Should Service Release 1.2.17 be pulled?

Phil Covington

FWIW, having been on both sides, first as a customer and then as a manufacturer,  it is also good to hear from people who do not have problems.  Unfortunately, if people just post about problems, potential customers who come here and read about these problems can be scared off of a purchase - even though the real situation might be that a small minority of customers are having a problem out of a majority or customers that are not and are happy.  It certainly does not help when the title of a thread is a little over the top.

We all pretty much know that people tend to complain loudly when unhappy and generally remain silent when satisfied. But knowing that still does not prevent potential customers from reading about the problems and then thinking that (problems) is all there is.  Try to see it from Flex's side too.  They need new customers and you need them to have new customers so they stay in business and continue to support and enhance your radio purchase. ;-)  Heck, even here the president of the company responds to a post about your problems - try that with Icom, Kenwood, or Yaesu!

Of course, if you are having a problem you should post about it. Sometimes it is a legitimate problem and sometimes it it operator error or misunderstanding.   However, those that are not having the same problem should not be discouraged from posting that they do not have the problem.  It's good to see praise/support also.

73 Phil

Dale KB5VE

Phil I agree that posting your ok is fine. But you know yourself some of these post that are saying they are ok go futher. I have seen many spitefull post on this community and Gerald and I have talked. He took the post someone made to me in reference to the president off because it was not related to my comments and was not in the spirtit of the community. Let me ask you this, how many of the "mine is working fine ,I don't see why it should be recalled" included a reach out to the gentleman , an offer to compare settings and equipment to see if they can help him. In this respect the community has failed. I myself was cut at the knees by a Flex employee because I was offering to g Help new flexers with getting use to the operation of a very new type of radio, e We were meeting on 75 meters and our group helped a lot of new 6000 owners. So I agree that both like and dislike should post but how about some helping hands comming out of the wood work. Why does it have to be two camps why not one camp with a broad rang of options? Hust my 50 cents worth. Dale

Phil Covington

Hi Dale,

I agree with you, it is much more helpful for those who are not experiencing a particular problem to offer more help than the response of "I am not having that problem".  From the short time I have been reading posts in this community, I do see that when a problem is reported or asked about, many guys do respond with helpful advice or suggestions.  There are many helpful people in this community.

In this particular thread, the title presumed that everyone is having the reported problems and that the release should be pulled, which is not the case.  The title of the thread was not asking for help, so the only response that many guys can give is "No, it should not be pulled" and/or "I am not having that problem".  Had it been phrased differently, I am sure there would have been more helpful responses.

73 Phil

Steve N4LQ

I'm finally glad I have Windows 8.1. I don't seem to have all the problems other have with Win 7 or older.

W3DCB

Hi guys...When I made comments above, I was not trying to poke fun or disparage any one.  It was just that I really don't run into the degree of difficulty that others seem to have when setting up & upgrading to newer versions.  I had the same experience with my 5000/PSDR.  I think that Jeff hit the nail on the head.  There is a steep learning curve with SDR and the use of computers that may not be apparent to casual users.  It has taken me many years & mistakes to get to where I am today in my understanding of computers...I am NO expert by any means!  I graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, Long Island Campus, in the mid-70s with a classic BEE with a Computer Science Option.  Brooklyn Poly didn't have Computer Science Degrees at that time, just BEE with Computer Science Option.  I never used the degree, at least not for very long.  In the end, I pursued other interests.  When I was at Poly, I took classes in FOR-Tran, PL-I, and BASIC.  We used a card punch for class assignments.  We all thought that we were going to build and run nuclear power plants...Of course, they fell out of favor with the American public & few were built, although enough were built that I could have made a good living as a power-plant engineer/designer/physicist.  When I was last using computers on a professional basis, I was using a Burroughs 1800/1700 series "mini" computer..."Mini" meant it just took up 1 average sized room which had a raised floor for the forced air conditioning system to cool the equipment that was kept in a room that was always about 65 degrees F and really, really, noisy!  So, my formal knowledge & training is quite outdated! 

I am not wealthy.  However, not one of my computers, lap-top or desk-top, is not at least a 4th generation i7 quad processor with the ability to run 8 threads (I got rid of my all of my third generation i7s.)  None of my computers has less than 8 G RAM and I have placed SSDs in all of them for the frequently used programs and booting.  These days SSDs have become quite cheap.  In the end, it is experience and a "sense" of how to set up the computer & software options which only comes with many years of practice & trial/error.  I still have to ask for help upon occasion.  However, I am usually proud that by the time help arrives, I have usually figured out the solution.  

I think that the anonymity that comes with the internet sometimes makes it a bit too easy to criticize before spending enough time to try to work out problems before posting.  I do recognize, however, that computers can be VERY frustrating.  "VERY" could not be written in letters that are bold enough or large enough!  These machines can drive you crazy!  Further, many make the mistake of making changes to settings that they may not fully understand which may compound the problems.  On the other hand, obtaining help either on line or in person from the "geeks" can be very expensive while at the same time it is just so tempting to make changes that are hard to reverse or even later remember.  My best suggestion is to purchase your computer from Neal Campbell for the best Flex ready computers available.  He can give you advice for lap-top purchase as well.  If one is purchasing a Flex-6700 for ~$8400 with all the bells, it is worth it to save up for a really good computer that will have the ability to run everything that you want.  You may want to have several computers...a Neal Campbell Flex Ready computer to run your Flex-6700...and maybe a couple of cheap computers for doing things like video streaming; Skyping with friends, etc.  My Flex computer is only for use with my 6700 and running the various programs that go with the Flex like JT65, MixW, HRD, etc.  Any way, I meant no harm or sarcasm.  I was just truly puzzled as to why I was having such good luck and others seemed to be having such problems.  I really feel for those having difficulty because I know just how frustrating these machines can be.

de W3DCB  Take care, my friends...

W9OY

I don't get this thread.  If you don't like the present version go back to a previous version or wait a couple weeks for a new version with bug fixes and better toys.  I know that a lot of people spend a lot of time and effort trying to comb the tangles out before the point release.  It is very useful to report bug as well as no bug reports as that is the data upon which fixes are made or not made.  Drama is optional and generally not that illuminating 

73  W9OY

Tim - W4TME

This question has been answered by Gerald so I am closing the thread.