P25RX-II P25RX-II Firmware Updates / Testing

[maus92]

12-19-0654 is definitely a step in the wrong direction for me. I'm thinking AUTO gains just don't work at my location, less than a mile from a simulcast site, and 60dB total gain is too much. I will attempt to manually set the radio to Model 4 and the specific Gain levels that were working well yesterday, and see how that works.

I also think that a "tuning" procedure needs to be developed so that people can tweak their radios with the appropriate parameters for their unique monitoring situations. Clearly one size does not fit all with this receiver.

 

[btt]

12-19-0654 is definitely a step in the wrong direction for me. I'm thinking AUTO gains just don't work at my location, less than a mile from a simulcast site, and 60dB total gain is too much. I will attempt to manually set the radio to Model 4 and the specific Gain levels that were working well yesterday, and see how that works.

I also think that a "tuning" procedure needs to be developed so that people can tweak their radios with the appropriate parameters for their unique monitoring situations. Clearly one size does not fit all with this receiver.

Just a not regarding the target. That is not 60dB total gain in hardware! That is the software gain to normalize the input signal. That is used to determine the gain and input signal level. For example, if there is an input signal of -100dBm and the target is 60dB, that implies that the hw gains will be adjusted to be somewhere around 40dB total gain. I will keep working toward finding a solution that works universally. There is still something that needs to be done. I'm working on it.

 

[maus92]

BTW, Model 5 with total gain set to 50dB; LNA 24dB; Mixer 13.5dB; VGA 21 dB seems to be working well: the Target Gain graph is relatively flat, and this is when I get the best Voice decode. Another thing that I notice with this system is the power levels of the voice channels *seem* to be higher than the control channel power level; perhaps a strategy to make sure the subscriber finds a site that will more or less guaranty good voice comms - another reason to keep the gains as low as practicable. For this particular system / site, and from my exact location, lol.

 

[shirsch101]

edit: Sorry. I responded too soon. Let me take some time to write something up on the target gain.

Thanks Todd I am lost on tuning this

 

[btt]

New version available. 12-19_1214. This has a bunch of changes to ADC rates, HW oversampling rates, decimation filters, channel filter, etc. Fingers crossed. It definitely looks like an improvement on the bench.

 

[pcman67]

I'm testing 2021-12-19_1629 for the P25RX-II using default configurations and this version seems to be working wonderfully on P25 Phase I and II. Performing very well and sounding great. I have not tested other receive modes or enabled other options in the software to test them but in its default settings using RX Model 2, it sounds superb and I am unable to find any issues with the firmware or software at this time.

 

[btt]

I'm testing 2021-12-19_1629 for the P25RX-II using default configurations and this version seems to be working wonderfully on P25 Phase I and II. Performing very well and sounding great. I have not tested other receive modes or enabled other options in the software to test them but in its default settings using RX Model 2, it sounds superb and I am unable to find any issues with the firmware or software at this time.

Thank you for testing this! I think we are getting really close to it working well for everyone now. There is still an issue with the AGC in the worst areas. Once that gets resolved, it should be solid.

 

[maus92]

Moved to 1629 this morning. It is an improvement over 0654, so you're back on the right track - at least for me when monitoring a Moto P25P2 simulcast site from about a mile from the nearest tower site for the cell. EVM is a bit more variable at 2-4%, I lose sync more often without apparent impact, the RSSI is noticeably lower by about 10 dBm on average, and can be more at times. But the decoded audio remains consistently good (although I am concurrently running other over-the-air sources that sound better.) NCO is also significantly changed: from ~ -3.x to ~-1.x . This is when running the default Model 2 with the default settings.

 

[btt]

Moved to 1629 this morning. It is an improvement over 0654, so you're back on the right track - at least for me when monitoring a Moto P25P2 simulcast site from about a mile from the nearest tower site for the cell. EVM is a bit more variable at 2-4%, I lose sync more often without apparent impact, the RSSI is noticeably lower by about 10 dBm on average, and can be more at times. But the decoded audio remains consistently good (although I am concurrently running other over-the-air sources that sound better.) NCO is also significantly changed: from ~ -3.x to ~-1.x . This is when running the default Model 2 with the default settings.

Are you losing sync at times other than a frequency changes? The latest version may help with this. There was a change to reset a counter that keeps track of lost sync. The NCO changing from -3.xx to -1.xx is expected. Please let me know if you are still seeing the RSSI being lower by 10 dB on the latest version. I measured the current version (12-21_1822). It is reading low by 2 dB here after all the recent changes. That adjustment will be made in the next release.

 

[btt]

If you are running the latest experimental versions, please update to 12-22_1007. There were some significant issues related to RSSI / AGC that should be resolved in the latest.

 

[scannerboy02]

I have a quick question that I don't think warrants a new thread. It's also possible I overlooked this in other places. Is it possible to manually add frequencies to the roaming flash without using the database search?

I have several Duke Energy P25 TDMA control channels that are out of range for me when I'm home but I would like to add to the roaming flash for when I'm mobile. Many of them are not showing up in the database search. This also brings me to another question, is the database pulling from Radio Reference or from the FCC?

Thanks in advance!

 

[btt]

I have a quick question that I don't think warrants a new thread. It's also possible I overlooked this in other places. Is it possible to manually add frequencies to the roaming flash without using the database search?

I have several Duke Energy P25 TDMA control channels that are out of range for me when I'm home but I would like to add to the roaming flash for when I'm mobile. Many of them are not showing up in the database search. This also brings me to another question, is the database pulling from Radio Reference or from the FCC?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, you can manually enter frequencies in blank rows in the frequency column. Then highlight/select these rows with the mouse and press the <add selected to roaming flash>. It will only store the frequency column. Currently, the database is pulling from an internal zip file that has been generated from the FCC database. It is the reason the executable is close to 10MB. Otherwise, it would be much smaller.

 

[scannerboy02]

Yes, you can manually enter frequencies in blank rows in the frequency column. Then highlight/select these rows with the mouse and press the <add selected to roaming flash>. It will only store the frequency column. Currently, the database is pulling from an internal zip file that has been generated from the FCC database. It is the reason the executable is close to 10MB. Otherwise, it would be much smaller.

Thank you for the quick response! I was going to try that but I didn't want to screw anything up. The P25RX-II is working excellently for me. Again, thank you for all the hard work on these.

 

[btt]

I just finished a remote monitoring session with someone using the latest firmware. It appears that the auto gains are still not working as intended. If they don't work well for you try fixed gain settings. I will continue to work on figuring this out.

 

[dcr_inc]

Todd.. I LOVE THE STATUS SCREEN.. A another Home run !!!.. KUDOS

 

[maus92]

12-22-1007 is an improvement for me. Pretty good decoding, and the RSSI is back where it should be. I installed 1508, but that seems to be a software only update, not firmware.

 

[btt]

Todd.. I LOVE THE STATUS SCREEN.. A another Home run !!!.. KUDOS

Thank you!

12-22-1007 is an improvement for me. Pretty good decoding, and the RSSI is back where it should be. I installed 1508, but that seems to be a software only update, not firmware.

Great! I tested the current firmware / AGC with a signal generator. The signal was varied from -136 to +22 dBm. The RSSI accuracy is pretty good for realistic over-the-air values. The remaining issue is a firmware implementation issue. I'm thinking of either adding more options for various states of the AGC or adding multiple "AGC models". I hope to get this completely figured out by the end of the year.

 

[freqseeker]

I hope to get this completely figured out by the end of the year.

That long!?
Seriously, I appreciate how responsive you have been. I'm running both P25RX and RXll currently and they sound great. I need to learn the latest additions still.
Merry Christmas to you and everybody on the forums.

 

[btt]

Merry Christmas to you and everybody on the forums.

Yes, Merry Christmas everyone! I am thankful for all the great people here on RR. I am thankful to the admin for allowing us to have a sub-forum here. I'm thankful for making it through this year despite the challenges with parts shortages.

 

[btt]

Version 12-23_1949 is available. The gains for LNA, Mixer, and BB VGA can be independently set to Auto or Manual mode. Please try the default values (all auto) first. If set to Auto mode, then the associated gain will be set to a low value on a frequency change and the AGC will ramp the gain up until the AGC target is reached. There are a few other changes. If you have been having issues with the auto gains, please give this version a try and report what you find via email or this thread. Thanks.