New Mercury II software v0145 released

[bill190]

New software for the Mercury II on the Fortec web site (v0145).

Warning 1: If you don't know how to do this, don't!

(Might want to ask Sadoun if you can send the receiver to him or Fortec to have them update the software.)

Warning 2: It is possible that if the electricity went out while software was being downloaded, it might wreck your receiver. Beware!

If you *do* know how to do this, note that Fortec says downloading new software voids your factory warranty.

They recommend software be installed in this order...

-Channel Backup (You will lose everything if this is not done.)
(I make a 2nd backup to my PC after doing the above, and I do this to a new file name with the current date.)

-Factory Reset prior to installing software.

-Install software.

-Factory Reset.

-Channel Recovery (to restore channels).

[Vitruvius]

I guess I am just a gambling sort of person with regard to my warranty... I upgraded the software to the Mercury from last October's update and it worked great. I got all the new satellite names and everything, and I even got additional channels. Cool. So when this latest software came out I thought I would update it again. It uploaded fine, but when I went to program satellites the metering went kookie. Using USALS and or Diseqs, the signal meter was always at about 80, and the quality was no higher than 15. I switched from USALS Mode to Satellite Mode and the signal meters went from 80/15 to 40/5, without moving the dish. It was real weird.

So, I tried downloading the software again, and the same thing happened to me.

Luckly, I had a copy of the previous version of software on my computer, and I reloaded that into the receiver, and I am back where I started, but I have signal and a multitude of channels.

Is this software reliable? Does it work for anyone else?

Thanks.

Mercury II
SG2100
31" Dish w/ 0.4 Univ. LNB

[bill190]

Yes the latest release (V0151) has a problem with the signal meter in the positioner menu. But the signal meter works OK in Antenna Setup. Also entering a new TP SR, the numbers would not show up on the screen.

I emailed Fortec about these problems this morning and they said they just fixed the SR problem and are looking into the Signal Meter problem.

I too went back to a previous version (V0145) and it is working again.

[Vitruvius]

Bill, Thanks for your comments. I am glad it was not my bad installation. Meanwhile I am fine with the old software...

Wouldn't you think Fortec would test the software updates before posting?

[datacom]

Has anyone gotten the latest software to work ? So far I've only heard negative comments but would like to know if its worth taking the chance on.

[bill190]

Originally Posted by Vitruvius

...Wouldn't you think Fortec would test the software updates before posting?

Actually Fortec is quite a good company. They always reply to my emails quickly. Also they are working on the problem which is good.

I have another brand of receiver from a different company which never responded to my emails and they never fixed problems the receiver had.

I've also sent emails to other manufacturers asking questions and have received no reply. Many of these companies are in non-English speaking countries which may be part of the problem.

So bottom line, Fortec is good because at least we can communicate with them (they speak English) and they do fix problems.

So far as testing software, I have been involved with this in the past (different product). When we were doing testing, we could not possibly test everything due to the complexity of the software and that was years ago. So we had "beta" software testers which were customers who tried out the new software and reported bugs.

These days the software for various products is many times more complex. I can't imagine trying to test every single feature on the Mercury II. I've had mine for several months and am just now starting to notice a few glitches here and there. I don't think with a limited market product like this that they could afford to hire the number of people needed to test everything for each new software release.

Actually programmers tend to not understand hardware very well. Things like LNB's, positioners, diseqc switches, etc. And those who understand the hardware tend to not understand the software very well. So even if they had the money to hire as many software testers as they wanted, I doubt they could find many people who would understand everything and recognize certain problems when they saw it.

There are many different hardware/LNB/positioner set-ups that the Mercury II can be used with. Some problems may only occur with my particular set-up. So I think the thing to do is what I do. When I notice a major problem, I email Fortec and report it. Then the problems I notice get fixed.

BUT, when I report a software problem, I make darn sure I can re-create the problem. I do certain things and the problem happens again and again. Then I describe in detail the software version I am using, exactly what to click on to get to the particular screen I am having the problem with, and I tell them what add-on hardware I am using if appropriate Like VBox II or whatever.

When I report the software version, I give them the complete file name. For example: 20070604_MERCURY2_V0151.bin

And I limit my emails. If they are getting a lot of emails, they will spend their time reading email instead of fixing problems!

[bill190]

Following is the bug report I sent to Fortec.

I gave my email the subject title:
Bugs - Mercury II software release 0151

[The subject title is this way because the person first receiving the email is probably not a programmer, so they would at least know to forward it to the software department. Then the software department would see it is for the Mercury II product. They would then forward it to the Mercury II person/department. Then if it is a large company, they would forward it to the person in charge of fixing bugs for the Mercury II product, etc. Then when that person gets it, it has a nice title (Bugs and version 0151). This person is probably busy and doing something else. When he has time, he can go back and easily find the email. Then in my report, I give detailed information for them so they can re-create the problem using the same exact software release I am using. Note that I also tell them what my settings are like Positioner (Diseqc 1.2). The problem I had may not occur if Positioner is set to USUALS for example. So details help them re-create the problem. My email...]

I installed Mercury II software Version...

20070604_MERCURY2_V0151.bin (Version 151)

...on my Mercury II and found the following bugs/problems...

In Menu/Antenna Setup

Press Red button to edit TP

-Can change TP Frequency OK.
-Can change TP Polarity OK.

-But when I try to enter a new Symbol Rate, the numbers on the screen do not change. However the numbers are actually being entered. If you press Edit TP and exit the screen, the numbers will have been entered OK.

Then in Menu/Antenna Setup/Positioner (Diseqc 1.2)

-The signal meters (S and Q) do not work the same as when I go back up one level to the Antenna Setup menu. I will be moving my dish and the receiver will begin to get a good signal, but the signal meter in the Positioner menu does not change.

I have a VBox II and can move my dish with the remote for the VBox II. So if I go up one menu level to Antenna Setup and move my dish with the VBox II remote, then the signal meters in this menu work OK and indicate that I am getting a good signal as the dish moves to the satellite.

So the Antenna Setup signal meters seem to work OK, but the signal meters in the Positioner menu do not work, or at least do not work sometimes, perhaps with weaker signals?

I reinstalled my previous software version (V0145) and these things are working again. So compare these features with version 145 to see the differences.

Thank You

[bill190]

Originally Posted by datacom

Has anyone gotten the latest software to work ? So far I've only heard negative comments but would like to know if its worth taking the chance on.

I am currently using software version V0145 and it seems to be working OK. This is an older version.

Other companies (on their web site) often list the most recent software release, and then they have a few previous versions listed in case someone has a problem with the latest release.

You may want to email Fortec and say you want to install new software (firmware) on your Mercury II, but have heard there are problems with V0151. Suggest they place older working versions on their web site like other companies do. Then let you know when you can download an older version.

Fortec's email address is: fortecCA@fortecstar.com
Fortec's web site: http://www.fortecstar.com

[glater]

Thanks Bill, I have just started using my Mercury II and had updated the software to the latest version before setting it up. I was getting frustrated (same problems as described) and ready to go back to my Coolsat 5000. I will reload vo145 and start over. Thanks