[Amps] Flex Power Genius XL 2KW amplifier

[Manfred Mornhinweg]

> Considering how much care went into the design of the Flex amplifier,
> which in many ways is quite remarkable, it?s surprising how basic CW
> operation seems to have been shortchanged.

Could it be that they simply don't care much about CW operators?

While developing my own high power SDR, I'm not even including the CW 
mode, let alone QSK capability. That's because I have long ago stopped 
using CW. For years I kept a key on my desk, which became a decorative 
item, and was there "just in case", but that case never happened. So I 
finally removed the key from the operating position, and I see no reason 
to bother with any CW-specific feature in any equipment I build.

But that's because I develop my stuff for my own use. A commercial 
manufacturer is (or should be) market-driven. So, either Flex managers 
don't think there is much interest in QSK, or they have a different 
problem. This problem could be the basic QSK capability of the SDR 
proper. SDRs do have longer latency than analog radios, which tends to 
make QSK operation quite problematic. Clearly said, to accomodate 
fast-enough QSK in an SDR, severe compromises may have to be made in the 
filtering and some other processing, a faster (more expensive) processor 
may be needed, and software design gets harder too. The keying with 
TX/RX switching may have to be done directly in the FPGA, while all 
other modes work through the main software.

So, if the perception is that CW operators make up too small a part of 
the customer base, it's a sound business decision to not include QSK, or 
even eliminate CW capability, in exchange for a better performance/price 
ratio in all other modes.

Leaving aside the difficulties in the SDR proper, a vacuum relay 
switching arrangement, or one using PIN diodes, is significantly more 
expensive than using common plain relays, and offers few if any 
advantages to those customers who don't operate QSK.

It finally boils down to how many customers absolutely want QSK.

Manfred

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