Thanks for the comments, everyone. An SDR certainly makes the experience in the shack even better. Steve, I do have VAC on my PC but I have not figured out what it does yet, your comments are interesting. AFter 24 hours, I have used my SDR-IQ with CW Skimmer ( amazing with an SDR) , SDR-Radio, Winrad, and SpectraVuew. I have finally figured out Winrad and SpectraVie, while both appear "geeky" they do work quite nicely and have useful features. The only thing I have not got running is Multipsk with SDR-Radio, Multipsk with wide panadaper display PLUS SDR-Radio is too much for my PC. I am surprised because I would have thought a P4 with 2.3 CPU and 1 gig of RAM would have been able to run just these two applications. However, SDR-Radio in is "technology preview" takes about 55% of my CPU even at the lowest display settings and least bandwidth. I assume beta releases will see that improve. Multipsk in is regular use takes about 15% CPU but increases to 30-40% when I activate the SDR features, even with just 44 kHz display . The two combined crawl to a halt. So I need to play around with my PC some more and see if I can dump any loaded background applications. I will also try Multipsk with Spectravue and see what happens...
Andy K3UK On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 2:17 AM, Steve <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Andy, > > I did bite the bullet and purchased the Flex-5000A a little over 2 years. > > I disagree w/ Dave about the one box solution. The 5000A is a one box > solution. The SDR-1000, the original Flex model, definitely requires a bunch > of boxes and cables. Yes the 5000A and certain options will fix in one box. > The exception, of course, is the PC. And I don't feel the need for numerous > add-ons and accessories. > > Yes it is a work in progress. Generally the rig gets better as things > progress. It is a much better rig than it was when I first bought it. I have > a couple of the ICOM Pro Series rigs, and you are stuck with the rig with > the feature set it first came with. The Flex keeps adding new features. > > I've never had rig before that has satisfied my itch for something > different or better. Yes I drool at the thought of getting an Elecraft K3. > And there is the constant nagging thought using a rig not tethered to a PC. > Yet I continually return the 5000A after a CW stint on my Elecraft K2/100. > > I can't image anything better than SDR for digital work. VAC (Virtual Audio > Cables) really makes the sound card modes shine. VAC eliminates a whole > layer of D-A and A-D conversion with a pure digital connection between the > rig and a virtual sound card. In fact SDRs can eliminate the interface box > when running sound card modes. > > There are some short comings, such as latency, which comes into play with > full QSK CW. Perhaps TOR modes could be affected by latency. I feel that is > offset by having the best receiver I've ever owned. In case my, that is mid > level rigs, and not the Cadillacs. Sherwood Engineering ranks the 5000A > second after the first place Elecraft K3. > > I am not sure just what Andy's SDR receiver is and how it compares to the > Flex series. I definitely would not hesitate to recommend SDRs. My > experience is solely Flex based. I can't give an opinion on other SDR > solutions as I've not tried them. SDRs require a ham who really likes to > tweak and is technically astute. It is not for appliances operators. Somehow > I think most members of this group fit that description. > > 73, > > Steve N6VL > > >
