NB needs work..

W5XZ - dan

doesn't even blank s-7 line noise reliably...killing my shot at FT4 on top band...have to click on and off over and over, then it fizzles...

w5xz

W5XZ - dan

when a neighbor has to use an Icom to get a blanker that works....instead of his 6xxx...really??

DrTeeth

This is due for an improvement in the 1.5 release and as many have been complaining about this. This release is intended to be an 'improve what we have' release rather than introducing new features.

Hang on in there, hi hi.

W5XZ - dan

by the time my 2 yr warantee expires on my Limited Edition, i get an NB that works?
and still, no basic schematic???

Bill -VA3WTB

It is old news that the NB needs work. with or without it the radio is still amazing. Then sell your Flex and go back to a Knob radio, you will be much happier it sounds.

Jim Gilliam

What the 6000 series does well, it does very well. The reverse can be said just as easily. Hopefully version 1.5 will visit these deficiencies. I can only imagine how hard it must be to write software that can compete with some of the finest DSP chips that were designed specifically for noise cancelling functions. Hope they can pull it off.

Jim, K6QE

Bill -VA3WTB

Being done in software the DSP performance should surpass anything out there. All these chips you mentioned have distortion in them by default. The Flex will be much cleaner. There are good reasons why the DSP on the Flex has taken this long, and it is not because they don't know how to do it. I believe.

Jim Gilliam

Have you tried he Icom 7800? I own one and have never experienced better Noise blanking and noise reduction. I am not sure that the software in a DSP chip would be any different than that of software for a CPU. The big difference is the CPU in the 6000 is multitasking where the DSP chip is stand-alone. At this point I would rate the NB and NR of the 7800 an 8.5 and the 6000 a 4.

Jim

Burch - K4QXX

I have been complaining about the NB since I got my 6300.  I am very happy that it appears they are working on it for version 1.5.  The NB on my 5000A works extremely well so I have faith that the 6xxx series will one day have a fantastic NB.  Unfortunately, I had to switch back to my 5000A for the winter 160/80 season since the NB just doesn't work well on the 6300.  Even when it does, the panadaptor still shows the noise which covers all but the strongest stations.  The 6300 is almost perfect and will be outstanding once the NB is functional.  I have owned flexes since the 1000 came out so I have no doubt this will be addressed soon.   If I didn't live in such a noisy power line area, it wouldn't matter.

Tim - W4TME

FlexRadio has publicly announced that we are addressing this and other noise mitigation features issues in the upcoming SmartSDR v1.5 release.  Please refer to Gerald's article on this in the latest FlexInsider.  For your convenience, I have copied the relevant portions of the message below.

"...we are planning a v1.5 release.  The theme of this release will be enhanced noise/interference mitigation techniques.  This feature set is one of the most frequently requested by our customers."

When we incorporated the waterfall feature into SmartSDR, we decided not to go for the status quo but to set a new bar in performance.  To do that we put our entire software team on the project until the job was done.  We believe that we accomplished our goal.  We now want to do the same in the area of noise and interference mitigation."

Bill -VA3WTB

The 6000's leaves the old 7800 far behind in all the performance areas, The NB when working properly will be the same, It should surpass anything.... 4 is not a bad grade for a non working NB.

The CPU In the 6000's are amazingly fast, Can't get that speed from a computer..It has no problems handling DSP functions. And More.

DrTeeth

I am a recent 6300 owner coming back to ham radio after a break of over 25 years. I chose the rig *because* of the frequent updates. I just knew that anything lacking would be fixed sooner or later (from reading this forum) and was happy to accept that. I looked at the rate of firmware releases for knobbed rigs and saw real lack of development, plus I liked the idea of a panadaptor/waterfall and I was sold. I do not like to use abandonware, be it either programs (yes you MMTTY) or infrequently updated firmware.

Ken - NM9P

If they pull off for DSP - NB & NR - what they did for the Panafall, then we are in for a real treat.  It was one of my most-missed options when moving from the 1500 to the 6500 (that and TX profiles) and when Panafall finally appeared it was well worth the wait!  It is so helpful to me that I cannot imagine running this rig without it.  (others may have other opinions).

I am confident that v.1.5 will be well worth the wait as well.  and if it is a little buggy, then 1.5.1 will fix a few rough edges.  In the mean time, I will enjoy the additional features released with v.1.4 - FM, DAX interface improvements, local LAN Remote, and others.  By the time these get old, then v.1.5 will be ready!

There are those who are complaining that FRS released this series before it was "ready" and should have waited until it was finished.  Are you kidding me?  I have been able to enjoy this wonderful rig for over a year now, beginning with pre-1.0 public beta software. And have gotten a new "rig" about every three months.  It has truly been like opening a new Christmas present four or five times since receiving my 6500.  And a couple more are scheduled to arrive in the next few months.  What fun!

Then when they completely redesign the software/firmware package I get to buy a whole new rig again for only $199.  (Actually I already paid for it when I bought my 6500.)  I have had more ham radio fun this past two years (beginning with the 1500) than I have had in a couple of decades.

Pull out the stops, FRS, I'm ready to play some more!

Ken - NM9P

DrTeeth

Agree with you in spades Ken. It was precisely because of that, that I chose to buy my Flex 6300. Imagine trying to 'keep up' with a conventional rig...it would cost $1,000s.