where do beginners go to start with no knowledge of sdr

Propguy

which flex videos do I start with ? Thanks prop guy

VE7ATJ_Don

Hi Prop guy.... It really depends on exactly 'where' you are as a beginner. If you've never owned/seen/operatored an SDR, it is quite different from the regular 'knob' super-hetrodyne radio. And it does mean you have to think about what the device is doing (which is quite different from a standard transceiver) and how to interact with it. If you're a complete noobie (no slight intended), then it might be best to look into some more generic 'SDR Concepts' videos as well. If you are comfortable with SDR stuff and want to know more about Flex's implementation of said technology, then the channels below might help.

Mike from Flex has a YT channel where he presents topics on a variety of subjects: FlexRadioSystems - YouTube

I also found this one, which looks kind of interesting: Watch This Before Buying Flex Radio - 19 Questions Answered (youtube.com)

And.... always feel free to come back and ask us questions at any time. That's basically what the community is all about.

Gord-VA7GP

Before my FlexRadio, I had a couple of small SDRs - first a cheapie RTL-SDR dongle, then a better "small box". I used these for both receiving and as a Panadapter for my old-school radio. For software, I used HDSDR and SDRUno.

This is an inexpensive introduction to SDR - click tuning, adjusting filters, enjoying the view of wide swaths of spectrum, trading filter-sharpness for delay, etc. My first moments with my Flex felt very comfortable.

Don's YouTube suggestion is a great one for seeing demonstrations (and it IS specifically what you asked :-) ),. But if you want "hands-on" for under $20, you could try the cheap dongles on Amazon.

Have fun!

Propguy

Thanks Gord and Don for the info, i thought a little more on the quest after I asked it should have been a little more specific. THhnks to both of you. I will get start with this info. is there a test later on ??? lol!!!

Erika - KØDD

Hello PropGuy... We all start somewhere... I noticed a couple posts where the gang responded look into this dongle or that dongle... Thats great if you are not yet licensed, but my clock turns over 53 years on the radio next month. My money is very limited but I expect my radio to be unlimited... I'm not necessarily going to suggest you do this, but I had sold my get back on the air in our new house rig a simple FT450D, as I lost my IC-7800 POS in the divorce. The poor 450 couldn't handle a 1khz spacing on DX-peditions CW which was very very sad performance. I was thinking what do I do next? AND what's all this talk about SDR? I'm not one for 5W radios but I picked up a very nice condition Flex 1500 to see what I thought about that. I learned all about virtual audio cables and power SDR... and though I was weak and puny, I still worked a lot of stations. worked a dozen new states on 6m with a dipole stretched across the shack and made my first FT8 QSO's. Getting the radio to work was hard, but getting it to work on FT8 was even harder... I did get it all done and it worked. I had a decent computer as the 1500 uses the computer as the signal processor. But I got a feel for it. Also, the filter bandwidths were better than the 450D... NOTE this radio was a proof of concept for me... I knew I wanted the power of SDR... A few months later I bought a 6500 and still have it and use it daily. It had been used on a mac version and came with its original disc for v1 Smart SDR... Version one isn't very smart trust me. I opted for the version 3 license and made a step back to version 2 for a while when the Flex SDR server was acting up... I had to learn a lot about proper configuration and know some nice tricks like starting your com ports at 10 and going up from there instead of using available lower ports other software wants to grab. If you feel you're a real noob, find a local SmartSDR guy and have him talk you through the setup. After you've redone it 20-25 times like I have, I can do it in my sleep... You will have the least amount of trouble with the Smart SDR and 6K series radios than you will interlacing the zillions of addition pieces of software into the radio loop. I use absolutely the least amount of additional programs as I can. Erika DD

Propguy

Hi Erika, sorry took so long to get back to you and thanks for responding. My 6700 is now in the shop LED display wasnt working when i received it . I received this radio free from a friend i guess i no why now. its been in the shop for a month haven't heard a word on whats happening with it frustrating just like the radio lol. I keep sending messages asking but no response.
Did you send anything in to get fixed yet?

VE7ATJ_Don

Hi again, Propguy… I've sent in rigs a couple of times, on different rigs and both for problems with the transmitter/power amp board. Flex was very responsive about keeping me informed about what was happening but I have to admit, this was while the 6500 and 6700 were still 'in production'.

Unfortunately now, with your/our 6700 now 'out of production' Flex may be having difficulty sourcing a replacement LED display or trying to retrofit one from one of the other 'shop' intakes :-) My display is also starting to show signs of missing pixels so I'm not sure what will happen when/if it fails.

In any case, you can always use a Help Desk ticket to inquire as to the status of your repair, but with these older rigs, patience is the key.

John KB4DU

The simplest is to just start smartSDR and just poke around. You can't hurt it. Also read the Flex documentation cover to cover. It's one of the best ham equipment/software manuals. One thing thats really different is that the radio does all the work while smart SDR is just a picture of whats going on in the radio. The frame rate tells smartSDR how often to sample the radio.

Also, maybe try websdr online to play with many remote sdr receivers.

Any questions, just ask.