Took the plunge

Mark_WS7M

After having my 1500 for a few short weeks and realizing I needed an amp, a tuner I made the realization I could have all of that in one box... the 6300...

So I ordered one today with the ATU.  At some point soon I'll put my 1500 up for sale along with a tuner and an amp.

I'm looking forward to the 6300.  My primary interests are digital and CW.  I don't do much voice work.

With the 1500 I used VAC and stuff to link up between JT65 and PowerSDR.  It seems like I need to learn about the DAX stuff as that seems to be the way its done with the 6300.  Is that correct?

Also the 1500 linked in via USB.  Am I correct that the 6300 is via LAN?  That will be nice if it is true.  USB to me has always been kind of an enigma.  I'm a programmer by trade and I've lots of customers wanting to use USB.  Yes it is widely used now but it is not the easiest thing in the world to use.  For me personally either RS232 or TCPIP was always easier.  But that's all beside the point.

Mark - WS7M

Ken - NM9P

Congratulations, Mark!  You won't regret it one bit.
I started with a 1500 and ordered my 6500 after just 3 weeks.  Then I had to wait from January 2013 to August 2013 for delivery.  I was part of the second wave of early release, and it was worth the wait.

Now is the time to download the Quick start, and other manual/user guide information and start reading.

Yes, the 6000 series uses ethernet port instead of USB or Firewire.
6000 series includes its own Virtual Serial Port (SmartCAT) and its own Virtual Audio interface (DAX)  In fact, you should probably uninstall your VAC and VSP Manager when you get ready to install the 6300.

Digital is very easy on the 6000 series using DAX.  But you need to read up on it before you begin.  There are several good tutorials available for the different modes and programs.

Ken - NM9P

Doug Hall

Mark,

I've been down the same road, and I retired the 1500/amp combo in favor of a 6300. You won't be disappointed. Yes, the interface to the radio is via Ethernet. No need for VAC or third party serial port managers. Digital mode stuff works really well and DAX is straightforward to configure and use.

CW is one of the biggest differences. The 1500 was never a stellar CW rig, and to get the best performance I had to use an external keyer. Just too much latency even after tweaking PowerSDR settings. But the 6300 is wonderful on CW. I do a lot of ragchewing on CW with the 6300 and find it to be an excellent CW radio.

Enjoy the new rig!
73,
Doug K4DSP

Mark_WS7M

Ken, Doug,

Thanks for the replies!  

Ken, I will follow your advice and remove VAC once the 6300 gets here.  Thanks for the positive input.  It is nice to know that my $2600+ is not going to lead to a disappointment!  :-)

Doug, funny you mention CW and the 1500.  I'm waiting for WinKeyer for the same reasons you mention.  I tried a bunch of things things and never got CW working like I wanted.   Plus with amp and stuff inline break-in was almost impossible.  I'm hoping the break in in the 6300 works well, not that I'm a great CW op but I try.

Back when I got my extra in the 80's I was copying 35 in my head very well.  After being away for a number of years I'm struggling at 20.  sigh...   But with some work I'll get back to good copy I hope.

It's funny... for me I started as a novice when only CW was allowed.  My first rig was crystal controlled on 7.152 or something crazy like that.  I'd get so frustrated when I'd get home from school and find my only frequency occupied.  I'd wait, wait, wait and the moment it went free I'd call CQ.

I remember getting my first bug.  I **** with that thing.  I was one of those guys that had the very long DAHs and the super fast DTITITITITITITID.   LOL... I'm still not great with a keyer but I have a paddle and when I can I prefer to type.  I realize it is not true CW that way but I'm fast.

As a computer programmer I probably type about 100 WPM.  So I can easily stay ahead of my CW output.  When I try to go fast on my paddle I get messed up and end up sending lots of e e e and staring over.

I am looking forward to a single box.  Right now I'm antenna and power limited.  If I push my power up now to about 75 watts I get some RFI and I need to track that down.  One of the reasons I love the digital moves is I can usually get by with 25 watts or so.

I have to have a hidden antenna.  I have a big tree and I shoved a jpole up in the tree vertically.  I tunes nicely on almost all bands but I'm pretty sure I'll never be the big signal on the band.

Just south of me I have W6RF.  Nice guy.  He has a HUGE tower, big amps, beams and when he lights up for a contest I might as well turn off my radios.  He's S-60 on his harmonics he's so close LOL.   

Anyway looking forward to the 6300 and I'll be back here with questions once I get it.

M