Status of new 6400, 6600 Flex Radios?

Bill Garfield W1BG

I believe what he means is it doesn’t matter when it comes. It simply would be nice to have a firm date of when to expect it without using vague or ambiguous terms. The mfr likely knows what the cycle time is for assembly, QA & shipping. What’s unknown might be the lead time for the components, some of which are in high demand & short supply, such as 10k resistors. If you can’t get the penny parts, you certainly wouldn’t want to tie up your working capital in the $10 parts that you can get. However, in a recent interview Gerald implied that they had everything they needed for production through the end of 2018. If only for budgetary reasons, it’d be awfully nice to have a firmer timeline of when I need to liquidate an investment to come up with the balance owed. We don’t all live on plastic.

James Kennedy-WU5E

99% sometime in NOV, still have a few days left. cross your fingers! 

Bill Garfield W1BG

With holidays this coming week there’s only 7 working days left in Nov. Hubba-hubba...

Gary Johnson

If it just were plastic - it's my XYL's sticky fingers I worry about.  $4500.00 is so tempting!!

Jim K4JAF

I think more frequent updates by the FLEX staff would lessen the questions concerning 6400-6600 delivery.  Communication to customers is key to any company's success.  I am not talking about explicit delivery dates but just the status of development at the present time. Without informed communication, rumors run rampant.  

Bill -VA3WTB

Jim, Tim has asked people to call about their order and ask anything. As you read, some have called and was given updates concerning their orders.

Jim K4JAF

I know this, in fact I called last week concerning my order; just seems like more frequent updates via announcements would alleviate a lot of these type telephone calls which consume the Flex staff's time.  
Example: I called Sales, had to leave message, Flex called me back and had to leave a message for me, I again had to call Flex to talk with someone..  This is so wasteful of the support Staff's time to get a answer that could have been answered one time for many of us with a brief announcement.  

Bill -VA3WTB

Tim, I am sure they are aware of everything you mention, but Flex has been getting away from giving any kind of dates, only in the ball park dates. This is done for very good reasons I may add. Sit tight, as the time gets closer we will hear more.
There will always be rumors, and little can be done to stop them.

Milen KG2C

Flex just sent out a mass email explaining the delays and saying:

Barring any unforeseen problems, our manufacturing partner has committed best efforts to complete the first production run during the month of December.  Both they and we are highly motivated to do so.

James Whiteway

Yep, communication, no matter how painful it may be to some, is much better than little, or no, communication. Thanks Gerald for the update. James WD5GWY

Milen KG2C

It wasn't all bad news though, which is why they must have waited until the issues got resolved to send out the email.

I was worried that they might do everything for the M models and start shipping them before getting started on the non-M models, but the email (and a call to Mike) confirmed that at least the boards for the first run are done for both M and non-M.

Marc Lalonde

since my 6700 is on flex bench and i wait for 6600 , i  buy and put in place a ICOM Radio
before snow block access to my remote site ,seem that it was a good idea ;-)

that also permit to find that RS-BA1  is not that bad 1/10 of internet bandwidth
and after 15 day still no have issue (yet)

really wish to have my 6600 on hand soon for put it on operation  Icom is fine but noting beat Flex  ;-) 

Joe N9VX

I read Gerald's message to say they hoped the first run of M models would ship in December. The original plan was to ship the M models one month before the non M models, so I assume the 6400 would ship in January. Anyone disagree with this?

Joe  N9VX 

Rich McCabe

Dear Valued Customer,

First, we sincerely appreciate your pre-order and your trust in FlexRadio.  You have ordered one of the most powerful transceivers ever produced for the Amateur Radio market and we are confident you will love it.

As a reminder, here are a few of the things to look forward to with your new radio:

• Industry-leading performance for the price
• SmartLink for plug and play remote on iPhone, iPad, Maestro or laptop
• Regular software updates with new features and performance improvements
• Large 8" high resolution (1920 x 1200) multi-touch display (M-models)
• Two full sets of VFO controls (M-models)
• And many more...

We would like to apologize for the delay from our original September shipment estimate.  Unfortunately, two factors out of our control delayed production startup.  First, our manufacturing partner cut over to a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system on September 1.  This resulted in a ~3-week delay that we were not aware of when we made our original estimate.  Secondly, our bare printed circuit board supplier was late on three PCBs by three weeks, which were additive to the ERP transition delay.  Fortunately, those issues are behind us and the factory is in full swing.

Here is the latest status of production:

1. The factory completed the last printed circuit board assembly for the first production run on November 18th.
2. We also received first article (FA) final production assemblies on November 18th for validation as shown in the photo below.  We were successful in confirming quality and performance of the FA units over the weekend.
3. The factory is in the process now of building the major chassis subassemblies in preparation for final system test and calibration.
4. This week is Thanksgiving week in the US, which has the factory short on staff and closed on Thursday and Friday.  Full production will resume on Monday after the holiday.
5. Barring any unforeseen problems, our manufacturing partner has committed best efforts to complete the first production run during the month of December.  Both they and we are highly motivated to do so.  
6. Shipments into the US market will begin first.  
7. We expect to begin CE testing during the first or second week of December.  Shipments to the EU will begin as soon that testing is successfully completed.

We know that you would like to get ready to use your new radio so we are providing a link below to the Quick Start Guide and the FLEX-6400M/FLEX-6600M User Guide.  The hardware section of these manuals is applicable to the FLEX-6400 and FLEX-6600 as well.  Review the SmartSDR for Windows User Guide for software operation of the FLEX-6400 and FLEX-6600 models.  We hope that you will take the time to review these manuals in preparation for receipt of your radio.

We know you are eager to learn when you will receive your radio but please try to refrain from contacting us since there will be no additional information beyond that provided here. Prior to shipment of your radio, we will contact you by email to request final payment, verify your shipping information, and see if there are any changes you would like to make to your order.

Thanks for your patience as we ramp production over the coming weeks.

73,

Gerald, K5SDR

Gerald-K5SDR

The final parts for the FLEX-6400 and FLEX-6600 front panels are in transit to the factory so we expect to ship the first production run of all four models next month.  The may be slightly behind the "M" models but not by much.  We are hoping that there will not be much gap in shipping all models after the first production run, assuming the vendors all ship on time to our factory.  

Lionel

tnx for update.

Mike VE3CKO

James you are being awfully tough on Matt for no reason. You are just an outsider guessing, Matt is there daily and knows things. He may even know what happened to the dinosaurs, and who really shot Kennedy. Someone took a shot across the Icom bow and you are snapping back, I get it but it really isn't necessary.

Matt NQ6N

Great news! I hope everyone at Flex has a great Thanksgiving and takes some time to spend with family and friends over the long weekend. 

73,
Matt NQ6N

James Whiteway

Matt knows I meant no harm in my statement. But, he has in the past made statements to me on this subject, that turned out to be guesses. The world didn't end. And I know who shot Kennedy! Icom and FRS will survive just fine despite any statement I, or anyone else may make. Little snipes(if that's what I said was a snipe,,, we hunt snipes in Texas!)

Gary Johnson

Gerald and Matt,   Thanks for the update.  We are all loyal Flex customers who understand that Flex is a much smaller company building highly specialized products.  Many of us who have gravitated to Flex vs Icom have done so for a great product with outstanding personalized customer service.  Your supply problems are our problems and I can say for myself, knowledge that a supplier was shipping late comes as a relief knowing that the radio as a whole is proceeding as normal, just interrupted by lack of necessary parts.  I was a Navy Supply Officer who has chased parts around the world - even to Antarctica.  I feel your pain.  My 6600M will come when ready - not a minute before, and that is as it should be.   HAVE A GOOD, HAPPY AND STRESS FREE THANKSGIVING.   73,   Gary J   N5BAA

Fred Abrams

I think I am perhaps #1 on the list for the 6400M (first to order it the night it was announced at the Flex dinner prior to Hamvention). I did not get an email as you mention above. Concerning. Fred K0RAL - Dayton Ohio

Fred Abrams

There is mention of an e-mail sent to all who have the new radio on order. Did not receive such an email.I think I am perhaps #1 on the list for the 6400M (first to order it the night it was announced at the Flex dinner prior to Hamvention). Concerning. Fred K0RAL - Dayton Ohio 

Rich McCabe

It seems there are more people not receiving the emails than those who are.  Hard to say why. Maybe getting caught in spam.

Fred Abrams

I check my SPAM folder at least once a week. That was yesterday - not there.

Rich McCabe

There is a level of spam protection most people do not see. The provider filters stuff out that we don't even see with our local spam system.

Just throwing it out there

Varistor

Ah, competition is a beautiful thing- the 7300 is now $995 at HRO and Giga while the 7610 is $3495 at R&L. Chances are these prices will put downward pressure on Flex prices and we all benefit.

Mike va3mw

What is really sad is that it just shows how Icom supports their current customers.  By pushing down the price, it really hurts all those that are early adopters of their radios.  It just made used IC-7300's now worth about $700 (almost overnight) and I doubt there is any price protection for those buyers. 

How did I come up with $700?  What would you pay for a used radio when a new one is only $1000 now.  $700 is about the price you would risk for a used, uncertified, maybe no warranty  radio.  If you are lucky, you are close enough to meet up with the seller.  

Wow.... pretty cut throat.  My educated guess is that a dealer is making less than 10%/radio now (I used to be a dealer, so I have a darn good idea).  

Bill -VA3WTB

This is not an Icom bash time, this is what can be expected by a very large company. From all my reading the Icom falls very short of the Flex radios in many ways. Because of this I think Flex can hold their prices up were they should be. Icom needs to undercut their own prices to sell them.

Varistor

Maybe. IMHO what we are seeing is a transition to a normal, competitive market similar to the broader electronics market. I’d argue that the ham market lived a sheltered life for decades with very low rate of innovation and little competition resulting in artificially high second hand equipment prices. The $995 7300 pushes down resale prices across the board, for all makes and models.

KC9EI - Dave

I did not receive it either