VNA Release date

[Bulova]

Hello Pavel,

I have two versions of the windows VNA running here, which are -- on the surface -- not very different. But the filesize is different:

31 744 Bytes
24 064 Bytes

I am not thinking much on Microsoft's date management (f.i. sometimes 'modified' is earlier than 'created', I think this is a product of time-reversing). But normally the bigger filesize represents the newer file.

Best regards

Dieter

[pavel]

I am not sure what the question is.

If you want a particular version of the VNA control program, then I think the easiest way is to simply re-download it.

I do not see files with these sizes in the last two releases.

[Bulova]

Hello Pavel,

I followed the link on the actual RP manual redpitaya-readthedocs-io-en-latest, and this leads to a download of a vna-windows-tool.zip, in which there is a windows exe-file (vna.exe), and this is exactly of the size 24 064 Bytes. Creation date is Apr 14, 2018. I cannot send pics here, otherwise you could see the properties window about the sizes.

When I go to https://pavel-demin.github.io/red-pitaya-notes/vna/
then I can download one package including vna.exe, which is 29.696 Bytes and creation date is Febr 4, 2024, if that has any meaning. Maybe this one is the newest.

The question for me is: Which vna.exe is the newest one?

Best regards

Dieter

[pavel]

Apparently the version of the VNA application in the Red Pitaya manual is from 2018 and is very outdated. This shows how Red Pitaya, contrary to what they claim, does not really care about its community by creating unmaintained forks of applications created by community contributors with outdated instructions and versions.

To answer your question. The latest version of my VNA application is available at the following link:
https://pavel-demin.github.io/red-pitaya-notes/vna/

The latest version currently available was indeed created in February 2024.

[Bulova]

Pavel,

thanks very much. It is the same what I am meaning, some of the instructions are outdated and don't match to the current reality.
The link what you have sent I already found at github and I have now the newest version.

By the way, I finally was successful by running Python and the simplest program blink.py. But the first step is mostly the hardest. Maybe I can use the RP for more individual needs.

Best regards and thanks again

Dieter

[redpitaya]

Hello Dieter and Pavel,

Thank you very much for reporting this. The documentation is quite vast and it does happen that we miss some links that need an update. The VNA itself and the control program will be updated to the latest version with the next OS release. We were busy with moving to 2.00 OS and are now in the process of porting all the outdated applications to it (also upgrading them in the process).

Also, if you find an outdated link or are unhappy with something, please contact us directly and let us know. The change might not be immediate, but we do take all requests seriously and add them to the development pipeline.

[pavel]

I am strongly opposed to Red Pitaya creating another poorly maintained fork of my program. Past experience has clearly shown that Red Pitaya is incapable of maintaining forks of my programs that they created. I will probably need to modify my software license and add a part prohibiting Red Pitaya from redistributing my software.

[redpitaya]

Hey Pavel,

Technically, only the control program is outdated. The VNA application itself is regularly updated with each OS version. The simplest solution here is that we will just re-link the control program links from the documentation to your version, which is regularly updated. Anyone trying to download the control program will be linked to your GitHub. Does that sound OK?

[pavel]

No, it is not OK. I would prefer to have only one version of the VNA application. Having two sometimes incompatible versions of the VNA application creates an additional support load for me (like this forum thread or similar questions that I receive by e-mail) that I do not want to have.

If Red Pitaya does not want to maintain the application marketplace, I do not want my applications distributed as part of the Red Pitaya software package.

Moreover, I do not think that the Red Pitaya statements from the previous comments correspond to reality.

The VNA application source code that I see in the Red Pitaya repository is from 2018:

https://github.com/RedPitaya/RedPitaya/ ... temlab_vna

So, I am not sure if I understand how you update the VNA application without updating its sources.

[33dnp]

No, it is not OK. I would prefer to have only one version of the VNA application. Having two sometimes incompatible versions of the VNA application creates an additional support load for me (like this forum thread or similar questions that I receive by e-mail) that I do not want to have.

If Red Pitaya does not want to maintain the application marketplace, I do not want my applications distributed as part of the Red Pitaya software package.

Moreover, I do not think that the Red Pitaya statements from the previous comments correspond to reality.

The VNA application source code that I see in the Red Pitaya repository is from 2018:

https://github.com/RedPitaya/RedPitaya/ ... temlab_vna

So, I am not sure if I understand how you update the VNA application without updating its sources.

Hello.
The source code in the link you provided is long outdated and is no longer used for VNA applications in Red Pitaya.
All modules that are in the folder: https://github.com/RedPitaya/RedPitaya/ ... /apps-free outdated and no longer used. I will remove them in the next release so as not to confuse people.

We do not distribute your source code as part of the RedPitaya repository.

The SDR/VNA modules that are currently included in RedPitaya are built from the repository: https://github.com/RedPitaya/red-pitaya-notes, which is a fork of your repository.
Moreover, the assembly is carried out from the branch: https://github.com/RedPitaya/red-pitaya ... aya-2024.1
using our Jenkins.

After building on Jenkins, we get a bundle of applications, which we copy when building the release image for RP
The bundle for assembling the release can be taken from here: https://downloads.redpitaya.com/hamlab/sdr-bundle/

I had to make changes to the redpitaya-2024.1 branch, but I didn't submit a pull request because there are changes there that could probably break your build system.
I also made duplicates of some files there to simplify the assembly process for different boards. 125-14/125-14(Z7020)/122-16

I did not make any changes to the fpga code and the C++ code of the servers.
Clients https://downloads.redpitaya.com/downloads/Clients/vna/, which are indicated in the links on the pages and in the documentation, are built on the basis of your repository.


Due to the transition to a new kernel and a new build system from Vivado, support for markpelace has become problematic, or rather impossible.

As far as possible, we try to adapt and integrate the applications that are there into the ecosystem.
And the link to the marketplace will most likely be removed in the future.
The Marketplace will remain available only on older versions of the ecosystem.