Flex 6400 vs 6600

Val DM1TX

I very affraid the same will happen to me :-)

ua3lm

Andrew Thall

I did not have them side by side.
Andy, k200

Val DM1TX

Side by side comparison was not a deal breaker for me. I will go Flex SDR nomatter what. Thanks for your feedback. Are you happy with 6300? Is is same arhitecture like 6500 is it? just 2 SCU instead of 4 if I am not wrong. How is it in contest mode?
I am asking because Iam also considering Preowned hardware from Flex and I see both 6300 and 6500 are still around. Thanks for your feedback.

Bill -VA3WTB

Both the 6500 and the 6300 have one SCU. So both antenna inputs work on one SCU.
The 6500 has roofing filters that makes it much better for contesting. The 6300 has none.

Ken - NM9P

Technically not a roofing filter, which is a narrow filter designed to reduce in-band overload from adjacent signals.  The 6500 has a 3rd order bandpass filter for each band to reduce the possibility of overload from adjacent bands, which is better than the 6300's open front end.  The 6600 has 7th order bandpass filters on the contest bands and 3rd order filters on the WARC bands.

Ken - NM9P

Val DM1TX

Thanks Ken. Great info. However I am still googleing and try to find out what exactly is the difference in human language between roofing filters and 3rd order bandpass filters :-)  And yes, even now I do not realy need this I am keen to work contest if I have it.

WA2SQQ

Burch - K4QXX

Mike-VA3MW

Actually, no.  On a 6300, you can be on multiple bands at the same time, but you have to share a common antenna port.  

Mark_WS7M

Steve K9ZW

I’m appreciative of the added capabilities of the dual-SCU radios (6600/6700) but it isn’t a showstopper. The future capabilities as my stations change is also appreciated. Does it really matter, as I’ve not had any signal report differences between the various Flex-6000? Presently a lot of my daily QSOs are done with a 6300 as I’m running background digital while doing other things. 73 Steve K9ZW

łukasz Żelechowski

Welcome every body flex enthusiast I am considering purchasing the FLX radio too, but the main question is about the preselectors. I am cw operator DX hunter and contest man and I life in the big city, so what addition Will I have when i will decide to order the 6600? Instead the 6400? In additional i would like to say that i am blind operator, and i have tested the SmartSDR for IOS and dogparksoftware on Mac computer and there are most accessible with Screen Readers such as VoiceOver build in Apple products. M antenna system is very simple due to administrative restrictions, so I have the gp7 and simpler dipole for 80 meters. The most important thing for me is the receiving capability, flexibility of configuring the audio such as ESSB, morse keying remotely and remote operation. Kind regards Lukas SQ9BZ

Bob Kozlarek

I can't speak for 6400 or 6600 but I own a 6500. I live about 1.5 miles from a 50 kw am broadcast station. Absolutely no problem on any bands from adjacent interference. Even in frequencies below the am broadcast band I am able to listen to various other signals with no problem. I have not found the need for any external preselectors.

Dwayne_AB6A

Stan VA7NF

Douglas Maxwell

On 1 SCU machines, if you listen to multiple bands, the radio will bypass the preselectors and leave the ADC wide open to broadband overload. This is because they also only have 1 set of preselectors capable of one band selection at a time. Also to operate on multiple bands with 1 SCU you need a single transmit antenna or an external means of switching transmit antennas. These machines have 2 antenna ports but only 1 SCU which confused me at first.

KI4P

I love my 6400. BUT, the 6600 you can actually use two antennas, one on different bands to receive, I wish the 6400 had that.

Lee, N2LC

Val, in this day and age, your boys might be more interested and know more about fooling around with your computer than they would be with an old dusty antique with a bunch of knobs on it sitting on the shelf!    Just sayin'. 

Roger_W6VZV

Mike-VA3MW

Thanks Roger

You  made everyone's day at work!  I shared your comments with everyone in the company.

Mike

N8FNR

I debated between the 6400 and 6600 for a long time. Money was a big deciding factor so I got a 6400. Also I thought about it for a long time and realized that even though I contest that my poor brain could only handle managing one slice at a time. Another factor is that my antenna farm is kind of limited. I have a SteppIR BigIR with the 80M coil, an SGC SG-239 tuner for 160 (it has a 130 ft long wire), a Directive Systems 5 element yagi for 6M and a Pixel RX loop. I will never have a tower or HF yagi.  For my DXing I do not feel limited in any way with my 6400.

bahillen

Roger The radio is awesome. With any radio it takes a while to learn how to get the most out of it. I think the Flex takes a little more than other radios but the Flex capability is worth the effort. This forum has been part of the process to learn the subtle things that make a significant difference. Running two bands is a great way to monitor band activity at your QTH. On the M model, I would recommend to others trying to decide that for about the same money a 6400 and a Maestro gives some great advantages for varied operations. I bought the 6600 with the plan to add the Maestro but diverted my cash to an amplifier. Maybe Christmas for the Maestro.