[TenTec] SDR's and TT (topic altered)

Mon Dec 7 09:37:59 EST 2015

Rick, I understand your objection to the Maestro based on price but I find
it impressive from an engineering and user perspective.  Flex isn't after
the entry level, no doubt about that.  But I think it will prove to be an
enormously successful product.

Flex Radio was approached recently about opening up the Maestro API so that
it could be interfaced to an OpenHPSDR SDR.  I was happily surprised when
they responded that they would be willing to do it.  I hope it spurs the
development of even more "SDRs in a box" that are Maestro-interface-able
that will compete on performance and price with the Flex 6500/6700,
especially the 6700 (I NEED two receivers).  And to bring it home to
Ten-Tec, I sincerely hope that Ten-Tec will introduce a direct sampling hf
xcvr that will accommodate those of us who love knobs.  For the mid and
high-end, manufacturers MUST embrace DDC/DUC going forward or they will
simply be left behind in the market 5 years from now.

Barry N1EU

On Mon, Dec 7, 2015 at 9:24 AM, rick at dj0ip.de <Rick at dj0ip.de> wrote:

> Interesting comments and food for thought, Duane.
>
> I once ran an entire CQWW DX CW contest with the Orion on a shelf, almost
> out of reach and the Remote tuning knob next to the keyboard.  Band change
> was handled by the logging program.  When it was all over and done, I
> thought about it and could not remember ever touching the radio.  Perhaps I
> occasionally hit the AF or RF gain but I couldn't remember doing so.
>
> On the Eagle I find I must work with the RF Gain control.  I suppose the
> dynamic range of the AGC was better on the Orion.  Other than that, I
> really
> don't touch the radio much during the contest.  I almost always run the
> bandwidth as tight as it goes.
>
> Based on that, the single Flex knob might be enough, but on SSB, I actually
> do work with the bandwidth and bandpass a bit more.  So the T-MATE-2 would
> probably be enough... if Flex would only write drivers for it.  But they
> won't and most likely never will.  The next step up is the Maestro and I
> find that ludicrous!  With that they have priced themselves out of the
> entry
> level and even mid-range market.
>
> 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
> (Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Duane
> Calvin
> Sent: Monday, December 07, 2015 3:16 PM
> To: 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'
> Subject: [TenTec] SDR's and TT (topic altered)
>
> That recovery is not in real time, and I don't know the exact delay (it's
> small) but you can hear the other station (or others) in the RX while
> transmitting, between CW elements.  So, maybe you hear him half a character
> later than in a "realtime" rig, but I suspect it's a shorter time than the
> human recovery time ("oh, wait, someone trying to break . . .")  Steve,
> N5AC, described it to me at HamCom this year - it's pretty sophisticated,
> and the result at the user's end is to not even notice a delay.   I run QSK
> all the time, and in use, it's not noticeably different from any TT rig
> other than you can actually hear the other guy better.  (That audio thing
> Barry mentioned.)  Regarding the lack of knobs, I can't argue there.
> Sometimes I miss reaching for a knob to tweak something, but I've found
> it's
> more rare than I thought it would be.  I have the "FLEXcontrol" (single
> knob, assignable to 4 functions) and I use it almost exclusively for
> tuning.
> I'm very pleased with my 6500 - I knew it would take a heck of a rig to
> make
> me happy after the Orion, but, other than doing more computer diddling than
> I'd like on occasion when setting up new digital modes, I really like it.
>
>         73, Duane
>
> Duane Calvin, AC5AA
> Austin, Texas
> ac5aa at ac5aa.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Barry
> N1EU
> Sent: Monday, December 7, 2015 7:59 AM
> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] TenTec Digest, Vol 156, Issue 4
>
> I'm not sure that's the right question to ask because recovery doesn't
> necessarily happen in real time.  The Flex T/R cw recovery is really a mind
> blower for an SDR.  But does it necessarily mean you can do actual QSK and
> hear someone else trying to break you in real time?  I think there's still
> receive latency so that even with the receiver recovering, it still lags
> real time signals by 150msec (or whatever).
>
> Barry N1EU
>
> On Mon, Dec 7, 2015 at 8:50 AM, rick at dj0ip.de <Rick at dj0ip.de> wrote:
>
> > Paul, when you release the PTT and the green line drops, how long does
> > it take for the receiver to recover?
> >
> > 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
> > (Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Paul
> > Christensen
> > Sent: Monday, December 07, 2015 2:38 PM
> > To: 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'
> > Subject: Re: [TenTec] TenTec Digest, Vol 156, Issue 4
> >
> > > Sorry Barry, latency measured on the Anan does not necessarily apply
> > > to
> > the FLEX 6000.
> >
> > I made timing and latency measurements of my Flex 6700 using an
> > Agilent 4-channel DSO.  I captured the data and uploaded the DSO
> > graphic
> images.
> > Keep an eye on the PTT trace from the external keyer as the timing
> > reference.    QSK performance has improved further since the date of
> these
> > measurements.  QSK performance is at least as good as the K3 and the many
> > Ten Tecs I've owned.   It is fast.  At 40+ wpm, I don't feel like I'm
> > dragging characters behind me due to any latency, and there are no
> > headphone audio thumps or clicks in CW T/R transitions.
> >
> >
> > https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/flex_6700_cw_keying_v
> > _elecr
> > aft_k3
> >
> > Paul, W9AC
> >
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