Viking Subscriber Software 25.1 General Release
Release Date: March 3, 2025
Title: FSN-0325-VIKING-39
Overview
This Field Software Notice (FSN) announces the KENWOOD Viking® Subscriber Software Version 25.1 General Release. This release provides new features and resolutions for Viking radios and the Armada radio programming suite. Major new features requiring new purchased options include 6144 Channels/TGs (PN 8326000041), Multi-System OTAR (PN 8324000008), and Viking Personnel Accountability (SDI APAA Interoperability, PN 8326000042). This release supersedes KENWOOD Viking Software 24.1 General Release for VPx000 and VMx000 series radios, and the Armada Software Suite. Armada Client now comes with a free demo version of Armada Server which supports up to 20 radios and 3 user accounts.
Software Versions
| Item | Version |
|---|---|
| Armada Client | 1.44.12 |
| Armada Server | 1.44.12 |
| Armada Server Demo | 1.44.12 |
| Armada Proxy | 1.44.11 |
| VP5000/6000 Firmware Image | 8.44.10 |
| VP8000 Firmware Image | 8.44.10 |
| VM5000/6000/7000 Firmware Image | 8.44.10 |
| VM8000 Firmware Image | 8.44.10 |
| Viking Tune Lite | 1.44.11 |
| Viking Trace Lite | 1.14.11 |
| Data Registration Server | 1.42.11 |
| Elite Battery Management Server | 1.34.11 |
| Location Gateway | 1.18.11 |
| OTAP Server | 1.44.11 |
| Text Message Server | 1.30.11 |
NOTE: Radio Firmware has changed from 8.42.x to 8.44.x and Armada Versions have changed from 1.42.x to 1.44.x.
LEGACY SUPPORT: This general release does not include the discontinued VPx00 and VMx00 Viking radio models (a.k.a. 100 series Viking), for which the 20.1 General Release and its subsequent maintenance updates remain the final release for those models (8.30.x firmware versions). The 25.1 General Release of Armada continues to allow programming of the VPx00/VMx00 series radios, but it may have support exceptions and is provided AS-IS for this use since the software period for new features on VPx00/VMx00 has expired.
Features Added
| Feature | Overview |
|---|---|
| Multi-System OTAR | This feature enhances radio operation across multiple systems by supporting up to 20 OTAR contexts, each with unique unit RSIs and hardware keys. A maximum of 1024 keys across all systems are supported. |
| DMR Tier II Site Roaming | Site Roaming has been implemented for DMR Tier II. Display will show "site roaming" when the radio is searching for a site. |
| DMR Over-the-Air (OTA) User Alias | This feature enables an operator to assign an OTA alias to a radio, allowing it to transmit the alias to receiving radios without needing to preprogram all aliases on each radio. |
| DMR Crossband Repeat and Cross-Protocol Repeat | Crossband/Cross-Protocol repeat capabilities were added for DMR. |
| DMR Inband GPS Positioning | This feature enables the radio to broadcast its GPS position (latitude and longitude) over-the-air during a voice call. |
| Viking Personnel Accountability | This feature set ensures compatibility between SDI's Fireground Accountability Software (APAA) and Portable Viking Subscribers. This is supported only on P25 Digital Conventional Channels, including Mixed Mode channels with an Analog Tx Type. |
| Armada Fleet Groups | Armada now supports hierarchical Fleet Groups for improved organization of Radios, Templates, Multideck Groups, and Firmware images in both standalone and server modes. |
| Armada User Roles | Armada now allows custom user roles to restrict access to fleet data, limiting which radios/templates users can see or edit. |
Feature Enhancements and Fixes
The following feature enhancements and fixes are available in the 25.1 general release. These augment existing functionality in the subscribers and/or supporting applications.
| Feature or Fix | Overview |
|---|---|
| Expanded Radio Home Support | Radios now support four additional home configurations which can be mapped to radio buttons. |
| Display Tag on Radio Startup | Radios can now display either the radio tag or profile tag on the startup screen. |
| P25 TDMA Location on PTT | Location on PTT is now supported for all radio types with P25 Trunking TDMA channels. This covers both MFID90 and MFIDA4 implementations. |
| MD Unselected Deck Offset Control | Each deck can now have a unique unselected volume offset or use the primary setting. This can be modified via the menu or unselected volume offset feature. |
| Add/Remove Full Zones from Scan List | Users can now add or remove entire zones from a scan list. |
| Ignition Sense Power Down Tone | Ignition Sense now includes an option to play a tone during automatic power down. |
| Low Battery Shut Down Tone | Viking Portables now emit a tone when the battery is fully drained, and the radio starts the shutdown process. |
| Enhanced RWS | RWS now supports four priority channels per list—two for P25 Trunking and two for Conventional. These are modifiable via the RWS List Edit menu if 'Priority Channel User Editable' is enabled. |
| Preprogrammed Analog DTMF Tones | Analog DTMF codes can now be transmitted by selecting a preprogrammed code from a new radio menu. |
| 6144 Channel Option | A new channel option has been added to increase the maximum number of programmed Channels/Talkgroups to 6144. |
| FIRESafe Auto-Toggle Man Down | Portable radios for FIRESafe First Responder now include an "Auto-Toggle Man Down" setting that activates man down detection upon channel entry. |
| Split Primary and Secondary KCH Backlight Levels | In dual control head configurations, “backlight on keypress” now triggers timers individually for each control head. |
| DTMF Timer Reduction | The DTMF Digit Duration and DTMF Inter Digit Delay minimum have been reduced from 50 ms to 25ms. |
| Allow Custom CTCSS/DCS Values | CTCSS values now allow a range between 67.0 to 254.1 in increments of .1 and DCS values now allow a range between 23-754 in increments of 1. |
| Support MDC IDs in User Group ID Lists | The MDC ID will be displayed on the radio if "User Group ID” is enabled in Conventional or DMR Tier 2 mix-mode, and the MDC ID is within the User Group ID List range. |
| Increase max number of Two Tone Decode lists to 512 | The maximum number of Two Tone Decode lists has been expanded to 512 analog and 512 digital lists per system. |
| EVRS Plus & EVRS Authentication | EVRS Plus now supports P25 System Authentication for handheld units as well as improving transmit times. |
| Maintain Repeater On/Off State Through Power Cycle | EVRS repeater on/off state is now retained through power down. |
| Full Support for P25 Remote Monitor | Remote monitoring unit calls are now supported for both P25 Trunking and P25 Conventional protocols. This enables remote transmission requests without physical access to the subscriber. |
| Armada Proxy Port Configuration | The port on which Armada searches for Armada Proxy can now be changed on standalone clients. |
| Armada Pin Events in Output Window | Users can now pin multiple events in the Armada output window to keep them fixed at the top. These will be unaffected by filters, updates, or new events. |
| Dark and High Contrast Mode in Armada & Supporting Apps | On Windows 11, Armada and supporting apps follow the system's dark mode setting. This is not supported on Windows 10. Both OS versions support high contrast modes but require an app restart after changes. |
| Armada Context Menu Reorganization | Fleet Groups consolidate radio communication options into a "Transfers" submenu in the Radio and Template context menus for streamlined navigation. |
| Armada Server Ignored Approval Requests | The Approval Manager now lets managers ignore read approval requests by clicking the "Ignore" button. This moves them to the ignored list. |
| Armada Services Output Tab and Toolbar Service Icons | The output window in Armada now includes a new “Services” tab between the "Events” and “Problems” tabs, displaying service event information separately from radio events. |
| Increase Armada Password Attempts | In Armada, for the Kiosk Mode and security policy passwords, entering an incorrect password will now prompt the user up to three subsequent times before failing the operation due to an incorrect password entry. |
| Armada Virtual System Keys (Armada Server Only) | Virtual System Keys (VSKs) ensure secure, real-time key activation and can delegate permissions from Parent or Child ESKs. Admins can restrict access to specific roles, and Armada now supports distributing system keys activated by an attached ESK. |
| Import, Export, and Clear Child RSDs | Child RSDs can now be imported and exported as .rsd files and fully erased. This feature does not apply to parent RSDs. |
| Armada Server Default Demo Mode | Armada Server now offers a default Demo Mode limited to 3 user accounts. Unlimited radios can be added and managed, but only 20 radios can be written to. This allows customers to try out Armada Server functionality before purchasing a full license. |
| Armada Tools Menu Split into Fleet, Tools, and Security Menus | The Armada tools menu has been reorganized with new "Fleet" and "Security" menus, while other tools, logs, and profile actions remain in the Tools menu. |
| Add Additional Source Types to Output Window in Armada | The source column in the events tab now shows different source types (ESN, MSN, Radio Tag, Profile Tag) without changing the column label. |
| Retain Channel Settings in Armada when changing channel type | Persistent channel data has been implemented for Conventional Digital, Conventional Analog, and Conventional DMR channel types. This retains channel settings in Armada when changing between these channel types. |
| Armada Read on Next Connect | Armada now allows scheduling a read even when the radio is not connected. The radio will be read upon next connection, ensuring no overlap with written actions. |
| Add Client Debug Log Configuration in Armada | The client diagnose box was copied from the Server Preferences dialog to the Preferences dialog in standalone mode. Only the client debug log is available in standalone mode. |
| Add Password Confirmation to Security Policies in Armada | A confirmation field now appears for uploading and downloading passwords. It is editable only after the password is changed. |
Customer Issues Addressed
The following table lists the customer-impacting issues resolved in the 25.1 general release.
| Issue | Overview |
|---|---|
| Site List copy/paste issues from Excel | An issue preventing P25 sites from being pasted unless the roaming type was set to Inter-System has been fixed. |
| Some Combo Boxes Change Value with Scroll Wheel | The location push-to-talk combo box no longer changes when the mouse hovers over it and the scroll wheel is moved without opening the box. |
| Two Tone Detection Fails if Carrier and Two Tone are Lost Simultaneously | The radio now properly detects the end of a two-tone page before carrier termination and does not sound alert tones if a valid page was not received. |
| Load Hardware ARC4 Keys into All TEK Keysets | Hardware ARC4 keys are now loaded into all TEK keysets, allowing them to remain in the active keyset even after OTAR changeovers. |
| Shorter Properties Dialog | The radio info dialog is now resized to the smallest possible size, with relevant information moved to a "Radio Info" tab for better screen resolution compatibility. |
| Warn When ESKs Expire After RSDs | The issue where an ESK expiration after the RSD expiration date caused key usability problems has been resolved with a warning now displayed in the configuration dialog. |
| Deploy Fleet Pane Columns | An issue where column configurations from the templates and codeplugs tabs were not properly distributed to clients has been resolved. |
| Armada Server Clock Settings | The "Set Clock on Connect Override" preference is now available in Armada and Armada Server, allowing automatic clock setting on connection when enabled. |
| Increase Long Tone Decode Time | The "long tone" decode threshold for Analog and P25 Two Tone Decode is increased to 4 seconds. This prevents a 3-second tone from triggering the decoder. |
| Custom zone select set to toggle ABCD sometimes doesn't change zones | Codeplugs with 4 zones and Toggle ABCD set to Custom Zone Select are now properly programmed with each zone assigned to the toggle positions. |
| Inhibited Radio PTT locks up channel/repeater | An issue where a radio would get stuck transmitting on conventional or trunking channels while inhibited has been resolved. |
| Intermittent denied Unit Call | An issue of unit calls being inconsistently denied in P25 Trunking has been fixed. |
| Buttons without accessories error | An issue where empty button accessory lists were being created has been fixed. |
| CWS Stuck in Transmit | An issue where the radio gets stuck in transmit after PTTing while CWS is active has been fixed. |
| Do not retry Vault after authentication failure in Armada | An issue where Armada did not automatically reconnect after an authentication failure which triggered account lockouts has been resolved. |
| OTAR/ARC4 Encryption Bug | A bug preventing ARC4 encryption CKRs from loading into both keysets via hardware KVL devices (KVL4000/KVL5000) has been fixed. |
| Long Voice announcement name not fully shown in drop-down list | An issue where long voice announcement names were not fully shown in the drop-down list has been resolved. |
| Allow apostrophe in name when importing voice files into audio library | The bug preventing apostrophes in voice announcement file names has been fixed and files are no longer renamed to the date. |
| Analog transmit audio (with ANR) is distorted after receiving call on a P25 Two-Tone channel | An issue with analog transmitting audio distortion (with ANR) after receiving a call on a P25 Two-Tone channel has been fixed. |
| VP8000 radio crash using zone and scan edit | A crash caused by deleting a channel that is part of a scan list has been addressed. |
| CTCSS issues in table view | An issue where channel values would fail to paste when CTCSS or DCS was disabled in table view in Armada has been resolved. |
| Cannot View Battery Server in Armada Server | An issue where Battery Server was not visible in Armada Server has been fixed. |
| QCII decoding issue on VP8000 resolved | An issue with QCII decoding on the Viking radio has been resolved. The minimum first tone duration, previously set to 0.5 seconds, has been adjusted to 0.4 seconds. |
| Unit Call Alert Tone Interrupting Rx Audio | An issue where a unit call alert tone interrupts receive audio has been fixed. |
SDI Viking Personnel Accountability (VPA) Support
The Viking Personnel Accountability Mode enables Viking Portable Radios to communicate with SDI's APAA application through digital packets transmitted over-the-air (OTA). These packets are relayed between the radio and the APAA via an RF Modem Radio. Each Radio-to-Modem Protocol Data Unit (PDU) includes consistent data, such as the version number, battery capacity, GPS information, and indicators for when the radio is in emergency mode or scanning mode. The listed features provide compatibility between SDI's Fireground Accountability Software (APAA) and Portable Viking Subscribers. These features are only supported on P25 Digital Conventional Channels, including Mixed Mode channels with an Analog Tx Type.
VPA Mode will be disabled when performing Multi-System CWS, Vote Scan, and RWS. In addition to applying the new radio firmware, a radio software option (PN 8326000042) is required to enable Viking Personnel Accountability. Deployment of radios is targeted for systems where SDI's APAA application is already available. Systems using SDI's APAA must be running version 5.3.11292 or later to deploy Viking radios on the system.
Supported Features
| Feature | Overview |
|---|---|
| APAA Registration | Radio registers with APAA on boot, channel change, or scan toggle. |
| Pre/Post Tx PTT-ID | In Armada, the radio can be configured to transmit Pre-Tx PTT IDs, Post-Tx PTT IDs, or both. |
| Emergency Alarm | Prompts radio to send notification to system when user enters emergency. |
| Tactical Alerts | When enabled, subscribers will process Tactical Alert PDUs sent from the APAA application. |
| Periodic Updates | When enabled, the radio will send Periodic Update PDUs at the programmed interval. |
| Polling Requests | Radio will automatically respond to a polling request with a Polling Response PDU. |
| Status Requests | When the radio receives a status request it will automatically respond with the user's latest status. |
| Conventional Scan Support | Conventional scan is supported, and the radio can send VPA packets with some exceptions. The radio will not process Tactical Alerts, Polling Requests, or Status Requests received on non-selected channels. |
Contact Information
For questions regarding this FSN, please contact the KENWOOD Viking team at https://lmrsupport.kenwood.com.
EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. | a JVCKENWOOD Company
1440 Corporate Drive, Irving, TX 75038
