[VHFcontesting] IF Radios & XTRs
Terry Price
terry at directivesystems.com
Mon Jan 16 16:30:01 EST 2023
You are right, the K3 doesn't "look" like a $5000 radio, it just works like
one. The thing I love about the K3 is within the first 30 minutes on
touching one when they first came out, they were VERY intuitive. I've owned
3 TS2000's and I still don't understand them!! I guess beauty is in the eyes
of the beholder.
Terry
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Hobbs [mailto:ve3kh at icloud.com]
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2023 3:29 PM
To: 'Terry Price' <terry at directivesystems.com>; 'Ed Kucharski'
<k3dne at comcast.net>; vhfcontesting at contesting.com
Subject: RE: [VHFcontesting] IF Radios & XTRs
I bought a K3 and couldn't bare to look at it ... I thought it looked / felt
like a cheap toy ... but maybe I shouid've judged it on usability and
integratability (maybe not a real word lol).
Flex listened in the beginning and they made the 500A V/U ... best radio I
ever owned, when it worked properly, which wasn't very often ... between
Windows & FireWire and Updates, Flex bugs, database crashes / corruption,
unfulfilled promises of functionality I gave up and sold it. Many years
later I got sucked back in and bought a 6600M ... I struggle with it all
time, rearranging my XVTRs and interconnections trying to work around Flex
bugs that seem to have never been tested ... I keep hoping that sooner or
later it'll actually work as advertised, but it never seems to happen. I 've
honestly felt like their XVTR & IO Beta Tester for years wasting countless
hours. The business model totally focuses on commercial sales and keeping
the HFers happy (which I totally understand but don't have to like) ... they
just don't commit the resources to care about the VHF minority and they
never should've added XVTR ports if they didn't intend to properly support
them. It's kind of sad because the radio remembers everything when jumping
back and forth between HF Bands, but somehow no one gave a crap about the
fact that they let you make up as many XVTR entries as you like (which is
awesome) but since the radio sees them all as 28MHz I doesn't remember your
settings for each XVTR Band making it incredibly frustrating trying to run
the bands in a VHF contest and then trying to get back to where you were to
coordinate etc ... but apparently its no big deal because VHF contest QSO
rates are so low compared to HF that we should have plenty of time to
re-setup after every band change to make up for the software shortcomings.
It seems that no matter what one chooses for VHF one be prepared for
workarounds !!!
KH
-----Original Message-----
From: VHFcontesting <vhfcontesting-bounces+ve3kh=icloud.com at contesting.com>
On Behalf Of Terry Price
Sent: January 16, 2023 11:58 AM
To: 'Ed Kucharski' <k3dne at comcast.net>; vhfcontesting at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] IF Radios & XTRs
Ed et all,
I think the entire reason the K3 works so well and fits so many niches is
Elecraft listened. Both Wayne and Eric answered questions and suggestions
directly from their reflector. The closest any of the Japanese companies
ever came was the good old Yaesu Ft736R and maybe some of the ICOMs. But
just look at the IC-9700, ICOMs latest VHF rig, if doesn't even offer per
band PTT output for individual amps and no band data unless you want to roll
your own using an Arduino watching the CI-V. Yes I realize they are making
radios for worldwide consumption but I would this everyone would like this.
I'm anxiously awaiting the new IC-905 to see how bad they butchered it. I
have a IC-705 and it has a single PTT output, no band data for steering the
PTT and no CI-V jack. And, don't even get me started about 222 and 902 !!
Unfortunately, we as VHF weak signal folks are such a minority that no one
will listen. They, like the ARRL, only cares about "shack on the belt" types
and HF. Flex is an American company (I think) and being a true SDR, one
would think it could walk on water and leave tracks but only if the software
engineers make it. One of our operators at K8GP/W8ZN has a Flex 6XXX and
after watching the amount of work it takes him to set it up and get it to
work, I'll keep my K3's until they put me in a pine box!
Terry
-----Original Message-----
From: VHFcontesting
[mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces+terry=directivesystems.com at contesting.com] On
Behalf Of Ed Kucharski
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2023 11:33 AM
To: vhfcontesting at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] IF Radios & XTRs
I have nothing to really add to this thread other than to vent my
frustration. Kevin alluded to it with his criticism of the Flex and xvtrs.
I'm particularly disappointed with Yaesu and their "flagship" radio
(FTDX101D / MP). No configuration or low level output for transverter
interfacing. I knew that before purchasing the radio and planned to continue
to use my FT1000MP MKV as an IF but the '101 has many nice features I'd like
to have when using it with transverters for 2m and up. A significant
oversight by Yaesu IMHO.
73,
Ed K3DNE
> On 01/16/2023 11:24 AM Kevin Hobbs via VHFcontesting
<vhfcontesting at contesting.com mailto:vhfcontesting at contesting.com > wrote:
>
>
> Thanks Terry ... that's what I figured ... I assume if the K3 does
that then
> K4 probably follows the same architecture. Seems like just another
VHF+ /
> XVTR oversight by Flex Radio. 73 KH
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Terry Price <terry at directivesystems.com
mailto:terry at directivesystems.com >
> Sent: January 16, 2023 10:40 AM
> To: 'Kevin Hobbs' <ve3kh at icloud.com mailto:ve3kh at icloud.com >
> Cc: 'VHF Contesting Reflector' <vhfcontesting at contesting.com
mailto:vhfcontesting at contesting.com >
> Subject: RE: [VHFcontesting] IF Radios & XTRs
>
> Hi Kevin,
>
> Don't know about the K4 but I have four K3's and they remember
> every
VHF
> band so when I QSY say to 222.100 and then to another band, when I
come back
> to 222, it is on 222.100 and the same mode. The K3 supports 10 VHF
bands so
> one radio can do 50 MHz (native) through 10GHz and the dial shows the
> correct frequency. Each band can have a frequency correction of
> +/- 5
KHz
> (maybe 10 I can't remember) and the band data is standard BCD that
> is
also
> mirrored for HF. There is a separate control line that goes low
> when
low
> power transverter mode is selected so you can differentiate
> between HF
and
> VHF and there is a PTT output, all of these signals are available
> at
the
> HD15 acc connector on the back. So you can cover 160m through 10
> GHz
all
> automatically with the right BCD decoder setup. If you get one
> with
the
> internal 2m transverter, it can be set up to cover bands from 902
> and
up as
> an I.F.
>
> 73,
>
> Terry - W8ZN
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: VHFcontesting
>
[mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces+terry=directivesystems.com at contesting.com
mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces+terry=directivesystems.com at contesting.com ] On
> Behalf Of Kevin Hobbs via VHFcontesting
> Sent: Monday, January 16, 2023 10:30 AM
> To: VHF Contesting <vhfcontesting at contesting.com
mailto:vhfcontesting at contesting.com >
> Subject: [VHFcontesting] IF Radios & XTRs
>
> Hi
>
>
>
> I have a Flex 6600M and a number of XVTRs connected to its XVTRA
> RXA
ports
> with external switching controlled via the Flex IO USB
>
> * 8 CH Relays to control DPDT coax switch to select between a Kuhne
> 144 XVTR (which is the IF for 10 24 47 GHz XVTRs) and a Q5 5-Band
> XVTR
>
>
>
> My issue is that when I change VHF+ bands via the Flex, it resets
> my
freq,
> panadapter etc to default settings and so I can switch back to
> where I
was
> when running the bands because the Flex thinks it all 28MHz and
> even
though
> it handles all the XVTR's it doesn't have any band memory /
persistence for
> XVTRs. This makes running the bands and going back and forth to
coordinate a
> feal nuisance.
>
>
>
> Does anyone have a workaround or know if some other HF IF rigs
> handle
this
> better ie: K3 or K4 ???
>
>
>
> 73 Kevin VE3KH
>
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