OrcSDR v0.2.0-beta7

OrcSDR beta7 expands receiver support, improves the Shortwave experience, and fixes RTL-SDR Blog V3c spectrum initialization.

Highlights

• Adds hardware-tested RTL-SDR Blog V3c support.
• Retains RTL-SDR Blog V4 support across AM, FM, Shortwave, and higher-frequency operation.
• Corrects the V3c cold-start condition that could produce a one-sided or unbalanced spectrum.
• Adds automatic transitions between direct-Q sampling and normal tuner operation.
• Reports the exact requested frequency across supported LF, HF, VHF, and UHF ranges.
• Introduces the new Shortwave dashboard with a live spectrum, scrolling waterfall, touch tuning, audio controls, gain controls, and receiver-status information.
• Improves shared dashboard navigation, volume controls, status indicators, clipping visibility, and layout consistency.

Hardware verification

Testing included:

• Blog V3c FM reception at 99.1 MHz using a 27-inch-per-leg dipole.
• Clear audio and complete RDS reception for 99.1 “The Beat of Eugene,” including Adult Hits PTY.
• Restored, balanced V3c spectrum behavior after cold starts, power cycles, USB reconnects, and direct-Q transitions.
• Blog V4 FM reception and RDS at 99.1 MHz using the dipole.
• Blog V4 AM reception at 1450 kHz using an MLA-30+ antenna, with understandable audio and correct displayed frequency.
• V3c Shortwave audio reception using the MLA-30+.
• M5Burner installation followed by a successful reboot and user-confirmed working device.

Reception results apply to the receiver, antenna, frequency, and gain configuration used during each test.

Installation

Recommended: M5Burner

For most users, M5Burner is the recommended and easiest way to install OrcSDR on the M5Stack Tab5.

1. Connect the Tab5 to your computer by USB.
2. Open M5Burner.
3. Locate OrcSDR and select v0.2.0-beta7.
4. Select the USB/serial port assigned to your Tab5.
5. Start the installation.
6. Allow the Tab5 to reboot when flashing is complete.

Important: upgrades currently reset device settings

With the current beta7 installation package, upgrading through M5Burner writes the complete firmware image and currently resets OrcSDR device settings, including saved Wi-Fi networks and other configuration stored in NVS.

We are actively working on improved settings persistence/backup and restore so future updates can retain configuration between releases.

For now, make note of any settings you want to restore before upgrading.

After installation, open:

Settings → Firmware & Updates

If OrcSDR reports that the internal ESP-Hosted C6 firmware requires an update, perform the update from there.

Manual installation with esptool

Advanced users can also flash the beta7 release .bin directly with esptool.

Download the following file from the Assets section of this release:

OrcSDR-Tab5-v0.2.0-beta7.bin

1. Install esptool

On Windows with Python installed:

py -m pip install --upgrade esptool

2. Connect the Tab5

Connect the M5Stack Tab5 to your computer by USB.

Close M5Burner, serial monitors, or any other software that may currently be using the Tab5 serial port.

On Windows, open:

Device Manager → Ports (COM & LPT)

and identify the COM port assigned to your Tab5.

For example, if Windows shows the Tab5 on COM5:

$PORT = "COM5"

Replace COM5 with the actual port shown on your computer.

3. Verify communication

py -m esptool --chip esp32p4 --port $PORT chip-id

esptool should successfully identify an ESP32-P4.

If esptool cannot communicate with the Tab5, do not continue until the correct port/device connection has been identified.

4. Flash beta7

Open PowerShell in the folder containing:

OrcSDR-Tab5-v0.2.0-beta7.bin

Then run:

py -m esptool --chip esp32p4 --port $PORT --baud 460800 --before default-reset --after hard-reset write-flash 0x0 OrcSDR-Tab5-v0.2.0-beta7.bin

Wait for esptool to finish writing and verifying the firmware. The Tab5 should reboot automatically when flashing completes.

Important: flash address

The beta7 release file:

OrcSDR-Tab5-v0.2.0-beta7.bin

is a complete merged firmware image and must be flashed at:

0x0

Do not flash the beta7 release .bin at 0x10000.

The 0x10000 address referenced in some OrcSDR development documentation applies to the standalone orcsdr_tab5.bin application image generated during development. It is not the same file as the complete merged release image distributed here.

Do not erase first

A normal beta7 installation does not require running:

erase-flash

before flashing.

The complete beta7 image currently overwrites the NVS region as part of the installation, so saved OrcSDR settings should be expected to reset.

Verify the download

Firmware:

OrcSDR-Tab5-v0.2.0-beta7.bin

SHA-256:

65BA3C175522433E8EE60551A3A0C7DDB90D194ABCED3D4F239B7E1EE0ECDBF5

After OrcSDR boots, check:

Settings → Firmware & Updates

for any required internal ESP-Hosted C6 firmware update.

Installation warning

Use the .bin firmware supplied for this release. Do not use the withdrawn M5Burner ZIP package.

M5Burner v3.0.0 installs the complete firmware image from address 0x0. With OrcSDR’s current partition layout, this overwrites NVS and resets saved Wi-Fi networks and device settings—even when M5Burner’s separate Erase option is not selected.

Record any settings you need before installing this release.

After installation, open Settings → Firmware & Updates if OrcSDR reports that the internal ESP-Hosted C6 firmware needs updating.

Known limits

• True-LF reception has not yet been verified with a suitable LF antenna and known signal source.
• Nooelec NESDR SMArt V5 support remains experimental.
• Receiver sensitivity depends heavily on antenna suitability, RF gain, local interference, and propagation.
• Persistent SD-card configuration backup and restoration are planned for a future release.

Version information

• OrcSDR: v0.2.0-beta7
• esp-rtl-sdr: v0.8.0-rc3
• Driver commit: 52edd9b6e591fbd5f3985af4dc51e9da60e04cad
• Firmware size: 2,407,888 bytes
• SHA-256: 65BA3C175522433E8EE60551A3A0C7DDB90D194ABCED3D4F239B7E1EE0ECDBF5