SM1000 Firmware updated to Version 5

New firmware has been released for the SM1000.  My SM1000 is now running on firmware version 5. 

 
Information on FreeDV can be found here and information on the SM1000 can be found here.

Version	Date			Release Notes
1	May 2015			Original release with FreeDV 1600
2	July 2019			FreeDV 700D and morse menus
3	March 2020			Menu bug fixes, 700D modem improvements & automatic Mic EQ
4	May 2020			700D sync logic to reduce stop burbling with no signal
5	August 2021			FreeDV 700E and Tx band pass filter for 700D & E

 

See link here for firmware and procedures.

 

 

SM1000 Firmware update to Ver. 4

I have just updated my SM1000 to firmware version 4. There have been some signification updates over the last year or so.  If you have an SM1000 it is well worth moving to version 4.

Information on FreeDV can be found here and information on the SM1000 can be found here.

Version	Date			Release Notes
1	May 2015			Original release with FreeDV 1600
2	July 2019			FreeDV 700D and morse menus
3	March 2020			Menu bug fixes, 700D modem improvements & automatic Mic EQ
4	May 2020			700D sync logic to reduce stop burbling with no signal

See link here for firmware and procedures.

SM1000 Software Update V.3

There have been some great strides forward with the software development for the SM1000.  Version 2 introduced the ability to switch between 1600 and 700D modes, however the menu system had a bug in the code, and did not work as intended. Version 3 has fixed that.  Now the start-up mode can be defined and other settings (such as Morse speed) can be set as desired.

I haven't tested it on-air but it looks to be doing all the right things on the test-bench.

Thanks to all concerned.

Holding down SELECT puts you in menu mode. The POWER LED will now flash to indicate this. To navigate, press the SELECT and BACK buttons momentarily to move up and down in the menu. Again, after a pause the item will be read out. Holding SELECT or BACK either chooses the option, or backs out.

Pressing PTT while in a menu exits the entire menu tree without saving changes to flash storage.

A power cycle is required for the new setting to take affect.

The menu structure looks like this:

 -> Root menu:
        |---> "MODE": Boot-up Operating mode
        |       |---> "ANA":    Analogue mode
        |       |---> "1600":   FreeDV 1600
        |       '---> "700D":   FreeDV 700D
        |
        |---> "TOT": Time-out timer
        |       |---> "TIME":   Total time-out period (0 == disabled)
        |       |               0-10 minutes in 5 second steps
        |       '---> "WARN":   Warning beep period (0 == disabled)
        |                       0-${TIME} seconds in 5 second steps
        |
        '---> "UI": User interface options
                |---> "FREQ":   Morse frequency
                |               50-2000 Hz in 50Hz steps
                |---> "WPM":    Morse send speed (PARIS standard)
                |               5-60 WPM in 5 WPM steps
                '---> "VOL":    Menu volume
                                1-15 units.

See here for more details

SM1000 Software Update!

What is an SM1000, I hear you ask?

The SM1000 allows you to run FreeDV without a PC. Connect the SM1000 to your SSB radio, and you now have Digital Voice (DV). You don’t have to buy a new radio to run Digital Voice! It’s based on a STM32F4 micro-controller, has a built in microphone, speaker amplifier, speaker, and transformer isolated interfaces to your radio. It’s just 80 x 100mm, and can be held in you hand and used like a regular PTT microphone. Or it can sit on your bench and work with your favourite headset.

The SM1000 was developed by David Rowe VK5DGR and Rick Barnich KA8BMA.

Click here for more information.

This week there was a long awaited software update (v.2) that added a menu system and the addition of the 700D mode to compliment the 1600 mode.  After performing the update, which went well, I check the menus and found a small bug.

The menu structure looks like this:

    -> Root menu:
        |---> "MODE": Boot-up Operating mode
        |       |---> "ANA":    Analogue mode
        |       |---> "1600":   FreeDV 1600
        |       '---> "700D":   FreeDV 700D
        |
        |---> "TOT": Time-out timer
        |       |---> "TIME":   Total time-out period (0 == disabled)
        |       |               0-10 minutes in 5 second steps
        |       '---> "WARN":   Warning beep period (0 == disabled)
        |                       0-${TIME} seconds in 5 second steps
        |
        '---> "UI": User interface options
                |---> "FREQ":   Morse frequency
                |               50-2000 Hz in 50Hz steps
                |---> "WPM":    Morse send speed (PARIS standard)
                |               5-60 WPM in 5 WPM steps
                '---> "VOL":    Menu volume
                                1-15 units.

After the update I could not access the UI menu (not a major issue as the original software (v.1) didn't have a menu system at all).  I informed the development team and a fix (v.3) came through (from David VK5DGR) within a few days.  This corrected the original bug but then added another.  It seems that now I cannot store a default Boot-up mode. The mode must be set manually first before TXing.  I guess this is the nature of software development.  I think I have just become a software tester and in a small way I'm contributing to its ongoing development.

Note (28 July 2019): -  On further investigation I can confirm that there were two bugs. The UI menu has been fixed. but the boot-up mode bug (which was also there in v.2) is yet to be resolved.

Watch this space.