Guys, I hate to see so many people giving up on their Flex because of the CW latency. It used to be really bad but recent versions of PSDR really improved things. I can use the internal sidetone up to about 18wpm now but I still prefer to use my outboard keyer because there's still a little bit of latency. I realize the signal is being generated with the same latency but unless I'm doing a contest where the exchange is very fast it doesn't matter really when the signal goes out - within reason.
If you're on a very slow computer, the latency will be worse. It's much worse on my laptop than on my desktop with a 6-core AMD Phenom. The laptop is an old Pentium with 4GB of RAM. Even then, I used it fine for FD with my outboard memory keyer. I prefer the memory keyer to the keyer in PSDR anyway, maybe just because I'm used to it. If you're using the 1500, there are some settings for the USB interface you can change. On both the 1500 and 3000 you can change the buffer size in the filters and I think there's one other place to change the overall audio buffer size or something (I'm not at the rig right now). The outboard keyer is a small inconvenience, at least to me, to get the killer RX filters. I wouldn't recommend it for a contester. The 1500 is a great little rig (my daughter stole mine) but to me it's not a good "to the field" radio because without carrying along a computer it's just a brick. For a QRP rig in the shack, it's a blast and has almost as good RX as the 3000. If you're having problems on CW, before you give up call the Flex support guys or ask for help on here. I was very frustrated with mine at first because I operate 100% CW but after seeing some guys on the list post about how to speed things up I was much happier with it. There may also be some information in the knowedgebase at the Flex web site. I wouldn't trade my 3000 for the KX3, I do enjoy having 100 watts now and then in pileups but even with the 3000 I run QRP most of the time. If you're going out to the field, the KX3 is definitely the better rig. I expect part of the reason for the multiple KX3 updates is because it's a newer rig. New versions of PSDR were coming fast and furious for a while a couple of years ago. The tracking notch filter is still pretty awesome! 73, Kerry, WD5ABC 3000 owner, my 1500 got kidnapped by my daughter so I may never see it again.... _______________________________________________ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
