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Flex-6500 relay clicking regularly and not holding frequency with SSDR 2.1.33

DH2ID
DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
edited December 2019 in FLEX-6000 Signature Series
I've had an interesting problem here with my Flex-6500 after updating to 2.1.33.

The update went without problems, I did a factory reset and cold start in the usual way. I imported my profiles, installed my waveforms and started up all programs to work FT8. After about 3 minutes a relay in the Flex-6500 started clicking regularly about every 3 seconds and the received frequency started to shift with each click about 1kHz and then went back to the original frequency, like a sawtooth. I tried everything in the book, like reset, cold start, restarting my notebook, using SSDR only (no other programs running) - nothing helped.

As a last resort I downgraded to 2.1.32 and the problem seems to have gone away. The Flex6k5 has now been running for an hour and is running stable (fingers crossed).

I wonder what has happened, sounds like PLL unlock (?!?) causing a frequency shift. About a year ago there was another post here https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/flex-6500-clicks-every-three-seconds but I don't know how the problem was solved. 

OS here is Windows 7 64bit and Windows 10 pro 64bit on the backup notebook.

Alex - DH2ID

Comments

  • George KF2T
    George KF2T Member ✭✭✭
    edited February 2019
    Check the front panel microphone connector. Sometimes, accidentally shorted pins can activate tuning. If you update SSDR with the microphone out, is everything okay?
  • DH2ID
    DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
    edited March 2018
    Thank you for the info, George. Accidentally tuning surely wouldn't cause a freqency shift. Downgrading helped.
  • NX6D Dave
    NX6D Dave Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Well, I would simply try 2.1.33 again. Since it is a simple upgrade, I would install the software and go. I wouldn't go through all the effort to reset the radio from scratch. The main question is: Is the problem reproducible?
  • DH2ID
    DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
    edited March 2018
    I can reproduce the problem: Frequency shift with 2.1.33, not with 2.1.32 (see attached picture)

    What I did: 

    1.  updated to 2.1.33 from 2.1.32
    2. Factory reset, imported Profiles, Frequency stable
    3. Flex-6500 shutdown, PC shutdown, PS shutdown.
    4. Restarted PC, Flex-6500: Clicking all 3 seconds started, SSDR shows sawtooth pattern
    5. Factory reset, all cables off, PS off: No change
    6. Downgraded to 2.1.32: Clicking started again, SSDR shows sawtooth pattern (now with 2.1.32!!!)
    7. Factory reset, all cables off, PS off: Frequency stable again (scratching my head :-))

    Now what causes this? Any ideas? Has someone experienced this also?

    I'll open a ticket...

    Vy 73, Alex - DH2ID

    image
  • Rich McCabe
    Rich McCabe Member ✭✭✭
    edited March 2018
    No issues on 6600, so must be related to previous 6000 series??

    Rich
  • DH2ID
    DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
    edited March 2018
    I'm not sure what it is, Rich. Might also be related to my Flex-6500 having been in use for 5 years now. I have opened a tickret with FlexRadio and will report the results here (or maybe Tim will do that ;-)) - 73, Alex - DH2ID
  • DH2ID
    DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
    edited March 2018
    I'm not sure that the click-sawtooth problem is related to the version update anymore. Today it started all of itself and I upgraded to 2.1.33 and it went away. I hope it will stay that way. All else I can think of is that it is a (beginning) hardware fault.
  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin
    edited March 2018
    Alex, this is a hardware issue where the driver clock is not disciplining the master XO.  I think the software upgrade was just coincidental.  If you are not using an external clock source, then contact Norbert at our Service Center in Germany to facilitate getting this fixed.
  • Bill -VA3WTB
    Bill -VA3WTB Member ✭✭✭
    edited March 2018
    Tim, would it be related to a GPSO? perhaps in the radio?
  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin
    edited March 2018
    The radio is not getting a proper clock source to drive the XO.  So what the default clock source is matters
  • DH2ID
    DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
    edited March 2018
    Tim, I'm using the internal clock. Ok, I will contact Norbert, thank you.

    UPDATE:  the TCXO is not locking in correctly sometimes. If it reoccurs, I will have to send the 6k5 in for testing and repairs.

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