I would like to add also mine personal opinion about the subject, as for
me it's really hot.
Here not everything was compared to everything other in scientific
approach, nonetheless I would give my vote to FLEX. IMHO.
I wouldn't bother on numbers but on usability. I am devoted to RTTY. My
point of view is the one of a small station in the middle of a dense
urban area. My aerials are simply V shaped rigid dipoles. I am also
manning time to time IQ1RY a club station not so far away from here and
with several more interesting features. Happy to taste from there what
the radio means on bigger numbers than at home. The dawn form there
after a night with the radio ... well, this is another story.
The panadapter of POWERSDR(TM) is THE Panadapter. There is a mouse and
the mouse pointer could be clicked on a signal, then you are dead on
decoding a new RTTY correspondent, no frills, no trills. No one could
tell from the change of the sound that there is another one
correspondent on the decoding window of N1MM: S&P is just moving trough
the band from each correspondent to the next one. Just a touch of the
Tmate could solve any out of target click issue, time to time. There
isn't the needs to put it on Windows focus, this leave the PWSDR or N1MM
and the mouse free to fly on the target, change a filter or send a
call/answer.
No way to compare the FLEX panadaptor with others panadaptors, at all.
They, name each one of these, doesn't even deserve the name of
panadaptor as FLEX name and give it to us. These are simplistic screens
that have risen to the role of panadaptor for a simple marketing decision.
On the general view of the environment here: MMTTY, rock solid since
than, is going to have a Twin Peak Filter ... , any IF filter is
modifiable in a click (any filter is like this), CAT commands for those
filters and more are working as needed. Everything is working fine, with
good antivirus, no pick-a-patch from M*S and a second PC for homework.
Just to be sure.
Another but the same view. I lately bought a IC-7700. Well I like it, as
just in few days it went "molded" to work as mine FLEX with N1MM,
automated as needed: no more radio touching. Even a second copy of the
Tmate application, with its own setup and runnning parameters make it
looking much better as the FLEX, well this time acting as a plain VFO
knob. This was done also for my oldest and trusted 756PROIII. Thanks to
the N1MM digital group from Yahoo.
Just the panadaptor is more difficult to see and definitively not so
useful but for the RUN both ICOM works and definitively even the S&P
with just the VFO to fiddle is more relaxing and useful. Just like to be
half that's better than none.
So, If a radio could be run as my FLEX taught me this mean it could be
used, even the K3, but always half.
BTW, I am unfortunately loosing the ability to use the keyboard, as any
operation due to the N1MM features, the macro commands and the general
behavior of the whole thing is highly automatized and doesn't require
any click-clacking on the KBD. I would loose all my typewriting
abilities over time if even I have had some of it before.
The PC/logger and the Contest, strategy and workout, are the focus in
the Contest. All together with the radio. All things are to be
automated and working smoothly and flawlessly. This for small and big
guns and FLEX with it's today ability to be quite well integrated is the
key point.
It would be better with the new software, after that development and
integrations issues will become solved. I mean not for FLEX but for the
whole new generation of software that could come out. Now we have a SDR
and FLEX is it. But we are still running on applications that emulate
standard radio on it, with old and ancient bones and their well know
rattling noise. I love N1MM and MMTTY, but my dreams will become better
and better when those things and FLEX will become more tied together, at
least in some way that I could see since now. I mean tied not with
todays "RS-232" shoestring. But there are also other issues coming out
from the effectiveness of the OS platforms we could use in a not so far
away tomorrow. Anyway a good example could be the band map, a la N1MM,
integrated but not on or inside the the panadaptor I mean within it. A
live band map in a live and clickable panadaptor. This would undoubtedly
represent a useful advantage: more focus where the game is. It's not so
easy, I know but this is another story. Somebody tell me me that it is
the matter of another and more advanced subject.
RTTY isn't CW nor phone, it has too many advantages ;-)
If anybody reached this point TNX, In the hope that my English was
enough readable.
73 de iw1ayd Salvo
_______________________________________________
FlexRadio Systems Mailing List
[email protected]
http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/
Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
