SmartSDR v4 – Noise Mitigation Quick Reference

lcyez · January 14

$200/year for the new noise reduction features that don't work or don't make a real difference is a lot of money.

They should work on a real noise reduction feature.
I'm not satisfied with what I paid for and received from the subscription.

RM NOISE work 1000% better that your new features and its free!

WY1U · January 17

Mike, Yes, It was fixed/changed. The NR Slider has been (Removed). I personally liked it better when it was adjustable. I guess it's never going to return in future releases, am I correct to assume that?

MikeM · January 19

Could not stand 4.1.5 any longer, went back to 3.10.15 and now I have control of my radio. Paid for the upgrade that I will never use. I doubt Flex will give us back control with the slide bars until they do I will stay with V3.10.15 or move on to another brand when my Flex dies.
Mike, K6ODI

WY1U · January 19

Hi MikeM, I hear ya! I hope they give us the choice of Manual / Auto control of the slider(s) in a future release! Hopefully someone is listening… 🤔73, Tim

Rick_KJ5WO · January 26

I was having a lot of odd problems with V4. I had to do a factory reset which I never had to do before. Other oddities like the Tune mode not transmitting any power, until I reloaded SmartSDR. Sometimes I would have to reboot the computer or power cycle the radio. IOS software isn't working like it should. I went ahead and followed MikeM's advice and reverted back to V3.10.15. I also use the NB slider under certain circumstances to limit the watery sound that comes with audio processing. Things appear to be back to normal. Maybe V4 was a little to ambitious. 73's Rick…

Russ Ravella · January 26

Hi Rick,

Sorry to hear about your issues. I've had some weird ones too going back to about v3.9. Tim, Eric and Dave have all taken swings at them over many months of an open ticket.

I'm not challenging your experience at all. But just as another data point mine has been things steadily improving with the largest improvement at the latest version, v4.1.5. And I'm finding the new features, at least those accessible to my 6700 all pretty great. Many others are reporting the same.

Keep in mind Flex's new s/w-f/w approach depends on feedback and iteration. We're only at (basically) the initial pass at v4 at this point. They've already stated they're adding back sliders with a new "slider panel" in v4.2 and who knows what else will be improved. Maybe they'll even finally complete the long promised APD sourced from the amp, not just within the radio. I feel like we need to give their new system a chance to work.

GL Russ KR6W

Richard WH6S · January 31

I also got fed up with V4.1.5 went back to V3.10.15 and my radio is a lot quieter and I have control.

Richard WH6S

Mike-VA3MW · February 1

Richard, what do you mean by quieter? Can you expand on what you are hearing and maybe a before and after video so others can see what you are seeing?

What do you mean by control?

Richard WH6S · February 6

Mike, The audio on v4.1.5 is very distorted, watery, fatiguing audio hard to listen to for very long . I have tried a combination of the filters. I couldn't never get the audio to sound natural. After I switched back to v3.10.15 I used 1 or 2 TNF filters along with the NR and AGC to help remove unwanted noise within the band width helped to finish making the signal sound the way I wanted to hear it. I now enjoy doing SSB again. I do not have any recordings of the V4.1.5 audio to send you. I don't think I will go back to V4.1.5 it is to much of a pain to go thru 3 to 4 resets to get the radio working again. I sorry I can't describe the audio conditions better for you. All prior years I never felt the new updates or versions were a waste of money. I really like the manual TNF because I can't immediately get rid of the interference. In the newest version the audio fads in and out.

Richard WH6S

David (AA9G) · February 8

SLIDERS…This is the way. Make it happen.

Mike-VA3MW · February 9

@Richard WH6S There is something fundamentally wrong with the radio then as 4.1.5 should be as good or better then 3.10.15. It is a hearable difference. Usually, when someone tells me this, the AGC-T is set way too high. Mine never goes above 30 but that is based on Preamp settings as well.

It would great if you shared screen shots of how SmartSDR is configured, (preamps, agc-t, etc) and a video as there are many ways to mess up the receiver.

The fact you have to do 3 or 4 resets tells me that radio needs service to get it resolved.

You need to open a support ticket.

WY1U · February 9

It is a "hearable"? difference … What mode are you using? As a 100% CW op I can confirm that the V4 non-slider fixed NR is not better (not effective at all) than V3. Flex 6400 > I primarily run at 250 BW, AGC T @ 65 with the EQ Gains as follows:

250 -6 / 500 -9 / 1K -6

Is there a CW Op at Flex who can compare the two versions side by side?

Thanks, Tim WY1U

IK8HCG · February 9

It would be appropriate for Flex to make a demonstration video. Because I also don't notice any difference in CW mode, while before version 4 I had excellent benefits with the variable NR.

IK8HCG · February 9

It would be appropriate for Flex to make a demonstration video. Because I also don't notice any difference in CW mode, while before version 4 I had excellent benefits with the variable NR.

Mike-VA3MW · February 9

Part of the reason I have not made any videos on noise mitigation is mostly due to the fact that I run a rural HF station that really doesn't have much noise.

IK8HCG · February 9

It's not a criticism. But Flex should do it. If many OMs don't notice any benefits, there must be some problems compared to previous upgrade versions.

Wayne VK4ACN · February 10

Michael Walker

"Part of the reason I have not made any videos on noise mitigation is mostly due to the fact that I run a rural HF station that really doesn't have much noise."

Surely there is someone else in the Flex team, that has noise that can make videos. I would like RNN noise explained either through video or some other way

Erik Carling EI4KF · February 11

I called on Flex to facilitate a smooth transition for users to V4 regarding DSP by means of instructional video(s) soon after paying for, unwisely as it turns out, and installing SSDR+ and finding that the new features do not work and the existing ones are better in V3. I was prepared to allow for a misunderstanding on my part but with SliderMaster and FRStack providing the all important means of adjusting levels and still not being able to effect useful DSP functions, I now seriously doubt any video will actually help. What does not work cannot be shown otherwise in any video. What is required, especially as these functions were paid for, is remedial work on the software by Flex to put matters right.

Trucker · February 11

Erik, have you actually used FRStack ( latest version) with SmartSDR version 4? I have used it's DSP sliders with two different radios. A 6600 running version 4.1.5 Basic and a AU-520M running version 4.1.5 Early Access. I have found the adjustment sliders in FRStack to make a huge difference. It makes receive audio sound like full quieting FM when adjusted properly. Even the ANF that I found in version 3.x and earlier that didn't work well, works like it should. While a video showing how to use the DSP functions in SmartSDR would be nice, adjustments that work in one user's situation may not work well in other user's environment. It takes experimenting with the adjustment sliders in FRSack to find the sweet spot for your unique situation. If you haven't done so, download the latest version of FRStack and give it a try. You might be surprised how much of a difference it makes.

James

WD5GWY

Erik Carling EI4KF · February 11

I use FRStack daily. It is a great piece of software and a credit to the attempts to provide users with what Flex do not. But unfortunately I am not one of the minority who have effective DSP functions even with the sliders.

SmartSDR v4 – Noise Mitigation Quick Reference

Comments

Leave a Comment

Categories