[Amps] Flex Power Genius XL 2KW amplifier

[Bruce]

Roger is correct. Fast (semi break-in) works very well and is better and 
safer for equipment than QSK. Additionally, I have seen the same issues 
with speeds above 35WPM in some cases.


On 10/16/2018 1:25 AM, Roger (K8RI) wrote:
> I realize I'm just one example.
> I used to operate almost exclusively CW and my speed topped out at a 
> bit over 40 WPM, but typically I'd run a bit under 30.  Copy by ear 
> and used an electronic keyer. I had used the straight paddle for so 
> many hours, that I've never mastered an Iambic key.
> I always ran semi break-in. I found QSK more annoying than helpful.
> OTOH listing an amp as true QSK with delay times listed, "should 
> increase its sale ability a bit. Value?  Don't know.
>
> 73, Roger (K8RI)
>
> On 10/12/2018 12:07 PM, Richard Solomon wrote:
>> How much can adding QSK to
>> a Mega-Bucks Amp cost ??
>>
>> A rather small percentage of
>> the purchase pride I expect.
>>
>> Sounds more to me like the
>> bean-counters are ruling the
>> roost.
>>
>> 73, Dick, W1KSZ
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 12, 2018 at 9:00 AM Manfred Mornhinweg <manfred at ludens.cl>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Tom,
>>>
>>>> Just because you don't operate CW doesn't mean there isn't a market 
>>>> out
>>>> there for a CW amplifier.
>>> I fully agree on that. The question is just how large that market is,
>>> compared to the market for an amplifier without QSK capability but
>>> slightly less expensive.
>>>
>>>> "More than 10,000 logs have been submitted for the CQ World Wide DX
>>>> Contest, according to Contest Director Bob Cox, K3EST.
>>> That shows how very few hams engage in contesting! Assuming that one
>>> third of all contesters worldwide participated in this most important
>>> international contest, that would tell that about 30,000 hams worldwide
>>> are at least occasional contesters - among a total ham population of
>>> roughly two million!
>>>
>>> Of course almost ALL contesters own at least one amp, while among the
>>> general ham population maybe one in ten owns an amp. Even so, 
>>> contesters
>>> are only a minor part of the potential customer base for amplifiers, 
>>> and
>>> a very minor part for other equipment.
>>>
>>>   > In addition, Cox
>>>> reports that the number of CW logs have exceeded the number of 
>>>> phone logs
>>>> for the first time in more than 20 years.
>>> So this tells that CW is on the rise, at least among contesters. Indeed
>>> I have noticed some more interest in CW among local hams than, say, 10
>>> or 20 years ago. But I wonder what percentage of CW operators value QSK
>>> capability high enough to be willing to spend extra money on it. Surely
>>> many do, but just how many? In what little CW activity I ever had, I
>>> never really missed QSK. And those CW ops I know all have non-QSK amps,
>>> and seem to be happy.
>>>
>>> I'm not saying that QSK is worthless - far from it! I just think (and I
>>> fully admit the possibility of being wrong in this) that only a
>>> relatively small percentage of hams really values QSK highly enough to
>>> only buy an amp that features it.
>>>
>>> Just tuning through the bands, I do hear about as much CW activity as
>>> SSB activity. Also a lot of activity in a few specific digimodes. But
>>> most of the CW activity I hear does not seem to be in QSK. Only rarely
>>> do I hear a CW op breaking in and the other reacting to that. Most
>>> activity is with very clear and explicit TX/RX changeover, suggesting
>>> non-QSK operation. This is pretty much the same as VOX operation in SSB
>>> - most SSB operators aren't using VOX.
>>>
>>>> Evidently there is still a LOT of interest in CW.
>>> That's for sure. CW is far from being dead.
>>>
>>>> At least 5272 potential customers are out there.
>>> Assuming that every ham who submitted a log for the CQWWDX contest 
>>> in CW
>>>    is a potential customer for a specific QSK-capable amp is very
>>> misleading. Firstly, many CW ops seem to be happy with non-QSK amps.
>>> Secondly, those who buy only QSK amps will still spread out among all
>>> available QSK-capable amps, as customers. Thirdly, each ham might buy
>>> one amp in his lifetime, or perhaps a few, but will hardly run and 
>>> buy a
>>> new amp just because it has become available. So the actual sales of a
>>> specific amp model to contesters, over its entire production run, will
>>> be FAR lower than the number of active contesters. And more 
>>> importantly,
>>> a LOT of hams who aren't contesters also buy amps, so it would be wrong
>>> to judge the market for an amp by just looking at contesters!
>>>
>>> Well, anyone really wanting to know why that specific amp doesn't
>>> provide QSK capability should ask the manufacturer. Surely Flex has 
>>> good
>>> reasons for it. In my previous post I outlined what I THINK these
>>> reasons could be, but I'm just speculating. I have never talked to
>>> anyone at Flex.
>>>
>>> And I don't mean to put down CW or its enthusiastic followers! I think
>>> that it's good that enough hams continue to cultivate this mode and 
>>> keep
>>> it alive. The more variety we have, the better. But a manufacturer
>>> doesn't have any obligation to optimize all his products for a specific
>>> mode. Instead he might optimize SOME of them for CW, and others for
>>> other modes. And typically manufacturers will choose what tradeoffs to
>>> make according to what has the best market chances.
>>>
>>> Manfred
>>>
>>>
>>> ========================
>>> Visit my hobby homepage!
>>> http://ludens.cl
>>> ========================
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>>>
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