Stereo Diversity on the 6700?

Barry N1EU

Does the 6700 currently provide stereo diversity reception - both hardware receivers on the same frequency and connected to different antennas?  Can both hardware receivers be tied to the same VFO and transmitter tied to the other VFO (stereo diversity with split)?  If you adjust RIT while in stereo diversity, does the freq of both receivers move in tandem?

Thanks & 73,
Barry N1EU

Robert -- N5IKD

Yes, Yes, and Yes. 

There is a DIV button that ties two slices together. You can adjust the volume and balance of each slice independently. 

Robert -- N5IKD

Here is another photo showing the RIT function in operation. The offset values are indicated in the X/RIT flag as well as in the transmit pane which can always be visible to the right of the panadapter.

Barry N1EU

Sorry, you were too quick for me.  Pardon my SSDR dumbness, but is that showing RX1 and TX on vfoA and RX2 on vfoB?  And what's not shown is that SSDR is tying the two vfos together?  And RIT will alter freqs of both receivers in tandem while tx freq doesn't move?

Okay, this is minimal split capability and I will assume you can't have full split with vfoA on both hardware receivers and vfoB on xmitter.  Or is there more I'm missing (probably)?

Thanks!

Robert -- N5IKD

With the DIV selected. the two slice A and slice B are tied together. The RIT/XIT operates as one for both slices. You have full split capability with the 6700.

In SDR they are called slices and not VFOs because it is calculated and not derived by mixing the signal with an oscillator.

Barry N1EU

Okay, slice A and slice B are tied together with DIV selected.  Now how do you set your transmitter to a different frequency for split operation?  Do you open a 3rd slice, just for the transmitter?

And with however split is set up (assuming you CAN set it up), what does an external logging program like N1MM Logger see as "vfoA" and "vfoB" when interfaced to the 6700 in this configuration?  (N1MM Logger speaks vfo's and not slices.)

Thanks!

KY6LA_Howard

You can set up transmit on a totally different frequency by opening up Slice C and clicking on the TX indicator to make that the TX frequency Welcome to the problem of Legacy Software Most logging programs still use CAT and only recognize Slice A as VFO A I do believe that there are now a couple that recognize more than one slice but as far as I know none recognize more than two. A work around would be to create the transmit slice on Slice A and use SliceB/C for Diversity. Some day Loggers will join the 21st century and recognize more than one slice.

Robert -- N5IKD

The transmitter XIT will move in unison with the slice frequency.

The information for the slice, the XIT and RIT is all available to logging programs via the API, but the logging programs still mostly using serial port CAT interface to communicate and are not yet using the network API and they have no concept of having more than two VFO/Slices.

The logger programs are beginning to change, but it may take a while because it requires them to change the way they interface to radios for only one radio that they support.

Barry N1EU

Thanks guys.  I suspect that if you have DIV selected with slice A and slice B tied together and then you grab a bandmap spot (with N1MM Logger in a contest) that is coded with a qsx/split frequency, that you will not get the desired result.  We'll have to wait for this to work I guess.

Thanks & 73,
Barry N1EU

Stu Phillips - K6TU

It works already - you just have to be intelligent about how slices are assigned.

When you click on the DIV button, the radio assigns the NEXT AVAILABLE slice to the DIV pair.  So if you already have slice A AND B open, then click on slice A and set DIV, the radio will assign slice C to the diversity pairing with slice A.

Now if you click on a split spot, everything will work as the spot program expects - "VFO A" (slices A|C) gets set to the DX stations TX frequecy, while "VFO B" (slice gets set to transmit and assigned the split value.

In a contest, its is exceedingly RARE to see a station operate split because its almost impossible to maintain a clear RX frequency that you are not using for your own CQs.

In contests, I have made diversity reception a standard part of my operating procedures as it makes a significant improvement in my ability to grab a callsign out of a pile up - whole, in one go - thereby reducing the need for repeats.

You can read about my experience of this at:

http://1vc.typepad.com/ethergeist/2014/11/k6tu-wetware-neural-processor-for-flexradio-6700.html

and there are CW sound bites of using Diversity reception available at:

http://1vc.typepad.com/ethergeist/2014/12/flex-6700-diversity.html

If you are a serious contester and have the resources, using anything  a Flex 6700 with diversity provides a serious step up in capabilities.

If you aren't using a Flex 6000 6700 radio, you aren't using the best tool for the job.

Period!

Stu K6TU

PS: The practical minded contester finds a way to leverage the capabilities available today - waiting for perfection eliminates the benefits of the "good enough" :-)

PSS: The good news about people waiting for perfection is it leaves the rest of us with more scope to win while folks wait!

Barry N1EU

Thanks for the smart work-around Stu.

"In a contest, it is exceedingly RARE to see a station operate split because its almost impossible to maintain a clear RX frequency that you are not using for your own CQs."  Sorry, but it's routine for the Europeans to run split on 40M (and 80M) SSB in contests when they are targeting NA, resulting in the bandmap being ripe with qsx spots under 7125KHz.  Maybe us guys on the east coast are more aware of this.

73, Barry N1EU

Stu Phillips - K6TU

You East Coasters have many things easier than we do here on the Left Coast...  including contest rules that tilt the US in your favor due to better proximity to Europe.

A good point and one easily accommodated by the simple work around I described. 

Stu K6TU