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Still very seriously considering a Flex-3000
- Thread starter Moleculo
- Start date
:bdh:
Consider downloading the demo software, videos and audio files. The demo is a full version of the PowerSDR software. This will give you a pretty good idea how the radio works. Reading the manuals will also be helpful.
The visual representation of the RF signals and the variable filtering are the best features of this radio system. I have not tried the Flex 5000, but the receiver on the 3000 is on par with a Icom Pro III.
Software Defined Radios are not everyone's cup of tea. Don't sell your favorite rig to buy the Flex unless you are certain that you are making the right decision.
I have heard several people running the Flex rigs the past few weeks,and all of them that I have heard sounds great ! They all have had good full crisp audio. And the few people that I talked to said over all they liked the radio
I would clarify that.
Some people like to twiddle knobs instead of point-and-click.
It has nothing to do with whats going on underneath the hood.
Makes no difference if its implemented analog or digital.
People care about the user interface as much as technical performance.
i dunno....... some of us still believe that real radios glow in the dark
IMO: SDR's are right up there with ECHOLINK and CQ 100
ymmv
"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."
I have run PowerSDR on win7 using the demo files you can download from their site, and it worked fine. Of course, this tells you nothing really about how it how running the radio would be with win7, just that the software functions pretty well as expected.
They have an explanation of their OS support philosophy on their site, I think it was in the FAQs. Basically boiled down to they feel XP does everything they need, or more importantly they don't feel Vista or 7 add anything they need, so they support XP.
The problem you would have running it in a VM is the firewire connection. With one of the radios that use USB, you could just connect the USB device to your VM, but the 3000 and 5000 need a firewire connection. To accomplish that you would need to be able to pass the firewire card through to the VM, and to do that you would need Parallels Workstation Extreme and a computer that supports VTd (core i7 or xeon nehalem based system). A neat way to do it to be sure, but not cheap and support from Flex would likely be questionable.
Their preference toward XP and the apparent fickleness of the firewire connection made me feel probably the best thing to do would be to have a separate computer just to run this radio so it could be isolated to mitigate potential issues from OS patching and patching of other apps. Maybe a decent laptop with an express card slot to put a firewire card in. For me this wouldn't be a big deal because I have a separate "radio computer" anyway that I use for PSK, radio control, SDR, etc and leave running WSPR 24/7. The "big computer" that I play games and such on uses probably 3x the electricity that the "radio computer" does because it has faster hard drives and a big fancy video card, so I wouldn't want to leave it running all the time.
Also, having a dedicated laptop for the radio would make it more portable. Particularly in an emcomm scenario, where you would likely leave your setup at a temporary command center for shared use or something like that. Not going to want to do that with the computer you use to do your taxes, make home movies, etc.
I have heard of issues with builtin firewire adapters in laptops and desktops, as well as with cheap firewire cards. So keeping your setup as flexible as possible to be able to resolve such issues seems key.
Also, regarding the bnc connector on the 3000, I read on their site they did this to save space and $ in construction because the bnc connector just solders onto the board.
Bear in mind most of what I said is based on research I did about 6 weeks ago(I was thinking seriously of getting a 3000), so some of it may be totally different now.
I really wanted a 3000, and if I had the spare cash I would probably get one. I don't think any of the gripes I have or any I have ever heard from anyone else really put it behind in the race for what it costs.
It is a double edge concept that stopped me from getting it. On one hand for the money I couldn't justify keeping my FT-950 if I got the Flex 3000. And, on the other hand I really didn't like the idea of my primary rig being dependent on a computer.
In the end I went to RFspace and got a SDR-IQ and an IF2000 board to put in my FT-950. I get pretty much everything I wanted out of the Flex 3000 this way.
Obviously it is not as portable as the Flex 3000 but I can also run the FT-950 without the computer if I want/need to. I can also take the SDR-IQ and do other fun stuff with it while still being able to use the FT-950.
It also costs more in total to do it this way (abotu $1850 for 950+if2000+sdriq), but I already had the 950.
I have run PowerSDR on win7 using the demo files you can download from their site, and it worked fine. Of course, this tells you nothing really about how it how running the radio would be with win7, just that the software functions pretty well as expected.
They have an explanation of their OS support philosophy on their site, I think it was in the FAQs. Basically boiled down to they feel XP does everything they need, or more importantly they don't feel Vista or 7 add anything they need, so they support XP.
The problem you would have running it in a VM is the firewire connection. With one of the radios that use USB, you could just connect the USB device to your VM, but the 3000 and 5000 need a firewire connection. To accomplish that you would need to be able to pass the firewire card through to the VM, and to do that you would need Parallels Workstation Extreme and a computer that supports VTd (core i7 or xeon nehalem based system). A neat way to do it to be sure, but not cheap and support from Flex would likely be questionable.
Their preference toward XP and the apparent fickleness of the firewire connection made me feel probably the best thing to do would be to have a separate computer just to run this radio so it could be isolated to mitigate potential issues from OS patching and patching of other apps. Maybe a decent laptop with an express card slot to put a firewire card in. For me this wouldn't be a big deal because I have a separate "radio computer" anyway that I use for PSK, radio control, SDR, etc and leave running WSPR 24/7. The "big computer" that I play games and such on uses probably 3x the electricity that the "radio computer" does because it has faster hard drives and a big fancy video card, so I wouldn't want to leave it running all the time.
Also, having a dedicated laptop for the radio would make it more portable. Particularly in an emcomm scenario, where you would likely leave your setup at a temporary command center for shared use or something like that. Not going to want to do that with the computer you use to do your taxes, make home movies, etc.
I have heard of issues with builtin firewire adapters in laptops and desktops, as well as with cheap firewire cards. So keeping your setup as flexible as possible to be able to resolve such issues seems key.
Also, regarding the bnc connector on the 3000, I read on their site they did this to save space and $ in construction because the bnc connector just solders onto the board.
Bear in mind most of what I said is based on research I did about 6 weeks ago(I was thinking seriously of getting a 3000), so some of it may be totally different now.
I really wanted a 3000, and if I had the spare cash I would probably get one. I don't think any of the gripes I have or any I have ever heard from anyone else really put it behind in the race for what it costs.
It is a double edge concept that stopped me from getting it. On one hand for the money I couldn't justify keeping my FT-950 if I got the Flex 3000. And, on the other hand I really didn't like the idea of my primary rig being dependent on a computer.
In the end I went to RFspace and got a SDR-IQ and an IF2000 board to put in my FT-950. I get pretty much everything I wanted out of the Flex 3000 this way.
Obviously it is not as portable as the Flex 3000 but I can also run the FT-950 without the computer if I want/need to. I can also take the SDR-IQ and do other fun stuff with it while still being able to use the FT-950.
It also costs more in total to do it this way (abotu $1850 for 950+if2000+sdriq), but I already had the 950.
I ain't givin' up my horse
The beauty of the SDR, imho is it gives you a graphic user interface that allows you to actually SEE the band and the signals on the band. Other radios do that with bars and needles moving around. The Flex is a step beyond in terms of seeing what is going on with the band.
You can also shape your transmit signal to an amazing degree.
When the automobile came along, the same type of people that cannot accept the concept of the Flex would not give up their horse. History repeats itself - again.
The beauty of the SDR, imho is it gives you a graphic user interface that allows you to actually SEE the band and the signals on the band. Other radios do that with bars and needles moving around. The Flex is a step beyond in terms of seeing what is going on with the band.
You can also shape your transmit signal to an amazing degree.
When the automobile came along, the same type of people that cannot accept the concept of the Flex would not give up their horse. History repeats itself - again.
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