DVMEGA CAST UPDATE

DVMEGA CAST FIRMWARE UPDATE 

I'm writing this post because there might be other idiots out there like me! I'm not much of an updater when it comes to FirmWare if I'm happy with everything I've currently got. I've seen far too many operators complaining about new firmware causing more issues than there were before the update. If it works - leave it alone.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for improvement and will gladly update if I can see changes that I know will benefit me, but if it's for something that doesn't impact me, I don't bother.

My DVMEGA CAST has been sat in the shack unobtrusively for almost 3 years. It's sat there doing its thing quietly and without a fuss. It's on a high shelf, so even when I'm doing a shack-change, it's never in the way and never gets moved. It's almost invisible and it's certainly taken for granted. I've never updated the firmware.

But recently I stumbled across an internet page discussing the virtues of the WPSD PROJECT and when I looked further into this new digital digital voice software suite, I started to see screenshots of the DVMEGA CAST which looked totally unfamiliar to me.

It quickly came to light that I should have updated my firmware on the CAST about 6 months ago! There were really useful benefits available and I had simply been oblivious to them! 

One of the bugbears of the old firmware was the start-up times. Most times it would be pretty quick but occasionally it would take forever and go into a loop of restarting. It meant that one had to unplug the power lead from the back, wait a few seconds and then plug it back in. Another little annoyance was that the volume was always set to zero upon start-up. Other than that, I'd been perfectly happy with the unit.

Now that I have V1.32 installed (and the screen firmware has been updated too), the CAST looks like a new product!  It switches on virtually INSTANTLY and the volume is set to the default level of your choosing! Worth it just for those two changes.

But there's other benefits too, as you can see from the list in the above image. And when you add to these improvements with the WPSD frontend, it just all feels like someone's given you something for free! 😂💪

So don't be an idiot like me - remember to check your firmware regularly and see whether it's worth updating.

I already thought my DVMEGA CAST was a great little machine, but now I think it's far better. It now has a much more polished feel to it and I look forward to many more great QSO's on it. I know that there are many hams out there who cringe at the thought of using an IP Radio, but for all those people who aren't blessed to be within range of repeaters that do DSTAR, DMR and C4FM, they're a blast! And let's face it, it's not much different to using a handheld into a hotspot is it?

Here's a QSO that I had with K6EGG using the DMC...

Some screens...

Thanks for visiting the blog.

73, Tom, M7MCQ.