New release
A firmware upgrade is certainly needed to address certain correctable issues, notably external software control, and inferior DMR sound to name but two.
However lets hope AOR have taken notice and are working (albeit secretly) on hardware solutions regarding the frequency instability/drift issues.
Hardware improvement is the only sensible way forward. Since the anomalies / discrepancies vary drastically depending on frequency, creating a database and algorithms in firmware to REALLY 'correct' all of them, depending on the Units temperature (if the DV10 has a built in temperature sensor) would require a lot of extra code added to the firmware, and the time to continuously process it.
Of course AOR could just 'fudge' this in Firmware, making a guess at the average corrections needed in certain Bands, but the results could never result in anyone being certain that the frequency shown on the Radio's display was totally correct.
Under some circumstances a frequency discrepancy may not be noticed. Wide Band FM signals, AM Broadcast stations, and although more of a problem, analogue Narrow band signals. However when it comes to USB, LSB, CW and Digital Signals, these need to be correct. In the case of Digital transmissions to ensure they can be discovered and more importantly decoded, especially for weaker signals.
In any case, of the several AOR receivers I own, all of them stay 'spot on' the frequency one enters. Naturally other makes of modern receivers do the same. They do not have to rely on constant software corrections to achieve this. No reasonable person would expect that in a Receiver, let alone one at that of the DV10.
The fact that the AR-DV10 does not do this is a fundamental, and really serious design flaw. Firmware updates will never be able to correct this fully, just possibly reduce the effect a little, some of the time, with varying success depending on temperature and the frequency chosen.
I naturally realise that doing a 'proper' job of putting this right in hardware would cost AOR money. In a way I sympathise with them and realise why they are resisting that, despite the serious risk to their reputation if they do not. However we, and AOR should not lose sight of the fact that something went very wrong during the testing phases, and this should have been discovered and corrected before the DV10 was released.
Sometimes we have to pay to put right our own mistakes. I personally have already been threatened by AOR, and 'punished' for helping to bring this into the open. 'Blame the Messenger' syndrome I guess. Readers will have to decide if these serious flaws are the result of those that released the Radio, or those that discovered and exposed them, lol.
Prior to the DV10 I believed AOR was a fantastic Company. If they 'do the right thing' and correct the DV10 properly, I will again. I doubt if I would be alone in that.
A firmware upgrade is certainly needed to address certain correctable issues, notably external software control, and inferior DMR sound to name but two.
However lets hope AOR have taken notice and are working (albeit secretly) on hardware solutions regarding the frequency instability/drift issues.
Hardware improvement is the only sensible way forward. Since the anomalies / discrepancies vary drastically depending on frequency, creating a database and algorithms in firmware to REALLY 'correct' all of them, depending on the Units temperature (if the DV10 has a built in temperature sensor) would require a lot of extra code added to the firmware, and the time to continuously process it.
Of course AOR could just 'fudge' this in Firmware, making a guess at the average corrections needed in certain Bands, but the results could never result in anyone being certain that the frequency shown on the Radio's display was totally correct.
Under some circumstances a frequency discrepancy may not be noticed. Wide Band FM signals, AM Broadcast stations, and although more of a problem, analogue Narrow band signals. However when it comes to USB, LSB, CW and Digital Signals, these need to be correct. In the case of Digital transmissions to ensure they can be discovered and more importantly decoded, especially for weaker signals.
In any case, of the several AOR receivers I own, all of them stay 'spot on' the frequency one enters. Naturally other makes of modern receivers do the same. They do not have to rely on constant software corrections to achieve this. No reasonable person would expect that in a Receiver, let alone one at that of the DV10.
The fact that the AR-DV10 does not do this is a fundamental, and really serious design flaw. Firmware updates will never be able to correct this fully, just possibly reduce the effect a little, some of the time, with varying success depending on temperature and the frequency chosen.
I naturally realise that doing a 'proper' job of putting this right in hardware would cost AOR money. In a way I sympathise with them and realise why they are resisting that, despite the serious risk to their reputation if they do not. However we, and AOR should not lose sight of the fact that something went very wrong during the testing phases, and this should have been discovered and corrected before the DV10 was released.
Sometimes we have to pay to put right our own mistakes. I personally have already been threatened by AOR, and 'punished' for helping to bring this into the open. 'Blame the Messenger' syndrome I guess. Readers will have to decide if these serious flaws are the result of those that released the Radio, or those that discovered and exposed them, lol.
Prior to the DV10 I believed AOR was a fantastic Company. If they 'do the right thing' and correct the DV10 properly, I will again. I doubt if I would be alone in that.
