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Flex-3000 available soon...anyone buying?


YUCK!! I need switches to press and knobs to twiddle not icons to left click on.:thumbdown: When the day comes that this is all that ham radio has to offer it will be the day that I go QRT forever. I am not against technology but this takes the cake IMO. :cry:
 
QRN said:
YUCK!! I need switches to press and knobs to twiddle not icons to left click on.:thumbdown: When the day comes that this is all that ham radio has to offer it will be the day that I go QRT forever. I am not against technology but this takes the cake IMO. :cry:
Click to expand...

Ditto what QRN said......

That thing takes all the work, effort, and fun out of ham radio, it makes it way to mechanized. It's bad enough that we have evolved into a bunch of appliance operators with limited technical skills as it is, but that thing takes it too far......
 
Hate to tell you most the modern radios those knobs and switches basically work the exact same way as the SDR's but without the benefit of being able to ad new features via software. If you really want a knob and switches there is one that you can get for the Flex.

I know my next rig will be a SDR, most likely a flex. You get way more performance for your money. You use your computer rather than paying for one that is less powerful to be jammed inside a radio cabinet. I was amazed with the Rx on the Flex.
 
they need a little help marketing their product

a std hid is the future, just need a bit more convincing...

PowerSDR1.9.1_med.png
 
I dont think anybody has trouble with SDR, as long as it doesnt blue-screen-of-death on you.

I think most hams would prefer to turn a knob instead of click-n-point with a mouse.

If you put a control head on it that gives the user-interface of a traditional radio, most would be fine with that.
 
dudmuck said:
I dont think anybody has trouble with SDR, as long as it doesnt blue-screen-of-death on you.

I think most hams would prefer to turn a knob instead of click-n-point with a mouse.

If you put a control head on it that gives the user-interface of a traditional radio, most would be fine with that.
Click to expand...

I must admit that the user interface means a lot to me,more so than the actual hardware used. I will however continue to use my REAL radio which is a Kenwood TS-820S until the day I die. (y)
 
I kinda agree with the knobs and switches folks.(y) I'm using Ham Radio Deluxe with my TS-2000 and still end up having to use some of the rigs features via a knob or a switch because the software doesn't completely support every single one of the features of the rig.:headbang That said, I do like some things the software will allow me to do with the rig that is enhanced by the software. ;)I also like the feature of integration between the rig and the logging program which automatically fills in some of the fields when adding a contact in the log.;) So there are positives and negatives involved. :unsure:However, if my software crashes I can still run my rig. Knobs and switches are a good backup.(y)

73

Wayne C.
 
It won't be long until the standard human interface device (PC) becomes your sole portal to the world. The next step is drilling holes in your head for direct synoptic access (DSA, a twist on DMA)...

few people are going to jump at the sight of a plain sheet metal box with connectors.

Too bad about the USB, anyway,

They really need to do more with thier software and illustrate it's power that way.
 
I suspect younger Amateurs who basically have grown up with computers will be less put off by SDR's.

The Flex uses Firewire as the connection not USB.

I think the videos on their site do a pretty good job of showing the PowerSDR software. I really like the ones of W3JK remotely working DX through the little Sony handheld and his laptop using VPN and Skype.
 
Don't mistake the lack of knobs for a good interface though.....

You really have to sit and work with PowerSDR and an SDR rig to understand the sheer power of it all. The filtering is UNREAL, 90 degree skirts on the filters....nearly brick wall and infinitely variable. 2.6k not quite narrow enough but 2.2 sounds like hell, no problem, just click with the mouse and drag the filter edge and make it 2.575 to knock that last bit of QRM out of the passband.

Yeah, it's not an old rig by any means and it does indeed need a computer running to work...and there are issues there where you have to RTFM and get used to a lot of new settings like sampling rates and buffer sizes to get the most of it...but when you get settled, I would bet you would love it.

You can see the whole band at once. Wondering where your locals are, just look, when you see the S9+20 signal, click on it and see who it is....it's that easy. Wondering who is QRMng you, click them as a second receiver and listen in or just look at the signal and simply drag the filter to make them disappear.

It's by no means an appliance and that is where most people start to get frustrated or get on the air with them sounding like garbage. They take a lot more understanding than using the good old TS-870 or Pro III which pretty much 'just work' out of the box.

It is only a matter of time before I have at least one SDR and I'm still plumbing up my hybrid where I'll have full SDR receive on a TS-940 as the transmitter. It's amazing stuff.
 
You're definitely right about the PowerSDR. The other great thing is the guys at Flex give great support to ensure that you get it up and running right. IF you're thinking of getting one give them a call and let them know what computer you are going to be using and they will let you know if it will work. It definitely isn't the rig to be running on that old beater computer that you have doing log duty.
 
If I had the money, I would be on that waiting list for the 3000 already. I talk to someone fairly often who owns the 5000 fairly often. What he can do with that radio is simply amazing. He's sent me some print screens of what he sees on the screen, also. Most recently, he sent me a print screen of what my MT63 tx looked like on both the scop and the waterfall and a print screen of someone else's so I could compare the two.

I don't think the 3000 would immediately replace another rig, at least not until I was completely certain that I wouldn't be losing anything. (Besides, you always need a backup rig, right?) However, I could see something like that catching on as my main rig in a hurry.

Like I said, if I had the money...
 

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