upgrade just boogers up. Thats how i fixed mine. Erika K0DD reboots are your friend, clean slates are your friend

Profiles are a pita. Why when testing keep things simple good luck

edtyler · January 3

Erika, Thanks for your reply. Profiles are a obviously a problem with X4.x. They worked fine in V3. Not having profiles means that I can't have specialized settings for different antennas, TX ports, microphones or RX/TX audio equalization. Also can't have any settings for transverters. Sounds like quite a limiting factor for V4.x

How do you get around these limitations on V4.x?

Also, do you run SmartSDR under Windows 7?

VE7ATJ_Don · January 3

Hi Ed… it's not that you can't have Profiles in v4.x, it's just that a number of us have found that trying to import v3.x profiles into v4 can sometimes cause problems.

A number of us have found the best solution is to simply NOT import the 'old' profiles into v4 and simply recreate them from scratch. A pain, I know, but it does seem to settle things down remarkably.

Mike-VA3MW · January 4

As Don says, profiles work fine on V4, but if you happen to have a corrupted profile in v3, and you may not know, it can migrate into v4 and cause some weirdness.

edtyler · January 5

Thanks for the replies.

I feel like I can get back to a working radio using the procedure I posted and then assess V4.x again in the future. I have to see if Flex will refund my SmartSDR+ subscription, since V4.x has not worked for me so far.

Still wondering about running V4.x under Windows 7. Going to Win11 seems like a big backwards step, with the spyware and ads on the desktop.

Anyone running SmartSDR V4.x on Win7?

Thanks, and 73,

How to receover from SmartSDR 4.x not running on 6600?

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