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Still very seriously considering a Flex-3000

SR385 said:
The 1500 is a QRP radio, 5W or less output, may even be 1W, not sure off the top of my head. It's made primarily to use as an IF section for transverter use or for SWL .

I would recommend you buy the 3000 or some other 100W rig to get started. Gives you a much more effective signal and better options to drive a standard amp.

The skin/theme shown is the "Pretty Betty" release that is in their SVN code trunk. It's a beta release. I think they may incorporate that skin into the production release coming up but it does use a bunch more CPU resources than the plain Jane version due to how the guy wrote the display update code.
Click to expand...

Are these the flex rigs that are standalone or do they require a host PC?
 
These all require a host PC. The 1500 and 3000 use a USB connection, the 5000 uses a firewire and the old SDR-1000 needs an external sound card on the computer, line in/out to the sound card and a parallel port for control.

The PC does all the modulation and demodulation of the signal in software. That's the key difference between SDR and a computer controlled radio. It's not about controlling tuning, it's the fact that software is doing your modulation and demodulation of the signals. The meat of the radio is in software processing.

So the 'box' itself is your initial receiver and down conversion stage and then on the output, the power amplifier section...as well as input and output filtering networks. All the rest in between is in the software.
 
SR385 said:
These all require a host PC. The 1500 and 3000 use a USB connection, the 5000 uses a firewire and the old SDR-1000 needs an external sound card on the computer, line in/out to the sound card and a parallel port for control.

The PC does all the modulation and demodulation of the signal in software. That's the key difference between SDR and a computer controlled radio. It's not about controlling tuning, it's the fact that software is doing your modulation and demodulation of the signals. The meat of the radio is in software processing.

So the 'box' itself is your initial receiver and down conversion stage and then on the output, the power amplifier section...as well as input and output filtering networks. All the rest in between is in the software.
Click to expand...

Very well written!! They claim the Flex radios are capable of 20khz tx bandwidth, Is that achieved through the software and computer or filters in the unit??
 
dxhound said:
Very well written!! They claim the Flex radios are capable of 20khz tx bandwidth, Is that achieved through the software and computer or filters in the unit??
Click to expand...

For TX and RX bandwidth, the software IS the filters in that regard. That's the wonder of it. You see a signal that is interfering, you can literally click and drag either the top or bottom edge of the passband on the screen and just eliminate it. No fixed filters that may not quite get it....if a 2.4 doesn't get the job done...drag it to a 2.36575 if you want. Not tied to mechanical filters anymore.

I think what they mean with 20kHz is 10kHz AM so with the two sidebands, it's 20kHz wide. I don't think SSB can be wider than 10kHz...frankly 6 is about all you can really hear any difference with. You can get 3kHz to sound really really nice and it fits on the spectrum well too...that's where I stop with my own gear. It's nice to have the 'flex'ibility though.
 
Here is a photo of my Flex-3000 (using Flex's PowerSDR software) working the CQ WW RTTY contest using the "Waterfall" display (Not a very good picture, sorry). I think the visual display of the signals is the greatest asset of this radio system. By looking at the adjacent signals you can determine visually, how to apply the filtering.



The green bar above the signal traces represents the filter width (2.7khz in this photo). You can adjust it using the preset filter width (lower right in the photo) or you can manually move change the filter by using the mouse. Just click and hold the mouse on the edge of the filter and drag it to any size you want. Also you can move the filter left and right as well.

The filter sharpness is determined by audio sampling rate you select in the Flex Firewire driver (Flex-3000 uses Firewire not USB). The smaller the sample, the steeper the filter shoulders. I usually sample the audio at 48khz to provide the best filtering advantage.

PowerSDR has several display modes to choose from. For voice signals I like to use "Panafall". This display splits the screen in half horizontally, showing a graph of the voice peaks at the top, and a "Waterfall" at the bottom. Again, the visual representation helps you determine how to tune and filter a signal.

There are many other features of this system I like. This radio is not everyone's cup of tea. Some people struggle getting them to work with their computer, but if you follow Flex's advice for computer hardware, and follow their "Quick Start" guide you should have little or no problems.

You don't need a super fast processor to run the Flex. I'm using an AMD Phenom II X2 ($99.00 at Newegg.com) and it is more than adequate to run Power SDR, N1MM (for contesting logging), and digital mode programs (DM780, or MMTTY) all at the same time. The Firewire interface is the most important part of the computer/Flex system. Flex recommends a Texas Instrument based Firewire card ($24.99 at Newegg.com). I followed this advice and had no problems.


Dave
K3GMT
 
928bolo,

You're just the person I want to talk to! I often hear a lot about the good or neat stuff with the Flex-3000. What are the things you don't like? What other rigs do you have or have used and how does the Flex receiver stack up? Do you use any other digital modes (PSK-31, SSTV, etc.)? Would you buy the radio again? Do you use it with an amp? How good is Flex's tech support?

I guess I have a bunch of questions, so it's nice to have someone on board that has one of these rigs
 
moleculo said:
928bolo,

You're just the person I want to talk to! I often hear a lot about the good or neat stuff with the Flex-3000. What are the things you don't like? What other rigs do you have or have used and how does the Flex receiver stack up? Do you use any other digital modes (PSK-31, SSTV, etc.)? Would you buy the radio again? Do you use it with an amp? How good is Flex's tech support?

I guess I have a bunch of questions, so it's nice to have someone on board that has one of these rigs
Click to expand...

moleculo,

The list of "don't likes" is pretty short.

  1. The internal antenna tuner is practically useless. It will only match a 3:1 SWR or less. Unless you are using resonant antennas that are just a little narrow banded you will need to use an external turner.
  2. The exhaust fan is a little loud.
  3. The relays are loud.
  4. The coax connection is BNC only (Flex supplies the adapter)
  5. PowerSDR is flawless on Windows XP. I doesn't like Vista64 too much but does work.
  6. If you use a laptop you will likely need to add a fire-wire card and that may cause some some latency issues with PowerSDR. Mine stutters with PowerSDR but that may be a Vista64 issue. In the shack I use an inexpensive home brew desktop running Windows XP that works great.
For items 1-4, I think Flex had to make these compromises to keep the cabinet size small. The internal tuner bothers me the most.

I also own a Ten-Tec Jupiter. I belong to a radio club that has a club station and I have had the opportunity to compare my Flex-3000 side by side with other member's radios. The list includes an Yaesu FT-1000D (a little old but a great radio), Icom 746, Icom 756 Pro-III and a Ten-Tec Omni VII. I think the Flex-3000 is a better receiver than the Jupiter, 1000D, and the 746. I think Pro-III, Omni and Flex-3000 are similar.

Digital modes are my favorite. Particularly PSK31 and RTTY. Nice thing about the Flex and PowerSDR is that you only have one cable running from the Flex box to the computer. Since the Flex box is sending digital audio to your computer you use "Virtual Audio Cables". These are software connections from PowerSDR to your digital program of choice. I like DM780 for PSK (part of Ham Radio Deluxe) and MMTTY (for RTTY contesting using N1MM)

I would buy this radio again, and I may sell my Jupiter to help fund a Flex-5000 (I like the second receiver and 2 meter options).

I do not use an amp.

Fortunately I needed to contact tech support once (computer related). You will be routed to Dudley and he will spend all the time you need to solve your problem. If you do have a problem I'll bet that it will be computer related and not a Flex problem.

I am a new ham (just over a year) with my Extra ticket. I started contesting this summer. Running low power and wires, I'm no "Big Gun" but enjoy it all the same. The Flex makes finding and filtering signals so much easier than the Jupiter. For CW contests the narrow filtering and the automated "zero beat" make working a contact so much easier. By using the "Waterfall" display for digital/CW or "Panafall" for phone you can almost visually determine which signal is "running" a frequency. If a station is running split (transmitting on one frequency and listening on another) you can set up PowerSDR to listen to both frequencies at the same time. If you are using headphones you can put one frequency in your left ear and one in your right (you can even swap them, and adjust the volume independently for each). You can also watch both frequencies on the screen and filter them independently. Contesting with this rig is lots of fun.

If you are interested, there is a map on my website that shows some of the stations I have worked with this radio @ 100 Watts, and a 160-10 multiband dipole up about 60 feet. http://www.k3gmt.net

If your price point is $1,600 I don't think that you can buy a better radio for the money.

Dave
K3GMT
 
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For the "Virtual Audio Cables", isn't that some other piece of software you had to purchase? I'm very familiar with HRD. The tuner sounds like it sucks ass, and that is a big disappointment to me. I was hoping that this rig could be used as a true portable ECOM HF rig, but it doesn't sound like it can without an external tuner. I suppose that's not the end of the world...but it IS a couple hundred more dollars that you have to spend.

Your comments about the software not liking Vista64 very much are also disturbing. If you design a radio such that the entire thing is dependent on software, you better make damn sure that your software is capable of running on the current operating system. Actually, I'll go a step further: you better make sure that your software complies fully with the application development standards of the chosen operating system and that you're willing to update and keep it current as the operating system progresses. I don't want to be stuck with a brick because I decided to upgrade my PC to a new version of Windows. Has anyone tried their software on Windows 7? Does it work if you're using Windows in a VM? It should. How quickly does Flex certify their software on the new releases of Windows? These are potentially big issues.
 
moleculo said:
For the "Virtual Audio Cables", isn't that some other piece of software you had to purchase?
Click to expand...

Yes you do have to purchase the VAC software ($39.00) to run digital modes (not needed for phone) but other radios require a sound card interface and cost much more (RigBlaster or SignaLink are $100.00 plus).

moleculo said:
Has anyone tried their software on Windows 7? Does it work if you're using Windows in a VM? It should. How quickly does Flex certify their software on the new releases of Windows? These are potentially big issues.
Click to expand...

PowerSDR 1.18xx is certified for Vista64, but my experience (and others I know that have a Flex) has not been very good. Most of the problems seem to be Fire-wire related issues that cause PowerSDR to stutter. This is not a Flex software problem but they are more than willing to help you work through it. Also, PowerSDR 2.0 is will be released in a few days (it has been released as beta and people are using it). Release 2.0 is Windows 7 certified.

Go to this link for the software compatibility chart FlexRadio Systems - Software Defined Radios ::: Support->PowerSDR Compatibility Statement

By the way, I have problems with lots of hardware and software with Vista64. Especially with "Driver Signing". I'm going to upgrade my laptop with Windows 7 this weekend. I'm going to continue to run Windows XP for PowerSDR on my desktop.

Don't take my opinion as gospel. Call Flex and talk to them.

Back to the antenna tuner, it will not match an antenna that strays too far from 50 ohms. I would assume your Ecom setup would include a resonant antenna(s) for the bands you intend to operate. If not then you will definitely need and external tuner.

Good Luck.

Dave
K3GMT
 
I still have mixed feelings about whether or not I'm going to try out this rig. I REALLY want to try it, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger. I would have to sell another rig to try it out, but other than that, I'm not sure what is holding me back?
 
A friend of mine just bought one. There are a bunch of Icom fanatics on the freq we talk on. They have made the comment that you can't tell the difference in the audio between the Flex and the Pro3. He uses some Behringer equipment with it but also used it on the Pro3. He loves it. He said you can't believe all you can do with it and that the receive is better than any radio he has had. He bought the Flex ready computer with it.
 

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