[Flexradio] SWR readings whats going on
I have becoming more and more concerned with displayed results. I keep getting HIGH SWR warnings on the display. So what you say press the ATU button, this happens after a FULL TUNE, the ATU setting window states at the moment SWR 1.1 forware power 11 watts reflected 0 sweet, sorry not. now tx using the TUN button or whistle in to mic, forward power 61 watts, reflected 12 watts now stick it into some thing like this http://www.ac6v.com/swrmeter.html and you get an SWR of 2.59:1 yes thats high but, hang on I just tuned that. The drop down does not indicate the swr as well. What do I do?? I really dont know Any ideas. or is there a way of calibrating the swr pickups on the ATU board??? Just did something to prove a point dummy load on ANT 3 forward power 10 watts reflected power 3 watts swr cal of 1.6:1 on PwerSDR web page cal 3:1 on my very good dummy load (bird 100 watt unit) ATU calculation of 1.3:1 ( in the ATU settings) In bypass mode forward 50 watts reflected 1 watt web calc swr of 1.2:1 flex calc of 1.3:1 close . So does this mean I have a fault in the ATU again?. cheers sort of Paul -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] ATU
I have come to my believe that the ATU in my radio has a mind of its own. for pwr 144 watt refec 344 watts and this is after a tune. not happy. not even going to say ch33rs -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] ATU
I have mentioned this several times before. The ATU in the Flex 5000 is the WORST automatic antenna tuner I have ever seen in 50 yrs of hamming. Plain and simple it does NOT work as advertised. I have had many automatic tuners over the years and they all worked satisfactorily. I own a MFJ 993B autotuner that works perfect on all my antennas. The Flex ATU chokes on every antenna I have. Sometimes it works. Mostly it does not. It is a complete waste of money. Flex needs to address the poor performance of the ATU and especially needs to stop advertising that it will tune a 10:1 SWR. Stan K9IUQ Paul Mullins wrote: I have come to my believe that the ATU in my radio has a mind of its own. for pwr 144 watt refec 344 watts and this is after a tune. not happy. not even going to say ch33rs ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] SWR readings whats going on
Paul, You need to take this up with FlexRadio Support directly, as the Reflector is not intended for that purpose. I have copied Dudley on this to give you a head start. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Paul Mullins Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 7:59 AM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] SWR readings whats going on I have becoming more and more concerned with displayed results. I keep getting HIGH SWR warnings on the display. So what you say press the ATU button, this happens after a FULL TUNE, the ATU setting window states at the moment SWR 1.1 forware power 11 watts reflected 0 sweet, sorry not. now tx using the TUN button or whistle in to mic, forward power 61 watts, reflected 12 watts now stick it into some thing like this http://www.ac6v.com/swrmeter.html and you get an SWR of 2.59:1 yes thats high but, hang on I just tuned that. The drop down does not indicate the swr as well. What do I do?? I really dont know Any ideas. or is there a way of calibrating the swr pickups on the ATU board??? Just did something to prove a point dummy load on ANT 3 forward power 10 watts reflected power 3 watts swr cal of 1.6:1 on PwerSDR web page cal 3:1 on my very good dummy load (bird 100 watt unit) ATU calculation of 1.3:1 ( in the ATU settings) In bypass mode forward 50 watts reflected 1 watt web calc swr of 1.2:1 flex calc of 1.3:1 close . So does this mean I have a fault in the ATU again?. cheers sort of Paul -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] ATU
Likewise. I get a different result each time I tune... 5000A XPPro SP3 any PSDR - doesn't matter. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 8:38 AM, Lazy Senior lazysen...@verizon.net wrote: I have mentioned this several times before. The ATU in the Flex 5000 is the WORST automatic antenna tuner I have ever seen in 50 yrs of hamming. Plain and simple it does NOT work as advertised. I have had many automatic tuners over the years and they all worked satisfactorily. I own a MFJ 993B autotuner that works perfect on all my antennas. The Flex ATU chokes on every antenna I have. Sometimes it works. Mostly it does not. It is a complete waste of money. Flex needs to address the poor performance of the ATU and especially needs to stop advertising that it will tune a 10:1 SWR. Stan K9IUQ Paul Mullins wrote: I have come to my believe that the ATU in my radio has a mind of its own. for pwr 144 watt refec 344 watts and this is after a tune. not happy. not even going to say ch33rs ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ -- russ ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] SWR readings whats going on
I am not going to speculate on the quality or functionality of your ATU, however I would like to point out your measurement techniques. Understanding the fundamentals of how your radio system works is important to troubleshooting. I will try to explain some things below, and then provide a few links to other articles for further reading that may help clear things up. When you use an antenna tuner, the antenna tuner splits your radio system into two parts: The parts before, and the parts after the antenna tuner. The part before the antenna tuner is your radio (or the output of your amplifier), and the piece of coax that connects the radio to the antenna tuner. (in the case of the FLEX 3000, 5000, this is a small piece of transmission line internal to the radio.) The part after the antenna tuner is your antenna, and the coax between your antenna and the antenna tuner. Your radio has been designed to have an output of 50 ohms, non reactive. Your feedline is 50 ohms, your antenna however, is not 50 ohms. (if it were 50 ohms, you wouldn't need your tuner) Very few antenna designs are 50 ohms. Many antennas are designed with matching networks (baluns, gamma matches, etc.) so that the input to the match is near 50 ohms at the frequency of intended operations. Most active RF devices, (in your case, the final stage of transistors in the power amplifier stage of your radio) don't like to be operated with a bad output match. (transistors rarely have a 50 ohm output impedance, so a matching network is used in the radio to transform the output impedance to 50 ohms. You then have a 50 ohm piece of coax that goes to your antenna tuner. Your antenna tuner 'tunes' until it appears to have an input impedance of 50 ohms. The SWR is measured at the INPUT of your antenna tuner, your system is happy when it measures 1:1 SWR on the input of the antenna tuner. But what about the SWR on the output of the antenna tuner? Your antenna is still not 50 ohms, its probably in the range of 10 - 1000 ohms, with a non zero complex component as well. The feed line that runs between your antenna tuner and your antenna is not the same impedance as your antenna, its probably 50 ohms if you used coax (or 75 ohms 300 ohms, 450 ohms, etc. if you use a different type of feedline here, it really doesn't matter what impedance it is, because its going to be different than your antennas impedance) What does this mean? THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A SWR HIGHER THAN 1:1 AFTER THE ANTENNA TUNER (except in the special case where the antenna impedance is equal to the transmission line impedance.) This is because the impedance mismatch between the antenna and the transmission line will reflect some of the RF energy instead of radiating it in the antenna. This reflected energy then travels in reverse down the transmission line until it gets to the antenna tuner, where it will be reflected again (this time nearly 100%) and the energy will add back to the forward power traveling along the transmission line, the process will get repeated infinitely, though the reflected components will be surpressed as they travel through the coax, as the coax will attenuate the signals the longer they have to travel back and forth on the feedline. So what does this all mean? If you are using an SWR meter AFTER your antenna tuner, you should not expect to see a SWR of 1:1, AND having an SWR that is higher than 1:1 in this part of the system is sometimes BETTER! If you do, you probably don't need your antenna tuner in the first place. Take a look at the block diagram for the FLEX-3000 : http://kc.flex-radio.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50406.aspx?Keywords=block+diagr am Notice the SWR Bridge comes BEFORE the ATU. All auto tuners will be built this way. For further reading, please examine these articles, the provide examples and thought experiments that will help you gain understanding SWR Meters Make You Stupid [ http://www.eham.net/articles/23317 ] The Real SWR Page! [ http://www.hamuniverse.com/wc7iswr.html ] The SWR Obsession [ http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/49470.pdf ] Understanding SWR by Example [ http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/q1106037.pdf ] A Mini Primer on SWR Measurements [ http://users.cwnet.com/ysarc/swr.htm ] What Does SWR Cost You [ http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/7901019.pdf ] Good luck, and I hope this helps! Greg Zenger, N2GZ -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Paul Mullins Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 7:59 AM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] SWR readings whats going on I have becoming more and more concerned with displayed results. I keep getting HIGH SWR warnings on the display. So what you say press the ATU button, this happens after a FULL TUNE, the ATU setting window states at the moment SWR 1.1 forware power 11 watts reflected 0 sweet, sorry not. now tx using the TUN button or whistle in to mic, forward power 61 watts,
[Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
I love my Flex-3000 but agree that to my very untrained and unexperienced eye, that in operation the atu in the 3000 is only good for extending the useful bandwidth of a resonant antenna... Every other 'modern' radio I have used, has no trouble providing a match to my G5RV, 3el 6m or 3 el G4MH on most bands, inc. warc and 80... I like John purchased an external atu, mine being a cheap auto from LDG with performs perfectly for me... just a pain having to click tune and press a button... I do however wish I had paid more attention to the advertised specs before I purchased the 3000, or I wouldn't have sold my previous atu, that aside... I would also prefer to buy a 3000 cheaper with no atu, but I guess that would adversely affect the comparison tables in reviews. An idea for would be to incorporate a yaesu or Icom tuner interface in the next generation of hardware, or someone could develop an external flexwire / ddutil interface... thinks 73 Steve G6HOQ -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of John Ragle Sent: 13 March 2010 16:08 To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ __ This email has been scanned for viruses by www.epagency.net If you consider this email spam, please forward it to s...@epagency.net __ ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Quick question, have you guys tried the pb-pal SVN branch? They fixed a race condition with the auto tuner (not sure if it's just 3000 specific or not), that made tuning much more reliable for me. I still use an external tuner for the antenna switch, but the ATU now tunes properly for me every time, assuming the antenna is 3:1 or better. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Steve Potter steve.pot...@rethink-it.comwrote: I love my Flex-3000 but agree that to my very untrained and unexperienced eye, that in operation the atu in the 3000 is only good for extending the useful bandwidth of a resonant antenna... Every other 'modern' radio I have used, has no trouble providing a match to my G5RV, 3el 6m or 3 el G4MH on most bands, inc. warc and 80... I like John purchased an external atu, mine being a cheap auto from LDG with performs perfectly for me... just a pain having to click tune and press a button... I do however wish I had paid more attention to the advertised specs before I purchased the 3000, or I wouldn't have sold my previous atu, that aside... I would also prefer to buy a 3000 cheaper with no atu, but I guess that would adversely affect the comparison tables in reviews. An idea for would be to incorporate a yaesu or Icom tuner interface in the next generation of hardware, or someone could develop an external flexwire / ddutil interface... thinks 73 Steve G6HOQ -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of John Ragle Sent: 13 March 2010 16:08 To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ __ This email has been scanned for viruses by www.epagency.net If you consider this email spam, please forward it to s...@epagency.net __ ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] SGC-500
Howard: I am curious why you need to switch your SGC for bands when it is an automatic function of the SGC-500. I own two of them and they work fine without external band switching. I do use external switching to reset the SGC if it senses a bad SWR, etc condition, plus I do remote switch AC on/off, etc. using the Wavenode WN-2 controls. Also use a Palstar AT-AUTO for automatic antenna tuning. Harry W9BR In a message dated 3/13/2010 11:00:42 A.M. Central Standard Time, flexradio-requ...@flex-radio.biz writes: Hi everyone. I am pleased to announce that the ATAUTO s/w (available from N3ZH_Software yahoo group) now supports the CK1610 RS232 relay box. The CK1610 is available here: http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/elec/ck1610.htm It is the only low cost relay box I can find that works from a DB9 COM port. It has 8 relays and 4 isolated inputs. This relay box is available as a kit or fully assembled. I purchased mine fully assembled and tested for about $130 including shipping. I did not buy the recommended 12 volt power supply because I already owned a PS that will work. This box needs 12 volts - not 13.8 volts - not 9 volts - it needs 12 volts - 12 volts. My laptop has no parallel port - (my wife's desktop computer also has no parallel port). Parallel ports seem to be dead - many new motherboards don't have a parallel port, and laptops have long abandoned providing parallel ports. The USB/Parallel port adapters are only for printing and do not show up as a real Parallel port. The solution? This CK1610 relay box! It is now auto-band switching my SGC-500 amplifier. Howard ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] ALE with Flex Radios
Has anyone had any experience with ALE with Flex? Wud sure appreciate your thoughts!! 73 Les ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] WTB: ATU for FLEX-5000A
Hello friends: If you want sell an ATU for FLEX-5000A send me an email off-list. Excuse the off-topic. 73 -- Rubén Navarro Huedo - EA5BZ http://www.palotes.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] ALE with Flex Radios
I have. PC-ALE works great with PowerSDR and supports the native CAT protocol, even though it is mislabeled as the SDR-1000 rather than PowerSDR. Don't worry too much about the relays in the FLEX-x000 radios. There are good for millions of closure/open cycles. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Les Warriner Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 1:05 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] ALE with Flex Radios Has anyone had any experience with ALE with Flex? Wud sure appreciate your thoughts!! 73 Les ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] For Sale: Griffen PowerMate and Shuttlepro V2
The following ad is up on QTH.com. As it is of specific interest to this group I am reproducing it here... I have for sale a Griffen Powermate and a ShuttlePro V2 Rig Controlloer. They came with the Flex-5000A I bought used and I just do not use them. The Powermate can be used like a VFO knob, the Shuttlepro V2 Rig Controller allow control of many Flex functions on a handy keypad. Items are both in good shape. For destination in the USA asking $35.00 for the Griffen, $65.00 for the Shuttlepro or $90 for the pair, shipping included. I take PMO or Paypal if you pick up the fee. 73 de Bill WB0VHW ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] Some PC hardware updates
Hi all, Just wanted to give you some updates on the PC hardware front lines... Many of you have bought, based on my recommendation, the Startech PCI1394MP firewire card. I like it because it has a reliable TI controller and its dirt cheap ($22). I have to sayl however, I am withdrawing my recommendation. In the past 3 months, the failure rate of these cards has dramatically increased. I am at the stage right now that I will be shipping a spare card with every computer I sell with this card until my stock is depleted. since I have about 15 in stock it gives me a little time to find a suitable replacement. I will be testing a Rosewill TI-based card this week which is PCIe and will let you know how that goes. I also seem to be famous for my recommendation of Windows XP over Vista/Win7. I have made this statement (especially before Win7 came out commercially) because the DPCs are lower with XP (either Pro or Home). I am, however, reversing my recommendation at this time. I still recommend you not use Vista, but heartily recommend Win7 Pro in the 32 bit version. Why have I changed my position? Twofold. First is that Microsoft is now jacking the price of XP up every 2-3 weeks and its now $30+ more than Win7 Pro. This will continue as they motivate us to buy Win7 (as well as stop installing and using Internet Explorer 6 which will not soon work on many websites on the net). Secondly, while Win7 is higher on average DPCs (100 vs 20us), it is rock solid at that level, it doesn't spike as much as XP and I have learned enough about tuning it that I feel you are still getting the most out of your computer. From what I can see, Microsoft is no longer selling XP Home, so thats no longer a choice. So, to summarize: 1. Use the Startech PCI1394MP card with the understanding it can have a high failure rate. The card used to fail at boot time (hang the PCI bus so the machine would not power up) but lately its failing after usage and thats when I decided to find an alternative) 2. Get Win7 Pro x86 for your Flex computer. Its rock solid, you won't feel the slight decrease in DPCs and you will save some money. I would recommend you go to the full 4GB memory configuration however. On the commercial front, I will be making the changes to Win7 as the default OS on all my computers. You might have heard of a mysterious, even legendary computer called the W4TME Signature TNT System that was custom-built for a certain list moderator who will remain nameless. After building it, I was so impressed with it I have added it to my store under the name TNT System, it uses a brushed aluminum (aluminium for our British friends) Lian Li Cube (i.e. Shuttle type) case that is 15x. Loaded with an ASUS M4A785M-EVO motherboard and AMD x4 955 CPU, 4GB of Kingston DDR3 ram, dual video ports, its a real screamer that looks as good as it performs. Maybe we can get W4TME to produce a signature decal so it can ship with a custom exterior. On the testing front, I have been testing mini-ITX computers this past week. I have a Jetway AMD AM2+ motherboard with a X3 550 2.5GHz cpu in it that looks great on idle but the minute that you press any button that changes band, mode or filter settings, the DPCs spike to 2000us. Its almost like there is a constraint in handliing a large amount of commands to the radio. Not a candidate. Next up is a Zotac board with an Intel E9300 2.93GHz cpu. It has a snappy feel to it. I need a PCIe firewire card to test it which is part of my search for a replacement of the Startech card. Stay tuned, I will let you know how it develops! 73 Neal Campbell Abroham Neal Software www.abrohamnealsoftware.com (540) 645 5394 NEW PHONE NUMBER Amateur Radio: K3NC Blog: http://www.abrohamnealsoftware.com/blog/ DXBase bug reports: email to ca...@dxbase.fogbugz.com Abroham Neal forums: http:/www.abrohamnealsoftware.com/community/ ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Dear customers, First let me acknowledge that we at FlexRadio understand that the ATUs in both the FLEX-3000 and FLEX-5000 can be improved. All of these improvements will be in software since the hardware tuning range is more than adequate in both radios. The current tuners use fairly simple BB in a barrel tuning algorithms, which can sometimes miss the optimal tuning point. We are currently working on software enhancements for both radios, which should significantly improve both tuning range and reliability. As usual, the radio will improve with a download from our website. While we are not ready to announce when the software will be released, I can confirm that the work is in process. So stay tuned for radios that keep getting better. 73, Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 10:08 AM, John Ragle tpcj1...@crocker.com wrote: There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] ATU
I don't use mine, plus after I installed it, the swr reading is off. If I adjust it to read correctly, the power reads half. Brett - Original Message - From: russ nofussr...@gmail.com To: Lazy Senior lazysen...@verizon.net Cc: flexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 9:54 AM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] ATU Likewise. I get a different result each time I tune... 5000A XPPro SP3 any PSDR - doesn't matter. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 8:38 AM, Lazy Senior lazysen...@verizon.net wrote: I have mentioned this several times before. The ATU in the Flex 5000 is the WORST automatic antenna tuner I have ever seen in 50 yrs of hamming. Plain and simple it does NOT work as advertised. I have had many automatic tuners over the years and they all worked satisfactorily. I own a MFJ 993B autotuner that works perfect on all my antennas. The Flex ATU chokes on every antenna I have. Sometimes it works. Mostly it does not. It is a complete waste of money. Flex needs to address the poor performance of the ATU and especially needs to stop advertising that it will tune a 10:1 SWR. Stan K9IUQ Paul Mullins wrote: I have come to my believe that the ATU in my radio has a mind of its own. for pwr 144 watt refec 344 watts and this is after a tune. not happy. not even going to say ch33rs ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ -- russ ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Very few companies would admit what was in the message below. That is what differentiates Flex from the rest, a company with an owner that is straight with the customers. The FCC gives us a license grant to learn from technology, clearly Flex can be a challenge at times but that should be welcomed as Flex helps us and we help them Burt --- On Sat, 3/13/10, Gerald Youngblood ger...@flex-radio.com wrote: First let me acknowledge that we at FlexRadio understand that the ATUs in both the FLEX-3000 and FLEX-5000 can be improved. All of these improvements will be in software since the hardware tuning range is more than adequate in both radios. The current tuners use fairly simple BB in a barrel tuning algorithms, which can sometimes miss the optimal tuning point. We are currently working on software enhancements for both radios, which should significantly improve both tuning range and reliability. As usual, the radio will improve with a download from our website. While we are not ready to announce when the software will be released, I can confirm that the work is in process. So stay tuned for radios that keep getting better. 73, Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 10:08 AM, John Ragle tpcj1...@crocker.com wrote: There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
I have tried every SVN and release PSDR in the last 2 months. The ATU on my Flex 5000 works sometimes but mostly doesn't. I have tried different SWR threshold settings. NONE of my antennas are higher than 3:1 swr. All bands from 160 thru 10 and including 6 mtrs. The Flex ATU is not reliable, sometimes it will tune an antenna and the next day, same freq and same antenna it chokes. I have stopped using it, it is terrible. I been using my High power manual tuner which normally I only use when running my AMP. When running barefoot I much prefer an auto ATU but the Flex ATU is basically useless. I have heard many other hams complain about the non- performance, so my experience with the Flex ATU is normal... Stan K9IUQ David McKenzie wrote: Quick question, have you guys tried the pb-pal SVN branch? They fixed a race condition with the auto tuner (not sure if it's just 3000 specific or not), that made tuning much more reliable for me. I still use an external tuner for the antenna switch, but the ATU now tunes properly for me every time, assuming the antenna is 3:1 or better. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Steve Potter steve.pot...@rethink-it.comwrote: I ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Can you tell me what ...BB in a barrel... is ?? 73, Dick, W1KSZ -Original Message- From: Gerald Youngblood ger...@flex-radio.com Sent: Mar 13, 2010 5:41 PM To: tpcj1...@crocker.com Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. Dear customers, First let me acknowledge that we at FlexRadio understand that the ATUs in both the FLEX-3000 and FLEX-5000 can be improved. All of these improvements will be in software since the hardware tuning range is more than adequate in both radios. The current tuners use fairly simple BB in a barrel tuning algorithms, which can sometimes miss the optimal tuning point. We are currently working on software enhancements for both radios, which should significantly improve both tuning range and reliability. As usual, the radio will improve with a download from our website. While we are not ready to announce when the software will be released, I can confirm that the work is in process. So stay tuned for radios that keep getting better. 73, Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 10:08 AM, John Ragle tpcj1...@crocker.com wrote: There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Thank you Gerald. It is a pleasure to do business with a company that listens to it's customers and strives for improvement. I sold some expensive radios to finance my Flex purchases and I have never been sorry. It just keeps getting better. 73 Wayne K4ELO ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] SWR measurements
Paul The bridge is on the PA board before the ATU. Dave -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Paul Mullins Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 3:57 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] SWR measurements Is the SWR measurement and power taken via the ATU board? -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Actually, BB in a bowl might be a better analogy. It means that the software hunts back and forth watching SWR and tuning L and C until it finds a minimum. It is like what a human does with a manual tuner. However, in tuners that use fixed binary values of L C vs. variable capacitors and inductors, it is not possible to achieve exact steps with reasonable priced components. That means that you can get false reversals of SWR and confuse the tuner. That does not mean that there are not ways to achieve better tuning. That is just the way many ATUs work. Future software for our existing ATUs will not work that way at all. More to come. If you think that is a tease, you are right. Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 5:09 PM, Richard W. Solomon w1...@earthlink.netwrote: Can you tell me what ...BB in a barrel... is ?? 73, Dick, W1KSZ -Original Message- From: Gerald Youngblood ger...@flex-radio.com Sent: Mar 13, 2010 5:41 PM To: tpcj1...@crocker.com Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. Dear customers, First let me acknowledge that we at FlexRadio understand that the ATUs in both the FLEX-3000 and FLEX-5000 can be improved. All of these improvements will be in software since the hardware tuning range is more than adequate in both radios. The current tuners use fairly simple BB in a barrel tuning algorithms, which can sometimes miss the optimal tuning point. We are currently working on software enhancements for both radios, which should significantly improve both tuning range and reliability. As usual, the radio will improve with a download from our website. While we are not ready to announce when the software will be released, I can confirm that the work is in process. So stay tuned for radios that keep getting better. 73, Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 10:08 AM, John Ragle tpcj1...@crocker.com wrote: There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives:
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Stan, You haven't seen anything we are doing in this area yet. I think you will be pleased when you do. Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 4:54 PM, Lazy Senior lazysen...@verizon.net wrote: I have tried every SVN and release PSDR in the last 2 months. The ATU on my Flex 5000 works sometimes but mostly doesn't. I have tried different SWR threshold settings. NONE of my antennas are higher than 3:1 swr. All bands from 160 thru 10 and including 6 mtrs. The Flex ATU is not reliable, sometimes it will tune an antenna and the next day, same freq and same antenna it chokes. I have stopped using it, it is terrible. I been using my High power manual tuner which normally I only use when running my AMP. When running barefoot I much prefer an auto ATU but the Flex ATU is basically useless. I have heard many other hams complain about the non- performance, so my experience with the Flex ATU is normal... Stan K9IUQ David McKenzie wrote: Quick question, have you guys tried the pb-pal SVN branch? They fixed a race condition with the auto tuner (not sure if it's just 3000 specific or not), that made tuning much more reliable for me. I still use an external tuner for the antenna switch, but the ATU now tunes properly for me every time, assuming the antenna is 3:1 or better. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Steve Potter steve.pot...@rethink-it.comwrote: I ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Thanks Gerald for being so up front. Most companies would not respond or if they did would not admit any fault. The Flex approach is refreshing...keep up the good work! 73, Harry W0LS -- From: Gerald Youngblood ger...@flex-radio.com Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 6:41 PM To: Lazy Senior lazysen...@verizon.net Cc: flexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. Stan, You haven't seen anything we are doing in this area yet. I think you will be pleased when you do. Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 4:54 PM, Lazy Senior lazysen...@verizon.net wrote: I have tried every SVN and release PSDR in the last 2 months. The ATU on my Flex 5000 works sometimes but mostly doesn't. I have tried different SWR threshold settings. NONE of my antennas are higher than 3:1 swr. All bands from 160 thru 10 and including 6 mtrs. The Flex ATU is not reliable, sometimes it will tune an antenna and the next day, same freq and same antenna it chokes. I have stopped using it, it is terrible. I been using my High power manual tuner which normally I only use when running my AMP. When running barefoot I much prefer an auto ATU but the Flex ATU is basically useless. I have heard many other hams complain about the non- performance, so my experience with the Flex ATU is normal... Stan K9IUQ David McKenzie wrote: Quick question, have you guys tried the pb-pal SVN branch? They fixed a race condition with the auto tuner (not sure if it's just 3000 specific or not), that made tuning much more reliable for me. I still use an external tuner for the antenna switch, but the ATU now tunes properly for me every time, assuming the antenna is 3:1 or better. On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Steve Potter steve.pot...@rethink-it.comwrote: I ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Well said Burt. Many of us have decades of ham radio experience not to mention the dozens of radios over that time. Flex is truly amazing on so many levels. And did you notice, the company President sent this message after 5PM on a Saturday?! His email signature even discloses his direct phone extension as well as the email address. How many companies will do that? Especially disclosing to us pesky hams :) 73 Joe WC4R Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:52:44 -0800 From: k1...@yahoo.com To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. Very few companies would admit what was in the message below. That is what differentiates Flex from the rest, a company with an owner that is straight with the customers. The FCC gives us a license grant to learn from technology, clearly Flex can be a challenge at times but that should be welcomed as Flex helps us and we help them Burt --- On Sat, 3/13/10, Gerald Youngblood ger...@flex-radio.com wrote: First let me acknowledge that we at FlexRadio understand that the ATUs in both the FLEX-3000 and FLEX-5000 can be improved. All snip _ The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID27925::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:032010_3 ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] NO OUTPUT POWER???
I am getting slowly very very upset. I should be enjoying this radio and not fighting with it, I am trying to iron out all the bugs and setup for a major contest next weekend, I have been very busy building and testing antennas, and not worrying about the flex because it normally works fine, well the ATU is causing problems, I have decided to pull out from the contest much to the disbelieve of the club, they know that I have spent every last minute setting up. Even helped building a set of band pass filters for the club including testing and packaging them into nice aluminum boxes with N TYPE CONNECTIONS. Now apart from what else is going on, my flex 5000a keeps loosing TX power, press the PTT no output, press the ATU to do a full tune sorry no rf detected, in fact some times pressing the PTT does nothing all all. now I press the MOX button, nothing, change band TUN works, come back to that other band and it works? you got me. I did a demo a couple of months ago and this happened on the laptop, also the audio swapped from the output on the back of the rig to the internal speakers on the laptop, with out me doing a thing. -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc.
Being English, our similar expression is shooting fish in a barrel, i.e. point and shoot... I really don't know where it comes from but BB's are ball bearings and used to be shot from small cheap air rifles... actually the analogy could be more far reaching than this. The close a company gets to its customers, the more it can get hurt... but the closer a company gets to its customers the more its customers will rally. Steve G6HOQ -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Richard W. Solomon Sent: 13 March 2010 23:10 To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. Can you tell me what ...BB in a barrel... is ?? 73, Dick, W1KSZ -Original Message- From: Gerald Youngblood ger...@flex-radio.com Sent: Mar 13, 2010 5:41 PM To: tpcj1...@crocker.com Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Antenna tuners, etc. Dear customers, First let me acknowledge that we at FlexRadio understand that the ATUs in both the FLEX-3000 and FLEX-5000 can be improved. All of these improvements will be in software since the hardware tuning range is more than adequate in both radios. The current tuners use fairly simple BB in a barrel tuning algorithms, which can sometimes miss the optimal tuning point. We are currently working on software enhancements for both radios, which should significantly improve both tuning range and reliability. As usual, the radio will improve with a download from our website. While we are not ready to announce when the software will be released, I can confirm that the work is in process. So stay tuned for radios that keep getting better. 73, Gerald Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR President and CEO FlexRadio Systems(TM) 13091 Pond Springs Road, #250 Austin, TX 78729 Phone: 512-535-4713 Ext. 202 Email: ger...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flex-radio.com Tune In Excitement (TM) PowerSDR(TM) is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 10:08 AM, John Ragle tpcj1...@crocker.com wrote: There has been a spate of stuff (I hesitate to call it a discussion) about the ATU in Flex rigs. There are some observations I would like to throw into the pot for stirring: 1. The gentleman who got nonsense readings from his Flex when it was connected to a dummy load is not confused. If the Flex (nominal output impedance 50 ohms) connects to a good quality 50 + 0j ohm dummy load with a short, good quality piece of 50 ohm coax with proper fittings and gets an apparent SWR of much different from 1:1, he has a right to be somewhat puzzled. 2. I have examined my several antennas with a good-quality network analyzer at the end seen by the Flex rig and know that the Flex is sometimes quite mistaken. 3. The L and C steps in the Flex ATU are so coarse that it is difficult for the circuitry to reach any sort of balance at 6 meters. 4. If the Flex rig measures this (or similar situations) to have an excessive SWR SHUTS DOWN the transmitter then it was probably manufactured by Toyota. My Flex 3K does exactly that, and it is pretty annoying. Actually, the proper tense is was since I no longer use the ATU in the Flex and have replaced it with a good-quality commercial tuner of the Armstrong variety, adding several hundred dollars to the investment. 5. I have used several ATUs of different manufacture and they do not have difficulties like the ones reported here. 6. I think that Flex needs to give some attention to the ATU design or alternatively leave it off the unit and out of the advertisements (and price!) entirely. John Ragle -- W1ZI ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ __ This email has been scanned for viruses by www.epagency.net If you consider this email spam, please forward it to s...@epagency.net __ ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List
[Flexradio] NO OUTPUT POWER???
because enough is enough, people need to know, and how many people now have taken that stand and said yes I to have these problems, the idea of the forum is to work out how to fix the problems that others have or ideas. i have help a number of people of line with problems and what I had / still have to do to over come these problems. Do not get me wrong the radio is the BEST RADIO I have ever owned or even operated, just it needs the operating software in the back ground fixed BEFORE making it look all pretty! I have found in most times people sit on their hands to afraid to say some thing, because they might upset some one, well as the human race we talk to work out things, problem is we as a community of people are spread all over the world, and it is very hard to talk in person. I have heaps of ideas for software upgrades for the radio, and ideas that people would go how the hell did you think up that. But this bad taste you have now given me, to hell with ham radio and I will now sell all my gear. THANKS -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] NO OUTPUT POWER???
I am a very strong critic of ham radio, search my call on You Tube, but after this very minor episode you are selling all your gear. You, yourself and you needs some tolerance and not take all your marbles and go home. The Flex has issues but the company supports it like no other concrete radio ( a concrete radio is a radio that can never be changed). And the Flex is something that most hams are not, interesting, adaptive and ALIVE! Burt --- On Sat, 3/13/10, Paul Mullins pmull...@adam.com.au wrote: because enough is enough, people need to know, and how many people now have taken that stand and said yes I to have these problems, the idea of the forum is to work out how to fix the problems that others have or ideas. i have help a number of people of line with problems and what I had / still have to do to over come these problems. Do not get me wrong the radio is the BEST RADIO I have ever owned or even operated, just it needs the operating software in the back ground fixed BEFORE making it look all pretty! I have found in most times people sit on their hands to afraid to say some thing, because they might upset some one, well as the human race we talk to work out things, problem is we as a community of people are spread all over the world, and it is very hard to talk in person. I have heaps of ideas for software upgrades for the radio, and ideas that people would go how the hell did you think up that. But this bad taste you have now given me, to hell with ham radio and I will now sell all my gear. THANKS -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] NO OUTPUT POWER???
I doubt you have any radio problems, just computer problems. I have not had a single problem with the radio working and doing what its told since I got it 6 months ago. I doubt you can have the radio work 100% of the time for a long time on a regular computer, one that gets microsoft updates, has anti virus software running, has web access, and runs many programs. Some people get lucky, some don't. It seems like contests are stressful! Brett N2DTS - Original Message - From: Paul Mullins pmull...@adam.com.au To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz; David Wake da...@wake.net.au; Ian ilo...@gmail.com; Geoff Haycroft ghaycr...@aal.com.au Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 9:50 PM Subject: [Flexradio] NO OUTPUT POWER??? because enough is enough, people need to know, and how many people now have taken that stand and said yes I to have these problems, the idea of the forum is to work out how to fix the problems that others have or ideas. i have help a number of people of line with problems and what I had / still have to do to over come these problems. Do not get me wrong the radio is the BEST RADIO I have ever owned or even operated, just it needs the operating software in the back ground fixed BEFORE making it look all pretty! I have found in most times people sit on their hands to afraid to say some thing, because they might upset some one, well as the human race we talk to work out things, problem is we as a community of people are spread all over the world, and it is very hard to talk in person. I have heaps of ideas for software upgrades for the radio, and ideas that people would go how the hell did you think up that. But this bad taste you have now given me, to hell with ham radio and I will now sell all my gear. THANKS -- Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for the content of this E-Mail, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Me, Myself and I. WARNING: Computer viruses can be transmitted via E-Mail. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. Me, Myself and I accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this E-Mail. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] NO OUTPUT POWER???
Paul, You did not say what version of PowerSDR or the radio, but try a Database reset. Always check you RF output power in Tune, it will be the most consistent, because things like mic connections, and mixer settings do change. 73, Dudley WA5QPZ Paul Mullins wrote: I am getting slowly very very upset. I should be enjoying this radio and not fighting with it, I am trying to iron out all the bugs and setup for a major contest next weekend, I have been very busy building and testing antennas, and not worrying about the flex because it normally works fine, well the ATU is causing problems, I have decided to pull out from the contest much to the disbelieve of the club, they know that I have spent every last minute setting up. Even helped building a set of band pass filters for the club including testing and packaging them into nice aluminum boxes with N TYPE CONNECTIONS. Now apart from what else is going on, my flex 5000a keeps loosing TX power, press the PTT no output, press the ATU to do a full tune sorry no rf detected, in fact some times pressing the PTT does nothing all all. now I press the MOX button, nothing, change band TUN works, come back to that other band and it works? you got me. I did a demo a couple of months ago and this happened on the laptop, also the audio swapped from the output on the back of the rig to the internal speakers on the laptop, with out me doing a thing. ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] Flex 5000a RX below 550 Khz
I seem to have nothing but images of the AM broadcast band on my 5000A when looking for non directional airport beacons between 150 and 500 Khz. Has anyone else noticed this image issue? I understand that the radios specs are for the ham band but I thought it would at least RX down there. Thanks, 73 Bob KA9UVY ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex 5000a RX below 550 Khz
Bob, You will need a low pass filter of the range you are planning to use. Many have report good results with a 500 khz cutoff low pass or you can build your own.. 73, Dudley WA5QPZ Robert delaney wrote: I seem to have nothing but images of the AM broadcast band on my 5000A when looking for non directional airport beacons between 150 and 500 Khz. Has anyone else noticed this image issue? I understand that the radios specs are for the ham band but I thought it would at least RX down there. Thanks, 73 Bob KA9UVY ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] Fatal Error HELP
I hope that I am using this reflector correctly.?? I was setting up my microphone this evening and have many times before when PowerSDR quit and when I rebooted it I get a Fatal Error Message when it is in the process of loading the main form with 2 seconds left to go. The output char buffer is too small to contain the decoded characters, encoding 'Unicode (UTF-8)' fallback 'System.text.decoderReplacementFallback'. Parameter name: chars at System.Text.Encoding.ThrowCharsOverflow() at System.Text.Encoding.ThrowCharsOverflow(DecoderNLS decoder, boolean nothingDecoded) etc... There are a total of 18 lines of code but it will not open up PowerSDR I am running XPPRO Quad I5 SVN3568 Any suggestions? Or should I call Flex Monday? Thanks Jeff Shelton, WA w7...@hcc.net ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex 5000a RX below 550 Khz
Bob, like Dudley mentions, you'll need a low pass filter that cuts off at 400-500 KHz. In fact, I run two in series to keep all the broadcast junk out. Every radio I've even owned that tuned below 500 KHz worked the same...all kinds of BCB junk unless you add a filter, including my Drake R8, Drake TR7, and Yaesu FT-847. Right now I'm running a short 36 active antenna for LF into my SDR-1000 (with of course the low pass filters in line). From Colorado in the winter I have copied non-directional beacons from South and Central America, Greenland, and the South Pacific. I've also copied several 1 watt Lowfer experimental stations in the 170-190 KHz range from across the USA. The panadapter is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL for spotting extremely weak LF and VLF CW signals! And my SDR with low pass filters is by far the finest receiver I've ever owned for LF and VLF! 73, Jerry Sharp, KD0GS Dudley Hurry wrote: Bob, You will need a low pass filter of the range you are planning to use. Many have report good results with a 500 khz cutoff low pass or you can build your own.. 73, Dudley WA5QPZ Robert delaney wrote: I seem to have nothing but images of the AM broadcast band on my 5000A when looking for non directional airport beacons between 150 and 500 Khz. Has anyone else noticed this image issue? I understand that the radios specs are for the ham band but I thought it would at least RX down there. Thanks, 73 Bob KA9UVY ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2745 - Release Date: 03/13/10 21:51:00 ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex 5000a RX below 550 Khz
Jerry, Thank you for the information about the Flex 1000 and it's performance when a filter is added. I am a bit concerned though with the Flex 5000. When tuning this area of spectrum you will see all of thebroadcast images and then when you pass a certain frequency the whole panadapter suddenly almost magically changes to a new set of images. I can not hear any beacons under the QRM at all just spike after spike of AM stations that aren't really there. 73, Bob KA9UVY - Original Message - From: Jerry Sharp gerf...@mesanetworks.net To: FlexRadio FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 11:29 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Flex 5000a RX below 550 Khz Bob, like Dudley mentions, you'll need a low pass filter that cuts off at 400-500 KHz. In fact, I run two in series to keep all the broadcast junk out. Every radio I've even owned that tuned below 500 KHz worked the same...all kinds of BCB junk unless you add a filter, including my Drake R8, Drake TR7, and Yaesu FT-847. Right now I'm running a short 36 active antenna for LF into my SDR-1000 (with of course the low pass filters in line). From Colorado in the winter I have copied non-directional beacons from South and Central America, Greenland, and the South Pacific. I've also copied several 1 watt Lowfer experimental stations in the 170-190 KHz range from across the USA. The panadapter is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL for spotting extremely weak LF and VLF CW signals! And my SDR with low pass filters is by far the finest receiver I've ever owned for LF and VLF! 73, Jerry Sharp, KD0GS Dudley Hurry wrote: Bob, You will need a low pass filter of the range you are planning to use. Many have report good results with a 500 khz cutoff low pass or you can build your own.. 73, Dudley WA5QPZ Robert delaney wrote: I seem to have nothing but images of the AM broadcast band on my 5000A when looking for non directional airport beacons between 150 and 500 Khz. Has anyone else noticed this image issue? I understand that the radios specs are for the ham band but I thought it would at least RX down there. Thanks, 73 Bob KA9UVY ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2745 - Release Date: 03/13/10 21:51:00 ___ 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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.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.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
