Rich, Et Al,
Thanks for the comments.
Yes, I'm aware that this might bring up some sort of issues people
have with the manufactures or personal experience. My own is that when I
was ordering the radio, I could afford the 6400. But what I was hoping
for, maybe in vain, is some information about how the rigs perform
comparatively. I know that either of them are far-and-away better
receivers than anything else on the amateur market.
I my situation, I'm up against a lot of noise (live in a condo).
The Flex seems to mitigate some of that. I was hoping that the K4 would
be at least comparable.
CW delay: Well, I wired my key and headphones directly to the Flex.
My control PC would be way too slow to operate CW through it.
Well, I'm not sure which way to go at this time. I like the Flex,
but I'm "in-love" with Elecraft! Just wish I had a more experiential
based opinion to consider!
Thanks all for your comments! I'll keep my eye on this thread...
k WB9FMC
On 3/5/22 11:58, Rich Lim wrote:
Hi Kurt, I figured I would reply to you directly as this topic is
controversial and may get some people’s undies in a bunch!. I have a
flex 6480 and entire stable of Elecraft rigs from K-1 all the way to
K3. My K4 is on order and hopefully will be here by the summer. In my
estimation, the flex 6400 is a great radio no doubt about it, receiver
is excellent and as a plus I can work FT8 remotely from work!
The only thing I have bad to say about the flex is that being a CW OP,
there is a big delay between keying the rig and transmit such that it
throws me off dramatically in my sending. I’ve resorted to using an
external keyer otherwise I really can’t work CW aiding the radio
keyer. Furthermore, it may or may not be a downside to you, but using
a computer to control all the rig functions to me is less than ideal.
I like knobs and a spinning VFO wheel, sure the flex has Maestro but
who knows when and if that we’ll ever be released.
As far as performance, there is nothing that I could hear on the flex
that I cannot hear on the K3. I’m contest situations, I think the K
line has an advantage since you can add crystal filters in the
superhet stage and prevent receiver overload from nearby stations.
This would be most important if you are a CW or RTTY operator.
You may want to consider taking a listen to the latest Ham Radio
Workbench Podcast. Rob Sherwood talks about his receiver list and
specifically mentions the flex series of radios and Elecraft rigs.
Bottom line is any of the top 20 radios on his list will work
fantastic, only if you’re a heavy contester will you notice a difference.
I also has a Yaesu in FTDX 10 and while that radio has a great
receiver in great DSP, the ergonomics are not great and CW is tedious
as you cannot run for QSK. I think the bottom line is what you’re most
comfortable with in terms of their ergonomics is going to be the most
important factor unless you are a big time contest operator.
Finally, I’m happy to support both of these companies as they are the
only two remaining large American ham radio companies. If either go
down the tube, who is going to push the big three to continue to
innovate?. I hope this helps you a little bit, and if you wish to
discuss it further more than happy to do so and feel free to email me
directly. Take care!
Rich
KQ9L
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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On Saturday, March 5, 2022, 12:15 AM, Kurt Pawlikowski
<[email protected]> wrote:
Hi!
I was wondering whether there is anyone who has done a
side-by-side
comparison between the K4 and the Flex 6400 or any other Flex
"direct to
digital" radio?
Background: As it happens, I purchased a 6400, which I received
about 9 months ago. I use it with a computer, but I had ordered a
Maestro when I ordered the 6400. Unfortunately, the Maestro is
still on
back-order and will be until some time next year. When I checked with
Elecraft, they said the delay time for a K4 was about 6 months (no, I
won't hold them to that!). So, I'm wondering if it would be worth
jumping to the K4. Mind you, I'm not unhappy with the Flex and,
when I
ordered it I had considered a K4, but it was outside my budget at
that
time. I'm rethinking that decision. Also, I've been an Elecraft
fan for
quite some time. At any rate, I'd like some opinions from
experience and
the only ones I have seen were written before the K4 was
available. So,
a little help would be appreciated! Thanks!
k WB9FMC
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