P25RX Firmware Updates / Testing

[goldmyne99]

Updated again. Version 2021-04-19_2046 reverted the firmware back to what it was prior to the previous version. Changed the BTConfig RID code for phase 2 to be identical to the phase 1 code. Let me know if there is still an issue.

Now on 2046. Appears to display same error as 4-16 1727 for me.

Phase 2 system shows all traffic as RID 0 in TG log screen.
Console screen shows correct non-zero RIDs from the P25RX.
The BTConfig Monitor area does not display any RID info.

Phase 1 system RIDs display correctly.

 

[btt]

Now on 2046. Appears to display same error as 4-16 1727 for me.

Phase 2 system shows all traffic as RID 0 in TG log screen.
Console screen shows correct non-zero RIDs from the P25RX.
The BTConfig Monitor area does not display any RID info.

Phase 1 system RIDs display correctly.

Sorry about that. Hopefully I will be able to test phase 2 here soon. I think I found the issue. Try version 2021-04-20_0247

 

[turnpike61]

I had computer freezes with BTConfig running using several different versions back during the earlier days of the P25RX.
I learned that plugging my P25RX into any USB port that connected to one of the motherboards ASMEDIA USB controllers was the culprit.
I can still create the same freeze or lockup today with the latest BTConfig version after they run random amounts of time and are plugged into an ASMedia port.
As long as I use any of the Intel based USB chipsets built on the same motherboard, BTConfig will run for days without ever freezing. I'm with @btt on this one with his thinking it's probably a hardware issue.
I've also had some luck in the past by using a tiny non powered or powered USB 2.0 hub plugged into the ASMedia 3.1 ports.
The use of the 2.0 speed hub seemed to greatly reduce the frequency of freezing I'd see not just with BTConfig but with RTL-SDR tuners and their software also. I never did figure out the root cause of the freezing problem when some devices were plugged into USB 3.0 or 3.1 ports but putting them on slower speed hubs often helped.
If you have different chipset USB ports on your computer and still see freezes with BTConfig, try plugging you P25RX into one of the other USB ports and see if that helps.

I have had multiple lockups with BTconfig, regardless of port. I have both MB-based USB ports, PCI-E hubs, and outboard hubs. All will occasionally do this. But it has in the past affected the P25RX only.

However, my recently reported issue (complete computer freeze) has not repeated since I downgraded. Maybe it's not BTconfig - maybe it's the confluence of BTconfig and whatever else I have on my hubs.

The PC has plenty of power. It's a i9-9900K with 64GB of ram. The CPU load for BTconfig is negligible.

Cheers.

 

[goldmyne99]

Sorry about that. Hopefully I will be able to test phase 2 here soon. I think I found the issue. Try version 2021-04-20_0247

Now on 0247.
Phase 2 RIDs are showing correctly in BTConfig TG log and BTConfig Monitor on a Phase 2 system near me.

I will do some testing on this tomorrow and will report back.

Hopefully, brndnstffrd and others with Phase 2 will also confirm the fix.

 

[btt]

I have had multiple lockups with BTconfig, regardless of port. I have both MB-based USB ports, PCI-E hubs, and outboard hubs. All will occasionally do this. But it has in the past affected the P25RX only.

However, my recently reported issue (complete computer freeze) has not repeated since I downgraded. Maybe it's not BTconfig - maybe it's the confluence of BTconfig and whatever else I have on my hubs.

The PC has plenty of power. It's a i9-9900K with 64GB of ram. The CPU load for BTconfig is negligible.

Cheers.

If the issue is related to running BTConfig, I would suspect that the Java VM implementation might be the culprit. The BTConfig software itself shouldn't be able to lock up the OS. The Java VM might be able to lock up the machine. What version of Java are you running? In any case, you and @kruser are the only users of BTConfig that have had machine lock-up issues that I'm aware of. I've been writing Java apps since the 90's. I can't recall a Java application that could lock up the actual host hardware running the virtual machine.

 

[turnpike61]

I have Java build 1.8.0_281_b09 on my machine. I have had that since it was released.

Again, maybe it's not BTConfig, but the combination of BTC and something else running (which includes other apps and devices on USB).

Correlation is not causation, but downgrading has so far prevented the lockup from occurring again.

 

[btt]

I have Java build 1.8.0_281_b09 on my machine. I have had that since it was released.

Again, maybe it's not BTConfig, but the combination of BTC and something else running (which includes other apps and devices on USB).

Correlation is not causation, but downgrading has so far prevented the lockup from occurring again.

I took a look at the differences between the 04-11 and 04-20 versions to see what type of low-level things might have changed. The only thing I see is related to audio sample rate for BTConfig audio playback on the PC. The initial sample rate was previously 48000 (standard rate). The newer version starts with a playback sample rate of 47000 unless the system reports an error, then it will use 48000. There could be some kind of underlying audio driver bug that is causing issues. If you decide to try the new version again, try changing the the sample rate to 48000 on the audio tab (press the apply button). The idea behind changing the playback rate to 47000 is to ensure that there are no audio buffer under-runs on PC playback. It is possible that some audio drivers do not handle this non-standard rate well.

 

[kruser]

I have had multiple lockups with BTconfig, regardless of port. I have both MB-based USB ports, PCI-E hubs, and outboard hubs. All will occasionally do this. But it has in the past affected the P25RX only.

However, my recently reported issue (complete computer freeze) has not repeated since I downgraded. Maybe it's not BTconfig - maybe it's the confluence of BTconfig and whatever else I have on my hubs.

The PC has plenty of power. It's a i9-9900K with 64GB of ram. The CPU load for BTconfig is negligible.

Cheers.

That's basically what I saw when I had freeze issues. It was BTConfig that froze and not the entire machine.
I should have made that fact clearer in my earlier post.
I think I was able to kill the frozen BTConfig with Task Manager and then restart it plus I needed to power cycle the P25RX to get things going again. It's been a long time since I've had any freezing issues though so my memory is foggy from those days.

 

[btt]

That's basically what I saw when I had freeze issues. It was BTConfig that froze and not the entire machine.
I should have made that fact clearer in my earlier post.
I think I was able to kill the frozen BTConfig with Task Manager and then restart it plus I needed to power cycle the P25RX to get things going again. It's been a long time since I've had any freezing issues though so my memory is foggy from those days.

Thanks for clarifying that you were not seeing a complete machine lock-up like @turnpike61 did. The current version appears stable on Windows, Linux, and Mac based on the feedback so far.

 

[brndnstffrd]

Now on 0247.
Phase 2 RIDs are showing correctly in BTConfig TG log and BTConfig Monitor on a Phase 2 system near me.

Hopefully, brndnstffrd and others with Phase 2 will also confirm the fix.

I will check it out after work this evening and report back.

 

[Cheeseburgers]

Hey if / when Windows locks up... check the logs that way you can determine if it's a P25x thing or not. FWIW

 

[brndnstffrd]

Now on 0247.
Phase 2 RIDs are showing correctly in BTConfig TG log and BTConfig Monitor on a Phase 2 system near me.

Hopefully, brndnstffrd and others with Phase 2 will also confirm the fix.

I can confirm that after updating to the latest version, everything is back to functioning as normal. RID's show correctly with the option for RID 0 on and off on the Phase 2 systems. All is good agian

 

[turnpike61]

Thanks for clarifying that you were not seeing a complete machine lock-up like @turnpike61 did. The current version appears stable on Windows, Linux, and Mac based on the feedback so far.

Update: Been running on 0411-1224 with BTConfig up continuously since I posted about the freezes, and my system has not had the freeze issue. As far as I can tell, all other running software remains the same as was running when the last lockups happened.

FWIW

 

[btt]

Update: Been running on 0411-1224 with BTConfig up continuously since I posted about the freezes, and my system has not had the freeze issue. As far as I can tell, all other running software remains the same as was running when the last lockups happened.

FWIW

Try the 48000 audio sample rate with the newer version if you would like to update. That is the only thing that changed since 04-11 that might have a system-level effect. Are you using Bluetooth?

 

[Mike_G_D]

Using 4-20 1234. Love the P1/P2 indication now in the TG Log screen! Thank you!

-Mike

 

[btt]

Using 4-20 1234. Love the P1/P2 indication now in the TG Log screen! Thank you!

-Mike

That was a great suggestion from @pcman67 who has been testing/reporting on new versions across multiple machines / platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac, P25-P1, P2). Thanks @pcman67!

 

[Mike_G_D]

That was a great suggestion from @pcman67 who has been testing/reporting on new versions across multiple machines / platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac, P25-P1, P2). Thanks @pcman67!

I actually suggested it awhile back too (yeah, I actually checked to make sure...post #257 of this thread - yikes!...now at 576!) as it makes it easier for me to spot any correlation between P1/P2 traffic type and occurences of the "talk group bleedthru" issue I have had in the past since I normally only monitor the TG Log screen because the Console is too busy and distracting when I am working. This is good to finally have now!

However, since the last few versions I have not seen/heard the "bleedthru issue" yet but, as I've mentioned before, it can be quite intermittant in its latest variation and when I'm busy I don't pay as close attention as I need to to both notice the occurance and to see the displayed data when it happens. But having the P1/P2 displayed on the Log screen now will really help IF it happens again.

So, I guess, so far, so good!

Thanks again Todd!

-Mike

 

[nosig55]

Been running 2021-04-20_1234 since about 9am CST. Running good, no issues. Like the P1/P2 log. Just keeps getting better, Thanks !!

 

[W4KRR]

I am currently running 1407. On the "Alias" tab, if I click at the top of the "Radio ID" column, it will sort the Radio ID's in ascending order. However, clicking again does not sort them in descending order; it doesn't do anything else. Is there any way to make clicking at the top of the column toggle between sorting in ascending and descending order?

 

[brndnstffrd]

I am currently running 1407. On the "Alias" tab, if I click at the top of the "Radio ID" column, it will sort the Radio ID's in ascending order. However, clicking again does not sort them in descending order; it doesn't do anything else. Is there any way to make clicking at the top of the column toggle between sorting in ascending and descending order?

Currently no, that is the only order that it will put them in. Also it is not true numerical order since it goes in numerical order by each digit, not the full number, for example the list places 1284523 before 129. It isn't a problem once you understand the way it orders things, so i see no reason to make BTT devote his limited development time on a minor inconvenience when it could be better utilized.