ITENDEESPTRU

What it is and how to install it

Why all the modules fit, and how to put it in the radio with RadioManager

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What V6 is

V6 is a firmware: the program that makes the radio work. It runs on the UV-K5 V3 and UV-K1 radios.

It is made of two parts. The base is what you always need: switching on, listening, transmitting, the menu, the memory channels, the scan. The modules are the extra functions: messages, Morse, decoders, calls. You choose which ones you want.

THE BASEalways therelisten, transmit,menu, memories, scan,two or three frequencies at onceTHE MODULE STOREyou pick them with RadioManagerSMSFastScanCW TrainerCallsAPRSParrotRTTYBeacon...when needed
The base is always there. You choose the modules, and they live in a store inside the radio.

The biggest new thing: all the modules in just one firmware

Each module takes up a little memory. In V5 the base and the modules all lived in the same memory, the firmware memory, which is small. After the base, there was room left for a few modules. That is why you had to choose, and give up the others.

To have more there was multiboot: several different firmwares inside the radio, each with its few modules. But only one at a time worked. To move to another one you had to switch the radio off, switch it on again choosing the firmware, and wait for it to change.

In V6 the modules no longer live in the firmware memory. They live in a separate memory, much bigger, that has always been inside the radio: it is the module store. The base stays small. When you open a module, the radio fetches it from the store by itself.

IN V5: base and modules in the same memorybaseroom for modules: only a few fitfor more you needed multibootIN V6: the modules have a memory of their ownbaseall 35 modules todayroom still freethe module storeDrawn to scale: in V6 the room for modules is 13 times that of V5.
Top, V5: the room for modules is the small yellow piece. Bottom, V6: the room for modules is the whole yellow strip.
What you gainIn practice
All the modules togetherToday there are 35 modules. All of them fit in the store, and you call them whenever you want without restarting the radio with a different firmware.
Just one firmwareMultiboot is no longer needed. You do not have to prepare several firmwares, or remember what you put in which one.
You change module with the radio onYou open the messages, then FastScan, then Morse: from the menu, one after the other. Nothing is switched off and on again.
You give up nothingYou no longer have to decide what to remove because there is no room.
Adding a module takes a momentYou tick it in RadioManager and press MODULES ONLY. The firmware is not touched and there is no waiting.
And when I open it, is it slow?No. The first time you open a module the radio takes a moment to fetch it from the store. Then it keeps it ready. It keeps five ready at a time and swaps them by itself: you just open the one you need.

What changes compared to V5

In V5In V6
Choosing the modulesYou choose them, and the firmware is built specially for you. You have to wait.You tick them in a list and they start at once. There is no waiting.
How many modulesA few at a time: there is little room in the firmware.All together: they live in a separate store, 13 times bigger, and the radio takes the one it needs at that moment.
MultibootIt was needed to have more modules: several firmwares in the radio, one at a time, switching off and on again.No longer needed. There is just one firmware, with all the modules inside.
Changing the modulesThe whole firmware is made again.The MODULES ONLY button is enough, with the radio on.
Using themThey are always inside.It looks the same: you open a module from the menu or with a key and it starts. The first time it takes a moment longer.
The module settingsThey appear in the menu only if you have that module.They are always there, even if you have not loaded the module.
Morse with a key or a paddleOn the side socket or on the USB-C, depending on the module.Only on the USB-C socket.
How many modules stay open togetherThe radio keeps up to four ready at a time. If you open a fifth one, it puts away by itself the one you use least. You do not have to do anything: when you open it again, it comes back.

What you need

  1. The radio: a UV-K5 V3 or a UV-K1.
  2. A computer with Windows and the program RadioManager 6.
  3. A USB-C cable that also carries data (not one of those that only charge).
145.500RADIORadioManager 6Firmware 6 pageUSB-C cable (that carries data)the radiothe computer
The radio connects to the computer with a USB-C cable. Nothing else.

Choose the right base

In RadioManager open the Firmware 6 page. First of all choose the base: it depends on what is inside your radio. If you have never had anything fitted, it is the first one.

BaseFor which radio
StandardThe radio as it left the factory.
Si4732The radio with the shortwave receiver board inside (the classic version).
Si4732 V5.0The radio with the Si4732 board, version 5.0.
IOTCU 1.2BThe UV-K1 with the IOTCU 1.2B board.
K5 or K1?You do not have to say it: RadioManager works it out by itself when it writes the firmware.

Choose the modules

Under the base there is the list of modules. Tick the ones you want. For each one you see the name and a line that says what it is for: they are the same ones you then read on the radio.

At the top there is the space bar. It fills up as you add modules. If it becomes full, your choice does not fit in the radio: remove something. Until it fits, RadioManager does not let you load.

Not sure which ones to take?Next to each module RadioManager has the link to its data sheet, where everything is explained. The list is also on the page The modules. You can always change them later.

Put the firmware in the radio: FLASH V6

This is the first installation. It writes the base and right after loads the modules you ticked.

1. Off145.5002. Hold PTT down145.500PTT3. Switch on145.500screen off, little light onwithout letting go...with USB-C cable plugged in
To put the radio in "boot mode": with the radio off, hold PTT down and switch it on.
  1. Switch off the radio.
  2. Connect the USB-C cable between the radio and the computer.
  3. Hold down the PTT key (the big key on the side, the one you talk with) and, without letting go, switch the radio on by turning the knob. The screen stays off and the little light comes on: that is right. Now you can let go of PTT.
  4. In RadioManager press FLASH V6.
  5. Wait. The radio is written, restarts by itself and receives the modules. Do not unplug the cable until RadioManager says the radio is ready.
  6. The screen with the frequency appears on the radio. Done.
The first time the radio starts again from the factory settingsThe first time you install V6, as soon as the modules have arrived, the radio restarts by itself and starts with the factory settings and calibration, with the presets already there. You do not have to do anything. What you had set before (the keys, the light, the callsign...) must be set again. The memory channels all stay. It happens only once: when you update V6 later on, your settings stay as you left them.
If after the flash you read RELOAD RADIOMANAGERIt means the base has arrived but the modules and the menu tables have not (for example you unplugged the cable too early). It is not serious: leave the radio on and connected and press MODULES ONLY. See If something goes wrong.

Changing the modules: MODULES ONLY

When V6 is already in the radio and you only want to add or remove modules, you do not need to do everything again.

  1. Keep the radio switched on normally (not in boot mode) and connected with the USB-C cable.
  2. In RadioManager change the ticks in the list of modules.
  3. Press MODULES ONLY. You do not have to press anything on the radio.
  4. When RadioManager says the radio is ready, you are done.
If RadioManager does not see the radio that is switched onThe USB-C socket is kept on by a small module, USB, that is always there when you switch on: that is the right moment to connect to RadioManager. For the first 5 minutes it always stays in place; after that, if nobody uses it, it is the first to make room for the other modules (for example FastScan). Before you connect, switch it on again: press MENU, 6, choose USB and press MENU. You read USB ON. Or switch the radio off and on again. See The computer does not see the radio.
If RadioManager asks for the full flashThis happens when the base in the radio is older than the new modules. In that case do FLASH V6 again: your memory channels and your settings stay.

See what is in the radio: READ FROM RADIO

With the radio on and connected, READ FROM RADIO looks at how much space there really is and how many times you have used each module. It writes nothing: it is only for looking.

It is useful because some modules (the messages, the recorder) keep a little space for their own things. That space stays taken even if you later remove the module.

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