QST to all Flexers,
In keeping up with FlexRadio Systems motto "the radio that just keeps
getting better", we have applied this philosophy to the Internet-based
delivery and presentation of technical information. To that effect, we have
upgraded the Knowledge Base (KB) software to a new and more feature rich
version.
We have been waiting on this software upgrade for almost a year now and
received the first beta releases back in early June. Since then we have been
testing the new features to see how best they could be used to improve
access to pertinent information related to FlexRadio Systems' products. This
new web-based application will have a future enhancement where it will
interoperate with the Forums to provide a better-integrated and seamless
environment for archiving and delivering content related to SDRs and
FlexRadio System's products.
Well the evaluation/testing period ended and the job of migrating content
from the old KB to the new KB started in earnest back in July. There were
over 500 KB articles that had to be reviewed, validated and some modified
before the articles could be selected for inclusion and manually re-created
in the new software. Even though there existed the ability to migrate the
articles automatically, differences in the database structure did not allow
all of the new KB features to be used most effectively after the articles
were converted. We also wanted to institute a standard "style guide" so
articles would have a common "look and feel" which mandated the manual
recreation of the articles. Granted this took a significant amount of effort
to complete, but the results were worth the effort as it better positions
FlexRadio Systems to support future hardware and software expansion.
The new KB has many new features that the old one did not have. Below is a
summary of the new features, improvements and capabilities.
1.) A New Console Layout - The upgraded software contains many new controls
(buttons & links) and features for accessing FlexRadio Systems' technical
information and content. Because of these fundamental changes in the
software's capabilities, which now makes it a multi-faceted integrated
support tool, the name Knowledge Base is no longer sufficient for accurately
describing its expanded function. In this regard, we have renamed it as the
FlexRadio Systems' Knowledge Center (KC) since its scope has widened
significantly. At the top of the Knowledge Center is the main menu bar with
icons to direct you to the different sections or "zones" of the KC and to
external links on the FlexRadio System's web page. Clicking on these icons
will take you directly to the resource section you want to access. The
Knowledge Base zone is the area where you will find most of the content
previously found in the old KB.
The URL for accessing the new KC will get a web address. You will still be
able to access it is using http://kb.flex-radio.com or by using the new
preferred URL http://kc.flex-radio.com.
NOTE: While we make the DNS changes for the new site, access to the
Knowledge Center may be intermittent, but it should clear its self up in a
few days once your local DNS server flushes its DNS cache of the old KB IP
address.
The main panel on the Knowledge Center home page is where you can access the
different features and zones of the KC along with being able to view the
latest content added to the KC, search multiple databases within the KC for
information and use the KC Tag feature (more on this later). There are also
links in the top right hand corner for displaying the latest additions and
most popular articles added to the Knowledge Center.
As with the previous KB, you *do not* need to logon to the KC to access its
content. In the future, we will be integrating the user account database we
currently have in the Forums with the KC which will allow users to access
some of the more advanced features such as e-mailing articles and the
ability to submit article content directly to the content review team for
inclusion in the KC. Even then, the default Guest account will always have
full access to all of the KC content.
2.) Multiple knowledge base databases - We now have the ability to have
multiple KB databases within the KC software framework for better content
organization. To this extent, we have both a "Getting Started" and a
standard "Knowledge Base" defined in the new Knowledge Center. The Getting
Started section is designed to help new users find the important information
to enhance their "out of box experience" and to get their new software
defined radio up and running quickly. We will be expanding this section in
the coming months.
The Standard Knowledge Base section was re-organized to better delineate
between hardware and software content and function. You will find major
sections for PowerSDR 1.x, different radios, documentation, PC and
peripherals and a special section for Expert Setups based on th
