Maestro availability

WA5YOM

I see the Maestro is not in stock....When will it be available again?

Chris DL5NAM

Best is if you contact your dealer  or FRS and not the forum here.

FRS has a phone number and a email  - and great sales stuff :-)

73 Chris

Tim - W4TME

Looks like we'll have new Maestros available by the end of March.  Maybe sooner if some of the delayed parts arrive early.

jim

got my name on the list wb5oxq

jim

Can I operate mobile using my iphone as a hotspot?

ka9ees

Yes you can. I do it with my iPad all the time. Sometimes cell coverage sucks.

Ed KA9EES

Pat_W5WTH

Jim:

My experience is Maestro operation is marginal when it works. This, of course, is a bandwidth issue from the cell provider. That said, even with the bandwidth options turn to minimum I still find the Maestro unusable via cell hot spot.

But.... the good news is you can run the Flex rig directly from the iPhone (or iPad). I have had good success with this.

73!

jimworth

Today, I checked on my Maestro order, placed September 8. The website had this information:

"Please note:  With our recent change in contract manufacturer and bringing final assembly and testing in-house, we are experiencing longer delays to product delivery than what we previously expected. At the present time, we expect that order fulfillment for radios could take up to 10 weeks from the order date. Maestros are expected to ship in late Q2."

I guess that means it will be at least another 4 months.

Jim AD4J

WA5YOM

I ordered mine last May 21...

WA5YOM

I ordered mine last May 21...

K5EBQ

I ordered mine in August of 2020. 1 Year ago and counting.

Ted S

If you check the current product page: Maestro Control Console for the FLEX-6000 – FlexRadio. It says current estimate is Q1 2022. Many other amateur radio products have had similar shipping problems, 2+ years for the Elecraft K4 being one example, and they required full payment to get in front of the line, the guys who didn't pay a deposit may be waiting another year. And Anan is now requiring an upfront deposit for their latest radio with only an estimate of actual ship date.

I believe the Maestro is being redesigned to eliminate the tablet and instead use the embedded PC board and display used in the (M) models. Hopefully someone from Flex can confirm that. That should fix a few problems. On the legacy Maestro models, when the tablet battery fails (my experience with tablets that can happen as soon as year 4 and then battery failures increase rapidly every year there after), it is not easy nor inexpensive to service the tablet with a failed battery, particularly if the tablet OEM no longer supports the device. Second, every time the tablet OEM changes models (probably about every 2-3 years) the Maestro would need design changes to interface to another tablet model.

In my opinion these design improvements are well worth the wait, I took a pass on the former Maestro when it was in stock because it was tied to the whims of a tablet OEM and the longevity issues of an internal non-user replaceable battery.

Ted, WR4T

WA5YOM

I asked Flex if the Maestro was being “ redesigned” and was told that the only difference is the resolution I paid upfront….ordered May 2020….

Neil D Friedman N3DF

I don’t think Flex actually charges you until your order ships.

WA5YOM

I definitely prepaid…unusual….yes.

Ted S

I had to wait 10-12 weeks for my 6400, and I was not charged until the day it shipped, and shipping was free to boot. That is standard policy. There sales team is super helpful, I am sure they will straighten it for you, if you shoot them an email.

Oh, and changing the resolution would be consistent with upgrading the display to what is used in the (M) models. The (M) models have a higher resolution display than what was used in the older Maestros. I would ask them to confirm explicitly if they are eliminating the old Dell Tablet and using the (M) model hardware, I heard that somewhere, but I can't recall for sure.

Ted WR4T