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On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 06:21 AM, Alex RigExpert wrote:

Yes indeed. The developers informed me that they have set delays in packet exchange in order to avoid data loss.

Of course, this is not the most efficient solution. But this was done to solve the problem at the moment.

In the future, a different, more optimal solution will be used (for example, a binary protocol, no buffering, etc.)

?

That is unfortunate that they have chosen to set delays in the packet exchange as a "quick fix".

There is no need to change the data exchange format to a binary protocol.? The problem is not with the ASCII serial protocol but a buffering problem in the AA-55 Zoom in Bluetooth mode.? Your serial protocol works fine at 9600 bits per second which is the default speed of most Bluetooth hardware modules in serial mode.?? I know this to be true because I took an AA-55 Zoom data file of 500 points and recorded it.? I then played it back by connecting a PC com port to a low-cost HC-05 Bluetooth module with a 9600 bps serial input.? It transferred the 500 points without any errors to AntScope 2 in the Android? and Windows programs. It took 10 seconds for the transfer which is reasonable compared to the 30 seconds it takes with your "quick fix" software.?

The buffering could fixed with a simple first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer with input and output pointers.? That way the sweep algorithm could fill the buffer at one rate and the output routine could pull data from the buffer at a rate equal to the Bluetooth serial transmission speed.? This would ensure that the buffer would not overflow or underflow.

The other issue which has not been fixed is that AntScope2 for Windows program has problems.? As I noted in my previous report if you don't send a sweep request within a few seconds of starting AntScope2 the program freezes and no data is transferred.? Also AntScope 2 for Windows takes a long time to find the AA-55 in Bluetooth mode on my computer and Frank Howell has reported that it never connects.

Alex - I am sorry if I come across as unfriendly in my posts.? I guess I am disappointed and frustrated that I have not been able to reliably use the Bluetooth feature in my AA-55 since I bought it a year ago.? Bluetooth was the main reason I purchased your product.

Doug VE7DXK

Doug and Alex,

I've now testing my AA-55 Zoom BT with Doug's suggestions. I've made the Ingoing/Outgoing BT changes on the com ports on another Lenovo Thinkpad (Carbon X1) with Win 10 x64 (latest updates). I can get the AA-55 Zoom BT to make a BT connection with AS 2. However, a single sweep of a dummy load connected to the Zoom just puts the large red dot up in the top left corner and the blue circle working "forever" (10 minutes).?

There IS a BT issue or issues, Alex, as you've acknowledged. Doug has helped you identify the core matters in your interim fix. I hope your technicians will communicate with him and utilize his considerable BT expertise to help you successfully address the problem.

I've worked with many, many businesses in my career, been in a position to fund 50 startups in the tech industry, and consult for some amateur radio companies in the U.S. and abroad. Here's my assessment of RigExpert on the Bluetooth product line.

It's good to get innovative products into the marketplace. But it's worse to have them in an ongoing buggy situation. Xiegu's X5105 QRP rig, for instance, was almost killed off due to firmware issues that were pushing beta-testing on the mass market for their products. Their GSOC video controller device for both the X5105 and their more successful G90 rigs is patently unusable due to a rush to the marketplace. It will kill their brand unless they get things fixed.?

This is relevant to RigExpert because you now enjoy a good brand for AAs (my only experience). But open-sourcing AS can be both good and bad. The market place of open source programmers will not have the info to fix things in the code when they're outside of your development team inside the company. The market will think you're not trustworthy in buying what is *not* a discounted product as your AAs are seen as "pricey." If the BT AAs do not work or take the amount of fiddling that Doug (especially) and I have put in, the reviews will pass RE over. Now, in addition, the AS 2 is not truly all BT products across all OS platforms right now, is it? That's a warm fuzzy thing to say but the reality is that it is not.

So, like Doug, please don't take my honest comments as being rude. They are meant to help you make a better product...just as I've helped a number of companies over the years. I have both the AA-55 Zoom BT and the 230 Stick. They work great via USB. But they were marketed and I bought them on the marginal comparison to other candidates because of the bluetooth capability that RE said they had.

I hope your development team can bet this worked out soon, Alex!

Sincerely,

Frank
K4FMH

Alex,

Here's my review on the DX Engineering website, the reseller where I purchased the AA-55 Zoom BT (and my Stick 230) from:

Well, dang. ?Just received as a Christmas gift (that I specified) and discovered no BT. ?And I wanted this model ?specifically for the BT! Is there hope for these or is this a hardware issue that updating firmware won't fix.... before I go past the 'return by' date?

ken - K4EES

Shouldn't the developers be on this page? ?Lots of new customers received these for Christmas and would like working Bluetooth.?

-ken - K4EES

Hi Ken,

Read through the message threads on this model. A couple of us have both documented this issue and made clear and specific recommendations to Alex of RE here in this group. No solution to date. Disappointing.

73,

Frank
K4FMH