I've realized that I've been speaking regularly but only to the alpha test group. First, N4HY is alive and well and speaks to, works with, advises, looks for opportunities for Flex Radio. I'm actively demonstrating the latest efforts all over the place. On occasion there are missteps that have cost us valuable opportunities and I had my first one recently. But overall the opportunity to show off Flex and brag about all that has been accomplished since 2003 has gone super well. My first foray back into the world with Flex was at Friedrichshafen last summer and this quiet but there continued until Dayton when I came out full throated and with Flex and even though I'm a director of AMSAT I mostly associated with Flex at Dayton. I attended Contest University. Going around with a radio with your signature affixed to the bottom of the radio as a person involved in the architecture of the radio, a contributor to the software and firmware through actually writing code in the first few days of the life of the 6000 series or to contribute regularly to the design of the firmware and software. I've played a much quieter and smaller role in the grunt work department but a continuing role in advice and I've never ever stopped promoting Flex. But that is getting a lot easier now. As I've left my former life, moved to Virginia Tech, and continued my association with Flex, and with 6000 series maturing rapidly, my efforts at cheerleading and marketing of the radios have begun to gain real traction. On the Flex 6000 series, I took it to a talk at the Frankford Radio Club, my old contest club. Since I'm known as the technical geek contester who likes to help the stars contest with better technical things, I continued that role after a ingrid hiatus to all contesters and not just to my old friend W2GD. I emphasized the technical accomplishments of Flex and listened to concerns and answered them at the FRC meeting and that has set the tone of future speeches. I'm now a member of PVRC, and I'm about to start contesting again personally. I'm going to not jump in at the deep end, but I'll contest alone as I rebuild my skills except for contesting with close personal friends W5ZN and W2GD. I went to Dayton with Flex. I interacted nonstop with my old contesting friends at Contest University and answered a thousand questions but I dare not brag about the radio contesting and DXing at events where K9CT, 4O3A, W0GJ, N2TU were already doing this. I answered technical questions by contesters who know me and assured many that I was alive and well after a long time away from contesting and that I was returning to contesting life. I spoke to many about beginning to join DXpeditions as a technical operator while my operating skills with modern techniques and software improve. At Contest stations, I'm a problem solver that contests and I'm going to concentrate on improving my contesting skills mostly alone. Now to recent efforts to promote Flex 6000: I intended to take the Flex 6700 to my friend's tiny station where a couple of unknowns come to a gathering every summer: the friend's tiny station W3LPL was recently hit by a tornado which has damaged his "tiny station" and made it tinier. It definitely took out one of his tiny towers, the 200 foot tower with his ten meter antennas and more and it most assuredly will have done damage that is not yet known. I'm thinking of volunteering my limited time to help Frank recover. The oopsy moment for me this summer was I was going to the large PVRC gathering at Frank's and demonstrate the Flex 6700 and allow contesters from everywhere to play on it hooked to Frank's "tiny antennas" right before they became tinier by weather. This was NOT successful. I'm an alpha tester and rapid changes are happening with Maestro and Flex 6700 and I wanted the latest. I updated the software and poof, it bricked the radio. Flex overnighted a replacement SDHC but I will not do last minute upgrades to alpha software before a major event again unless the current alpha has a major fault that would already preclude success. My latest event was Field Day at N4NRV. I live in the New River Valley in Virginia. This is a lightweight, fun only Field Day where they don't even try for publicity and they conduct a hobo operation for the locals. One person brought satellite antennas and didn't even hook them up. I normally make half or more of all the QSO'S by doing all nighter, don't get out of my chair operation but not this year. This year I went with the motivation to do "Maestro bar with a single bar stool" after seeing the success of Maestro bar at Dayton. It worked. While all the old guys were awake my wife and family napped, flew quad copter, etc. Then after most went to bed, I operated for two hours and made a hundred contacts. Then I helped make two new hams and three new contesters (my twin grandsons) and with Maestro got my extra class ham wife to operate and make contacts for hours in the middle of the night... This was the first time I got her to contest since she got her extra. She was able to use the Maestro effortlessly and she's still asleep from having stayed up all night and operating with our grandkids. Mission accomplished! They will take their exam in three weeks and now they can't wait for general... heh heh heh. I bought them (real and not knock off) Baofeng UV5R (buy from a dealer and not off Amazon). Everywhere I go the Flex6700 and the Maestro is of course the star of the show and without it I would not be given the stage or be answering a thousand questions. It is great to have been and continue to be a contributor to the success of Flex Radio and to watch it "cross the chasm" the same way others have, such as Elecraft did with contesters. Flex interrupted major work on the 6000 series to bring out the Maestro but they are picking up the pace on both now. It is time to buy Flex 6000 series radio before you look like the latest possible adopter. 73sBob N4HY
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