Jim, Probably a good judge of "performance" is to see what the top DXers and contesters are using. There has been a preference for the Yaesu 2K; its too early see where the 9K will come in. It's no accident a current TEN TEC ad shows ON4UN with two Orion IIs. (Why two)? I'm not sure where the "new" ICOM 7800 will come in. Their addition of a 6K roofing filter is of course an improvement over a 15K roofing filter, but still is way too inadequate. In my opinion, there's too much placed on the ARRL/other specs causing transceivers to be designed to exceed competitors specs for no other reason.
Given an equal set of specs for the 5K to the best top-of-the transceiver, how many top DXers or contesters would use it? It's also a matter of convenience, efficiency of operating and what you are used to. You must admit, it takes a bit of practice getting used to the 1K. I think it will take awhile for the concept to generally take hold. In that context, I think Flex Radio is wise, while continuing to support the 1K, are discontinuing its sales. Maybe some time in the future, they can come up with a cheaper, less capable model that corrects some of the deficiencies of the 1K, as a "starter" radio and that satisfies the SWL market. Another item to consider. Look at the IC7800; it has a keyboard and a monitor you can plug in. The distinction between a software defined radio and a hardware radio is getting blurred. The biggest difference in my mind, is that all the high power processing, display and control capability of a SDR is in a relatively inexpensive hardware box that you can replace every two years and use to send e-mail to boot. You don't need to replace expensive double precision 64 bit one of a kind DSP hardware loaded with controls every few years to have the best. Chas At 05:42 PM 4/12/2007, Jim Lux wrote: >At 01:30 PM 4/12/2007, Lee A Crocker wrote: > >You know it's funny but I think it's a bargain at $2500 just based > >on the specs in the add. I already know what the SDR-1K will do > >and what PowerSDR will do so all I have to do is speculate on what > >systems MUST be there in order to meet the features provided in the > >add copy and I see an overall fantastic value. I may not know the > >exact particulars but I can tell enough to be very excited about > >this radio at this price point. I presume the exact particulars > >will be released as soon as Flex is satisfied with their validity. > > > >Icom for example claims +40dB on their intercept point for the > >IC-7800. That number is really a fabrication and is arrived at by > >gaming the ARRL testing methodology. > >QEX has run a series over the past 3 issues discussing just such things. > >The problem of testing modern multichannel radios with signal >processing is an issue is faced by more than just amateurs. Properly >specifying and testing amplifiers for modulations such as COFDM >(especially when the amplifier isn't being run in linear mode and is >deliberately run with some clipping for improved efficiency) is quite >a challenge. Simple multi tone measurements, while easy to implement >with 1940s technology, and adequately characterizing systems of that >era, aren't necessarily appropriate for modern systems. This has >been a problem as far back as carrier telephony. > >For that matter, "harmonic distortion" or "third order IM" are based >on a fairly simple model of deviation from linearity (i.e. a cubic >term instead of purely linear). That's a good conceptual model for a >continuous system but not for one that is "discrete" (like one that >uses sampling, either in time or amplitude) > >There's a variety of newer (and some not so new) techniques, such as >putting in a noise signal with a "notch" in it and seeing how much >power shows up in the notch. There's also clever schemes with >moderately complex signals (trivially generatable digitally) that >allow you to measure things like AM/PM, various distortions, etc. > >Such is life at the bleeding edge of technology.. but hey, that's >what we're here for, "to advance the radio art" > >Jim, W6RMK > > > >_______________________________________________ >FlexRadio mailing list >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz >Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ >FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ >FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ _______________________________________________ FlexRadio mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
