(Sorry Eric, I did not see your closing of this topic because I was typing
my response)
-----Original Message-----
From: wb4...@knology.net
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 7:52 PM
To: Joe Subich, W4TV ; elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] TS-990
My goodness!
So, now a Flex is nothing more than an expensive sound card?
I wonder what happens when the K3 CPU goes squirrely, or the FP LCD has an
issue. Or a software upload/upgrade causes the K3 to brick itself? Or a FP
switch/button/control goes bad? I've seen these issues on the reflectors
before, and just as bad as a computer problem. Maybe worse, as the K3
hardware is not necessarily off-the-shelf, and software source not
available. Elecraft does a GREAT job to offset these problems, but shipping
stuff across the country takes longer than going to the local Best
Buy/Staples/local computer store.
Hey Joe, you still watching NTSC television as well? Or is that black and
white KoolAid still in control?
I've got a K3/P3/SVGA, a KX3, a Flex 6700, an SDR-1000, an openHPSDR rig, an
SDR-IQ, an SDR Cube, a HiQSDR, an STM32SDR, and several SoftRocks. And an
FT-817. I like them ALL!
My main rig is the K3, it works really, really well. I LOVE IT! The KX3
sees portable operation. The Flex allows me to see multiple bands at once,
and/or more of one band than the K3/P3 does. The Flex 6x00 is also becoming
a much more integrated digital radio, thanks to keeping ALL the demod
sampling as digital, as it interfaces with FLDIGI, etc... programs. The K3
must still use analog audio interfacing, unless you use the internal
decoder/encoder. Couldn't one argue therefore that the K3 is only an analog
radio, based on this one weaklink? I am certainly NOT doing that, but it's
as ridiculous as saying the Flex is NOT a radio.
The Flex 6x00 series actually uses the newerSmartSDR software, that source
is not publicly available. The older PowerSDR did have its source code
available. Can you get the source code for the K3 or KX3? Not that I'd
ever want Elecraft to do that! NO!!!! But, that's another point that Flex
had.
With the new synth, Elecraft just proved that their already wonderful radio
CAN BE significantly improved. Congrats to them! Good Job! I love seeing
an improvement like that, regardless of the platform. Elecraft is paying
attention to both its hardware AND software/firmware.
I SEE NO REASON TO TRASH ONE TYPE OF RIG FOR ANOTHER. Those that disparage
one brand over another are likely insecure with their prior purchase
decisions. Over the last two decades or so, it was Yaesu vs Kenwood vs
Icom. At least now it's one SDR versus another. YES, the K3 IS generally
considered an SDR, even by the original K3 software engineer.
How about giving this product bashing a rest fellows? Implying a Flex is
not a radio is just going too far. It shows personal bias and
thick-headedness to the extreme.
And BTW, there's this new thing called "Cable TV", and some future stuff
called "streaming video" that may impact OTA TV. I'm keeping an eye on
these new technologies as well, even though I've spent over 30 years as a
broadcast TV engineer - and corporate engineering director, responsible for
only 23 OTA TV stations throughout the country (including during the DTV
transition). Before I saw the handwriting and retired.
73, Terry, WB4JFI (now N4TLF)
-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Subich, W4TV
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 10:18 AM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] TS-990
Flex makes a radio,
Correction - Flex makes a complex analog to digital and digital
to analog converter. The ADC/DAC is *not a radio* without all
the external computer hardware/software to control the ADC/DAC,
process the digital data and handle conversion back to audio for
the user. The computer hardware comes from any number of vendors
and much of the software (PowerSDR) has been public domain.
73,
... Joe, W4TV
On 2015-03-10 9:50 AM, Harry Yingst via Elecraft wrote:
I've had a Flex-1500, the Flex may be nice for some, but being tied to a
PC is a huge shortcoming. It's so much easier (and quicker) to just grab a
knob instead of having to use a mouse and keyboard.
As for performance, The K3 is the First radio I would ever consider rating
a 10.
The real beauty of the K3 is the Company behind it; Flex makes a radio,
Elecraft makes a Product Line. Being able to have all the various pieces
work seamlessly is very slick.
From: Kevin Stover <kevin.sto...@mediacombb.net>
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] TS-990
The plain and simple fact is that if you have a Flex you are dependent
on the computer you are running.
Computer breaks, and of course they do, your off the air. SIMPLE.
I read the minimum requirements to run the 6000 series. Half of the PC's
in use by Hams won't cut it.
Minimum, Windows Vista SP2, Dual Core 64 bit processor, Video card 256
MB memory, Direct X 10 or higher ,Net 4.0 or higher. Those are minimums.
You can probably run SmartSDR with that but if it's like most software
it will run like crap on it's minimum requirements.
SDR's like the K3 aren't dependent on any other piece of hardware or
software.
You can run it and it will perform well without ever being hooked up to
a PC.
On 3/9/2015 1:20 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
On 2015-03-09 12:23 PM, Jim Brown posted from Michelle, W5NYV:
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.
That claim hides a major blind spot. Sherwood's test numbers show
that the K3 with the new synthesizer is every bit equivalent to the
Flex-6000 series when one considers noise floor (MDS) (weak signal
performance) and realizes that the Flex can not handle multiple very
strong signals without serious blocking and compromised dynamic range
due to A/D limiting.
With the new synthesizer the K3 has a better MDS without a preamp than
the Flex with its preamp enabled. The measured difference without a
preamp on either unit is 18 dB! Even with a 20 dB preamp for the Flex
(which reduces the strong signal handling capability by 20 dB and could
be fatal with multiple strong signals), the Flex still has a 4 dB
higher MDS (less sensitive receiver) that the updated K3 with its
10 dB preamp.
So long as direct conversion SDRs have A/D limiting issues that occur
at real world signal levels (e.g. on 160 meters within a few miles of
50 KW AM broadcast stations, on 40 meters in Europe with multiple
strong broadcast signals in the band, etc.) the Flex SDRs simply can
not be said to "win" any comparison of "horsepower" (and their user
interface sucks!).
73,
... Joe, W4TV
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