Selling my Flex 6400M

Joe what's ur call??

I believe that was a typo.  A name search for Joseph Conover in Alaska in the FCC ULS database shows his call as KL4QG, and he's a General.

Joe Is the K4 shipping yet? Current info says you must still have to pre-order. Is your friend a beta test person? I am generally await on new design releases until the can work out some of the start up issues. My friends that have Elecraft radios to be happy with them. R4 is a little expensive at $4,500 for a 1 SCU SRD. A friend had a K3, then bought a K3S and now looking at the K4. That is $13,000 less what he can get for a used radio. I have up graded software 3 times for $200. My friends that have Flex radios are also happy with them. The community has been a tremendous asset for me and my Flex. And the 3rd party software applications are a real asset. A friends outstanding contest station has converted from Elecraft radios to Flex. He is not looking back. Performance is not lacking. Both radios offer features that have a place in the hobby. It depends on what you like. In general, the world of software involves revisions and “new features” and constant changes. Elecraft is also headed in the software direction in their SDR product. Since getting back into ham radio in 2012 I have found that the ham activities have revived my problem solving and thought processes. Using the Flex has required refreshing my computer literacy and station architecture. I view the Flex as a communications platform and my FT1000MP as a radio device. I think you are making the right decision in going to the K4 for you. It will match your operating needs. 73 Bill W9JJB

Joe, how easy or difficult is it for you to get shipments? Are you better off buying a ready made something or buying from multiple sources and building? You can buy ready made chokes from a single source and pay a bit more or buy the parts from 2-3 sources and save a little. Based on your answer we can figure out the next steps.

Joe, I did mean or intend my comment as a derogatory remark. I think the R4 will be a great radio for your station. I have friends that love their Elecraft K3S and K3. It matches how the operate and their operating environment. The Flex does have different operating behaviors that a can be cumbersome. A radio becomes part of your process to communicate. It has to be comfortable to you when working a pileup or digging out a CE signal 6 dB below the noise. It is personal and becomes transparent. If it’s not comfortable then you won’t be pleased with it. I have operated my FT1000MP for years and my 6600 for several years. The experience is different. No two ways about that. But my focus is not on the radio type but the communication. This is a Flex Community and many are vested in their radio. This involves a degree of bias to be sure. Joe, you have invested in the Flex. And found it not to be comfortable for you. The K4 will give you an even better point of view or comparison of the two choices. That is a good thing. Having multiple manufacturers designing SDR equipment and pushing the envelope is a great thing for amateur radio. 73 Bill W9JJB

Joe, if ready-made is the more viable option, I would recommend you look at this product: https://myantennas.com/wp/product/cmc-130-3k/ This is a small, no-regrets investment, that will help you quickly determine if you need to work further on addressing the common mode noise. End-fed antennas are prone to such noise. Don’t assume that your AC line is well filtered. Another no-regret solution you may want to consider is the Tripp Lite Isobar 8 outlet box, which not only has the highest surge suppression rating you can buy (unless you take the Siemens whole house surge protector route), but also- and more importantly- has a built-in AC line filter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000511U7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_H7q9DbZF7ERYW I build my own chokes, one per band, and when you factor in the cost of the materials and your time, you quickly arrive at roughly the same cost as the ready-made. The only difference is that when building it yourself you can use slightly higher quality components, in my case Teflon coax and much larger enclosures. Good luck with your noise mitigation efforts.

Joe, just picked up the exchange on your noise and the wind generation. I have been working on reducing noise for the past year. The things I have found are chokes on the coax , power cables and computer cables. Include the wall warts to. There are several suppliers but I used Palomar Engineers Inc. Palomar-engineers.com has a focus on filtering ferrites. I bought about $150 worth and have used them to solve or preventive measures. Even coiling extra coax helps isolate noise on the other coax jacket. i added 4-5 turns thru a ferrite rings on the Flex power 13.8 cable. (And amplifier). A member of the club presented his success with using double shielded coax to reduce noise in the radio. It is indeed spectacular. RG214 or RG9/U are choirs as well as Belden 9913. It is deeded on all coax including jumpers in the shack. It insures all RF side of the noise comes from the antenna itself, period. If the noise is radiated from the wind generators a directional antenna pointed away from the generators will make a difference. If you have a problem the other two hams can share the same problem and may be able to influence the utility to suppress the noise from their noisy Generators or inverters, a common problem. This noise can also affect other users of different equipment. Use you pan adapter to display their radiation at the low frequency source like 60 khz. 73 Bill W9JJB

Stick with LMR-400. LMR-600 requires non-standard PL259 connectors. I use 600 for all long runs and 400 where flexibility is needed. 600 is very stiff on cold temperatures. Take a look at Jefa Tech. Outstanding coax for the commercial market, made and sold by a ham family. I usually buy the 1000’ spools and add crimp-on connectors.