FIRST SDR - Brand New 6500 Owner: What do I need to purchase other than the box?

Big Hammer

SDR Beginner - The 6500 is inbound, what should I buy to make it work great?

Richard Albright

James Del Principe

Bill -VA3WTB

Mark WS7M

KENT HUFFORD

Elecraft KPA1500 amp. JBL Control 2P powered speakers. 

Big Hammer

James Del Principe

Lots of good responses here. I do recommend a good mic, however. The hand mic is typical of all others. Several of my friends have Flex 6xxx and we all agree the hand mic is not so swell. I use a Yaesu MD100 which is not an expensive mic but works well. I have even used an ancient D 104 with surprising results. Find a decent mic you like and can afford.     73, Jim

Mark WS7M

Ok Bart, I'm sending ICBMs to your GPS coordinates that antenna system is simply awesome and I'm very jealous!

the 6500 will do you well and a good place to start but with your antenna farm you might eventually look to upgrade to a 6600.  I think its a little hotter receiver.

Anyway you are going from knobs to computer.  I hope you are ready.  The 6500 can do everything your other radios do and much more.  One area it may not do as well in is noise reduction.  But from the looks of your antenna farm I doubt noise is much of an issue.

So after you get your 6500 if you find you miss your knobs, buy a Maestro then you'll get the knobs back.

I could not wait to lose the knobs.  I love running my radio from the keyboard and mouse.  Some don't however so you will need to ease into it.

Come here regularly and ask all the questions you want!

Mark - WS7M

Bill -VA3WTB

If I were you I would read the manuals over a few times mostly the SSDR manual.,,but really you will find setting up fairly simple.

Nice radio, I have the 6500 and love it. Boy are you ever in for a treat,,,
We are always around if you need anything...have fun

KF4HR

Dennis Terry W4SG

Mark WS7M

Rick - W5FCX

Get your audio system ready. If you’ll be using a PC, here’s my recommendations: https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/usb-headset-solution The Flex has tremendous modulation and audio quality but only if you get the outboard audio right. Get ready for some awesome digital modes.

Larry _ NY8T

Dennis Terry W4SG

Yes, Yes.  Profiles make it so easy to set up your Flex Radio.  Just click on the global profile and load it.  Everything is ready to go.  I only have a few set up: Nets, FT8, CW copy, etc.  One click and the radio is ready to go to work.  Took a while to learn but so worth it.

Big Hammer

WK2Y

bahillen

Bart I would suggest a couple things. I bought a Flex Control not so much for frequency but function buttons , audio, RF gain and changing focus on receiver. I use mouse in right hand and Flex Control with left hand. I use the wheel on the mouse for frequency adjustments. Second down load Slice Master 6000. It allows 3rd party software interface without setting up all kinds of ports. It also has a mix tab that allows muting audio of any receiver without being on your screen as well as audio and RF slider with mouse. It communicated with radio thru API. It will save you a lot of time. FRStack is good for displaying you active slices and a Memory Recall Utility (MRU) that shows past 4 frequencies on each band in a stack. It also allows having a memory of frequencies you use regularly. These are developed by Flex Community members that are operator oriented. By being outside the Flex product software they can be improved quickly just like an amateur breadboard. One recommendation I suggest is to operate your radio. Sounds silly but you can get hooked into studying, reading and improving but not operating. It will take some time to get use to where things are without thinking about it which is really the reason you got the radio in the first place. I leave a couple manuals loaded but minimized and use search/find when a question pops up. I have a 6600 and love it. 73 Bill W9JJB

Duane N9DG

For sure. And it is easy to create new global profiles. Just start from an existing one that is setup the closest to what you want the new one to be. Typically just few setting changes, and then save it with a new name.

Updating existing profiles is just a matter of making the setting changes you want and then re-saving it with the same name.

Think of global profiles as memories on steroids. They save everything about how the radio is setup. I have dozens of them for the things I do. And various band / mode ones that I generally use as a "band switch". And some multiple band mode combinations. For example I have one for 6M that sets up DIGU modes on 50.313 and 50.323 in one panadapter, plus the entire SSB/CW part of the band on a 3rd USB RX in its own panadapter.

WX7Y

Ken - NM9P

Others have mentioned a lot of things. But I highly recommend the FlexControl Knob. Also, a mid-range vocal or studio mic can help, if you like a boom. I run a Heil PR22UT without a preamp and have more audio than I need. Other mics in the $75-150 range are also excellent. Just don’t get one with a lot of proximity bass, unless you are really into that. I would suggest trying without outboard audio equipment first to see if you like it, and then adding other audio stuff if you think you need it. Make sure you have the correct XLR or 1/4 TRS (Stereo headphone type) connector for the balanced Mic connector. Prieview some tutorials about connecting to digital programs via DAX, and about setting up your mic profiles. You will need to tweak your audio levels and tx EQ for maximum performance. You will likely need a good set of computer speakers, as the 6500 has no internal speakers. A good set of headphones is also helpful. Best results seem to be achieved by having your rig and computer connected to your router, directly or via a switch. If you plan to take advantage of remote operation, there is a longer list.... Have fun. Welcome to the wonderful world of SDR! Ken - NM9P

Bill English

Dave Spencer

Ernest - W4EG

Bill -VA3WTB

Ernest I don't know about nonsense but to your point all he really asked is what he needs to get to get started and most the comments were about explaining how to use the radio?

Tim VE6SH

Think about a Genovation keypad and program some of the functions through DDUtil. I use mine all the time even with an M model. 73 Tim VE6SH

Mike W9OJ

How do you know it was nonsense if you didn't read it?

VE7ATJ_Don

I second Bill's suggestion of reading the SmartSDR and hardware manuals.  Especially if this is your first foray into SDR, it will be a big change from the knob radios you are used to.  I especially recommend reading through the section on using the AGC-T function, as many of our newbies (and even some of the 'oldies') get confused with this, thinking it's a replacement for the RFGain knob.  And spend some time with the various Noise Reduction filters, etc.  They take some getting used to, since they are much more flexible than the preset ones on most knob radios -- but they can also be VERY effective when used properly.

Welcome to the wonderful world of SDR!

Big Hammer

Bill -VA3WTB