Lee, Gerald's response should be considered the official response from FlexRadio on the less than perfect eham review. (link below)
http://mail.flex-radio.biz/pipermail/flexradio_flex-radio.biz/2005-Octob er/002698.html Consider the following my personal response: Note that we have never pitched this radio as QSK or a "perfect" CW rig. Having said that, it is a darn good setup for CW enthusiasts mainly due to the high quality receiver/filters. Add a keyer with a sidetone (to eliminate any DSP delay) and you can have your cake and eat it too. The complaints about the craftsmanship of the enclosure are unfounded regarding the microphone connector and wiring. The 1/8" connectors are probably the weakest point in the current hardware. It helps to understand how this radio came about. Gerald spent years dreaming up this radio and working on it as a hobby. He laid out the prototype and coded the original VB application in his spare time while getting excellent advice from experts around the globe via the internet. Gerald spent time to write the 4 QEX articles (see our Articles link on the webpage) and the interest was so great that he turned it into a business. Now, given the radio's infancy, it is not hard to understand why the current radio uses the parallel port and 1/8" connectors. This is what everyone already had on their desk! Is it a perfect hardware design from a reliability stance? No. Having an 1/8" cable get pulled out unexpectedly can be frustrating. But it is hardly a showstopper. The drawbacks pale in comparison to the operating fun this radio offers. Not to mention that the performance compares with radios costing 10x as much. ;) As someone else stated, probably the best situation would be to have you find someone near you with an SDR-1000 and go get a hands on demo. Seeing/hearing is believing. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > radio.biz] On Behalf Of Lee A Crocker > Sent: Friday, October 07, 2005 9:34 AM > To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz > Subject: [Flexradio] Eham Review > > At the risk of being antagonistic, I would like to > hear an accurate analysis from users about the > problems with this design. I see a lot of apologetics > and denial regarding the this review: > > Eham is stupid > The problem is the antenna > The guy has old boards > > yada yada yada > > I am on the fence about purchasing one of these based > on what I percieve as some design issues that > eventually will need to be addressed, and it is very > unclear how they will in fact be resolved. One issue > is that people tend to address "hardware" as only the > SDR-1K box. This clearly is not rational as the > entire system is devised to be worked against a > computer/soundcard combo, so that aspect of "hardware" > is integral to the system and it is not secondary as > far as performance is concerned. > > So where does the "hardware" go? 2 soundcards has > been suggested? 2 computers with one processor > dedicated to being the hertbeat of the radio and the > other dedicated to being a console/control? Gigabit > networking to connect these now three boxes? Maybe a > multi-processor multi-soundcard workstation? Now the > $1500 radio starts looking like a $4000 radio. I read > a recent thread where a man was considering what > computer to go with and wound up going with a dual > core AMD machine, no small expense. Others have > talked about 3+ gig pentium 4 machines especially if > you want CW due to the better timing characteristics > of the P-4 machine. That comment will probably start > a spate of "I got mine runnin on my trusty ol 386", > but the point is I think these considerations need to > be part of the discussion if one is going to be honest > about the real cost/benefit/performance analysis of > the system, and the future expandibilty of the > "hardware". > > I have noticed a tendancy on this reflector to sweep > the problems with this design under the rug as if they > are to be expected QSK.... no we don't do QSK CW > well it really has a good CW reciever buttttttt... VOX > ....any day now... any day now..... I don't think > these issues are going to be solved by spiffing up the > code a little. You may see a marginal improvement by > code diddling but it would appear to me a redesing in > system philosphy is where it's at. > > That being said I find the concept of this radio and > the response I have witnessed by the folks at flex are > superb, and I don't mean to sound critical but not > addressing these issues directly is what invites the > kind of EHAM review that was issued, and padding EHAM > with a bunch of "why its the best radio since sliced > bread" propaganda does nothing to advance the state of > the art. It only serves to muddy the water. When I > read the QST review and I see this kind of report: > > "Although I could not altogether > eliminate the delay, I was able to > train my brain to work with it." > > And then I look at the CW waveform and there are 2 key > closures before the first dit is transmitted, it make > me very nervous when I see the CW issue and other > design flaws being devalued, or the true cost of > ownership vs. performance as a "real" problems. THe > Flex people have been very upfront about the issues, > but on the reflector it tends to get whitewashed. > > Flex will never move beyond being a hobby radio or a > cultist radio if these issues are not addressed, and > personally I would like to see Flex succeed beyond > their wildest expectations. It is in this kind of > design that I see the future of high performance Ham > radio. I can see the day when contesters use > something like a joy stick to with total software > control to double their point totals. When the guy > with 2 Steppir beams and a Flex kicks hell out of the > guy with the big bertha tower and the stack and a > rack panel full of clicky old FT-1000mp's because it > takes 3 minutes for the big bertha to come around, > while the steppir guy hits a button on the joy stick, > and the front and the back side of the beam reverses > saving 2 minutes and 50 seconds of rotator time. The > steppir guy has already worked 6 more stations while > the big bertha guys is still turning the stack. That > is all in the not too distant future but if the radio > doesn't do qsk CW and it doesnt do VOX it will not be > part of the future, I don't care how good your dynamic > range is. > > 73 W9OY > > _______________________________________________ > FlexRadio mailing list > FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz > http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
