Flex Radio 1500 - Great Radio for the money Part Deux

[W4HIJ]

I know that kit's don't require certification so I find it interesting that the designer of the Hardrock 50 amp I have spoken of has decided to go that route. The new amp has the SMD components presoldered to the board but it's definitely still a kit otherwise. They have stated that they want certification though.  When building my amp, I had to hand solder 1205 sized SMD's. It was a fun challenge. I've gotten very favorable reports on the amps signal but besides that, the designer posted scope traces online showing the amp to be well within specs. No complaints so far. First bit of kit building I've done since way back when I was Novice and built a Heath HW-8!
Michael, W4HIJ

[WD5GWY]

Sounds like you had a lot of fun building that kit! At my age, I'm not certain my hands are steady
enough for the challenge of surface mount parts. Not to mention my eyesight. I do good just
getting an old boatanchor running again! At least I can SEE those parts! 
I have read a few reviews of the HardRock 50 and it seems like a nice kit. I guess the designer wants
to take it a bit further and offer it as a complete amp. Nothing wrong with that. Hopefully, he
will have both, a kit and a complete amp to sell. That way, everyone wins.
james
WD5GWY

[ZENKI]

All the kit QRP amplifiers have dismal IMD performance. Its not hard to design a amplifier with decent IMD performance. Not that it would matter in this case; since the IMD performance of the Flex1500 is so poor to begin with.
You stuffing a garbage signal into a garbage amplifier like most CB'ers.

All that these kit manufacturers are doing is putting garbage products onto the ham bands, they are not actually designing products  that will meet the modern requirements  for  maximum HF performance.
Rather than considering the required maximum IMD performance that is required  that enables maximizing the  excellent HF receiver performance we have today, the manufacturers are just out to make a quick buck or to take the easiest  design route that there is to the market place. Hams are reeled in hook line and sinker on price alone while  ignorantly ignoring IMD performance.

Its amusing  that we own  state of the art receivers with chart topping receiver numbers performance and then we using sub standard amplifiers and transmitters in the products that we buy.   Its all about cheapness  rather
providing solutions that contributes to the ultimate performance of the potential of modern day receivers. We see the same behavior  with the HPSDR radios, state of the art IMD performance and the users typical feed  a cheap
100  watt  12 volt cheap KIT amp with dismal IMD performance. Ignorance is bliss!

It would have been so easy for the Flex1500 to be a clean  QRP radio that could have been used to drive a high voltage FET PA that could exhibit excellent IMD performance. What Flex have delivered is a QRP radio
that is no better in its transmitter performance than  the worst CB radios on the market. Its far easier achieving excellent IMD performance at low power than it is at a much higher power level. Flex is making the same
mistake with the Flex6000, state of the art  receiver with a crummy  poor IMD PA in the radio which is  is a real shame. They wont be getting my dollars even though i would have like to try their new box. I dont buy crap
transmitters. A high performance transmitter has the same importance as a high performance receiver, if you dont have both you  have a broken design thats not worthy of consideration.

Yaesu, ADAT and Hilberling are on the right track with their excellent IMD performance in certain models.