If I purchased my radio less then a year ago do I have to purchase a lic

KS0CW

> I vote for free upgrade if you purchased in 2017...

Tim - W4TME

The corrected docs are now available for download

Tim - W4TME

Everyone, please do not attack other Community members for their comments and opinions.  Please show some restraint and respect.

Phil, I can appreciate your frustration.  Unfortunately, it is a difficult business decision that we had to make where to set the cutoff point for the 2.0 free upgrade grace period.  Wherever we set it, someone was not going to be happy with the decision.  We decided to make it coincide with the announcement of the new FLEX-6400 and FLEX-6600s.  As it has turned out, that ended up being a 60-day window for those people purchasing a 6300, 6500 or 6700.  I understand that this is little consolation to you because you are just outside of that window. 

Lee - N2LEE

Rich, don't misunderstand, I am not jumping for joy about paying for an upgrade for a $4000 radio I bought in Jan 2017 either. BUT, I knew this was coming and I knew it would cost $200.  This has been public knowledge for a long time.

My issue is the lack of responsibility by Flex owners who act like Flex has deceived or take advantage of them. This is a attempt to paint Flex as the bad guy here and I have a big problem with that. 

If 2.x comes out and it is buggy then that is legitimate criticism. But to continue to whine over and over about something we KNOWLY agreed to when buying our radios shows lack of maturity and an attempt to blame someone else.

And for the record... I have owned Icom's, Yaesu's and Kenwoods and they continue to come out with new radios and not ONCE have they offered me a trade-in or given me a new radio for FREE.

Am I doing backflips that I am going to spend $200 for new software, No. But first of all its my choice, Flex is not forcing me to buy an upgrade. But more importantly I have invested in a company, Flex Radio Systems. I did not buy just a radio, I bought into their strategy, technology and their people.

If I have to scrape together $200 to get more enjoyment out of a hobby I have had since I was 13 years old, then so be it. If they do not hold up their end, then I have a choice to make. BUT, complaining and whining is a reflection us not Flex.

Lee - N2LEE

Tim, I can only assume this was in response to my comments. First accept my apology. It is not my intention to single out any one person. But some times someone makes statements that reflect a common theme and in my attempt to address the general theme, it might sound targeted.

My patience is wearing thin of hearing grown men whine and complain. These comments come across as trying to put some kind of blame on your company and this is neither fair or justified. In my opinion this is the kind of irresponsible comments that can harm a company's brand and or reputation. In my opinion this is one step away from slander.

Flex might be guilty of misjudging the market, or not releasing software as soon as they had intended. But you are certainly not guilty of misleading taking advantage of its customers.

It is this misrepresentation that I have a problem with because I know everyone at Flex is simply trying to make a living and make the best product you can.

Tim - W4TME

Apology accepted. Thank you.

Rich McCabe

Lee , I am 100% with you on this and I want to fund Flex Radios continual improvement. Its the cheapest thing I am spending money on in the hobby !

But in all fairness Phil said "Personally, I am not happy with the May 19th date" after just buying the most expensive 6000 series Flex sells.  Once again.. fair statement.

And you are correct. There is an excessive amount of whining on here about the topic so I can understand your response. I just did not see Phil's comment in that category.

Rich McCabe

Another question. Talking to a local ham with a 6500. He was under the impression you were required to sign up for a smartlink account just to do the upgrade. I did not take it that way.  For a simple install it was a matter of downloading 2.0 and when you started the install it would give you link to go and purchase a license for if that particular radio was not on the Database as authorized for 2.0.  SmartLink was an optional step.

Rich

Mike VE3CKO

Phil there had to be a cut off date, period. Saying you feel a bit **** opened the door for criticism.  What makes you so special that you deserve to be favored over someone who bought in March or Feb ? What makes you more special than me? There had to be a cut-off date and you missed it. Live with it. Publicly complaining as you did and whining as others have, shows the weakness of public forums and social media in general.
In the past we had to write a letter which involves actually thinking and re-reading what you write, then going to post office to mail it. Plenty of opportunity to cool down and re-think. However in today's twitter/text instant gratification mentality, the first things that come to mind may not always be best to broadcast for all to see.

Tim - W4TME

Another question. Talking to a local ham with a 6500. He was under the impression you were required to sign up for a smartlink account just to do the upgrade.

That is incorrect.  The SmartLink account is only for using the SmartLink feature.

Rich McCabe

Thanks Tim

Tim - W4TME

Alright.  I think this is enough reaction of this type to Phil's post.  Point made.  Let's move on to other topics.