The term obsolete just doesn't apply here as it means no longer suitable or sustainable for the purpose at hand.
If you were top of your class when in school and a new, smarter, student came in, were you suddenly obsolete or merely not the smartest in the class? Being completely susceptible to "The Brand New Wow!" myself, it doesn't mean I will be using my 5000 any more or less, it just means Flex has a new radio (that I want to play with NOW!) Yes, firewire is a limited lifespan product, but for gods sake, I have friends still using computers with ISA slots to contest with. I still have an ISA slotted machine so I could play with my contest cards) but sadly its sitting in the trash heap at the very moment! If someone is willing to buy a PCIe firewire card for their computer, you have a decade or more of buying firewire components. The other "limited lifespan" product is powerSDR. Not its ability to run on a computer, or your ability to download it, etc. but the continued evolution of new features, etc. I think this is a Chicken Little issue however. When the day comes that Flex cannot/will not continue to develop/maintain it, I have an optimistic feeling someone else will. Why are we so paranoid that one day the 5000 will become a "boat anchor" (but we definitely need a new term for this kind of radio!)? 73 Neal On Jun 2, 2012, at 10:53 AM, Patrick Greenlee wrote: > Burt, et al, Flex 5000 can be used forever pending radical changes in > operating modes (Say for instance spread spectrum via super wide band FM or > frequency hopping or as yet unimagined modes.) The computer side of the radio > may become obsolete compared to the then state of the practice. USB, > Firewire, etc may become as obsolete as IBM single sided single density 251Kb > 8 inch floppy disks but if you can find "old" boards to keep your computer > running A N D any replacement parts for any failures within the radio box > there is no reason why a Flex can't last essentially forever. > > Saying "half" the radio is the computer and computers are nearly obsolete > when sold etc. doesn't really tell the story. Computers get obsolete > compared to newer offerings NOT because they start to loose function with age > like we all do. I have a good friend who is still using the Samsung 6-8MHz > XT clone I gave him last century. It still performs flawlessly and runs > Multiplan, WordStar, etc just as good as when new. > > Flex radios can evolve and change over time if someone has the ability to > improve on the software. This is a giant difference as compared to the > beloved venerable Hallicrafters of my youth. Only the future can dictate if > the Flex radio portion of the equation will become obsolete and unusable. > > The 6K is (depending on your predilection for hyperbole) an evolutionary > improvement over the 5K or if you are a marketing type a REVOLUTIONARY > improvement but, "I don't think so, Tim.) (Spoken by Al to Tim "The Tool Man" > Taylor, not THE TIM of flex fame. The 6K does essentially what the 5K does > but does it differently and better in some respects. I am not in a position > to opine on the 6K's obsolescence resistance. After some consideration I > decided the 6K does not obsolete the 5K any more than a Tesla obsoletes my > wife's Prius. Different price points, different performance, different sex > appeal and both meeting their requirements very well but not really intended > to race each other or be rated as "Babe Magnets." > > May Flex and Flexers live long and prosper. > > Patrick AF5CK > > P.S. I hooked up my new 5K last night and have a few things to figure out > before you will hear me out and about the low bands as I got no response to > the key but did output some power by using tune. Only received digital > noise, 9 bits repeated ad infinitum but will try skywire in place of dummy > load next. hi hi. > > -----Original Message----- From: Burt > Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2012 8:48 AM > To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz > Subject: [Flexradio] VU5K End of Production Notice > > When you are dealing with today's state of the art technology this should be > of no surprise. When I bought my Flex 5000 I expect no more than 10 years > service. Flex is not your fathers or grandfathers's Hallicrafters, > Hallicrafters etc last but on the other hand Hallicrafters radios cannot > match up aspects like a panadapter in the Flex. > We don't expect more than 5 years out of our computers and Flex is half > computer. > The demise of the VU5K is a warning of what you are dealing with. It is not > Flex so much as this is the world we live in. > That said, I still prefer my Flex for how ever long it can be maintained. > Burt > > _______________________________________________ > FlexRadio Systems Mailing List > FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz > 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/ > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2425/5038 - Release Date: 06/01/12 > > _______________________________________________ > FlexRadio Systems Mailing List > FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz > 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/ _______________________________________________ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz 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/
