Flex 6400 vs 6600

Val DM1TX · November 2018

I very affraid the same will happen to me :-)

ua3lm · November 2018

Как качество ssb на 6400 и 7851 ??? передатчик.

Andrew Thall · November 2018

I did not have them side by side.
Andy, k200

Val DM1TX · November 2018

Side by side comparison was not a deal breaker for me. I will go Flex SDR nomatter what. Thanks for your feedback. Are you happy with 6300? Is is same arhitecture like 6500 is it? just 2 SCU instead of 4 if I am not wrong. How is it in contest mode?
I am asking because Iam also considering Preowned hardware from Flex and I see both 6300 and 6500 are still around. Thanks for your feedback.

Bill -VA3WTB · November 2018

Both the 6500 and the 6300 have one SCU. So both antenna inputs work on one SCU.
The 6500 has roofing filters that makes it much better for contesting. The 6300 has none.

Ken - NM9P · November 2018

Technically not a roofing filter, which is a narrow filter designed to reduce in-band overload from adjacent signals. The 6500 has a 3rd order bandpass filter for each band to reduce the possibility of overload from adjacent bands, which is better than the 6300's open front end. The 6600 has 7th order bandpass filters on the contest bands and 3rd order filters on the WARC bands.

Ken - NM9P

Val DM1TX · November 2018

Thanks Ken. Great info. However I am still googleing and try to find out what exactly is the difference in human language between roofing filters and 3rd order bandpass filters :-) And yes, even now I do not realy need this I am keen to work contest if I have it.

WA2SQQ · April 2019

PROS

FRS is making V3 optional – no one is forcing anyone to upgrade. You are not paying a yearly fee, so the choice is totally up to each user.

FRS’s products are designed for people who want to enjoy the radio hobby to communicate, truly a plug and play radio you can enjoy. Anan was mentioned – the ideal radio if you want to be a firmware tester and don’t mind compiling a new version every month.

CONS

I’m really surprised that one very important fact was not mentioned. While Flex’s older radios like the 6300 & 6500 are compatible to V3, their functionality is limited due to having only 1 SCU. If my understanding is correct, this would limit multi-client operation to only one band at a time.

Burch - K4QXX · April 2019

Not one band at at time but one antenna at a time.

Mike-VA3MW · April 2019

Actually, no. On a 6300, you can be on multiple bands at the same time, but you have to share a common antenna port.

Mark_WS7M · April 2019

A few last votes and I hope Flex doesn't get mad at me for this:

1) 6600 for all the reasons above. 2 SCU, more ports, etc etc.
2) Go non-M model and spend the money to get a separate maestro

While you may not have a reason to initially having the maestro separate means you can take it out on your back deck. As long as you have a network you can run your radio.

To me that is the biggest selling point.

I have my 6600 (non-M) in a utility shed where it is cool and dry. I hardly ever see it. I run SSDR over hardline network or over WiFi like I am now on my laptop listening to 40m CW as I type this.

I have a separate Maestro. I've pulled it outside to my deck and it works great. Like having the radio right there.

So that's my advice:

6600 (non-M)
Separate Maestro

Mark - WS7M

Steve K9ZW · April 2019

I’m appreciative of the added capabilities of the dual-SCU radios (6600/6700) but it isn’t a showstopper. The future capabilities as my stations change is also appreciated. Does it really matter, as I’ve not had any signal report differences between the various Flex-6000? Presently a lot of my daily QSOs are done with a 6300 as I’m running background digital while doing other things. 73 Steve K9ZW

łukasz Żelechowski · April 2019

Welcome every body flex enthusiast I am considering purchasing the FLX radio too, but the main question is about the preselectors. I am cw operator DX hunter and contest man and I life in the big city, so what addition Will I have when i will decide to order the 6600? Instead the 6400? In additional i would like to say that i am blind operator, and i have tested the SmartSDR for IOS and dogparksoftware on Mac computer and there are most accessible with Screen Readers such as VoiceOver build in Apple products. M antenna system is very simple due to administrative restrictions, so I have the gp7 and simpler dipole for 80 meters. The most important thing for me is the receiving capability, flexibility of configuring the audio such as ESSB, morse keying remotely and remote operation. Kind regards Lukas SQ9BZ

Bob Kozlarek · April 2019

I can't speak for 6400 or 6600 but I own a 6500. I live about 1.5 miles from a 50 kw am broadcast station. Absolutely no problem on any bands from adjacent interference. Even in frequencies below the am broadcast band I am able to listen to various other signals with no problem. I have not found the need for any external preselectors.

Dwayne_AB6A · April 2019

I also have the FTDX3000 and AirspyHF+ together with my Flex 6600 but I spend most of the time on my Flex. Remote Operations together with the four pan adapters make the Flex highly desirable. I have had the opportunity to compare the units side by side on the same antenna and there is nothing notable in the ftdx3000 that would sway me to using it over the Flex.

What I have learned is receive Antenna bandwidth/tuning has a huge impact on the Flex since it has such a wide range of operation. I have a single antenna today with narrow bandwidth on each band aided by a tuner. Ideally I need a second antenna or more, or a receive antenna with wide bandwidth to take full advantage of the Flex.

Stan VA7NF · April 2019

I don't like to come out negative here but the flex 6000 series (read maestro and SSDR) are not screen reader friendly. Maestro knobs are well positioned but the touch screen is necessary and locating the knobs will trigger unexpected events, SSDR does not identify their GUI tags so tools like JAWS are ineffective as navigation tools.

Apart from that, as others have said, both are great receivers and low noise/spurious transmitters. I've owned the 6700 since first delivery and it is great. It is designed well for forms of remote operation.
Single or dual concurrent receive is the main difference, which means using two DIFFERENT antennae at the SAME time. Also as a city dweller, in a restricted environment, the dual receivers would be great if the currently available diversity receive option included the noise suppression pioneered by their previous series.

*** Is there anyone out there that can build a voice/JAWS controlled client and are there any grants available for doing so? *** p.s. This includes FRS to receive funding! Seems to me this could include the military

Douglas Maxwell · April 2019

On 1 SCU machines, if you listen to multiple bands, the radio will bypass the preselectors and leave the ADC wide open to broadband overload. This is because they also only have 1 set of preselectors capable of one band selection at a time. Also to operate on multiple bands with 1 SCU you need a single transmit antenna or an external means of switching transmit antennas. These machines have 2 antenna ports but only 1 SCU which confused me at first.

KI4P · April 2019

I love my 6400. BUT, the 6600 you can actually use two antennas, one on different bands to receive, I wish the 6400 had that.

Lee, N2LC · April 2019

Val, in this day and age, your boys might be more interested and know more about fooling around with your computer than they would be with an old dusty antique with a bunch of knobs on it sitting on the shelf! Just sayin'.

Roger_W6VZV · April 2019

My 6400M is the best radio I've ever owned in 45+ years of hamming. If I had a big antenna farm I'd have gone for the 6600 for the diversity receive, but since I cannot, the 6400M meets my needs perfectly. Terrific receiver, just overall a very well thought-out radio. I have never regretted getting the "M" model; sometimes it is nice to be able to ham without a computer.
de Roger W6VZV

Mike-VA3MW · April 2019

Thanks Roger

You made everyone's day at work! I shared your comments with everyone in the company.

Mike

N8FNR · April 2019

I debated between the 6400 and 6600 for a long time. Money was a big deciding factor so I got a 6400. Also I thought about it for a long time and realized that even though I contest that my poor brain could only handle managing one slice at a time. Another factor is that my antenna farm is kind of limited. I have a SteppIR BigIR with the 80M coil, an SGC SG-239 tuner for 160 (it has a 130 ft long wire), a Directive Systems 5 element yagi for 6M and a Pixel RX loop. I will never have a tower or HF yagi. For my DXing I do not feel limited in any way with my 6400.

bahillen · April 2019

Roger The radio is awesome. With any radio it takes a while to learn how to get the most out of it. I think the Flex takes a little more than other radios but the Flex capability is worth the effort. This forum has been part of the process to learn the subtle things that make a significant difference. Running two bands is a great way to monitor band activity at your QTH. On the M model, I would recommend to others trying to decide that for about the same money a 6400 and a Maestro gives some great advantages for varied operations. I bought the 6600 with the plan to add the Maestro but diverted my cash to an amplifier. Maybe Christmas for the Maestro.

Flex 6400 vs 6600

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