[SCCC] Flex Radio

[Bruce Horn]

Hi Paul,

As a small addendum to your post, I have a 6600M that I'm just starting to use. From what I've been able to determine you can't use a single network interface to implement CAT control, audio and CW keying. I'm going to use a K1EL minikeyer for the CW interface with N1MM+. On the other hand, I can use a single USB interface with my IC-7610 to control the radio, key CW and have bidirectional audio (including the spectrum display in N1MM).

73 de Bruce, WA7BNM   (bhorn at hornucopia.com)

----- Original Message -----
From: "SCCC Reflector" <sccc at contesting.com>
To: "roger barkley" <w6lax2 at gmail.com>
Cc: "SCCC Reflector" <sccc at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 15, 2020 2:45:41 PM
Subject: Re: [SCCC] Flex Radio

Roger

I purchased a headless Flex 6600 (i.e no Maestro attached) about 4-5 months ago and have limited and very subjective experiences to share;

a) Lead time on Maestro at present seems open ended despite what Flex may claim. I ordered one and promised 8-10 week delivery and that was 4-5 months ago and keep getting the same 8-10 week answer whenever I ask for an update.
b) Dialing around the band via just a PC mouse/trackpad was for me (and I am a guy who has been in tech for 45 years and love tech things) was hard. Consider the FlexControl and/or a Maestro
c) Bulkier than I thought (50-70% volumetric increase over K3) ….may not be an issue for most but I lug my gear on planes, in Jeeps etc.
d) ATU seems way less capable than the K3s ATU
e) Still haven’t quite figured out how to effectively use the 2 SCU in a QRO environment without buying a boatload of QRO filters, triplexers (I have a HexBeam) etc. Maybe a 6400 would have been a better buy for me at almost half the price.
f) Max of two clients can connect to my 6600 simultaneously (i.e. one PC and one Mastro, or one PC and one iPad etc etc). Once again you might not care but I like the idea of using small old SurfaceBooks in my Jeep, each possibly displaying a band or two. In the grand scheme of things this is a nit but worth realizing
g) The iPad app (and if you want also runs on an iPhone) is pretty cool but cost you $60 (i’m not being cheap here as the 6600 is $4,000 + but its not free or like many iPad apps)

I can’t remember who said this but I heard it a Visalia CTU last in 2019 that voice people love the 6600 over the K3s and CW guys still think the K3s nifty and more capable. As I am not a CW guy take this with a pinch of salt (and don’t shoot me!)

I bought mine after thinking through the 18 month funding of the K4 that I had made, cancelled that and went with the 6600. I have tons of Elecraft gear, love it but felt the remote capabilities of Flex were better suited to my needs and life is way too short for me to wait 2-3 years for Elecraft to build it out on the K4. 

My first impressions are that the 6600 is great and I like it as one significant goal is to both simplify parts of the station setup (check out SmartCAT and DAX in terms of simplifying cabling, USB headaches etc etc) and then offer my self working remote capability both within a QTH and from miles away. 

No regrets on the purchase and love to buy domestic.

YMMV….

Paul
W6PNG/M0SNA
www.nomadic.blog <http://www.nomadic.blog/>


> On Nov 15, 2020, at 1:01 PM, roger barkley <w6lax2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Is anyone in the club using a 6x00 Flex Radio?  I am thinking of buying one
> and would be interested in your experience. My primary mode is cw.
> 
> You can email me at w6lax at arrl.net
> 
> Thanks, Roger
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