Add-on subreceiver for 6300

Barry N1EU

My idea: offer an add-on subreceiver to the 6300. There are a lot of hams out there who need/want two receivers (diversity, SO2V contesting, split operation, etc) but for whom the price of the 6700 is prohibitive. If the 6300 lacks the plumbing (probably), add it and sell it as a 6350 or 6400 with the expansion option for adding a subreceiver.

Mike va3mw

Why not use it with the n4py software and an add on sdr receiver like an sdr-iq or a soft66ad? http://zao.jp/radio/soft66ad/ I'm not 100% this will work, but it might.

Steve Gw0gei

So2v already works with the 6300 with n1mmplus - not perfect yet but I have used the second vfo in 6m and Hf contest in the last month and it works as well as my ic756pro3 with the / switch focus toggle and the Cntrl and right arrow / left arrow so switch on split and to tx on the second slice. I haven't finished my testing yet but it appears it work as I thought it would and now I have amended the n1mmplus ini file to give focus back to n1mmplus after moving freq in the 6300 I am happy using it without any flex control knob. I agree though that it would be helpful if Flex would consider adding some hardware to enable full so2r or at least to take some ideas in and then put their thoughts out on here as to how they envisage so2r being achieved . I would happily buy a second 6300 or 6500 if flex also came out with a hardware box which enabled full so2r and diversity operation with two 6300 or a 6300 and a 6500. I moved on from years of so2v with yaesu ft1kd mp mk5 etc Tcs year and tried so2r for the first time with my pro3 and ic7400 and also a ts590s, Loved it but the microham middleware and so2r box complicated things and hence my decision to give the flex 6300 a go for contesting and dxing - I know I made the right decision to try full sdr but for future contesting in multi band contests and for future diversity work on the low bands I would like to know flex's thoughts and roadmap for catering for these features. A 6700 would give me diversity but not full so2r capability. Anyone from Flex willing to out their initial thoughts into this thread? 73 steve gw0gei

Barry N1EU

Michael, an external subrx integrated with software is not going to deliver diversity reception or on-the-fly stereo control of the two receivers' audio

Sorry Steve, SO2V to me means two receivers: (listen at http://n1eu.com/n1mm/cwso2v.htm) and ability to hear both in stereo.

73, Barry N1EU

Mike va3mw

Of course, I understand with Diversity. I had a Flex 5000 with a sub receiver and I spent a year playing with it at my remote station and my noisy home station. In both cases, I was using 2 different antenna systems. I never once got it to the point where it actually made a difference between hearing and not hearing. It did work and I could hear a difference, but as I said, never to the point where it was worth the expense and time, especially in a contest. Hence, I sold the 5000 and picked up my 2nd 3000. I really did want it to work. And, as you know, in a contest, you really don't have time to take focus away from the logging software. Having the SDR radio on a second computer with a touch screen is the way to go.

Jon_KF2E

They already have what you are asking for. It's called a 6700. To add a sub receiver you need to duplicate everything in the radio. That's what the 6500/6700 does. I doubt it would make business sense to add a $4k+ dual receive radio.

Jon...kf2e

Barry N1EU

Michael, one way to use diversity on the low bands is to listen simultaneously to two directional rx antennas pointing in different directions while transmitting on a vertical.  This makes a HUGE difference while running in a contest on the low bands.  Listen to the audio at http://n1eu.com/conaudio/06ARRL160.htm for an example.

Only Flex knows what makes business sense.  I do know that they would sell a boat load of $3K-4K dual rx versions of the 6300.

73, Barry N1EU

Steve Gw0gei

Ok Barry that's different from what I have always understood and mean by so2v. I know it's basic on something like a pro3 as there is only one Rx and antenna in use but I have used it on 6m 4m and Hf contests to s and p up the band on the second vfo whilst running on the main vfo. My ft1kd gave me a second Rx and separate antenna for it as would the ft5kmp if I had decided to go ahead and buy one. Playing with so2r earlier this year taught me that that is definitively the way to go . So rather than diversity I am looking for putting together a flex contest station that uses two separate flex radios and ideally I would like flex to come up with some form of so2r hardware box to link the two radios together with one headphone and mike input and the software tools in smartsdr to have the same options as a microham box gives but without the need to run microham middleware . If Flex indicate that they are not intending to cater for so2r in future then I will need to look again at the option of using microham or some other so2r box to interface my 6300 with another 6300 or more likely a 6500. I guess linking two 6300 radios together would also cater for what you are looking for - a true second Rx - but as others have pointed out it would be cheaper to add another sdr Rx and link it to your 6300 via smartcat - you would still need some sort of audio splitter box I guess to feed the second sdr Rx to one if your earphones. Apologies if it appears that I have widened the scope if your thread - I had been thinking if starting one off on ideas for so2r this morning and thought it was linked to your query. 73 Steve ( back to the garden to tune my 169m dipole for next weekends 160m cw contest before it gets dark!)

Mike va3mw

Barry, what I found was that if I had the space, using a K9AY or a Beverage was almost as effective. This is what I am doing at my remote base using a TS480. The 6300 will go there once I can deal remoting it correctly. What I had hoped would work would be to to pull out signals in a more urban setting like the classic city lot. For that part, I was unsuccessful or to put it differently, I was as successful as using my ANC4 with an HF rig. In the city test, I had a 4 bay K9AY and either a vertical or a 103ft windom on the main radio. I agree with what you are saying in that you do require a specific antenna setup to truly exploit a diversity setup. What does work is listening to the Flex (locally--urban) in 1 ear and the TS480 (remotely -- 100km's away on the side of a lake) in the other ear. There is almost no lagging in the audio (it does drift a little in latency between the 2) and I have been able to pull things out of the mud doing this. However, that is not contest legal but it was fun to experiment with. Many 73, Mike va3mw

Steve K9ZW

One would think the 6700 is easier and cheaper to produce than a twinned pair of 6300s or a 6300 plus add-on. 

Effective combining benefits from the data time-stamping that would require the GPSDO or other high precision sync reference stamping, which the 6300 architecture has less provisions for as well.

73

Steve

K9ZW