Re: [Flexradio] Some 6700 questions
_Part 6_ of message #32: 6. Software updates - Not too fond of this but I can understand it I guess. BUT I am concerned that I may have to pay for updates to get basic advertised functions that are not implemented yet at the time of initial shipping...such as remote over the internet (not just the LAN). IMO any subscription for updates should commence AFTER all the functionality is implemented and working correctlyTHEN you can pay for new features and updates. We agree with this in principal. This is one reason why those that sign up for the limited edition will receive two years of software updates included instead of just one. I had seen the ADDED ONE YEAR OF SOFTWARE SUPPORT, and declined with my order. $200 is a bit of a new game for what used to be free! -But this is very possibly an unavoidable issue. So be it. My point: It looks as if one would get two years of software as a part of the pre-order plan's offer. (So it says above, per Steve.) I had missed this entirely! -And so the OPTIONAL one more year would bring this to three years total??? Maybe I should do this..? (What would the added one year cost me, if purchased at a later time, like beyond what is included?) -Mike- ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Some 6700 questions
Yes, that is correct. Tim Ellison On 5/19/2012 2:22 PM, Mike Schwendeman wrote: -And so the OPTIONAL one more year would bring this to three years total??? ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Some 6700 questions
Yes Steve, it is the time to see some changes on the SERIALCAT behavior. It is the time to see some changes in the loggers GUI. After the DOS those several logger GUI are the most ancient relics of the text based era. Nothing wrong to use a VT-100 interfaced to a HAL box, but just as and experiment. As to use a II world war receiver in a CQ WW. It is usable just for fun, almost. The big ticket for this change was out since then. But quite nobody followed. I strongly hope that something could change. But not strictly today or tomorrow. One year? It may be. There is plenty of hardware/software issues due to such historic view of communication in between ours devices. Somebody is doing a great work gearing in the right way our FLEX SDR and all that old hardware we like to you. But it is now time to change, at least from loggers to radios and vice versa. BTW ours radios are more and more times sophisticated than years ago. But all is very well placed under the covers and the knobs. I.E. Several loggers have human interfaces that looks like stone carved trilobites, i.e. push a key in that position not by function. So way do they have to change something? Now any/some key is mimicked on a pseudo on screen keyboard, but nothing else. Even a simple keyface rename is unwanted and not see as a feature by almost all loggers ... unbelievable! Several loggers doesn't have even enough macro button to use all the needed CAT commands or doesn't have CAT provision at all ... I don't even want to speech of the lack of CAT commands in some well know transceivers, i.e. CAT clear. Now it would be more useful to change those loggers behaviors, as to integrate effectively a new radio tool. Not to make a new radio tool look and work as a our beloved grandfather radio. Hey, I have some of those and I like each one! Now, with the next radio generation, not those with knobs(!), it would be a must to change also the loggers. We don't want to still use stoned software with our brand new radio, isn't it? If and when we will see those changes from loggers is unknown. By now I just see somebody trying to spread features like a bandmap populated panadapter. But we need and deserve more. Starting from SO2R, that would be easily not only 2, and going up to M/2 and M/M with integrated and synchronized panadapters coming out from a single box, at least for RX and integrating more traditional TX ... by example. And this would be just the top of the iceberg. We will see. ... at a time a simple triplexer and a triband with one of those new FLEX will fire up new operating techniques without having a shelter full of RTX and blah blah blah. With the right towers and aerials more could be done. But via the increasing usage of the technology also small pistols would increase effectiveness, so theirs numbers, theirs pleasure, and enjoy more the radio even with single aerials. (If anybody want to stay here back, why not, feel free.) That the way/s I would like to see things grooving up. TU to all there at FLEX. ... and if you get some spare time, I am jocking you know, try to spread out yours knowledge addressing from there those loggers writers ... 73 de iw1ayd Salvo Message: 32 Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 21:35:29 -0500 From: Stephen Hicks, N5ACst...@flexradio.com To: Grega...@cablespeed.com Cc: FlexRadioflexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Some 6700 questions Message-ID: CANWot1_J9XWsRjayG5nhqL13_p+KBAzPGRN=wbwqwqdx1fb...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Greg, See below Steve snip 7. CAT compatability with loggers...is this going to use the same FLEX 5K protocol or something totally different where software authors are going to have to add another radio script? CAT is too popular and important to ignore. We are building a CAT interface. However, we would be delighted to see the community realize that CAT is a kludge and needs to be replaced. We will have our own control language for the radio (spoken between the client and the radio). We would also be interested in other well considered standards that emerge to take the place of CAT. snip ___ 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] Some 6700 questions
Order is placed but I was thinking about some setup issues and wondering if anyone here has any details. 1. I believe the audio in/out is processed over the network, correct? 2. How much router setup is involved or is it done automatically? Is the setup similar to the remoteRig process? 3. With all the IO on the radio, how is CW keying accomplished if I want to use a key at the control location? Do I need something like a K1EL USB keyer that connects to the SDR software? 4. How is TX audio handled at the control location? Does it use the soundcard mic input and pass that over the network to the radio? 5. Is the a provision to work with VAC for CW Skimmer or do you think Skimmer will (eventually) talk directly to the 6700 as it does the QS1R to be able to decode multiple bands at a time? 6. Software updates - Not too fond of this but I can understand it I guess. BUT I am concerned that I may have to pay for updates to get basic advertised functions that are not implemented yet at the time of initial shipping...such as remote over the internet (not just the LAN). IMO any subscription for updates should commence AFTER all the functionality is implemented and working correctlyTHEN you can pay for new features and updates. 7. CAT compatability with loggers...is this going to use the same FLEX 5K protocol or something totally different where software authors are going to have to add another radio script? Thanks! 73 Greg AB7R ___ 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] Some 6700 questions
I forgotI did not see this mentioned although it does talk about SO2R..is this full duplex so I can monitor one of the other receivers while transmitting on a different freq/band? Is there any kind of band decoding output functionality like BCD data to control antenna switching/amplifiers? Or will this be left to an LPT port working with DDUTil as it is with the 5K? Tnx Greg On 5/18/12, Greg a...@cablespeed.com wrote: Order is placed but I was thinking about some setup issues and wondering if anyone here has any details. 1. I believe the audio in/out is processed over the network, correct? 2. How much router setup is involved or is it done automatically? Is the setup similar to the remoteRig process? 3. With all the IO on the radio, how is CW keying accomplished if I want to use a key at the control location? Do I need something like a K1EL USB keyer that connects to the SDR software? 4. How is TX audio handled at the control location? Does it use the soundcard mic input and pass that over the network to the radio? 5. Is the a provision to work with VAC for CW Skimmer or do you think Skimmer will (eventually) talk directly to the 6700 as it does the QS1R to be able to decode multiple bands at a time? 6. Software updates - Not too fond of this but I can understand it I guess. BUT I am concerned that I may have to pay for updates to get basic advertised functions that are not implemented yet at the time of initial shipping...such as remote over the internet (not just the LAN). IMO any subscription for updates should commence AFTER all the functionality is implemented and working correctlyTHEN you can pay for new features and updates. 7. CAT compatability with loggers...is this going to use the same FLEX 5K protocol or something totally different where software authors are going to have to add another radio script? Thanks! 73 Greg AB7R ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Some 6700 questions
Greg, Those all all good questions. As for 6. Software Updates, since all is speculation at this point I think it useful to remember who we are dealing with. In my experience Gerald, K5SDR, feels that fairness trumps business. In my own case he did the right thing at the cost of hundreds of dollars and as far as I could tell never even considered doing anything other than what was right. I believe he will apply that principle to ensure that whatever changes are made to software distribution are fair and reasonable for loyal customers. One thing to remember is that the whole thing about obsolescence of computers is largely nonsense. Does the computer you bought still do what you bought it for? If so it is not obsolete, anymore than last year's car is obsolete. If Flex stopped development of PowerSDR today the 5000a, et al, would still be remarkable rigs. Also, PowerSDR is open source and can continue to be upgraded by the community in the same manner that characterizes Linux. Another thing is that the software for the 6000 series is NOT PowerSDR but a new software product, SmartSDR (there is no mention of open source) with a new support philosophy. This separation of software families is a sensible way to address some of the economic realities of handling the costs of software development and support. Ed Haskell W1PN On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 11:35 AM, Greg a...@cablespeed.com wrote: I forgotI did not see this mentioned although it does talk about SO2R..is this full duplex so I can monitor one of the other receivers while transmitting on a different freq/band? Is there any kind of band decoding output functionality like BCD data to control antenna switching/amplifiers? Or will this be left to an LPT port working with DDUTil as it is with the 5K? Tnx Greg On 5/18/12, Greg a...@cablespeed.com wrote: Order is placed but I was thinking about some setup issues and wondering if anyone here has any details. 1. I believe the audio in/out is processed over the network, correct? 2. How much router setup is involved or is it done automatically? Is the setup similar to the remoteRig process? 3. With all the IO on the radio, how is CW keying accomplished if I want to use a key at the control location? Do I need something like a K1EL USB keyer that connects to the SDR software? 4. How is TX audio handled at the control location? Does it use the soundcard mic input and pass that over the network to the radio? 5. Is the a provision to work with VAC for CW Skimmer or do you think Skimmer will (eventually) talk directly to the 6700 as it does the QS1R to be able to decode multiple bands at a time? 6. Software updates - Not too fond of this but I can understand it I guess. BUT I am concerned that I may have to pay for updates to get basic advertised functions that are not implemented yet at the time of initial shipping...such as remote over the internet (not just the LAN). IMO any subscription for updates should commence AFTER all the functionality is implemented and working correctlyTHEN you can pay for new features and updates. 7. CAT compatability with loggers...is this going to use the same FLEX 5K protocol or something totally different where software authors are going to have to add another radio script? Thanks! 73 Greg AB7R ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Some 6700 questions
Good point on the software Ed. I guess I would just be a little more comfortable with the option of addtional year updates to commence after the software provides the basic advertised featuresmainly the internet connectivity outside the LAN. Although I doubt it will take a year for that feature to become available :) Definitely looking forward to this new rig. Tnx and 73 Greg On 5/18/12, Ed Haskell haskell...@gmail.com wrote: Greg, Those all all good questions. As for 6. Software Updates, since all is speculation at this point I think it useful to remember who we are dealing with. In my experience Gerald, K5SDR, feels that fairness trumps business. In my own case he did the right thing at the cost of hundreds of dollars and as far as I could tell never even considered doing anything other than what was right. I believe he will apply that principle to ensure that whatever changes are made to software distribution are fair and reasonable for loyal customers. One thing to remember is that the whole thing about obsolescence of computers is largely nonsense. Does the computer you bought still do what you bought it for? If so it is not obsolete, anymore than last year's car is obsolete. If Flex stopped development of PowerSDR today the 5000a, et al, would still be remarkable rigs. Also, PowerSDR is open source and can continue to be upgraded by the community in the same manner that characterizes Linux. Another thing is that the software for the 6000 series is NOT PowerSDR but a new software product, SmartSDR (there is no mention of open source) with a new support philosophy. This separation of software families is a sensible way to address some of the economic realities of handling the costs of software development and support. Ed Haskell W1PN On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 11:35 AM, Greg a...@cablespeed.com wrote: I forgotI did not see this mentioned although it does talk about SO2R..is this full duplex so I can monitor one of the other receivers while transmitting on a different freq/band? Is there any kind of band decoding output functionality like BCD data to control antenna switching/amplifiers? Or will this be left to an LPT port working with DDUTil as it is with the 5K? Tnx Greg On 5/18/12, Greg a...@cablespeed.com wrote: Order is placed but I was thinking about some setup issues and wondering if anyone here has any details. 1. I believe the audio in/out is processed over the network, correct? 2. How much router setup is involved or is it done automatically? Is the setup similar to the remoteRig process? 3. With all the IO on the radio, how is CW keying accomplished if I want to use a key at the control location? Do I need something like a K1EL USB keyer that connects to the SDR software? 4. How is TX audio handled at the control location? Does it use the soundcard mic input and pass that over the network to the radio? 5. Is the a provision to work with VAC for CW Skimmer or do you think Skimmer will (eventually) talk directly to the 6700 as it does the QS1R to be able to decode multiple bands at a time? 6. Software updates - Not too fond of this but I can understand it I guess. BUT I am concerned that I may have to pay for updates to get basic advertised functions that are not implemented yet at the time of initial shipping...such as remote over the internet (not just the LAN). IMO any subscription for updates should commence AFTER all the functionality is implemented and working correctlyTHEN you can pay for new features and updates. 7. CAT compatability with loggers...is this going to use the same FLEX 5K protocol or something totally different where software authors are going to have to add another radio script? Thanks! 73 Greg AB7R ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Some 6700 questions
Greg, See below Steve Stephen Hicks, N5AC, AAR6AM VP Engineering FlexRadio Systems™ 4616 W Howard Ln Ste 1-150 Austin, TX 78728 Phone: 512-535-4713 x205 Email: st...@flexradio.com Web: www.flexradio.com *Tune In Excitement™* PowerSDR™ is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 10:34 AM, Greg a...@cablespeed.com wrote: Order is placed but I was thinking about some setup issues and wondering if anyone here has any details. 1. I believe the audio in/out is processed over the network, correct? The radio has mic and speaker connections. When these are used, no audio goes over the network. This is what will be in the software when the radio is first shipped. 2. How much router setup is involved or is it done automatically? Is the setup similar to the remoteRig process? This is still TBD, but we have had many conversation about how to make this very simple. Simplicity is a key design goal for the radio and the software. 3. With all the IO on the radio, how is CW keying accomplished if I want to use a key at the control location? Do I need something like a K1EL USB keyer that connects to the SDR software? When the radio is first shipped, the key will need to be plugged into the radio. Remote will obviously have to be handled differently. 4. How is TX audio handled at the control location? Does it use the soundcard mic input and pass that over the network to the radio? Same as #1. Audio is kept inside the radio for the first release 5. Is the a provision to work with VAC for CW Skimmer or do you think Skimmer will (eventually) talk directly to the 6700 as it does the QS1R to be able to decode multiple bands at a time? We are working on the details of all of this as we speak. More details as they become available. Rest assured, we recognize that digital modes are extremely important for this radio. 6. Software updates - Not too fond of this but I can understand it I guess. BUT I am concerned that I may have to pay for updates to get basic advertised functions that are not implemented yet at the time of initial shipping...such as remote over the internet (not just the LAN). IMO any subscription for updates should commence AFTER all the functionality is implemented and working correctlyTHEN you can pay for new features and updates. We agree with this in principal. This is one reason why those that sign up for the limited edition will receive two years of software updates included instead of just one. 7. CAT compatability with loggers...is this going to use the same FLEX 5K protocol or something totally different where software authors are going to have to add another radio script? CAT is too popular and important to ignore. We are building a CAT interface. However, we would be delighted to see the community realize that CAT is a kludge and needs to be replaced. We will have our own control language for the radio (spoken between the client and the radio). We would also be interested in other well considered standards that emerge to take the place of CAT. Thanks! 73 Greg AB7R ___ 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/
