Any one know of an external Firewire card or an adapter (USB-Firewire) for use with a Flex 5000A rad

Arvind Mallya

I have a Flex 5000A radio with Firewire interface.  It is getting harder to manage, I would like to use a newer computer to drive it but can't find a USB-Firewire adapter or a card.  If anyone knows a product I'll appreciate a feedback.

Neal_K3NC

If you are looking for a firewire card for your desktop computer, this is what I used in my sdr computers:
https://www.amazon.com/SIIG-FireWire-2-Port-PCIe-NN-E20012-S2/dp/B000G6U8VY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&q...

Geoff

Hi Arvind. To the best of my knowledge there is no such thing as a usb to firewire adaptor. The data transfer systems are completely different. You will need a pci firewire card as suggested by Neal. Do remember only use a 400 Mhz version not 800 Mhz. There will be plenty on eBay as well I should imagine. You could of course remove the card you already have and put it into the new pc.73 Geoff.

Arvind Mallya

Thanks yes makes sense for the speed between the standards. So they come in 400 and 800MHz versions?  I have a laptop now with a firewire plug in card, but it is running Widows 7.  I have not upgraded do you know if that will support Windows 10?   If I remove the card and put into a newer computer I'm concerned it will not support Windows 10?

Arvind Mallya

Neal, Thanks do you know if this will support Windows 10 or need to have an older version?

Mike VE3CKO

Yes I had no trouble with the same card for years when I had my 5000a. The key is the SIIG has the Texas Instrument chipset and has the reputation of working most consistently.

Neal_K3NC

The drivers are already included with Win10 and Win7,. however in win7 you need to change the default driver to the 'Legacy' firewire driver (win7's driver was defective and never fixed). Its fine in Win10 however, you do not need to change anything.

Neal_K3NC

You can use a 1394B (800) card with your flex, you just need the appropriate cable (they are different from B to A, of course!) Watch out on ebay,  I would avoid it unless you are getting the exact card I mentioned, there are more than a few cards that are so poorly designed they will not work with the Flex. Stick with the SIIG and TI Chip. You can get the TI chip in some cards which will work for a while then burn out.

Bob- W5TX

Arvin, another possible approach is to buy a used MacBook Pro which had FireWire port until 2012. Dedicate MacBook to radio and use boot camp or parallels for Windows.

Bob- W5TX

Arvind sorry for name mixup. **** fingers!

Arvind Mallya

Bob, No worries you wrote my name just the way it is pronounced

Arvind Mallya

Bob, Good to know about the MacBook pro and the FireWire ports. I stashed one more old AMD computer with a FireWire card and I think XP operating system.

Paul Rawlings

There are lots of compatibility issues between Windows 10 and the Flex firewire driver 4.1.3.1737. If you have a working computer with XP or Windows 7 and a firewire card you will have a lot less headaches. Some people seem to be able to get Windows 10 to work and others have had some major headaches.