This is an edited short-form interview with Mike from Flex Radio which answers some questions I originally had.
I think I got to the bottom of most of the questions I had – however I am still left with some minor queries. Perhaps one day I might like to try one because physically touching a piece of equipment tells you something about the designer and the engineering. I’m still not convinced – for me it’s probably a completely unnecessary purchase.
I like the remote control potential but not (yet) totally sold on the audio. Talking about the remote audio, Mike suggested that few folks can hear the "lower bandwidth" and that I might "hear" the difference. Personally, I use a 24kb/s data stream on my remote and I get the feeling that Flex is less than that but we didn’t know exactly what it was. I would need to try it.
I like the SO2R potential. The RIT seems to satisfy me although overly complex maybe for my needs. Not sure about the 3dB increase in talk power with the CESSB implimenation. Sounds a cool idea and maybe there’s a touch more power because of it – but it also seems to be a hell of a lot of extra talk power without sounding overly compressed. I could be wrong Something else to try one day.
The straight-forward claim the Flex is just "BETTER" when compared to other radios in terms of the audio "sound like" feature could have been phrased better – of course it might just be better and I am out of court here..!
I think I am slightly put off because folks seem to either LOVE these or basically HATE them. I know of no other radio that has so much controversy.
I’ll be interested in reading the comments!
73, Callum.
My statement at end of this video reads:
Do not make assumptions. I had Mike on the channel because he contacted me after seeing my video about my TS-990s and at that time, I thought I was interested in the Flex 6600M.
After a lot of consideration, I am not actually convinced this is the radio for *me*.
I’m not knocking Flex – but my investigations continue in how I either solve the RIT issue or find a replacement. And frankly it would have to be *some* rig to beat what I have now.
Right now, I just want a fix for my RIT issue, tracking 2 x VFOs at the same time. I think a Macro might achieve this in N1MM. I’m still working on it but little time to spend on the problem.
However it’s important for all of us keep an open mind.
Saying all that, I think Mike presented the "Flex Case" very well – it looks a great performer.
73 Callum, December 2023.
00:00 Intro
0:11 Remote Control
2:03 Control Surface
3:31 Sound Quality
6:56 Bandwidth
8:27 Slices
9:39 SO2R
11:47 eHam Reviews
13:03 Computer Control
15:06 Remote Desktop or Radio?
16:39 PTT
19:09 Audio
19:45 Objections
21:11 Software
22:07 Tracking VFOs
24:22 Fast CW
26:35 Flex Line-Up
27:46 Port Forwarding
27:55 Maximum Slices
29:10 CESSB
More videos:
▶️ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7zFt6NV9fnnde2lP11fUTQ8 Antenna Modelling
▶️ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7xtKohJRipVLQ6rxYzRP8eq Tips and Tricks
▶️ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7xwhA0Msm_bNT4CQ_Bj5D4c Antennas
▶️ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7wc6svNLY7IDthw1YCFNq9W Live Streams
▶️ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7w9dp9Eqg_UhamrY5Ck3dyX My Stuff
▶️ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7xvc3rHlpqqCkiBdAzYe8cf Ham Radio Training