P25RX-II P25RX-II Firmware Updates / Testing

[btt]

Perhaps consider if NAC wildcard might apply. $F7E or F7E..fuzzy memory.

The current firmware sort of works this way. It will always receive everything regardless of the NAC if you have the "allow unknown talk groups" option enabled. If you want to lock it to a single site, then you could define the talk-group, WACN-SYS_ID-NAC combo in the talk group editor and disable the "allow unknown TG" option. I'm open to adding more filtering options.

I would want the NAC code to be precise to avoid tuning a far away site - I don't want to find any site, I want the appropriate site. It the mountainous areas in the western part of our state, I had a SDS200 locking a re-used control channel from another site located in the middle part of the state - traced the problem to no site NAC value set in the receiver. But in order for the site NACs to work properly, the radio would need to know its location to select the correct site NAC and control channel pair. Finding a neighbor site from the cch would be a easier solution since the P25RX / IIs don't have a GPS (as far as I know.)

I'm not sure I completely understand how this would work. If you are receiving the signal from a far-away site on the same frequency as the desired local site and the NAC has changed (different site), then what should be done? Drop any received information? I can see how this could be useful for determining the coverage area of a particular site, especially if you did have GPS information. I'll think about this some more.

I'm at the 42+ hour mark now continuously running BTCFG version 13_0707 and the radio is sounding as good as ever and with no discernible issue. It's running alongside a P25RX-I model. Both are supported by a single MacBook Air. 2,880 TGID's are split between the 2 radios with the highest priority ones enabled on the RX-II. The audio for the higher priority TG's is directed to a portable Bluetooth speaker to enhance the listening. These radios have great programming and monitoring capability than my 7 other P25 receivers. Kudos to Todd for all the development and enhancement that's gone into this project.

Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad to hear it is working well for you. There is still more work to be done. I've received email indicating that there are still some issues. I'll keep working at it!

 

[rustyhodge]

Hopefully easy feature request: Right now, the log is written with a return at the beginning of each line, rather than at the end of each line.
If you could change that so the return is at the end of the line, it would be easier to parse that file in realtime. Otherwise, I'm only able to detect a new line in the log once the next entry starts.

(My application is using this as embedded metadata in an audio stream)

An alternative, if the above turns out to have some complexity issues, would be to have another file that's updated with the log data of the current channel being received (e.g. a changing single line).

Thanks!

 

[btt]

New version available. The firmware update process has been re-worked and verified to be glitch-free on Windows 10. For P1 systems, the encryption information in the HDU is now processed and there are no delays before disabling encryption (not tested). Version 12-18_0808.

 

[btt]

Hopefully easy feature request: Right now, the log is written with a return at the beginning of each line, rather than at the end of each line.
If you could change that so the return is at the end of the line, it would be easier to parse that file in realtime. Otherwise, I'm only able to detect a new line in the log once the next entry starts.

(My application is using this as embedded metadata in an audio stream)

An alternative, if the above turns out to have some complexity issues, would be to have another file that's updated with the log data of the current channel being received (e.g. a changing single line).

Thanks!

Yes, I will get this done.

 

[maus92]

New version available. The firmware update process has been re-worked and verified to be glitch-free on Windows 10. For P1 systems, the encryption information in the HDU is now processed and there are no delays before disabling encryption (not tested). Version 12-18_0808.

The update process proceeded smoothly until this screen:



The process froze at this point.

 

[btt]

The update process proceeded smoothly until this screen:
The process froze at this point.

Windows 10 works here every time. I think what I will do is have the software close at the end of the update. I'll have a new version ready soon.

 

[maus92]

Unplugging, then re-plugging the USB cable did not clear the issue. However, restarting the config software restarted the fw upgrade process, and the second time was successful. So running the procedure twice seems to work. Windows 10 btw.

 

[btt]

Version 12-18_0904 will force a re-start of the software at the end of the update.

 

[maus92]

The next time I run the config software, I will record with OBS so you can see what's happening dynamically.

 

[maus92]

BTW, the audio using Model 4 is sounding good. I think the fixed LNA and Mixer gains (aka not AUTO) helps mitigate the warbling. It *seemed* like the program was behind the curve chasing gains, which leads to the audio artifacts... IDK. EVM is pretty solid at 2-3%, a new steady state low for me. Phase 2 system. Wx is calm and overcast at about 3K, temp 50F.

 

[btt]

Hopefully easy feature request: Right now, the log is written with a return at the beginning of each line, rather than at the end of each line.
If you could change that so the return is at the end of the line, it would be easier to parse that file in realtime. Otherwise, I'm only able to detect a new line in the log once the next entry starts.

(My application is using this as embedded metadata in an audio stream)

An alternative, if the above turns out to have some complexity issues, would be to have another file that's updated with the log data of the current channel being received (e.g. a changing single line).

Thanks!

@rustyhodge, I think you wanted this for the P25RX (and not the P25RX-II). Version 12-18_1152 of the BTConfig software for the P25RX will put the CRLF at the end of the recmeta log files.

 

[maus92]

FW 12-18-09-04 updated without timing out - it ran as a two-step process, asking to restart the config program after performing initial tasks / the first run. Note that the program did not ask if I desired to update the FW, it just started doing it - thus I was unable to start the window recording software in time, lol.

 

[maus92]

I'm noticing that edits to the alpha tags in the TG Editor are not sticking / being saved. Latest 0904 firmware, but likely started before at some point.

 

[btt]

I'm noticing that edits to the alpha tags in the TG Editor are not sticking / being saved. Latest 0904 firmware, but likely started before at some point.

A lot of effort went into making sure that talk group writes/reads are completely validated in recent versions. After you changed the alpha tags, did you use the <write talk groups> button to write the talk groups to the P25RX-II flash memory?

 

[maus92]

A lot of effort went into making sure that talk group writes/reads are completely validated in recent versions. After you changed the alpha tags, did you use the <write talk groups> button to write the talk groups to the P25RX-II flash memory?

Yup, but I’m thinking about the issue at the gym, maybe the default directory is not sticking / has changed. I had to navigate to where my grps were being saved previously - the program defaulted to another location.

 

[btt]

Yup, but I’m thinking about the issue at the gym, maybe the default directory is not sticking / has changed. I had to navigate to where my grps were being saved previously - the program defaulted to another location.

I see what you are saying now. You are talking about the default location for the backup/restore. I thought you meant it wasn't writing to flash correctly. I'll look into having the location that you select for backup/restore become persistent.

 

[btt]

Version 12-18_2007 is available. There is a new RX Model 5 (new default). This model uses a different type of IQ AGC. This model has not been tested mobile or in a simulcast environment yet. You can switch back to one of the other RX models if it doesn't work as well.

 

[Vermonster]

@btt
With 12-18_2007 , model 5 has LNA Gain of 24 dB; AGC target 55. I am assuming that is per design.
When switching back to RX Model 0, the LNA Gain (24 dB) and AGC target (55 dB) don't change. Was that intentional?
At least for me, the past settings in Model 0 of LNA Auto, target 65 are better.

Also, for those updating be sure and check frequency and mode settings. After update, for me P25 frequency was retained but not mode.

 

[btt]

@btt
With 12-18_2007 , model 5 has LNA Gain of 24 dB; AGC target 55. I am assuming that is per design.
When switching back to RX Model 0, the LNA Gain (24 dB) and AGC target (55 dB) don't change. Was that intentional?
At least for me, the past settings in Model 0 of LNA Auto, target 65 are better.

Also, for those updating be sure and check frequency and mode settings. After update, for me P25 frequency was retained but not mode.

You and a couple of others have confirmed that the newer defaults aren't working well. Version 12-19_0654 has defaults of RX Model 2, auto-gains, and a VGA target of 60 dB.

 

[shirsch101]

Todd

Do you ever sleep?