On Sun,3/8/2015 8:47 PM, Wes (N7WS) wrote:
Has anyone other than me ever noted that Rob Sherwood doesn't own a
K3? His #1 operating position has an IC781 and #2 is a TS-990.
Here's part of an exchange re: the "obvious superiority" of the new
generation of Flex radios. The initial comments are from Howard, VE3GFW,
ex-KY6LA, who doesn't operate much, "hates CW," and loves SDRs.
> FYI. here is a comment from one of the most accomplished RF engineers
> I know.. Michelle Easton W5NYV...
>
> Frankly I have to agree with her.. why are you and Dennis so stuck
> back in the 20^th Century trying to keep legacy technology alive when
> SDR's are now the new baseline> I'm just amazed this is even still
being debated.
>
> Thanks for including me in all of these conversations, it's certainly
> illuminating. I must live in a bubble, because my tech circle assumes
> SDRs as a baseline.
>
> -Michelle W5NYV
I responded:
Michelle may be a great engineer, but few of us know everything there is to
know about everything. Does she OPERATE HF? Does she know what HF
operators need? Does she design stuff with Pin One Problems? Does she know
what a Pin One Problem is? Do YOU? What kind of operating do YOU do?
I don't give a rat's ass about "new technologies" and the latest fads.
I am both an engineer and an OPERATOR. I choose a radio that gives me the
performance and the functions I need, and at a price I can afford.
The K3s are my current choice. It is NOT a religious decision. Before that
it was FT1000MPs, before that TS850s, before that a K2. Based on what I see
of the performance and features of the current crop of SDRs, none are even
close to offering what the K3 does. Someday that will change, and when it
does, I may buy one -- if I'm not in hospice by then.
I drive a big Toyota SUV because I need to haul stuff. I convinced my wife
to buy a Prius because she doesn't. I have a modest music listening system,
but a monster library of music on LP, CD, and DVD. As last count, >3,000
LPs, >4,000 CDs, and about 150 DVDs. I worked in pro audio, and for most of
my professional life, people asked me about whatever the latest and greatest
was. My advice, then and now, is to save their money and buy music by Prez,
Billie, Pops, and Desmond.
It is NOT about technologies.
= = = = = = =
And Michelle responded:
K3s are great.
Any solution in ham radio that makes the operator happy, and therefore
leads to them being more efficient and achieving higher scores, is the
optimum solution, for that ham, for that application. There is an
assmption here of an objective ideal in terms of operating in contests.
I don't think this assumption should go unquestioned.
What works for one set of operators is not guaranteed to work for another.
I use SDRs for (non-human-involved) cognitive radio research, and in
experiments with new modulation schemes, for which they are absolutely
necessary. I have a Flex, USRPs, boxes of HPSDRs, a BladeRF, a HackRF,
and about a half dozen other custom boards and implementations in FPGA.
I don't even consider legacy radios, outside of where I must have a
simple cheap solution to radio sensor data back home (such as RFID). I'm
an SDR zealot.
I prefer the K3 for contesting due to a delightful user interface,
portability, and durability.
All of these radios under discussion are so far above what I would
consider to be the performance cutoff for contesting, one should choose
based on the remaining "highest nail" - the UI, or whatever else the
situation demands. The Flex is an undisputed lab queen and is
objectively "the best" in terms of stats. But we took K3s to the Cook
Islands and Raro. If I go on another DXpedition, it probably won't be
with a Flex. Not that I'm generally choosing - I'm a junior member of
the DXpedition teams that invite me.
I contest for fun, but I've put in enough hours with the local club to
know that I'm not rig-limited. I know for a fact that I'd have to
contest a lot more for the rigs I use to start limiting my scores,
instead of my skill level limiting my scores. The Flex doesn't make me
any better of an operator than the K3 or the 756Pro2. They all can have
the killer app of panoramic display, which I depend upon. They are all
easy enough to switch bands on. Above that, I'd need to put in so much
more seat time in order for the Flex to start making a difference, and I
just don't have that much time to devote to contesting.
I have raced cars. If the objective measurements of transceiver
performance can be likened to horsepower, then you obviously need a car
with enough horsepower to compete. But if you pick a car based solely on
this one axis, then you may end up backing a Corvette that fails to
negotiate the twisty road, while the half-your-horsepower Porsche eats
your lunch. Conversely, the Porshe will lose in the straightaway to the
Corvette. Suspension, gearing, steering, track type, race format - etc.
are are equivalent in importance to horsepower.
So, If you want to talk about what the best contesting rig is, then I
think you have to consider radios in a more multidimensional manner than
by just comparing the equivalent of horsepower. Of which, Flex clearly
seems to win.
-Michelle W5NYV
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