This is a thread from June 2013 that was closed by Eric -- in 2013. What gives?
Joe N1QD On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 12:23 PM, Jim Brown <j...@audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote: > On Sun,3/8/2015 8:47 PM, Wes (N7WS) wrote: > >> Has anyone other than me ever noted that Rob Sherwood doesn't own a K3? >> His #1 operating position has an IC781 and #2 is a TS-990. >> > > Here's part of an exchange re: the "obvious superiority" of the new > generation of Flex radios. The initial comments are from Howard, VE3GFW, > ex-KY6LA, who doesn't operate much, "hates CW," and loves SDRs. > > > FYI. here is a comment from one of the most accomplished RF engineers > > I know.. Michelle Easton W5NYV... > > > > Frankly I have to agree with her.. why are you and Dennis so stuck > > back in the 20^th Century trying to keep legacy technology alive when > > SDR's are now the new baseline> I'm just amazed this is even still being > debated. > > > > Thanks for including me in all of these conversations, it's certainly > > illuminating. I must live in a bubble, because my tech circle assumes > > SDRs as a baseline. > > > > -Michelle W5NYV > > I responded: > > Michelle may be a great engineer, but few of us know everything there is to > know about everything. Does she OPERATE HF? Does she know what HF > operators need? Does she design stuff with Pin One Problems? Does she > know > what a Pin One Problem is? Do YOU? What kind of operating do YOU do? > > I don't give a rat's ass about "new technologies" and the latest fads. > I am both an engineer and an OPERATOR. I choose a radio that gives me the > performance and the functions I need, and at a price I can afford. > The K3s are my current choice. It is NOT a religious decision. Before that > it was FT1000MPs, before that TS850s, before that a K2. Based on what I > see > of the performance and features of the current crop of SDRs, none are even > close to offering what the K3 does. Someday that will change, and when it > does, I may buy one -- if I'm not in hospice by then. > > I drive a big Toyota SUV because I need to haul stuff. I convinced my wife > to buy a Prius because she doesn't. I have a modest music listening > system, > but a monster library of music on LP, CD, and DVD. As last count, >3,000 > LPs, >4,000 CDs, and about 150 DVDs. I worked in pro audio, and for most of > my professional life, people asked me about whatever the latest and > greatest > was. My advice, then and now, is to save their money and buy music by > Prez, > Billie, Pops, and Desmond. > > It is NOT about technologies. > > = = = = = = = > > And Michelle responded: > > K3s are great. > > Any solution in ham radio that makes the operator happy, and therefore > leads to them being more efficient and achieving higher scores, is the > optimum solution, for that ham, for that application. There is an assmption > here of an objective ideal in terms of operating in contests. I don't think > this assumption should go unquestioned. > > What works for one set of operators is not guaranteed to work for another. > > I use SDRs for (non-human-involved) cognitive radio research, and in > experiments with new modulation schemes, for which they are absolutely > necessary. I have a Flex, USRPs, boxes of HPSDRs, a BladeRF, a HackRF, and > about a half dozen other custom boards and implementations in FPGA. I don't > even consider legacy radios, outside of where I must have a simple cheap > solution to radio sensor data back home (such as RFID). I'm an SDR zealot. > > I prefer the K3 for contesting due to a delightful user interface, > portability, and durability. > > All of these radios under discussion are so far above what I would > consider to be the performance cutoff for contesting, one should choose > based on the remaining "highest nail" - the UI, or whatever else the > situation demands. The Flex is an undisputed lab queen and is objectively > "the best" in terms of stats. But we took K3s to the Cook Islands and Raro. > If I go on another DXpedition, it probably won't be with a Flex. Not that > I'm generally choosing - I'm a junior member of the DXpedition teams that > invite me. > > I contest for fun, but I've put in enough hours with the local club to > know that I'm not rig-limited. I know for a fact that I'd have to contest a > lot more for the rigs I use to start limiting my scores, instead of my > skill level limiting my scores. The Flex doesn't make me any better of an > operator than the K3 or the 756Pro2. They all can have the killer app of > panoramic display, which I depend upon. They are all easy enough to switch > bands on. Above that, I'd need to put in so much more seat time in order > for the Flex to start making a difference, and I just don't have that much > time to devote to contesting. > > I have raced cars. If the objective measurements of transceiver > performance can be likened to horsepower, then you obviously need a car > with enough horsepower to compete. But if you pick a car based solely on > this one axis, then you may end up backing a Corvette that fails to > negotiate the twisty road, while the half-your-horsepower Porsche eats your > lunch. Conversely, the Porshe will lose in the straightaway to the > Corvette. Suspension, gearing, steering, track type, race format - etc. are > are equivalent in importance to horsepower. > > So, If you want to talk about what the best contesting rig is, then I > think you have to consider radios in a more multidimensional manner than by > just comparing the equivalent of horsepower. Of which, Flex clearly seems > to win. > -Michelle W5NYV > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to joseph.a.har...@gmail.com > -- Joe Harris, N1QD ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
