R30 New Firmware Released (v1.13)

[mooychild]

Release date looks like April 08. Has anyone tested the new firmware?

IC-R30 | Firmware / Software | Support | Icom Inc. (US version)
IC-R30 | Firmware / Software | Support | Icom Inc. (Non-US version)

Changes:
Battery health status (Normal/Caution/Warning) judgment has been improved.

 

[bearcatrp]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jazzboypro]

Definitely not worth the upgrade for me

 

[Hit_Factor]

Just completed the firmware update. No problems.

When I turned on the R30 I had the battery health warning. After the update the battery health warning did not appear.

 

[DudleyG]

I have installed the new firmware on my R30s with no problems, but I haven’t seen anything different or new so far.

 

[jazzboypro]

I have installed the new firmware on my R30s with no problems, but I haven’t seen anything different or new so far.

According to Icom, there is only an improvement on something that's already there. No new features. Would not be surprised if this was the last update we see for that radio

 

[DudleyG]

I agree that it is unlikely the R30 will get any more updates, but this update was also unexpected and I did read what the update document said was improved. My comment was more to the idea that electronic companies "fix" or "improve" things and in the process introduce "bugs" or "problems". I used to have a programmer in my area that referred to these as "undocumented" features that the users would find for us. I haven't found any of those "undocumented" features yet.

 

[Hit_Factor]

According to Icom, there is only an improvement on something that's already there. No new features. Would not be surprised if this was the last update we see for that radio

Icom usually only fixes issues, it's pretty rare for them to add features. This battery issue has been ongoing for years, I wonder what took so long?

When the presets were added to several of their amateur radios I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[jazzboypro]

Icom usually only fixes issues, it's pretty rare for them to add features. This battery issue has been ongoing for years, I wonder what took so long?

When the presets were added to several of their amateur radios I was pleasantly surprised.

Never had any battery issues but then again i use it mostly during summer when i'm outside

 

[Hit_Factor]

Never had any battery issues but then again i use it mostly during summer when i'm outside

It's not really an issue, just a warning about battery health that didn't make sense.

 

[kruser]

It's not really an issue, just a warning about battery health that didn't make sense.

I've not really tested this update but did they fix the issue where the battery would get out of sync and the radio would show the warning unitl you ran it dead and then let it rechage fully in the charging cradle?

 

[bearcatrp]

Was hoping it fixed my issue but it did not. Last year I was charging the R30 on my computer. Got a over voltage warning on the screen. Since then, I cannot charge the battery attached to the R30 on the cradle I purchased. I can take the battery out and put it in the cradle and the battery will charge.

 

[DudleyG]

@bearcatrp have you ever tried to run the battery completely down using only the battery attached to the R30 thus causing the R30 to shutdown and then charge the battery with the R30 turned off using the external cradle and not turned the R30 on until the green light shows on the charger?

The reason I ask this question, about a year ago it was posted that this is the only way to reset the battery status ( I.e. get rid of calibration message and other battery messages). This is the same thing I think @kruser is talk about.

 

[bearcatrp]

I did try that. No luck. Maybe I’ll try it again to see if it will work since updating the firmware a couple days ago.

 

[DudleyG]

One more question— do you have a second battery and if yes, does it show the same message? The battery status is kept in a small microchip inside the battery case which the R30 reads the status bit. If you don’t have a second battery, is there anyone near that could put your battery in their R30?

 

[vagrant]

Well that was interesting. My battery showed around forty something percent and after this update it displayed seventy something percent. Even the little icon in the corner changed from about half way to full. I restarted it and still shows around 70%. With that in mind and based on my usage, the 70% range seems accurate. I know the battery will be drained over time due to having a push power button, but that 40% range seemed way too low.

I am not a fan of updating firmware when things work, but based on what I was observing during use and especially after the above results, it was definitely worth it.

 

[N4SRN]

Well that was interesting. My battery showed around forty something percent and after this update it displayed seventy something percent. Even the little icon in the corner changed from about half way to full. I restarted it and still shows around 70%. With that in mind and based on my usage, the 70% range seems accurate. I know the battery will be drained over time due to having a push power button, but that 40% range seemed way too low.

I am not a fan of updating firmware when things work, but based on what I was observing during use and especially after the above results, it was definitely worth it.

I was down in the 20% range, upgraded into the 40% range. I did a full run-down and re-charge and it’s working fine.

Bret/N4SRN

 

[bearcatrp]

@bearcatrp have you ever tried to run the battery completely down using only the battery attached to the R30 thus causing the R30 to shutdown and then charge the battery with the R30 turned off using the external cradle and not turned the R30 on until the green light shows on the charger?

The reason I ask this question, about a year ago it was posted that this is the only way to reset the battery status ( I.e. get rid of calibration message and other battery messages). This is the same thing I think @kruser is talk about.

Just did it last night finally. Put it in the charger this morning and still flashes yellow and green. Had to remove the battery and put it in the cradle to charge it, which works fine this way. Will order a new battery later in the year and hope it doesn't do the same thing.

 

[64larry]

Just out of curiosity, Is this upgrade only for the non-USA versions?

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Just out of curiosity, Is this upgrade only for the non-USA versions?

Umm...

IC-R30 | Firmware / Software | Support | Icom Inc. (US version)