Introducing Maestro!

James Whiteway

I gave in and preordered one. But, still looking forward to William's app and my cobbled up masterpiece! James WD5GWY

Steve - KD8QWT

The knobs are smooth and very responsive, but slightly lighter feel then some radios. I'm not a big knob guy, but they felt good to me. It did not have the feel of a prototype. The screen has the typical sharpness and viewing angle of IPS displays. Overall it's larger than I expected. I was on my way to the TAPR forum do I didn't have much time to play with it.

N7CXI

Answers both contesters and competition.
Nicely done.

Jim N7CXI

Greg - KØGDI

I originally was going to hook up my Flex-6300 up to my car.  Which would have either made me build a mini or nano-itx computer and then running the video to the cars dash screen.  But I gave up the project because of the complexity.  So I decided to buy an Icom 7100.  Now that you have Maestro coming, I am rethinking putting my 6300 mobile.  I wish the 6300 had Wifi.  I plan on using the cars built in WiFi and using that as my network.  I'll have to plug a range extender into the Flex 6300 which will funnel the WiFi connection into the radio.  I think this unit is a great idea!

Greg - KØGDI

A shame that you can't plug a USB cable into it to run digital modes off the head unit.  

Ned K1NJ

   Although it hasn't been mentioned, the inclusion of Bluetooth might allow the use of a
keyboard and mouse for those so inclined.  Also, to free us from needing a PC device of
some kind, a way to do logging via Maestro would be very useful.  A window into
the home PC comes to mind.  Something like that would also allow remote control of a
rotor and other devices at the home station.  I suspect Flex has give some thought to this.

Ned,  K1NJ

Steve-N5AC

1. I wonder if I can use concurrently the PC and the Maestro. In a contest scenario I think the Maestro will be invaluable! But I also would like to use a bigger display without losing the convenience of the buttons.

This has been requested frequently and we intend to do this, but it will not be available "out of the gate" when the product is first released.

1. DDUtil does a ton of things in my radioshack, most importantly, it sends band data to the amplifier so it automatically switches bands and tuning parameters when I change bands on the flex. It also adjusts the power output when the amp is operational. DDUtil requires a PC to run connected to the Flex. Is there a plan to provide the functionality that will allow us to not have to have a PC running side by side with the Flex if we want to use Maestro?

We have often discussed pulling this functionality into SmartSDR.  We have also discussed it with Steve Nance, K5FR, author of DDUtil.  He's graciously agreed to work us should we decide to do that and I think over time it makes sense to do this.  So it is "on our list" of good things to do, but as of yet is unscheduled/unplanned.  Like all things software, it's just a matter of priority and whether this becomes the "important thing"

1. If I have 2 Series 6000 Flex radios... I should be able to run one with a PC and another one with the Maestro... right? If that is the case... how does DAX and CAT work... will there be other instances of those programs running per Flex radio?

Yes this is the case.  DAX and CAT can point either radio to any PC target. 

Ali 9K2WA

I already booked my  unit 12 hours ago.

I wish and hope it could switch on the radio if Remote ON is enabled, I think the time has come for this function to be implemented.

VE2MBT

Very nice, Awesome work, but, i wish i could have used my flex with the Maestro AND the computer at the same time :-(  Keep up the good work, i will jump on one as soon as we can use BOTH at the same time...

KY6LA_Howard

It's bigger than I thought it would. Be

W4WHL

Not sure if this was asked, but can you get rid of the second slice so that a single slice fills the screen?

William

Ken - NM9P

LOL! For $100 I would have bought two of them! Right now, it is a little steep for my budget. Antenna tower and amplifier projects will need to come first. But this is an extremely cool product that will sell a bunch.

EA4GLI

Thanks Steve!

EA4GLI

LOL, I have seen this picture already in a forum in Spain and someone sent it to me by whatsapp 

Rick Hadley - W0FG

Got mine ordered in the first hour after Gerald gave us the dog & pony show!

Simon Lewis

wow that looks great! 

Gerald-K5SDR

Yes

Jon_KF2E

That doesn't look like an Apple watch on your arm?

Jon...kf2e

George KF2T

Played with it in the booth a bit today. The "feel" is excellent. The visual display is beautiful. It is quite large, so I can't imagine going mobile with Maestro. What a great unit for an EOC Comms Desk, a second home, or office. As long as there's good networking, this is awesome!

Walt - KZ1F

 As for the 802.11 a/b/g/n, will it work with 802.11ac? In other words was the absence of /ac an oversight or will it not work with 5G aka 802.11ac

KY6LA_Howard

Suunto D4i Dive Watchx 2

Roy Laufer

Here's a fresh Youtube video of the Maestro. Its a bit larger and thicker than I first thought, but it looks like it will be  a great addition!
http://youtu.be/CK8ptGlRDjw

Simon Lewis

1. DDUtil does a ton of things in my radioshack, most importantly, it sends band data to the amplifier so it automatically switches bands and tuning parameters when I change bands on the flex. It also adjusts the power output when the amp is operational. DDUtil requires a PC to run connected to the Flex. Is there a plan to provide the functionality that will allow us to not have to have a PC running side by side with the Flex if we want to use Maestro?

We have often discussed pulling this functionality into SmartSDR.  We have also discussed it with Steve Nance, K5FR, author of DDUtil.  He's graciously agreed to work us should we decide to do that and I think over time it makes sense to do this.  So it is "on our list" of good things to do, but as of yet is unscheduled/unplanned.  Like all things software, it's just a matter of priority and whether this becomes the "important thing"


Yes it is ... the missing 'link' is now moving away from the PC ... as a min I need a CAT output thats all .. in a selectable Icom/Kenwood or Yaesu CAT format - this will interface into any amp that supports CAT and I can pump into my Microham kit - but built in functions around DDUTIL would be awesome ... DO IT !   Its the missing puzzle and I can ditch the PC

Jon_KF2E

While this certainly looks like an interesting device...it is huge...and another device to haul around. I would have been much more excited if it had been a fully functional app for Android or IOS. I'm looking forward to WAN remote, but would like to be able to do it with a portable device. While William is doing some nice work on his Android program, it would be nice to have an officially supported app for something other than Windows. I'm not confident that 3rd party apps are going to fill the void.

Jon...kf2e

Walt - KZ1F

As for the 802.11 a/b/g/n, will it work with 802.11ac? In other words was the absence of /ac an oversight or will it not work with 5G aka 802.11ac

Walt - KZ1F

It doesn't require Windows?
It's got knobs and buttons and physical controls
Presumably, it will would just fine and dandy with 2.x

Roy Laufer

I assume that the primary differences are the knobs and buttons. For those that don't need them, a 'kludged' up windows based tablet should suffice.

I was considering something like the MS Surface Pro 3 (or the eventually to be announced Surface Pro 4) to serve a similar purpose, previously. I'm a bit confused by the apparent thickness of the unit. Tablets (and laptops) seem significantly thinner in modern design.

Steve-N5AC

I used it on 5GHz all day.

rfoust

Yeah it does look a little larger than I expected.  I'm glad the display is as large as it is though.

Walt - KZ1F

but on the other hand it has to support the depth of the plugs for keyer and headphones etc.