Is it worth upgrading from the 6300 to the 6400?

Richard Kemp

I presently have the 6300 radio. My question is, are there enough changes and upgrades in the Flex-6400 not the M model, just the 6400 model without the touch screen. Is it worth trading in my 6300 for the 6400, or should I pay for the 2.0 upgrade and keep my 6300? I really don't care about the touch screen. I will admit I'm more of a radio operator than an electronics engineer. That is why I'm asking for your opinion. Many thanks to anyone who sends a reply to my question.

Ria

Do you rag chew or contest and DX? For most casual users the 6300 is just fine. If you contest or DX then you might benefit from better performance.

paul

I have 3 6300 and a 6500. 6300's are dedicated to  vhf xvtrs. As a vhf contester I am looking at the 6400 because I can look at 6m and xvtr at the same time with dual scu. With the 6300 and 6500  only one antenna is used at a time. Diversity reception, beam steering,  might be nice on hf. I have it in my 5000. I do not see much need for 7th order preselects unless one is in a high hf rf enviornment. 3rd order on 6500 works fine and I do not see any problems with 6300s at my location. One of the 6300 is used remotely via vpn with no problems.  gl, paul, wa3qpx

Ken - NM9P

Paul, The 6400, at $1999, doesn't have the two SCU's. only the 6600 which is $3999 or $4999 for the 'M' model. I'm hoping that was a typo and that you won't be disappointed hoping an upgrade to a 6400 will be able to listen to 6 maters and your transverter at the same time. Ken - NM9P

Ken Hansen

In my brief discussion with Matt at HamCom in Texas, he made a convincing case that there are meaningful improvements in the 6400 vs the 6300, now, if they are worth the $1,000 cost over a trade-in (made up number, don't shoot me), that is for you to decide. I just bought a 6300 in the past 3 months, and I'm very happy with it (refurb, great price, 2 yr warranty) - I plan to buy the $200 update & keep it, but I am only a casual user.

Andrew Thall

I bought my Flex 6300 in September.  It is, without doubt, the finest radio I have ever owned.  I toyed with the idea of upgrading, but the amount of loss in investment via trade-in or re-selling the radio simply didn't make sense for me.  I was thoroughly impressed with the 6400 at the Hamvention.  Had I not already committed to the 6300, I'd be drooling over the prospect of the 6400.  I'm retired and am on a fixed budget.  Once my car is paid off (Oct, 2018) I'll be able to entertain the idea of a 6600.  I have already paid for the SmartSDR 2.0 (I had Matt Youngblood cancel my reservation for the 6400M and told him to only refund me $100 of the $300 deposit with the remaining $200 to go towards the new software) and I am anxiously awaiting its release.

Dave Dave

Please no BB.

I believe what I'm saying is true, ive looked pretty good.... if I'm wrong state kindly and ill do even more research.


I also have a 6300, almost bought a 6500 from a friend, he backed out cause flex is giving him a lot in trade towards a 6600m.

I'm glad he backed out, he asked, I agreed....... the 6500 can only use ONE receive antenna at a time, I had thought different before I looked into it, that's the same as the 6300 except the 6500 will do 4 slices instead of 2.

6400 is same way, upto 4 slices but all receive has to be on same antenna, 6600 can receive on different antennas at same time yet still only 4 slices.

So I'm waiting on a 6600.....

G8ZPX

I upgraded from 6300 to 6500 a year or so back. Not really worth it in my opinion. Only thing worth having was the band preselectors, but there are much cheaper ways to do this with external Hero box.

 I don't use the ATU and the multi-slice capability does not work with most logging apps and 3rd party stuff like JT65. Band vs antenna selection also lacks any intelligence, negating the sweetness of 4-slices.

Are there any measurable RF performance benefits in the 6400? I'd wait for the Sherwood report to be sure.

Jeff Eli

Please correct me if I am wrong. My understanding of the 6400 specs is that it only supports 2 slices.

Ria

The 6400 supports 2 slices only and has one SCU.

paul

Typo Ken , tnx paul, wa3qpx