The latest Firmware
Firmware is the Operating System for your radio. It is the software embedded inside the radio which ensures that the hardware (such as buttons, dials, display and networking) works, as well as providing the logic for the menus, conversion of streams to audio (codecs), etc. A firmware upgrade can add interesting new features to your device.
Your radio is supplied with firmware installed by the manufacturer. By the time the radio reaches you this may or may not be the latest version so, if you have a new radio, it is always worth checking to see if newer firmware is available. You can check for new firmware using the radio by selecting the menu option Settings (on some radios this menu item is called Configure). Then scroll through the sub-menu that appears and choose the Upgrade Firmware option. The radio will then connect to the Reciva site and check to see if there is an available update for your radio. If a newer version exists for your make and model of radio, the radio will inform you and ask for confirmation to start the update procedure.
An update can take 3-10 minutes to download and install, depending on your radio brand and network speed. This process is automatic once you have confirmed, but it is essential NOT TO UNPLUG your radio or network devices (modem, router) during the update. Once the update has finished the radio will restart itself. Usually, any settings you have defined in the radio (in particular for how to connect to your network) are preserved during an upgrade, so the radio should just work as normal following the restart. You may though find that any station presets you had have been erased.
You can check the firmware version you currently have installed by selecting Configure/Settings - Version - Service Pack.
Firmware updates are actually developed and distributed by Reciva; however, each update will only be visible to your radio if it has been approved by the manufacturer. Some manufacturers have never issued or approved any upgrades. Non-approved later firmware versions can potentially be installed using ![[WWW]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
Sharpfin, but be aware that this will invalidate your warranty, and there is no guarantee that the update installed via Sharpfin will work on your particular radio.
There is no 'official' list of firmware updates nor a changelog - a partial list is available at http://www.pschmidt.it/sharpfin/index.php?title=Radios
There is a basic web page that can be used to check highest version officially available. The values for the parameters can be found in the radio "configure" menu. The current SP version does not seem to matter: http://copper.reciva.com/service-pack-checker.html
which will return "none" or something like this:
reciva://copper.reciva.com:6000/service-pack/sp-wrap-cache/sp.257-a-865-a-197-a-002.tar
which shows version 257-a-865-a-197-a-002 for a Tangent Quattro MkII (hw config 931)