QuickSyn Lite Synthesizer FSL-0010 Switching Speed Out of Specification

Updated Nov 12, 2024

Reported In

Hardware

  • Quicksyn Lite

Issue Details

NI has discovered a software related issue impacting an isolated batch of FSL-0010 QuickSyn Lite Synthesizers manufactured in Q1 2022. Due to an incorrect firmware version installed on this specific batch of FSL-0010's during manufacturing - Impacted FSL-0010 modules will not meet the 100us switching time specification warranted in the QuickSyn Frequency Sythesizers Datasheet.

A total of 178 impacted FSL-0010 Synthesizer (P/N:783157-01) units were issued to stores in Q1 of 2022. If you purchased an FSL-0010 during this time, please review the complete list of impacted device serial numbers in the attached spreadsheet at the bottom of this article to search for your specific serial number. 

If your FSL-0010 device matches one of the impacted serial numbers and you are experiencing much slower switching speeds using the device, see the solution section below for instructions and documentation on how to update the firmware settings to enable fast switching and return your device to factory settings.
 

Solution

Steps to Update Firmware on the FSL-0010 to Enable Fast Switching 
 
1) On the system connected to your FSL-0010 - Download, Install, and Run the "Set Fast Switch.exe" attached (see the bottom of page) to this article. 

2) Exe will prompt you to select a QuickSyn Module to enable fast switching on (must be FSL-0010) 
 
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3) Once the FSL-0010 is selected, the exe will attempt to add the fast switching option and you will be updated on your devices fast switching setting. Either of the following messages will be provided.
 
success fast switch after exe.pngfailure after exe you already got fast switching.png

Please note, this should only be used with the FSL-0010! The executable will fail with a "This tool can only be used for FSL-0010 Modules" error if the model name doesn't contain the string "0010". It could work on FSW-0010 models, but won't work for 0020 models. 

Additional Information

The FSL-0010 and FSL-0020 modules utilize the same hardware assemblies, but have different software personalities pre-installed after construction and hardware testing. These personalities determine specifications of the devices such as switching speed, spectral features, and more. The switching speed firmware issue outlined in this article only impacts the 10 GHz FSL Synthesizer model, or the FSL-0010. 

The root cause was due to uploading an incorrect software personality/firmware version to the FSL-0010 modules after hardware testing. There are no issues with the hardware on the device and this specific problem is resolved only by setting a few things differently in software by running the attached .exe on your module.  
 

Attachments

Set Fast Switch.exe
FSL0010_Impacted_SerialNumber_Search.xlsx

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