What is really going on with Flex M Model Front Panels?

Pete La

I recently had to send my 6400M in for “reimaging” due to frequent Maestro EULA messages and other errors associated with the front panel acting up. I have requested an explaination from the service department of why this is happening to my rig and so many others that own M models. FRS has not be forthright with any meaningful explanation as to why these errors are occurring in so many rigs and what the cause is. It cost me approximately $400 to have my Flex “reimaged”. As near as I can tell this failure was not do to anything I did during my operations. It appears to be a design fault that customers are paying dearly for. Now I am seeing a lot of chatter that the M model's front panels have a fairly short life expectacy which may require a complete replacement of the rig. The frustrating part of this issue is that no one at FRS will tell me what caused it in the first place, if this is going to happen again, and if there is anything I can do to prevent it from happening. Something is bad wrong at FRS and the lack of transparency is starting to look very bad. At the very least is sends the wrong message about FRS rigs reliability. I don't know how many rigs are experiencing this type of failure, but I can assure you that between the Facebook Users Group, the Flex Community Board, Flex Users Group.io, and the eHam reviews it is a lot more than just a few. How about some answers, please FRS.

 

Pete K1OYQ

Trucker

Having experienced the same problem with my 6600M, I understand your frustration and concerns. My 6600M was from the first production run. I received it at the end of February 2018. Other then than the time I left my antenna hooked up for a week ( over the road truck driver) and a thunderstorm came up and we had a nearby lightning strike that damaged the PA in my radio, my radio had been very reliable. Why the front panel's image became corrupted is anyone's guess. I don't know if it's an indication of a failing module or not. I would think that Flex Radio would offer an explanation of why this is happening. And if it is, what can be done to either avoid it. Or, replace the front panel module with something more reliable. Actually, I am hoping that the later becomes available at an affordable price. I did read a comment on the Facebook page that the new Maestro and front panel modules will be different and should be more reliable.

We shall see.

James

WD5GWY

John K3MA

"M model's front panels have a fairly short life expectacy which may require a complete replacement of the rig."

I know it does not solve the issue but if the front panel on a M model fails can the transceiver not be used without the front display via SmartSDR on a computer or iPad just like a none M model?

Pete La

I think it can, but who wants to be the first to find out? FRS is saying that the front panels won't fail due to battery failures because there is no battery in the M Models. That is good news.

rdwing

I believe we have the answer...that their Windows image contained no filesystem management logic, and also likely either was not configured for log rollover, or some other Flex software process filled up the available disk space on the system.

Too bad so sad seems to be the prevailing attitude lately. They try to corner you into a support ticket, and then their only suggestion is to send in at your own expense for an out of warranty repair. The bill for that, the "reimaging", seems to be on the order of $400.

Pete La

I paid $400 to have mine reimaged and they did some other updates also. $130 of the $400 was shipping there and back. The radio is working fine now. A friend of mine just started have the Maestro EULA issues on his and he is waiting to try the new firmware verison 2.9.X that might fix the EULA issue for those who don't run version 3. If it fails to update he will have to send it in. He is really ticked off at FRS now also. Is it time for a class action suit?

Pete K1OYQ