Having a blast with v1.4 on the 6700!

rfoust

Man I've been having a blast with v1.4 since it came out. This is by far the most stable and polished version of SSDR yet! The lan remote works perfect every time I enable it. The panadapter scrolling is eye candy now, no more spastic scrolling. I find myself scrolling left/right just to watch it redraw the display. :-)

Over a year ago when I was shopping for a high end radio, I was trying to decide between the Flex, and a few other major brands at or near the top of the charts.  I took a chance and went with the Flex 6700 and since then, Sherwood and ARRL have put it at the top of the charts, so I know I made the right decision. In addition to the hardware, the software has really shown that they are a forward-looking company and share the hobby with all of us.

If anyone is reading this thinking of buying a Flex, go for it. If you love technology and ham radio, you'll love this thing. You will feel bad for people still using radios that can't see the entire radio spectrum. If lightning hit mine tonight, I'd order a new one tomorrow without hesitation (and my wife would **** me).

-Robbie KI4TTZ

Lee - N2LEE

Robbie, while some people have a bumps and glitches I have to agree.
The 6000 series is a fantastic radio and the performance is by far the best radio I have owned.

kg5eiu

Agree!! I am new to HAM radio - but not new to technology - refreshing to see FlexRadio bring HAM radio to the modern times.   Really enjoying my Flex and SDR!!  

Igor Dlf

Agree too... I can not imagine me another device already

Jay Nation

Some people come pre-bumped and pre-glitched, Flexradio's can't fix that, I try to help those that are only slightly dinged and busted, Though my success rate prove's, I'm slightly dinged and busted too. Hopefully we can all cross the finish line together.

I'm enjoying my new radio too, especially when I discover how the new way works.
Some of my old methods still work, some of my new methods work better. Discovery as a daily activity is something new and fun. When things don't work how I "think" they should, I'm happy Flexradio has provided me with another "think". Keep the "thinks" coming! I'll figure it out.   

73, Jay - NO5J 

WA2SQQ

I also have to agree. From time to time we all have complained, but in the end FRS does deliver a pretty darn good product. I don't miss the knobs on my older radios one bit, and my Flex radios have rekindled my interest in the hobby. Now if they could only synthesize the smell of those glowing tubes and the light show that those #47 bulbs projected on my ceiling - it would be just like the good old days!

Norm - W7CK

I absolutely agree and feel I have to make somewhat of an apology here.....   Like many of the folks on this forum, several of my posts have been about problems I have had with my Flex 6700.  Some of the problems were operator error, or lack of understanding.  Some of them were problems with the software that have been since resolved and some are ongoing problems that will most likely be resolved in some future release.  After all, Isn't that the purpose of this forum?  I've sometimes forgotten that the forum is open to members that do not currently own a Flex radio and are here for the sole purpose of due diligence prior to purchasing their next rig.   This is an OPEN forum and sometimes posts are made that reflect some aspect that might SEEM like a show stopper to a newcomer.  In reality, I haven't seen any show stoppers since I purchased my 6700 well over a year ago.

Here's a little history - About 2 years ago I started looking for a new rig.  My old FT-900 was getting old and finally started having problems.  I had also recently retired and wanted to treat myself to a higher end rig.  In my intense research it became apparent that some of the best equipment and support was coming from US Companies.  This was really good news to me because I've been trying my best to support US companies whenever I make purchases.

About a year prior to my purchase I brought my IC-7000 in from the truck and had been using Ham Radio Deluxe to control the rig.  I soon began preferring to us my mouse and the HRD software to control the frequency, squelch, AF gain, RF gain, filtering and all of the other functions. During this time I also got hooked on some of the new digital modes like PSK, Olivia, Contesta and a few others. One evening it dawned on me that other than the on/off button I hadn't used any of the buttons or knobs on the radio for several weeks.

I had done a lot of reading about SDR.  Since I had been using HRD and hadn't really missed any of the knobs on my radio, I started to realize that I wouldn't really miss them as much as I thought I would.  A friend of mine had a Flex 5000 that he let me play with one day and that is all it took.  After seeing the filtering, tracking notch filter, panadapter, etc., I realized this was the direction the hobby would most likely be heading in.  Besides, I could always buy a backup rig with knobs if I found I couldn't live without them.  The only issue I had with the 5000 was the need to have a firewire connection but the 6000 series solved that issue with Ethernet which I figured should be around for a long long time.

Its been well over a year now that I've owned my 6700.  I really do love the rig.  While the software is still in development and the current release does have some shortcomings, it is still an outstanding radio.  As often as I may have complained here on the forum, there isn't another rig on the market that I would trade it for right now.  Yes, sometimes I have to muck around to get it to work like I think it should and it may even get a little frustrating at times but to tell you the truth - every time I turn it on it brings a smile to my face. 

To anyone who is considering a Flex radio and have concerns regarding issues you have read about on this forum.  All I can say is do your homework, post a request on the forum to get with someone in your area who already owns one and see if you can get some hands on experience with it.  I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.  I'm betting t may even renew your enthusiasm in ham radio!

Bill -VA3WTB

Thanks for sharing, Many misunderstand what we do here. It is a place to talk and ask about our radios, so many of the post are ones of trying to solve problems. From an outsider you may think the radio is just problems, well it is not at all, most the discussion is about making the radio better,