The setup firmware

Every knob ships with the setup firmware (vfo-knob-setup). It does two things, with nothing but a phone: it puts the knob on your WiFi, and it installs the firmware for your radio. Later, any radio's firmware can hand the knob back to it, to install another.

The pictures below are the knob's own screens; the orange marks are what your hand does.

1. Power on

The RF.Guru splash, then the setup firmware says it is starting.

If the knob already knows a WiFi network, it spends up to 25 seconds joining it, and goes straight to the firmware list. Otherwise it opens a hotspot of its own.

2. Join the knob's hotspot with your phone

The knob comes up as an open WiFi network, VFOKnob, and says so.

Join VFOKnob on your phone. The phone opens the knob's WiFi page by itself, the way a hotel's sign-in page opens; if it does not, browse to http://192.168.4.1.

3. Choose your network

The page lists the networks the knob can hear, strongest first. Tap yours, enter its password — Show shows it as you type, so a phone's keyboard cannot quietly change it — and tap Connect.

The knob tries the network and says how it goes, on its face and on the page:

If it cannot join, both say why — wrong password?, network not found — and the page lets you try again. Once it is on, the hotspot goes away after a few seconds; the phone can be put away.

4. Choose your radio's firmware

The knob looks up the firmwares published for it, with their versions, and shows them on the dial, one a detent. Turn to your radio's and tap the panel.

The list comes from the update server each time, so a knob set up long after it was made still offers every firmware there is by then. The last entry is WIFI — Set up again: it brings the hotspot back, for another network.

5. It installs, and restarts into it

The knob downloads the image, checks its signature, installs it and restarts into it. It keeps the WiFi settings: the new firmware joins the same network.

Then tell the knob where its radio is, on its configuration page: see the guide for that firmware.

Back to the setup firmware, from any radio's

To install another radio's firmware, go back to the list from the knob itself.

1. Hold a finger on the S-meter, at the top of the face, until the knob clicks: the address card comes up. Let go.

   

2. Hold the S-meter (or the card) again, for three seconds, until the knob buzzes. It asks FIRMWARE? — turn the knob for yes. A tap, or ten seconds of nothing, says no.

   

3. The knob restarts, installs the setup firmware over WiFi and shows the list again, the WiFi settings kept.

   

With something wrong — NO LINK, say, on a knob with another radio's firmware — the warning panel shows the addresses in the card's place: hold that until the knob buzzes. It needs WiFi: on the USB cable the knob says Needs WiFi and carries on as it was.

Each firmware keeps its own settings, so going back to one later finds its radio, its login and its choices as they were.

If something is not right