Lowly m6 in uk

Tony Hateley

Hi,I'm a lowly m6 in the UK,and I'm a member of my local club,I'm the only member that has a flex radio ,I have the 6500,could someone please tell me what advantages I have that a knob radio does not have,I would like a list that I could print off and then ask the desenterse what there replys are.thanks tony m6 dyr

Duane_AC5AA

Well, for one thing, with the beautiful panadaptor/waterfall display, you can quickly view the activity on an entire ham band.  No need to tune from one end to the other, and maybe multiple times in case someone was not transmitting when you happened to tune through.  And if they respond about the little screens on some radios, just mock them and their toys.  :-)  Kidding, but only slightly!

Roy Stiegler

An absolutely superior display of whats going on via the band being used, superior variable selectivity, lack of de-sensing due to very strong adjacent channel signals, and the tracking noise filter just to get started.

Roy W5TCX

Jon_KF2E

The top rated receiver by Sherwood Engineering.

Jon...kf2e

Dan -- KC4GO

If you follow this link you will find SDR 101 
It should give you lots of information about why you have a GREAT radio.
This was prepared by Dr Howard White

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10740053/Modern%20Radio%20SDR-101%20V2.pdf

Keith Ferguson

Ask them if their "knob" radios can do this, Tony:

Michael Coslo

There's only one problem. They won't accept a thing you say. SDR Radios like the Flex radios represent the future of radio, and like many of the amateur radio transitions, there is an old guard that chooses to be threatened by advances.

Some could be an age thing, and a fear of computers, and a resistance to any change.

My answer to your compatriots would be to simply smile and not get involved in the fracas. Rest assured that you have a better radio than 90 percent of them, and anyone who does have a better radio paid way more than you did. For very large values of "way".

And perhaps even some twisted values of "better" on their part. Keith's "many slices" display sums that up.

But arguments? Nah. Waste of your time - that just encourages them.

chris hartley (G3VjV)

Don't despair, my local club don't show any interest in my favourite subjects, but I've worked quit a few stations using FlexRadios, I have a 6300 and have fitted knobs to it using USB controllers and have written the software to make it all work.

You can see my setup at:
http://www.cphartley.com/ and follow the "Ham Radio G3VJV" link

Ken - NM9P

In the long run, you can only describe why you like it and what utility it offers to your own operations.  Those who have an emotional attachment to their own favorite brands will not want to jump ship anyway.  (Their are even some flexers that will not acknowledge any shortcomings of their flex radios, either.  Even though they will eventually be "fixed," there are a very few rough edges in this otherwise exemplary rig.  Honest appraisal demands accuracy on both sides.  Frankly, in spite of a few frustrations, this is the finest rig I have ever used!)  

Some hams love to spend lots of time arguing about which rig is best.  
Don't worry about proving the quality of your radio.  Just enjoy it.  

Ken - NM9P

KY6LA_Howard

You own the top rated radio by both Sherwood and QST. It has better selectivity with infinitely variable filters and the sharpest filter form factor of any receiver on the market, It has the lowest phase noise of any receiver on the market which means the weak DX signals which are muffled by internal noise on a legacy radio will leap out of the noise on your radio You own the most impressive visual display on the market You have 4 receivers in your radio. No legacy radio has more than 2 Your radio is entirely in the digital domain which means that you have a 6dB gain advantage over legacy radios in digital modes as legacy radios must convert analog to digital and digital to analog introducing noise and distortion. You have an easy to use 8 band equalizer for transmit and receive You have a radio with the lowest internal receive distortion It is perhaps the best DX radio ever The list of advantages could go on and on. As Dan suggested read my presentation SDR-101. HOWEVER It is not the best contest radio YET For contests you need knobs and switches. That is being corrected withe the Maestro Device which is in development. Once Flex wins contests and they inevitably will win contests, I would suggest that then and only then will you be able to quiet the naysayers.

Ian1

Tony

1. How about the fact that you can monitor several bands to see when propagation opens up!
2. Water Fall that allows you to see signals that have occurred in the past.
3. Pan-adapter which displays signal and width and allows you to see offsets when working splits.
4  Five different Frequencies each with independent filter settings and different modes of operation.
5 Remote Lan operation on your Network.
6 Record signals sop other stations can here what they sound like.
7 Cleanest Audio in the business
8 Continuous product updates via software and firmware

Tony if they see the Flex work they will be impressed you need to be able to demonstrate it and answer question.

Ian

 

Tony Hateley

I took it to the club and most members avoid it like the plague

DrTeeth

They are Luddites. I have held my licence since March 1975 and came back to amateur radio after a very, very long break last September. The concept of being able too see what was in the bandwidth was what won it for me.

Hope to get you in the log soon Tony.

Ken - NM9P

I have previously described moving from my Kenwood TS850SAT to a Flex 1500 as moving from driving a tank through a periscope to a quality sedan with large windows. And moving to a 6500 is like moving to a high performance sportscar with a convertible top! I love being able to see the bands around me!

Steve K9ZW

Tony - I'd be happy to do a "visiting speaker" gig for the group on my next North of England run (thinking mid autumn).  I visited the western "end of the wall" club the Den Valley group some years ago, and at your end have attended events at Neville Hall which I think is nearby for you.

Contact me direct if you'd like to see if we could work something out!

73

Steve

K9ZW

Michael Coslo

Seems like you might be in the wrong club. I've dealt with some clubs like that. They are the folks who sit around and grouse about how new hams are ****, and how  Ham Radio is dying. And yeah, it is for them. In ten years, I suspect that most radios will be SDR.

Trying to impress people who refuse to be impressed by improvement is futile.

If you want to impress these guys, you need to develop their poor attitude and outlook  first. Do you really want to do that? Get on the air, make contacts, and you'l be surprised how many active hams have moved to SDR.

Granted, a 6000 series is not an Ameco or Heathkit monobander, but that's our cross to bear...... 8^)

DrTeeth

Michael, I believe that many of todays' radios ARE SDRs, but just with knobs on.

KY6LA_Howard

Not True Most Legacy Ham Radios are Narrow Band Hardware Defined Radios NOT SDR's But virtually every Cell Phone, Dital TV, etc is a SDR

Jim Hawkins / K2JHV

One of my favorite features introduced in the 6000 series is the W9GR compressor ("PROC") button.  It uses a principle called CESSB (Controlled Envelope SSB).  Compression is done in a more precise manner, keeping the audio distortion free and getting a lot more power out of a given PEP.
A pdf of a QEX article can be found at the following link:
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/2014/Nov-Dec_2014/Hershberger_QEX_11_14.pdf

Oxford English

Hi Tony

Don't despair - no matter what your fellow club members think, you have one of the best radios in the world!

Does your club have an 'on air night?' If so, the answer is fairly simple, take your Flex to the club and show them what it can do - you will either have converts or idiots who can't see the advantages. In my opinion, it really is as simple as that! Once anyone with half a brain has used a Flex 6 series, there is no going back to a 'normal' radio and saying that it is better than the Flex.

As I say, just my opinion from sunny France.

Tim

John

Gordy, I was very happy with my flex 1500 and managed to save me pennies and get a used flex3000, surely it cannot get any better than this ? :-) or can it ?

Tim - W4TME

It can. Numbers and specs tell part of the story, but hearing is the true differentiator.

I have performed A/B comparisons between the FLEX-5000 and FLEX-6700 and the difference is noticeable by ones ear.  I test by finding weak signals near the noise floor with the lower class radio and wait until the band (20m) closes until the signals are unintelligible. Then I switch over to the higher class radio and see if any intelligence can be recovered from the signal. I use the same antenna, speakers, filters, preamp and AGC-T settings.

With the 5000 and 6700 comparison, and the let me reiterate that the 5000 is an excellent radio, there are signals I can understand on the 6700 that are unintelligible on the 5000.

I will be making a similar test between the FLEX-3000 and FLEX-6700 next week.  I expect the results to trend in the same direction.