FreeDV v.2.1.0 released

FreeDV 2.1.0 has been released, containing bugfixes and feature enhancements, including experimental support for integrating FreeDV with SmartSDR (for Flex 6000, 8000 and Aurora series radios). It can be downloaded using the following links:

More information about this release (including additional downloads) can be found on our GitHub release page.

21 thoughts on “FreeDV v.2.1.0 released”

  1. Klaus DL4YCC

    Hello, I’m having problems with version 2.1.0.

    My setup is an IC-7300/IC-9700. As soon as I press “Start Modem,” FreeDV shuts down and crashes. Regards

    1. k6aq Post author

      Hi Klaus,

      A few things you can try:

      1. Manually install the VC Redistributable from https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe (FreeDV is supposed to install this but on some systems this doesn’t work).
      2. Run the rade-setup.bat script again from C:\Program Files\FreeDV…\bin (as administrator).

      Let me know if neither of these work for you and we can investigate further.

      Thanks,

      -Mooneer K6AQ

  2. Klaus DL4YCC

    FreeDV 2.1 is working now. I had to uninstall all the old FreeDV versions first. Then it worked! Thanks!

    1. k6aq Post author

      Hi Meir,

      Can you try the following and let me know if either (or both) help?

      1. Download and install the latest VC Redistributable from https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe.
      2. Open a Command Prompt window as Administrator and run C:\Program Files\FreeDV 2.1.0\bin\rade-setup.bat to reinstall Python inside FreeDV.

      Thanks,

      -Mooneer K6AQ

  4. David Todd

    Version 2.1.0 seems to be working well on my setup. Start Modem is noticeably faster.
    Suggestion: when switching from Digital to Analog, it would be convenient to have an option to have the radio stay in USB – Data or LSB – Data mode or switch to USB/LSB from the computer screen. I’m sure this isn’t consistent from rig to rig. I have a Xiegu G90 and must manually change the mode back to U-L or L-D when Analog mode is selected. Program CAT instructions must be setting this automatically to USB/LSB.
    I really like the program and switching from digital to analog is a very good and used feature for me. Thumbs up!

    1. k6aq Post author

      You can disable mode changes by going to Tools->Options->Rig Control and choosing “Enable frequency changes only”. Granted, once you do that, you’ll have to adjust the mode manually from the radio. Just something to try, anyway.

  5. Pascal

    I am having the problem of FreeDV 2.1.0 on Win11 crashing out when I try to do the initial setup. I have read and followed the directions in the posts above, but still no go.

    1. k6aq Post author

      Can you try opening Command Prompt as administrator (Start->type “cmd”->right click on Command Prompt and choose “Run as Administrator”) and enter the following commands:

      cd “\Program Files\FreeDV 2.1.0\bin”
      python3.exe

      Then at the “>>>” prompt that appears, type “import radae_txe” and push Enter. If things are working properly, it should look something like this in the Command Prompt window:

      >>> import radae_txe
      >>>

      If it prints something else, let me know and we can debug further.

      1. Pascal

        Here is what it gave me after following your instructions:

        C:\Program Files\FreeDV 2.1.0\bin>python3
        Python 3.13.9 (tags/v3.13.9:8183fa5, Oct 14 2025, 14:09:13) [MSC v.1944 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
        Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information.
        >>> import radae_txe
        Traceback (most recent call last):
        File “”, line 1, in
        import radae_txe
        File “C:\Program Files\FreeDV 2.1.0\bin\radae_txe.py”, line 36, in
        import numpy as np
        ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘numpy’
        >>>

        1. k6aq Post author

          OK, if you still have that Command Prompt window open, you can push Ctrl-Z and then type “rade-setup.bat” to rerun the Python setup. Otherwise, you can reopen it as Adminstrator with the same instructions as before and run the following commands:

          cd “\Program Files\FreeDV 2.1.0\bin”
          rade-setup.bat

          Once you do that you should be able to run FreeDV properly. Let me know if you continue to have issues.

  6. Pascal

    I did as you instructed above. No success. Still crashes as soon as I select Tools/Easy Setup or Start Modem or CAT and PTT Config. Each of those crashes the program and it disappears.

    I have uninstalled previous versions of FreeDV using the Uninstall script in each one. I have also installed and uninstalled this version 2.1 several times. Have never been able to configure or run it.

    This is a new AMD Ryzen 7 6800DU with Radeon Graphics. The Windows 11 Pro is completely up to date (10.0.262000 Build 26200).

    NOTE: WSL is installed on this machine. (Could this be any problem?)

    Pascal

  7. Pascal

    Mooneer,

    I thank you for trying to get me going on this installation. It is not a critical installation for me. I have FreeDV 2.1.0 running both on Mac and Linux with no issues.

    The reason that I am attempting to install on my Win11 system is because I got a message from my friend John V63JB out in Micronesia. I have been encouraging him to install FreeDV and attempt a QSO from Micronesia to North Carolina using it.

    John only has a Windows system available for his ham use. He installed and tried to set up FreeDV 2.1.0 and encountered the crash on configure or Start Modem that I have duplicated on my own system. However, I believe that his computer is Win10 still. So, I thought that I’d try it and see how I came along with it. Then I encountered the problem that I have shared with you.

    73,

    Pascal AC7N

    1. k6aq Post author

      Unfortunately running rade-setup.bat *should* have resolved this problem. Can you confirm that you ran that as administrator? Did it seem to take at least a few minutes to run? (Immediately finishing is a bad sign.)

      Anyway, I’d recommend joining Walter K5WH’s Zoom channel for additional help. There’s usually someone on there who’s used FreeDV and can help troubleshoot: http://www.k5wh.net/zoom/

      1. Pascal

        It finished immediately. So, that was bad.

        Meanwhile, I have completely stopped and removed WSL from this machine. I’m trying another install of FreeDV now. We’ll see.

        I will get with Walter’s Zoom group to further work on this. Thank you for your help.

        73 Pascal AC7N

      2. Pascal

        Mooneer,

        Good news. Problem solved. I fixed it by opening FreeDV, going to Tools/Restore Defaults.

        How simple. Now I have it working just fine.

        All along I thought it was something much harder. But, I have it now. Do you ever recommend the Restore Defaults?

        73 and Thanks again, Pascal AC7N

      3. Pascal

        Hi Mooneer,

        Just a follow up on the solution. Apparently the installation was already good, and the crash was due to a corrupted FreeDV configuration file.I had several previous FreeDV releases on the machine, so there was already a configuration which needed to be removed or reset.

        I think that the reason the mitigation steps which you recommended did not work was the WSL that I mentioned. This created a Python/Pip environment which was different from that used by the FreeDV installation process. There was a Pip cache which was “taking over” whenever I tried to run the commands you provided, thereby preventing them from running correctly.

        I ended up completely removing WSL from the machine, and then (additionally) had to clear the Pip cache. It was only after all of that was done that I determined that the crashes were still occurring. Eventially I tried the Tools/Restore which cleared the issue with the corrupted configuration.

        Thank you again for your prompt help with tthis. Also thank you for your continued work on FreeDV. It’s getting really good, and I hope more people start showing up on the air having fun with it.

        73 Pascal AC7N

        1. k6aq Post author

          Re: Restore Defaults, not too often but I imagine that might become more of a thing as people who tried FreeDV way back in the day come back to it (as configuration has changed significantly since then).

          In any case, glad it’s working now! Hopefully if others run into a similar issue they’ll be able to find this thread and resolve their problem 🙂

  8. Steve

    I tried installing freedv on a Linux Mint system via a manual source build. The build appeared to complete successfully, and I found FreeDV listed under “All Apps” on my menu. Files were installed in /usr/local/bin. However, running the program results in “./freedv: error while loading shared libraries: librade.so.0.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory”.

    I can’t find librade.so.0.1. Was I supposed to install RADE before (in addtion to) freedv?

    1. k6aq Post author

      make install doesn’t really work at the moment. The recommended way of running FreeDV with RADE is by either running it from the build_linux folder, i.e.

      $ cd build_linux
      $ PYTHONPATH=$(pwd)/rade_src src/freedv

      Or by using Barry’s build script (https://github.com/barjac/freedv-rade-build), which installs a desktop icon that you can double-click on to run FreeDV. Hope this helps!

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