This is not a criticism of the current line of thought being expressed
but is the F5k really 'old-tech'? It made its debut in 2007 and although
the architecture of the latest wave of SDR's to come out is moderately
different, the bulk of the processing is in software. I agree that PC's
will evolve and in the not too distant future die out as the processing
power of tablets and handhelds advances. Firewire cards will still be
around for years to come because like HD-DVD's those who adopt the
technology will stick with it come rain or shine until their nose bleeds
or a better alternative emerges that is consistent with their point of
utilisation.
An example here is the music industry which still relies heavily on
FireWire because there is limited alternative commonly available
technology which supersedes it. As to the interface - yes, I'm sure
there will come a day when it is no longer economic for FlexRadio to
support PowerSDR as a legacy product - this is natural software
evolution. But like Patrick said of his friend, the product will outlive
its support structure and when Flex no longer supports it, there will be
other programmers who will want to step in to the breech and continue
the evolution cycle.
The 5K is still very close to the top of the food chain. Although I'm a
useless programmer, I'm sure that more features and better performance
algorithms can be squeezed out of the bytes and nibbles for a generation
to come.
===
To save pursuing separately, a short comment about the hobby from one
who's been there for 25 years, so not quite a veteran. This is speaking
from a British perspective in the sense of population density. The UK
has the highest incidence of powerline networking in the EU and quite
possibly the world but don't hold me to the latter. The European
controls on EMC have failed because of bogus Conformity being claimed
by large-scale exports from the likes of China, where, amongst other
things the CE stamp (which stands for Chinese Export) looks almost
identical to the CE European Conformity stamp. Convenient.
My point from this is that I am seeing the largest exodus from the hobby
by my piers and our forebears that I believe has ever happened - all due
to the insane rise in the noise floor caused by non-conforming SMPSU's,
badly designed EMC and-the-likes, combined with intermod from a plethora
of mains systems deluged with powerline networking. The horizon is
changing, rapidly and if the seasoned hams cannot hack the noise, what
hope is there for the newcomers? Yes, they won't know anything else but
if they set up their G5RV's and find S9 on the bulk of the amateur
bands, it won't take long to get tired of it. That scenario is
alarmingly common in my part of the world... Then there's the erosion in
good operating practice and procedure but don't get me started on that...
One of my closest friends was forced to quit 2m a few weeks ago because
that is now S9 PLT at apparently random times of the day (and night).
The hobby is eroded and complacency combined with an unhealthy dose of
'head in the sand' is quickly becoming one of the more significant
threats to amateur radio. The hobby will evolve - it's inevitable - 25
years ago I was doing MS/ moonbounce with a speeded up tape recorder.
Then came the PC. Now we can do SDR and decode AFSK with our Android and
iPhones.
I realise that much of this latter diatribe will be of little
significance to the lucky guys who live in rural spaces like those found
in the US. Not every amateur lives in a rural location and sooner or
later, like has happened here, urban and suburban operating will become
troublesome at best and impossible at worst. Each and every one of us
who enjoy the use of the spectrum owe it to ourselves and our
"descendants" to protect the spectrum - it is a finite natural resource
where commercial interests supersede everything - radio regulations
included. I can vouch for that since I was at the Spectrum Stakeholders
meeting in London for PLT where the communications regulator was
"frightened into submission" by a threat from the EU trade
representative (DG Enterprises) who quoted Treaty - "No barrier to free
trade" and he cited hams as being one of the biggest threats...
[/rant]
Glad that's off my chest.
Nige. G7CNF
On 23/08/2012 16:17, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
--------------------------------------------------
Won't the RohS solder fail in Flex before 50 years?
Availability of Win7... Firewire... etc. Obsolescence, scarcity, worry
worry etc.
I bought a Samsung clone of a PC XT with switchable clock speeds of 4
and 8 MHz with an 80386 CPU around 1987 after donating my Tandy 6000
Unix based multi-user 'puter to the "Starvation Army." Somewhere in
the early 90's I gave it to a friend complete with user friendly data
base in the guise of an on-screen Rolodex (HP software, really nifty)
OK, flash forward to present day... He still has the computer, it
still works fine, it is his daily user, and it his only computer. He
has all the word processor, data base, and other productivity software
he needs. He is NOT a "New Shiny Ball" kinda guy. He is not
anti-tech having been the Pres and CEO of a HoverCraft design and
manufacturing company. He also knows how to use a brace and bit, hand
planes, and hand saws.
Some of us will be able to operate our Flex 5000 (and other models)
long after the naysayers are pushing up daisys. Old tech isn't bad
tech if it meets the requirements. I didn't give up swimming because
I'm not up there with the most recent incarnation of Mark Spitz or
give up running because Prince Harry and Usain Bolt are both faster
than me. I swim well enough and run fast enough for my purposes and
suggest that the Flex 5000 will meet the requirements for a lot of us
for decades.
73 Patrick AF5CK
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