v3 Upgrade Price for Less than One Year Owners

Roger_W6VZV

FWIW I think what Flex is doing with upgrades is just fine.  Free upgrades until a major upgrade.  Works for me.  C'mon guys, it's a restaurant bill.  I'll bet all of you spend more dough on Starbucks or ****.  (or both).

de Roger W6VZV

James Whiteway

I rarely mix my latte with my **** anymore. :-)

Mark_WS7M

Hi Scott,

First, don't let discussions like this throw you off track!

In my experience as a ham, since 1970ish, hams are super cheap.  The moment that money comes up for anything everyone in the room has a opinion, just like something else we all have.

And, forums are great places for people to post whatever **** they want because it sort of isn't real.  I mean most of the stuff people post that is negative on a forum they would not say to a person face-to-face.  It is just too **** easy to hide behind our keyboards and screens and spew out **** that can be hurtful.

So, please, don't let this forum dull you on FRS or the radio.

Val DM1TX

Forking a couple of thousand euros is not a small thing here. But we all know that Hamradio is an expensive hobby :-) I don't know about you Flex lovers but I am just tired of clanging on old stuff and try to build myself things just to save a few bucks and waste a mountain of free time (which I rather spend with my family). Flex is about taking your hobby wherever you are and sure a future of Hamradio. But it needs our help and support. We all understand that the hardware can do much more and Flex developers dynamically work to get maximum results of your hardware platform. But it takes time. I remember another time when I paid almost two thousand USD on a 486 computer. Well the software company called MS charged people for their software and because of that it help lower the price of  hardware too. We still pay the "pricey" software and I do not see people all over the world migrating massively on other alternative operating systems, free or not.
So yes I am totally on Flexradio side! Good job! See you all in Friedrichshafen in June!

Ria

I would be opposed to a subscription fee like this. Sometimes the old version just works for people. 

KF4HR

For those who wish to stay on top of the tech curve most amateur radio companies require you buy their new transceiver every 2-3 years or so.  Even when the 6xxx platform becomes superseded it's nice to know Flex radio's hold their value fairly well plus Flex also has a trade-in program.  I don't recall ICOM, Yaesu, or Kenwood ever offering such a program. 

Burt Fisher

Hold their value fairly well? Have you checked the retail price of the 6300 compared to going price today? ICOM, Yaesu, or Kenwood radios are finished when sold they are not sold awaiting FM nor needing bugs in software updated.

Burch - K4QXX

Just curious Burt, you used to have a flex and then sold it.  Now you have purchased another one.  If you don't like flex radios, why did you purchase another one?  Seems odd to me.

Bill -VA3WTB

That is correct Burt, The great thing about SSDR, is it is never ever finished,,it is alway progressing, changing. Yes the radios you listed are finished when they ship. of cource they are, and that is the state they stay in for ever.

But all the other radios also have bug up date fixes, for their firmware. Icom has had a few for the 7610.

The 6300 brings a good return for a discontinued radio.

Chris Hillier

how about when you have 4 flex radios like we do in our network and need to upgrade all, not so easy to drop 800 USD on firmware upgrades. Never paid for an upgrade yet on my ICOM or Yaesu radios

ctate243

I want to address this response directly.

when you have 4 flex radios like we do in our network and need to upgrade all....

---umm..  lets see.. 15-20k worth of flex radios..  800 to get newest radio on 4 systems with newest features...  seems like a good deal to me.. no?

Never paid for an upgrade yet on my ICOM or Yaesu radios

--no.  you purchased a new radio. with flex, the software is the radio.  getting a new radio for $200 is a good deal.  I realize this is a difficult concept to look beyond the hardware.

K2CB Eric Dobrowansky

Based on what we have received with the past few upgrades, calling it a NEW radio each time is a real stretch of the imagination!

Bill -VA3WTB

In a conventional radio, the last updates Flex gave us would mean a new radio model in anything else. They would have to buy another new radio.

KC2QMA_John

I have not paid a dime for a software update as I am still on V2.49. When they add a ON/OFF switch for profile AutoSave I will upgrade and have a “New Radio” that works for me.

Bill -VA3WTB

The auto save causes me no trouble at all, but I have not upgraded to V3 because I am not needing the features it has at this time. But I do commend Flex for the great programing feat producing Multi Flex. That is some complicated software. Isn't it nice to have a radio where you can pick and chose the updates you want and have your radio just keep running well either way?

Mike VE3CKO

For me personally, I use Multi-Flex every day. When turning on my Maestro and operating from Studio B, I no longer have to run down to the shack to close down SmartSDR. I am unable to use SmartLink at all because of my double NAT problem with my ISP. As per AutoSave, works for me.