P25RX Firmware Updates / Testing

[1969Roadrunner]

Got the P25RX yesterday. Still too new to have any software requests or notice any bugs. It is working great. Just recently a nearby simulcast site increased it's power and totally de-sensed my GRE and Whistler scanners. Todd's great creation solved that problem. Firmware is 03-10-0709.

 

[relicwr]

How close are you to it?

 

[1969Roadrunner]

About 2 miles away. I was told they increased their power by or to (not sure which) 75 watts and pretty much wiped me out with de-sense when they were active. I even have a 850Mhz 9 element yagi, side or back rejection was not enough.

 

[btt]

Got the P25RX yesterday. Still too new to have any software requests or notice any bugs. It is working great. Just recently a nearby simulcast site increased it's power and totally de-sensed my GRE and Whistler scanners. Todd's great creation solved that problem. Firmware is 03-10-0709.

It is good to hear that is it working well for you!

 

[btt]

If it's possible, in the future could an option be added to the software for a user selectable time? Twice a day the local fire dept does a radio test. I'd like to be able to set this for 10 minutes or so to avoid listening to the test.

Also just wanted to thank you again for the quick support on the "0" trunk group issue. It's been going strong for two days now.

Ron

This feature is added in version 03-19_1733

 

[btt]

Oh well, you gave it a try! Hopefully they will fix the issue some day.
I'm used to needing to pull the USB cable three times each time I do a firmware update. It's not really a big deal plus I do it from the computer end so I don't wear out the USB-C jack on the P25RX even though it's a very durable jack of high quality.

This is a different issue. I will work on getting this fixed. It shouldn't require being unplugged that many times on an update though. When there is a release with a configuration reset, I have to unplug it sometimes. (once). I'll see if I can figure out why. The other issue only applies to re-booting Windows and not being detected until the device is unplugged/re-plugged.

 

[pcman67]

Wanted to let you know that version 2021-03-19_1733 of BTConfig is consistently locking up after several minutes of use. I noticed if I go to the signal insights page and watch the audio frames, you'll start to see it stutter occasionally (the display and sound cut out briefly) then resume working again but about 3-4 minutes later it just locks up. It doesn't appear the P25RX device locks up -- only the BTConfig software. Please note, however, that you don't need the signal insights tab open for this to happen, it will happen no matter what tab you might have open or if you have the software in "monitor" display mode. I have to restart BTConfig in order to get back to scanning again. I can provide a video of this happening if needed for debugging.

 

[btt]

Wanted to let you know that version 2021-03-19_1733 of BTConfig is consistently locking up after several minutes of use. I noticed if I go to the signal insights page and watch the signal waves, you'll start to see it stutter occasionally (the display and sound cut out briefly) then resume working again but about 3-4 minutes later it just locks up. It doesn't appear the P25RX device locks up -- only the BTConfig software. Please note, however, that you don't need the signal insights tab open for this to happen, it will happen no matter what tab you might have open or if you have the software in "monitor" display mode. I have to restart BTConfig in order to get back to scanning again. I can provide a video of this happening if needed for debugging.

Thank you sir. Did you have this issue with the previous testing release? I ask because, it is hard to see how this version would be much different than the last with regards to an issue like that.

 

[btt]

Wanted to let you know that version 2021-03-19_1733 of BTConfig is consistently locking up after several minutes of use. I noticed if I go to the signal insights page and watch the audio frames, you'll start to see it stutter occasionally (the display and sound cut out briefly) then resume working again but about 3-4 minutes later it just locks up. It doesn't appear the P25RX device locks up -- only the BTConfig software. Please note, however, that you don't need the signal insights tab open for this to happen, it will happen no matter what tab you might have open or if you have the software in "monitor" display mode. I have to restart BTConfig in order to get back to scanning again. I can provide a video of this happening if needed for debugging.

I found something that could explain this. Please try version 2021-03-19_1836. This is not a firmware update. BTConfig only update.

 

[pcman67]

I found something that could explain this. Please try version 2021-03-19_1836. This is not a firmware update. BTConfig only update.

The 2021-03-19_1836 version appears to be doing the same thing. I am running BTConfig on a different (newer) MacBook Air than I usually run, so let me switch back to the older Macbook Air and I'll see if I can reproduce the issue there. It could be that BTConfig doesn't like this newer Macbook Air laptop for some reason.

I also downloaded and tried to flash back to the latest stable version which I know works perfectly (2021-03-10_0709) to see if the issue goes away but it gets stuck in a rebooting loop no matter what I try (including holding the talkgroup button for 45 seconds) so I just ran the 2021-03-19_1836 version again and my P25RX responds to that software and works but quickly locks up after a couple minutes. Standy and I'll let you know if this happens on the other older computer I normally run BTConfig on and if I can flash back to the latest stable version on it.

 

[rbjzx9]

So far 1733 is stable for me, Thanks for the adjustable setting, much appreciated.

 

[btt]

The 2021-03-19_1836 version appears to be doing the same thing. I am running BTConfig on a different (newer) MacBook Air than I usually run, so let me switch back to the older Macbook Air and I'll see if I can reproduce the issue there. It could be that BTConfig doesn't like this newer Macbook Air laptop for some reason.

I also downloaded and tried to flash back to the latest stable version which I know works perfectly (2021-03-10_0709) to see if the issue goes away but it gets stuck in a rebooting loop no matter what I try (including holding the talkgroup button for 45 seconds) so I just ran the 2021-03-19_1836 version again and my P25RX responds to that software and works but quickly locks up after a couple minutes. Standy and I'll let you know if this happens on the other older computer I normally run BTConfig on and if I can flash back to the latest stable version on it.

If you continue to have issues, please try a 'factory' command in the console first. If that does not work, please try the following which will wipe out your talk groups and roaming flash, but may clear whatever the issue is. I have avoided posting this publicly because I don't think this applies to very many issues, but here goes:

Download this recovery version:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0289/8224/7521/files/BTConfig-2021-03-08_recovery.exe?v=1615221482

1) After it loads the recovery firmware, it will reset the receiver.
2) The recovery firmware will erase most of the flash (not the recovery firmware)
3) The BTConfig will show "Discovering"
4) After about 10-30 seconds, the SIG and TG leds will be ON solid.
5) Once the leds are on solid, close the BTConfig software
6) Cycle power on the receiver
7) Load the new "testing" firmware or whatever version you want to run.

This will wipe out the flash that contains the "reference frequency", so you can put that in once it start working again.
Let me know if you need help with that.

 

[pcman67]

Thank you sir. Did you have this issue with the previous testing release? I ask because, it is hard to see how this version would be much different than the last with regards to an issue like that.

I got my Windows 10 laptop out and it is working flawlessly on _1836 and _1733 test versions. You could probably revert the change back you made in _1836 unless you think there truly was an issue.

BEWARE though, you cannot flash back to the latest stable version from these latest test releases! It gets stuck in a resetting... loop.
This occurs on both my Mac and my Windows 10 machines (I have not tried my linux based laptop yet to see if that happens on it.)

 

[btt]

BEWARE though, you cannot flash back to the latest stable version from this these latest test releases! I gets stuck in a resetting... loop.
This occurs on both my Mac and my Windows 10 machines (I have not tried my linux based laptop yet to see if that happens on it.)

Oh... that does make sense. The size of the configuration data changed to allow for almost double sized configuration. This is what is causing that issue. I will add a warning about the one-way update. If this is an issue for anyone, please let me know. I will fix it if necessary.

 

[btt]

I got my Windows 10 laptop out and it is working flawlessly on _1836 and _1733 test versions. You could probably revert the change back you made in _1836 unless you think there truly was an issue.

I would really like to make this work on your preferred platform of Mac even though it is not officially supported. I really appreciate all the effort that you have done to test software. Please let me know if _1836 still has the issue on Mac and I will continue to try and find a solution.

-edit: I assume that the latest stable version did work well on the Mac?

 

[pcman67]

Oh... that does make sense. The size of the configuration data changed to allow for almost double sized configuration. This is what is causing that issue. I will add a warning about the one-way update. If this is an issue for anyone, please let me know. I will fix it if necessary.

Thanks, Todd. It's not an issue for me -- I will stay on the latest TESTING version as it seems to be running quite well once I switched from that newer Macbook Air to my trusty older Macbook Air and my Windows 10 laptop. The talkgroup import issue that I mentioned a couple of days ago appears is isolated to the Mac as well. I suspect that there could be character encoding differences in the talkgroup file that the Mac generates. I'm probably going to quit using Mac OSX for the P25RX since there seem to be a couple of issues that have cropped up recently that don't occur on Windows or Linux based computers - which isn't a problem for me.

 

[pcman67]

Regarding the BTConfig on a Mac -- I have 3 different Mac laptops. A 2012 Macbook Air, a 2015 Macbook Pro and a 2017 Macbook Air.
All 3 Macs are running the latest versions of Mac OSX Big Sur and have been imaged with the same exact software on them. Here are my findings regarding Mac OSX Big Sur and the P25RX on them:

The 2012 MacBook Air is the most stable of the bunch when running BTConfig. Everything works perfectly except for importing talkgroups from the TGP, CSV files -- the talkgroups get corrupted with gibberish characters in most entries (the first 3 are consistently fine, the others are corrupt) during an Talkgroup TGP/CSV import. I'm thinking it could be some sort of character encoding issue on the Mac (UTF-8)? Otherwise, it works perfectly. Even TEST version _1836 works good.

The 2015 MacBook Pro - BTConfig will not even get past initializing the device without hanging up. Totally unusable and no version of BTConfig has ever been able to initialize the P25RX.

The 2017 MacBook Air is much like the 2012 MacBook Air above. It still has the talkgroup importing issue with gibberish characters, but the BTConfig software will quit sending audio and the audio frames and I/Q display just freeze up after no more than about 4 minutes of usage consistently. I can quit the software and relaunch it and it's good for another 2-4 minutes and then it "freezes" again.

All of these Macs are running the same OS, have the same versions of Java and the same programs on them. They are all imaged identically, so it's got to be something with the USB ports or perhaps some sort of timing issue with the operating system or hardware?

 

[btt]

Regarding the BTConfig on a Mac -- I have 3 different Mac laptops. A 2012 Macbook Air, a 2015 Macbook Pro and a 2017 Macbook Air.
All 3 Macs are running the latest versions of Mac OSX Big Sur and have been imaged with the same exact software on them. Here are my findings regarding Mac OSX Big Sur and the P25RX on them:

The 2012 MacBook Air is the most stable of the bunch when running BTConfig. Everything works perfectly except for importing talkgroups from the TGP, CSV files -- the talkgroups get imported with corrupted with gibberish characters in most entries (the first 3 are consistently fine, the others are corrupt). I'm thinking it could be some sort of character encoding issue on the Mac (UTF-8)? Otherwise, it works perfectly. Even TEST version _1836 works good.

The 2015 MacBook Pro - BTConfig will not even get past initializing the device without hanging up. Totally unusable and no version of BTConfig has ever been able to initialize the P25RX.

The 2017 MacBook Air is much like the 2012 MacBook Air above. It still has the talkgroup importing issue with gibberish characters, but the BTConfig software will quit sending audio and the audio frames and I/Q display just freeze up after no more than about 4 minutes of usage consistently. I can quit the software and relaunch it and it's good for another 2-4 minutes and then it "freezes" again.

All of these Macs are running the same OS, have the same versions of Java and the same programs on them. There are all imaged identically, so it's got to be something with the USB ports or perhaps some sort of timing issue with the operating system or hardware?

That is very interesting information. I may contact you directly to see about trying to resolve these issues. This is the fun of trying to support multiple platforms, which of course I want to do!

 

[pcman67]

That is very interesting information. I may contact you directly to see about trying to resolve these issues. This is the fun of trying to support multiple platforms, which of course I want to do!

Sure! I'd be glad to work with you on this! I work with all flavors of OS's and hardware in my job, so I'm always glad to collaborate in getting things worked out. Feel free to contact me at any time. I can even arrange to give you remote access into these systems so you can see firsthand what is happening.

 

[btt]

Sure! I'd be glad to work with you on this! I work with all flavors of OS's and hardware in my job, so I'm always glad to collaborate in getting things worked out. Feel free to contact me at any time. I can even arrange to give you remote access into these systems so you can see firsthand what is happening.

Thank you sir! I know you work with all OS's and I really appreciate all the help. I didn't realize the current state of Mac support though. I think if we improve that, it may result in more stability for all platforms? Java should be consistent across all platforms in theory, but it obviously doesn't always work out that way with complex systems.