antenna selection

G8ZPX

Okay, two slices open. slice 1 on ANT1/1 on 20m band. Slice 2 open on 50.110.

When I select antenna RX antenna 2 on the second slice (6m band) it also switches the antenna selection of slice 1 to ANT2, thus making it impossible to listen to 2 different bands with 2 different antennas. God knows how crazy this situation would get with more slices open. You can never be certain which antenna is selected without visually checking the screen.

G4NRT

Unless you have the 6700 then that is life I am afraid.  It is documented although I do not have the manual to hand to look it up!

David G4NRT

Dave Dave

6300 and 6500 have only one receiver.....you can use different transmitting antennas.

Personally I was very disappointed when I discovered the same thing, almost as much as no basic squelch.

Martin AA6E

The 6500 (or 6300) really has only one receiver, so only one receive antenna (at a time).  Flex confuses the story by using the term "SCU" (spectral capture unit) instead of "receiver".  You might think of a "slice" as being a receiver, but your 1-4 slices are more like sub-receivers, working off the output of the SCU.  (The critical part of the SCU is the analog-to-digital converter, and the 6500 has only one.)

Many antennas have enough response off resonance to be useful for receive purposes, so you can monitor multiple bands through the single antenna port.

Steve G1XOW

Yes okay, it was a dumb question. But then I have to ask what is the point of putting multiple antenna jacks on the radio at all?   Would be easier and cheaper just to use an external 1/2/3 switch. At least that way there is no confusion and everyone would know what is (or ins't) going on.

Burch - K4QXX

Many of my old Icom/Yaesu/Kenwood radios all have two antenna jacks but only had one receiver.  I would always hook up my 6 meter antenna to one and my HF antenna to the other.  Much easier and less complicated than using external cables and antenna switches.  My old Flex-5000a had 3 antenna jacks.  I used one for my StepIR vertical, one for 6 meters, and one for my 160 meter inverted L.  When I changed bands, the antenna port changed.  Much easier and more efficient than using an external switch.


Ken - NM9P

The advantage to having multiple antenna connectors on the rig is that you can program the rig to automatically select the antenna depending upon which band you're in. It also allows you to change between antennas using the rig's control software. You can't do that with external antenna switches, unless they are the expensive ones.

Steve G1XOW

Ken, Good point if it actually worked like that (which currently it doesn't). Antenna switching presently follows slices, not frequencies, nor pre-allocated antenna/amp combinations.

It only works that way if driven via the band selection buttons (requires extra clicks too). It doesn't work if the freq is entered manually nor does it work if the freq is provided to SSDR by any other app such as HRD, FLdigi, M1MM etc.

Tim - W4TME

Dave - I understand that for you, having a squelch to use on non-FM modes is important, but, and I say this with all the respect in the world, you have made your point and expressed your disappointment in excess. Constant reiteration of your opinion over this feature not currently being in the current code every time you post has no affect regarding the prioritization of this planned feature.

For the record, we have the request in our enhancement database.  We intend to implement a squelch feature that is more advanced than a threshold based reverse gate.  Thank you.

Al K0VM

I use a 6m-hf diplxer that allows me to monitor/work on 6m antenna while working HF on other HF antenna.

AL, K0VM

G4NRT

Interesting Al. Would you mind letting me have the details. Perhaps you would reply direct so as not to hi-jack Steve's thread! David G4NRT

G8ZPX

Al, would also appreciate detail on the Diplexor. I have a SteppIR for 40-10m (which also provides a pathetic dipole on 6m), however, I also have a dedicated 7 element yagi for 6m above it.

dlwarnberg

Steve...  DIAMOND MX62M Duplexer

http://www.diamondantenna.net/Product_Catalog/plexers.html

Or

Comet CF-360  A or B model might be more along the lines your looking for

Keith Ferguson

I do this  - it works really well. A similar approach lets you receive 4 metres at the same time as the HF bands, but it's a little more complicated (to allow for including a 4m PA in the transmit path). The diplexer is just one of the off-the-shelf Japanese units.

G8ZPX

David,

Thanks for that. Not sure 600W PEP is good enough, too close to the **** I feel.

I run full QRO on HF and 6m. If a Diplexer fails it would make a very expensive door-stop out of your Flex. Need a real QRO solution ideally. I may consider making cavity resonators out of 1/8 hard line. Messy and bulky but crash-proof.

Jay -- N0FB

The antenna selection for a single SCU can only have one active antenna connection no matter how many slices are being displayed or listened to.  So for now, the software, as far as I can tell, is working as designed. This is not a problem, per-se except with your understanding of what is happening under the hood.

Maybe instead of having this thread listed as a "problem", you could create an "idea" thread.  You could then purpose what new feature you would like to see.  The rest of us could then poke holes in the idea and/or make it better.  Then the folks at FlexRadio could, if they chose, add it to their stack-of-stuff to develop for a future release.

I'd like to think that I always approach issues like this with the assumption that I know much less than the person or team who designed and built the product.  There are usually really good reasons why things work the way that they do and I'm just ignorant of that reason.

Ken - NM9P

Antenna/Band persistence works differently depending upon how the frequency is selected.  It is remembered when using the Band Buttons, but when entering a new frequency via direct entry, spotters networks, or via Logging Programs like N1MM+ the antenna parameters (and many other parameters) remain constant for the same slice. 

My understanding is that this was implemented in v.1.6 to make it more consistent for contest operations that typically use DDUtil or band/antenna definitions within Contest Logging programs like N1MM to make those antenna selections.  The rationale is that unintentional changes in Antenna Selections, ATU settings, etc. caused by accidentally clicking on the wrong button or the wrong spotting post, will cause StepIR antennas, antenna tuners, and amplifiers to cycle through unneeded and unintended tuning cycles, wasting crucial time and points in a contest.

Band-button antenna selection persistence was left along, because most contesters don't select their bands with the buttons, and persons engaged in other operations would want the band button persistence to function unhindered.

Regardless, you can only have one antenna at a time connected to the SCU (Receiving unit) of a 6300/6500 no matter how many slices are open or what band they are tuning.   That is the physics of the matter.  (Unlless as others have said, you use a diplexer to port 6 meters out to another antenna.  I have done that before I put my T-11 LP up.  Now have an unneeded Diplexer.)

Dave Dave

Tim,

See from my view.... this is the first time anyone from Flex has shown any intent in any direction of Squelch...... Till now I had no reason to think squelch is or would ever be even considered.   I now understand Squelch is coming.... Eventually. 

Thank you Tim, Dave

Tim - W4TME

There are several topics where a FlexRadio employee has responded to this request and clearly communicated intent and direction.

I acknowledge the request for this feature 11 months ago, of which you were active on the thread.  https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/squelch-for-all-modes

My response...

"A squelch feature for non-FM modes is on our enhancements list of things to do.  It just hasn't risen to the top of the heap yet."

And I do not comment on feature priorities or timelines unless the feature's release is imminent.

KY6LA_Howard

As I tell my XYL. I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME Nag me enough and it will NEVER get fixed. Of. Course, there are always unintended consequences if I say that too loud to my XYL.

Mike W8MM

If you have the luxury of two different QRO amps (1 on HF, 1 on 6), you might put the diplexer between the radio and the amps.  Then the diplexer only needs a 100 watt power rating.

I can also imagine a coaxial relay contraption (a bit like a stack match) that could make a single HF+6 amp work with a diplexer on receive.

Steve G1XOW

Good point Mike, thanks, I will try that.

Another option may be the antenna Genius. I had previously shunned that as another bit of external **** that I shouldn't really need, but obviously I do. SSDR could be so much better in this regard but contesting is apparently more important.