FLEX 6300 6500 6700 fans

Paul Lourd

I appreciate your attempt to help, but: Many of us replaced a radio with the flex. Meaning all the coax feeds, power, etc are in the same spot in the shack.  I also use a regular headset, which plugs into the front. Its a ton of work to do this another way. I have no desire to run "remote" when I am home. So much easier with a footswitch.  I thinking of a soundproof case, maybe just under the desk.  I  hate to keep harping on it, but the difference in noise level in the shack with it off vs on is dramatic, and has been that way since day one. I would not care on transmit, but just sitting on receive, its annoying. 73

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

I have received confirmation from the manufacturer that I will be able to obtain another production run.  Since they are being sourced from the factory in China, they are estimating a 10-12 week lead time. Once again, the fans will include the same oem connector preinstalled, and will be plug and play. Or should I say, **** and plug and play, if you do not wish to disturb the heatsink on the chips themselves.

Since I am doing this as a favor to the community, I am asking that everyone pre-pay at this time. I need to prepay when I place the order, as it is a special production run and non-returnable. I don't want to bankroll a few thousand dollars worth of fans, only to sit on them!  I'm sure you can understand! 

The process is simple - 

I will accept prepaid orders up until 12/3/18.  I will then place the order based on this quantity, rounded to the nearest lot size, as dictated by the manufacturer.  The remaining units will be available afterwards on a first-come first-served basis, similar to the last time around. Based on the estimated demand, I expect to have fewer than 20 fans left over.

The manufacturer has raised the price 10% from last year due to the new tariffs imposed on Chinese importations. However, due to the volume of interest, and the amount I will be purchasing this time around, I was able to negotiate with the manufacturer and lower the net increase to 5%. Therefore, the pricing is $21 per fan.  US shipping will be a flat rate of $10 per shipment, up to 8 fans.  Over 8 fans, shipping will be quoted as necessary.  For orders outside the US, please send me your exact shipping address, and I will provide you with an exact shipping cost, for both standard and priority delivery.

Please send your PayPal pre-payment to hamcables@gmail.com .  I will confirm receipt within 24 hours, usually faster, depending on the time of day you send payment. I do work, so please keep that fact in mind.

I will keep everyone updated as to the progress, but please be patient. 10-12 weeks means we will not see the fans until at least the first week of February. Upon arrival from the manufacturer, I will get them out within a day or two.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me directly at k2cb@comcast.net .

Thank you for your participation.

Eric
K2CB

David-N5PSM

I will send payment...... WAIT!!!!!   What about the PayPal fees.  I am paying for goods and they will charge you a fee ( IS THAT FIGURED IN?????? )

Lee, N2LC

So far Eric, your 'customer service' is better than several vendors I've dealt with recently.

Thanks for all of your legwork on this. 

Lee, N2LC

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Yes. It is figured in, but F&F is appreciated, when and where possible. Thank you to those who have done so.

Ken - NM9P

Thanks, Eric, for providing this service.....

You have now earned the title of "official Flex Fan-boy!"

My fans on the 6500 are still running quietly and efficiently for over five years.  I hope it remains that way!

Ken - NM9P

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Eric,
I'm still on my original fans ( 6700 and 5+ years )  but got 2 of them when you offered than initially.  Thanks again for providing them!  I've been lucky so far but glad to have them if/when they are needed. 

You are definitely providing a valuable service to those of us with the original 6300, 6500 and 6700 radios.  I'm sure it is a lot more effort than it seems and we really appreciate it.

Here are my notes on your fans with pictures, video, error codes and information on the case fans as well.  I hope they help answer some questions for others not as familiar with the fan replacement. 

http://www.nn4zz.com/FLEX6700.htm#FANs_

Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 & SSDR-W  V 2.4.9
Win10


    

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Hi Al,

Thank you for maintaining the page and posting the link. It is a great resource.


Eric
K2CB

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

A quick and friendly reminder for those who have expressed interest but not yet acted -

I will be finalizing the factory order on Monday 12/3/18, so if you are still interested, please be sure to respond by Monday morning.

To all those that have already responded, thank you for helping to make this group purchase possible! The response so far has been great!


Eric
K2CB
 

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Good Evening, everyone.


The factory order has been finalized, paid for, and scheduled for production as of this evening. 

I expect to have approximately 20 additional fans available on a first come first served basis. If you expressed an interest earlier, and still desire to purchase fans, be sure to act soon, so as to not miss out this time around.

As stated earlier, the lead time is estimated to be 10-12 weeks, so the fans are not due in until early February. I will keep everyone updated as to the progress. Upon receipt from the manufacturer, I will get them turned around and out to everyone within a day or two, work schedule permitting.

Once again, thank you to everyone who participated to make this group buy possible.

Eric

K2CB

Keith Flint

Flex informed me that the last fan replacement they did used a newer type of fan, which required a heat sink replacement on the chips, so I do not think the fans you have will work with them. Please take my name/call off the list. Thanks. Keith W7ZAC

David-N5PSM

I have a 6700 and a 6300 and I do not know the fan revision.   Now I am concerned that the fans I have paid for are a waste of time.     ERIC Please clarify!

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Do you have a picture of this new fan/heat sink? I’d be curious to see what they’ve switched to. When I asked directly, they refused to answer.

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Have the fans in your radios been replaced by FRS in the last year or less? If not, then you are ok, and these fans are correct for your radios.

If FRS has replaced your fans in the past 12 months or less, open the radio and post a picture of this supposed “new” assembly. A picture is worth a thousand words. I have yet to see this “new” fan/heat sink combo. FRS refused to comment when asked about the specifics of this “new” part.

Keith Flint

No, they only said that they are much better now.

John - K3MA

Sorry Eric.  I hope you do not get left holding the bag on this withdrawal.  Seems to me it is bad form to express you want in on a group buy and then later back out.  No one wins when that happens.  You get stuck with losing your time and potentially $'s.  The group get stuck because less people will be willing to organize and run group buys because of fear the same will happen to them.  And even the person backing out loses because now everyone knows the value of their word and commitment.

Steve - G8KNC

Looking at the previous demand (I believe that this is the third order that Eric has organised), I doubt that they will be laying around unwanted for long!

I appreciate, however, that Eric is putting his money up for any that are not pre-ordered.  If that turns into an issue, I am quite willing to stump up some cash to nominally "own" a couple more until someone comes along and needs them.  I feel that we all owe Eric a debt of gratitude and I would like to think that we could all pull together to ensure that he isn't disadvantaged by his generosity.

Keith Flint

It’s not about commitment, it’s about compatibility. W7zac

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

No worries, Keith. Like Steve stated, I don't expect to have many left, if any, by the time they arrive. I'm just more curious, than anything, as to what FRS has switched to as their replacement.

Keith Flint

Me too

John - K3MA

I am glad in this case Eric feels he will be fine in the end.  My point was more generic in that I believe if you put you name on a list you should follow thru.  If you need to convince yourself about the details or compatibility you do so before putting you name on the list.  If you find out different afterwards then you go thru with the deal and complete the purchase and then you resell the items.  It does not seem fair that you want to get on the list first and thereby guaranteeing a place but later feel you can drop off and leave someone else dealing with the ramification of your lack of proper research.  Maybe they will and maybe they won't.  When I was growing up they called that "wanting your cake and eating it too".  Maybe until you run a group buy and experience for yourself all the things that can and do go wrong you will not understand fully what I am saying here.

John - K3MA

Of course another alternative would have been to have asked Eric in private if he would be OK with you dropping off the list.  Then if he agrees all is fine.

David-N5PSM

I will send pics from both radios.   As time allows

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

That would be great. No rush. 

Thanks!

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi David, If it’s okay I’ll post your pictures on my web page also. And add some notes to illustrate the differences between the original fans and the newer ones. The original model (along with the replacement fans Eric supplies) should be fine for the long run. My original fans are still fine after 5 years and with 2 on hand I expect many more years. http://nn4zz.com/FLEX6700.htm#FANs_ Regards, Al / NN4ZZ

Keith Flint

I cannot and will not buy anything that I know might not work, for my ham radios, or anything else

Bill -VA3WTB

Keith, of course no one wants to buy something that does not work for their radio. The fans that Eric is getting are now in many Flex radios and are tested to work just fine.

Keith Flint

Well, that is not what Flex support told me, so I will wait for them to comment on the fans, but thanks for the input.

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Well then, what exactly DID they tell you?

We still don’t know yet the actual manufacturer and part number of this supposed “new replacement fan assembly” FRS is utilizing. I’ve asked directly, but they refuse to answer. Thus my earlier request, for someone who has had this done, to please post a photo of the new part.

If your radio has not been back to Flex to have the fans changed, you can rest assured these fans are an exact match and fit. Right down to the heat sink and wiring harness. And if they did change your fans, who knows what you actually received. Some have reported receiving their radio back with the same style fan.

The fact is, the original fan was discontinued, but an exact replacement, from the same OEM, with slightly improved bearing technology, is what I have been providing. Thus the reason you can simply change the fan itself without disturbing the heatsink-to-chip bond. If you look at the original thread from last year, there is a post showing pictures of both the “old (original)” and “new (group purchase)” fan assemblies. Other than the color of the part number label, they look identical.

For the record, the last time around, FRS had Tim contact me to ask where I was getting the fans from. I wouldn’t be surprised if their “new” part is the same as my “replacement” part.......

Eric
K2CB

David-N5PSM

I hope to post the 6300 tonight and the 6700 before monday.