My Maestro C Review

Posted to E-ham today .

The Maestro C radio controller is a wonderful device , it does what Flex Radio claims.... controls your Flex radio beautifully . In my few days of operation via my home LAN I have observed no problematic latency issues while operating CW ,FT8 and SSB "phone" . The controls on the unit respond very well and the screen is really a behold to see . 

That said, I will give it 4 stars , not 5, because of what it does not do. Flex Radio will perhaps , rightly, claim that it does all that they intend ...controls your radio very well. However, in this day and age, it does not do somethings that would make it a "killer " device that every Flex owner would want. In order to use the Maestro to perform basic activities such as FT8 , QSO logging, RTTY decoding, PSK operations, or using the Winlink system, you need a computer in addition to the Maestro. Having to tote around something like a laptop seems to defeat the purpose of having a Maestro . With a laptop you can easily remotely control your Flex 6000 series radio without a Maestro AND do all the things I described above. I am no coding developer , however I would think that it would be possible for Flex to add FT8 and RTTY operations and QSO logging just like the developer of SmartSDR for Mac and iOS has done. Perhaps I am being unrealistic .

While I think the Maestro C is a gorgeous looking device, I find that the device is too large and heavy for what I had in mind for typical use . It is not something that you can easily carry around to various locations and casually operate for a little bit of time (use an iPhone or Ipad for that ) . The Maestro seems more like a device you take with you for a planned event , like Field Day or a contest, where you plonk the device down and operate for hours or days. The Maestro would be IDEAL for someone who permanently uses it from their home while controlling a Flex radio located elsewhere , connected to better antennas than could be established at home. Perhaps this is Flex Radio's main intention for the Maestro . 

The Maestro C accepts a CW key (SK or Keyer) and gives a local sidetone. I find this very useful , works well. It also has built in electronic keying that you can program "macros" or "buffers' to send pre-programmed CW . This is done via 6 function keys on the Maestro. It works well, but sadly for contesting there is no ability to send incremental serial numbers . You would have to use the attached CW key to send that part of an exchange, not a big deal though. 

The microphone situation is an issue , in my opinion. The Maestro C requires a PTT connection and an audio connection, two separate plug-in sockets on the Maestro . All Flex 6000 series radio come with an included hand microphone. However, to use this mic with the Maestro, you have to purchase a Y connector cable and plug adapter . Flex will sell you one for $15 PLUS $21 shipping ! You can also purchase much cheaper via Amazon. It seems to me that Flex should include the Y cable and adapter for free , especially since they sell for around $5 on Amazon. I thought I heard a comment on a Flex video that there is a mic/headset that you can plug straight in to a Maestro C. However, the one listed sells for $299. If you want to use your own high quality mic, like a Heil, you will likely have to wire your own or purchase a "kit" that costs around $40 ! I think the Flex FHM stock mic will be good enough.

The Maestro can be powered via plugging in to your household AC using the supplied cable/converter or via a battery. Alas, the battery will set you back an additional $215 if bought from Flex. $200 from other suppliers in the USA or $160 from Chinese on-line suppliers . Flex claims that this battery lasts up to 10 hours, I find this accurate. While the Maestro C is plugged in to your AC outlet, the battery automatically charges . The screen will display your battery level . I think having this battery is essential. 

The Maestro C has an HDMI port for use of an external display. I have not used this yet. Frankly, the display on the Maestro is so good, I don't know why you would want an external display (unless very visually impaired ) . The touch screen on the Maestro is REALLY good, very responsive. The many controls that can be reached via the touch screen are very well laid out . Much better than when I had an Icom 7610 or 705. The screen will also supply information about your network functions and display things like lost packets , if you really need to know that stuff. You can connect your Maestro via an Ethernet port on the device or via WiFi. So far, I have found the WiFi to work very well when using the Maestro on my home LAN. I have not used it via a WLAN , yet. I did find that connecting to my iPhone's hotspot had an issue . It seems that the Maestro does not like connecting to a network that has an apostrophe in the SSID name. My iPhone automatically calls itself "Andy's iPhone" . Once I renamed my phone and eliminated the apostrophe , my Maestro worked ok on my Verizon Wireless /Iphone hotspot. 

Time will tell whether I will use the device as I intend, it seems to be a very useful gadget but I am not sure it is as "nimble" as I will need . 

Andy K3UK (ex KB2EOQ ).