Thoughts from other users on features of Version 4 - Do you like it or not?

Rick WN2C

Thinking of upgrading my 6400M to vers 4. or possibly buying an 8400M. I am asking others what they think of the features in version including some that may have been unlocked by purchasing the SmartSDR +. Not sure if I am willing to lose some of the control sliders in noise mitigation. Please, when you respond, give the model of radio you are using as this might also help me decide if I should upgrade my radio as well.

KD0RC

Hi Rick, I have a new 8600, replacing a 6400. The Diversity Reception on the 8600 is worth the price of admission, in my opinion. The new features are not unlocked until the end of November, so I can't comment on them yet.

The new ESC feature, which is enabled now, but not working yet, looks really good. I am guessing this will be working properly when the new release comes out at the end of November.

I will probably need an Antenna Genius so that I can easily shift among diversity antennas. I will say that even with ESC not being ready, the existing diversity reception makes a huge difference, especially on the low bands. I currently use a loop on ground antenna for diversity and it works really great on the lower bands where I use an end fed wire as my "main" antenna.

On the upper bands (20 - 6) my beam outshines the loop in almost every way, but even then it sometimes helps. Once I get my vert back on the air, I think it will make a difference on all bands when used as a diversity antenna.