flex 6600M

I own a 6600M and have never had any noise issues that I could say were from the front panel. If you like radios with knobs, then the 6600M is the best of both worlds. It can work standalone or from SmartSDR on your computer over your home network. It can even be used from anywhere you have a reasonable internet connection using SmartLink.

As for Noise Reduction, I find that it depends on your location. From my perspective, noise reduction has improved in the last two updates to SmartSDR even though it is not listed in any of the release notes. And the Noise Blanker is like any noise blanker on any radio. It depends on the type of noise you are having problems with. Some radio's noise blankers will work on your local noise and others may not help at all. It is almost impossible to make a noise blanker that will be effective on all types of noise. There is just too much variation in noise sources and the ways they create the noise you hear.

As for Adaptive Pre-Destortion ( known as Pure Signal in Anan radios) may or may not, ever come to the 6000 series radios. Honestly, the spectral purity of the 6000 series radios is already quite clean. Adaptive Pre-Destortion while nice to have, isn't the problem. It is poorly adjusted transmit chain by users. Microphone gain turned up too high and over driving an amplifier is the main culprit of splatter and IMD heard ( and with a spectrum display seen) on our bands today.

The G2 Saturn from Apache Labs that you are referring to, is a good radio. But, it is much more complicated to setup and use than a Flex radio. It requires knowledge of the Command line in Linux to download, compile and install updates to the radio's firmware and software. And customer support isn't that reliable from the company. Firmware and software ,while free, is provided by volunteer developers, not Apache Labs. And it is subject to the desire of the developer to correct issues that come up. And may not happen if your particular issue doesn't effect the developer. And even if it does, he may choose not to share any solution he ( or she) comes up with. The source code for Thetis ( the main application for the Anan radios) is available for download. So, one can always fix problems themselves if they have the ability to write software for the radio.

The Anan radios have a lot going for them. But, support from Apache Labs is questionable. Support from Flex Radio on the other hand, is excellent. Flex Radio may not be perfect, but, overall, they are a much more reliable company.

James

WD5GWY

Just so you know, I own both a Flex 6600M and a Anan 8000DLE. I like both radios. But, if I could only have one, it would be my 6600M. I know that Flex Radio will be around much longer than Apache Labs. And if I have problems, I have a much better chance of getting it resolved with Flex Radio's customer service than with Apache Labs. ( who only has one person in the US doing repairs)

Elan, I would think the size of the 6600M versus the size of the 6600 would be an important consideration. How much space do you have on your desk?

I use a 6600 with a Maestro. The 6600 sits on a bookshelf several feet away from my operating position; only the Maestro sits on the desk at the operating position. This works well for me as I would not have space for the entire 6600M at the operating position.

Tim K9WX