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| Reviews Summary for FlexRadio FLEX-5000 |
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Reviews: 43
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Average rating: 4.9/5
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MSRP: $2499
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Description: The FLEX-5000 is the next generation of software defined radios which now integrates all A/D & D/A functions and control over a single FireWire (IEEE-1394a) connection to a user provided computer running PowerSDR. A separate sound card is not required.
Features:
* Greater than 105 dB two-tone 3rd order dynamic range at 2 kHz spacing
* Frequency Stability: 0.5 ppm, TCXO equipped
* Individual optimized bandpass filters for all Ham Bands
* Receiver can monitor transmitter spectrum
* SO2R ready with optional second receiver
* FlexWire™ for external control of rotator, antenna, and much more.
* 100 watts output 160-6 meters
* General coverage receiver
* Separate RX antenna connectors for optimal reception
* Optional full performance second receiver (dual watch is standard)
* Single cable connection to computer
* Full Duplex transverter ready
* Fully automatic internal test/calibration. No external calibration equipment necessary
* Standard input/output jacks. Internal antenna switching for up to 3 antennas plus receive only antenna
* Balanced TRS line/microphone input
* Full QSK
* Quiet high volume fan keeps unit cool
* Optional full featured ATU 160-6m
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More info: http://support.flex-radio.com/Downloads.aspx?id=148
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SV2BWM
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 4, 2009 10:57
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One step beyond...
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I was impressed with Flex-5KA's technical data and that was the only reason that I changed my old TS-850S with external DSP-100. Now, after nearly 6 months of use, my shack has improved: less wiring, no more sound and RS-232 interfaces.
The on-site support is excellent and I believe it has everything you could ask for FAQ. A truly knowledge base at last!
I had to buy an extra firewire PCI card as suggested by the site plus a Focusrite Saffire LE firewire sound card and now it runs very smoothly with my Pentium 4/3.0GHz/2GB DDR/ATI X800GTO AGP at 192KHz/2048 audio. True ESSB, believe me!!!
You can hear a DX station without severe noise and now I use a HiFi audio mixer plus Sennheiser HD-280 PRO set, just as I listen to my music! So, I use the AGC-T slow 75-80 max and the preamp when needed.
Finally, I hope that they will make the 144/430 transverter card as promised...
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K4ELO
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 13, 2009 16:39
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Excellent
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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This is an incredible product. The more you use it, the more you like it. There is a learning curve and it is definitely not easy for the computer challenged ham because getting your computer running clean can be a chore.
However, once you get the computer running ok, it is awesome. Best thing is the Flex runs well right out of the box with default settings and the software controls in Power SDR are pretty easy to learn. You don't have to be a sdr expert to have fun right away. But there are loads of things to tweak as you gain experience.
After 49 years of hamming, I can easily say this is the most capable rig I have ever owned.
The receiver is amazing in all aspects.
The only thing I miss is perfect qsk, but the Flex is worth it.
Anyone want to buy my Orion II?
73
Wayne
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N8FNR
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2009 15:26
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I would not go back to an old fashioned rig.with knobs…
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My first HF rig was an Icom IC-740. It got me on the bands and I remember it fondly. BTW the antenna at that time was an AEA Isoloop 2nd version. Sold the 740 and got a used TS-850SAT. There was a big difference in the RX on the 850. I loved the RX audio on that rig. Over time I added several filters from International Radio for CW & SSB. I swore that I would own that rig until it was pried from my dead, cold hands.
However after a while I was the mood for a newer rig as the 850 was getting long in the tooth and several components failed for the display. Did a lot of after reading about the Flexradio SDR-1000, downloaded the demo and played with it. The panadapter was a revelation. Imagine being able to see a chunk of the band you were on! After that I ordered a SDR-1000 figuring that it would be cool to play with but that the 850 would be my main rig. Well after the 1000 arrived I never turned the 850 on again. The panadapter was everything I could hope for. Now I could see how the DX and how they were running the stations that wanted to work them.
Shortly after getting the 1000 I disconnected the TS-850 and stuck it on the shelf as I no longer used it and never looked back. The panadapter had me hooked. Making a chunk of the frequency spectrum visible was so powerful that it made the 850 look, well old fashioned.
Even though the way that the 1000 connected to my PC was kind of buggy I quickly grew addicted to its amazing performance. And the panadapter was to die for.
Well not too long after purchasing the 1000 the Flex-5000 came out. Once I read that it only needed a Firewire cable to connect to the PC and that the performance had improved I decided to sell my SDR-1000 to help pay for a 5000A. Since I still had the TS-850 I also sold it on ebay to a ham in the Czech Republic (my families origin BTW. How ironic). The package included the TCXO, built-in tuner and computer interface. Looking back he got a great deal.
So now I have had the Flex-5000A for 18 months and have to say that it is the best rig I have ever owned. Being able to see how DX is operating in the panadapter is a huge advantage. Plus there are regular software updates that sometimes make a quantum leap in performance. Is there any other rig like that?
Here are a few other things that set the Flex-5000A apart from any others. You will NEVER have to buy any filters. All filters are digital being built into the software. And you can reshape them as needed. Being brickwall they are very sharp. For you high quality audio freaks there is no need for any external SSB/AM processing equipment as the software TX EQ probably does everything that you need. Do you want a voice keyer? There is a free program that you can download. And for you CW ops there is a built in keyer with 9 memories. I have operated a lot of contests and never used anything except the built in keyer. I have a Begali Simplex Mono that is going on ebay as I have never used it (sigh). Another nice thing is that you can buy a RX only preamp for 6 meters and put it the RX chain. Last of all there is no need to buy an interface for digital modes. All processing happens in the software. And the amazing online group is always available to help.
On the other hand it is not the prettiest rig on the block. After all it is just a grey box that sits under my desk next to my PC. No knobs or anything, just a bright blue light telling me that it is on. I look in the ham mags and think how cool the IC-756PRO and FTDX-9000 look. But if you look at the performance specs of the Flex-5000 it ranks among the best ever built. And even though I don’t have the greatest antenna system I rarely hear any DX that I can’t work. Please note however that you will need a decent PC to get all of the performance that you expect.
The last reason that I love this rig is that it was designed and built in the USA.
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N2OPJ
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Rating: 5/5
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May 15, 2009 19:19
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GREAT!!!!!!!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I became interested in SDR after a club demo of a homemade SDR. Started researching this off and on for over a year. I decided on the Flex 3000 at first but I changed my mind and bought the 5000A. This is one superb rig amazing receive capabilities The filtering is just great an absolute brick wall I have totally eliminated a strong adjacent signal many times over. I may very well order myself a 3000 or a 1500 sometime also. This rig is way better than the expensive Yaseu or Icom I used the most expensive Yaseu HF rig and had nothing but problems way besides way to confusing to operate. My Icom 746PRO is only used for 2 meters now. Seriously considering selling this ship anchor.
One final note DO NOT HESITATE TO ORDER NOW!!! You do not know what you are missing out on!!!
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N5GAR
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Rating: 5/5
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May 10, 2009 02:24
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Outstanding
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is the bset HF rig I have owned. It outperforms a lot of other new HF rigs shown at ham conventions by an order of magnitude - - and makes some of them seem to be little more than boat anchors. Welcome to the 21st Century.
They are made in Austin, Texas, not Japan or Europe.
When I discovered there were no sofware defined radios at W1AW, I contacted the Flex President. He donated one, and sent the resident Ph.D. to deliver it. Click here:
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/12/11/10500/?nc=1
When you hear W1AW on the air, you should ask the operator if they are using the Flex 5000a.
I use mine with Windows XP-Pro, a Heil GM-5 and my (modified) Heathkit HL2200 amplifier.
It is also my opinion that this rig is not for beginners in the hobby.
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W4YHD
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 21, 2009 09:13
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Best HF Transceiver Out There!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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As a professional RF design engineer for 30 years, and an active HAM for 39 years, the time came for me to purchase the very best overall HF transceiver currently on the market at any price. After a full year of detailed research I chose the Flex-5000 SDR transceiver. After 10 months of use I can say that I am extremely happy and impressed with the Flex-5000. Oh yes, I was initially hung up on a big rig with a nice tuning knob as this was my concept of the radio I had always dreamed of. Then I spent some time actually test driving the Flex-5000 radio and I realized that this software defined approach is how we currently build state-of-the-art equipment professionally and it is a high end radio design approach with the very real promise of software feature and performance improvements to come essentially forever. PowerSDR software and future updates are open source and free! The PowerSDR software is very easy to use, the Panadapter display is really like a spectrum analyzer, and the mouse interface is way better than a knob I can assure you. Oh yes, one can get a nice tuning knob if you really need one. I would not be without a good Panadapter display today, that's for sure.
Looking at the respected Sherwood Engineering Labs web site; http://www.sherweng.com/table.html the Flex-5000 receiver specs are easily compared to all other HF radios and the Flex-5000 specs are at the very top in most every respect. This is a very high end radio transceiver! Receive filters are essentially perfect in software and infinitely variable, which is an incredible operating advantage! The interface to third-party software digital mode and logging programs is very easy through internal software audio and digital connections, no messy external cables. I operate my Flex-5000 remotely over the internet with ease. Transmit audio is very high quality with the built-in EQ and multi-band audio processing. Get the Heil PR-781 mic and just set it the way you want it. Perfect!
I must comment on the very high quality of the people at FlexRadio. I have met them and I admire their 100% committment to the customer, and the very professional and skilled attitude they take toward their products. How refreshing! This is the way a company should be, and I feel like I am part of a family of excited professionals that really care about me and my satisfaction.
I won't bother dragging you through all the radio specs here, or all of the really cool things this radio can easily do. I do want to point out that the operating experience of using PowerSDR and the very high dynamic range Panadapter display is a nice visual radio experience that is so very real and satisfying. So much so, that it has become painful to turn on my beloved FT1000D and ProIII radios. I have a two monitor PC setup with PowerSDR full screen in one monitor, and digital mode, logging, and other internet programs going in the other monitor, all with high quality audio from a nice little pair of amplified speakers. Operating the Flex-5000 is so much fun that I have rediscovered the excitement of operating that I felt in my earliest days in amateur radio. The Flex-5000 turns on quickly and has been 100% reliable. The only issue one does need to keep in mind is that you will need a reasonably new standard PC (cheap these days), and the inevitible Windows setup issues occasionally must be handled with some patience, not difficult however. Flex Radio provides excellent prompt and friendly phone/email support so no issues there.
Until you own the Flex-5000, you won't be able to know how good this radio and the operating experience really is. This was easily my very best purchase in Amateur Radio ever! Highly recommended!
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W9SN
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 15, 2009 21:14
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Best in Class
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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After having nearly every rig you can think of in my shack (K3, Orion, Icom Pro's Kenwoods, and Yaesu's) I decided to pick up a Flex 5K. At first I was not sure I was even going to like not having knobs. I found myself in the beginning reaching for a VFO, but that soon faded. I absolutely love the rig. Not only is it a high performer, but its capabilities blew me away. I have this set up to have both my SteppIR antennas track it simultaneously, 3 logging programs follow it simultaneously, Expert 1K FA amp follow it, LP-100A watt meter sync up, and really anything I envision. Nice thing is, this can all be run remotely if I wish, just as if I were sitting in front of the rig. Working digital modes has never been easier as the set up felt like it was made for it. I primarily use high speed CW and get great reports on my keying. I use dual monitors for this set up to have the rig on one and logging/controlling on the other. For working DX in split, I can watch (not just listen) to the pile-up and put my TX in one ear, RX in the other ear and move with my eyes, the TX freq on top of where the DX is listening. S04R on 40 meter CW was listing up 4-8Khz and I put his TX in my left ear, and the pile up in the right. As he called the stations, I just watch for activity on the Pan and just drag my TX frequency over to them. Its like shooting fish in a barrel and got them on the first call. This is a different concept on adjusting filters. I now use my eyes to adjust the filters and not just my ears. I really don't miss knobs after a few months of operation, and wonder why it took me so long to make the jump. I held off reviewing this rig till I had time to really use it. (I hate it when guys review after 2 hours of operation).
I have had this set up on 4 different computers including 2 with Vista and all run this just fine. I find myself wanting the new 3000 and can say with confidence that the Flex 5K was well worth the purchase.
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M0MRR
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 14, 2009 13:10
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Outstanding
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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This radio upgraded my SDR1000. It is every bit as good as the specifications state, and an improvement on its predecessor as now there is only one cable to connect to your computer - a much tidier setup, its also very quiet. The flexibility of 3 antenna connection points as well as a dedicated receive only antenna input makes this an interesting toy and very versatile. I am using the Heil PR781 mic and W2IHY audio gear for voice and a Begali paddle for cw. You need a fairly decent computer to get the best from this radio - I am using a Pentium Quad core which performs flawlessly. Being connected to the computer makes life easy to set up any digital mode and automated logging programs. The panadaptor is something else... - to visually see upto 192KHz of realtime band activity gives an overview of what signals are there, this is a brilliant feature of this type of radio. The software defined filters are 'bricks' - have a look at the Sherwood Engineering site to see how this radio rates. With the radio capable of 100dB dynamic range at 2KHz, and being able to see all adjacent signals it is an absolute doddle to null out offenders.
I thoroughly recommend the Flex5000A - its loads of fun!
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W2CEA
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 3, 2009 16:25
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Vista 64 Compatible
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Vista 64 runs flawless with my Flex 5000A; the radio is on for days at a time with both receivers running. I also have a computer running Vista 32 and XP PRO with no problems. Thanks Flex Radio for covering the bases.
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W4AEJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 24, 2009 09:11
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Best Ever
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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For several years I used a TS-2000 for DX pileups and phone contests with no issues. Late last year I jumped into the CQ WW DX CW Contest. Frankly, that contest brought the TS-2000’s receiver to its knees. Strong close-in stations would cause the weaker CW stations to vanish. I lost several weak contacts due to that, and became so frustrated I started looking for a new transceiver.
After doing an extended amount of research into top-end transceivers (including some that were very, very expensive) I settled on the Flex-5000A. It became obvious that the design of the Flex-5000A would deliver true superior close-in performance, and not play the “specs” games with roofing filters that other manufacturers seem to engage in. I purchased the Flex-5000A and have never looked back.
I just finished the ARRL International DX CW Contest and I can confirm that I made the right choice. As an example, in the contest I was able to work a very weak station in Micronesia, who was only operating 100 watts, from between two huge signals that were easily 50 dB stronger and only about 150 Hz away on either side. This is true World Class performance. Additionally, the excellent resolution of the Panadapter made it easy to quickly pick out potential contacts, including the weak ones hiding between strong stations, making it a superior contesting rig.
Congratulations to Flex Radio on a very fine product. Count me among your devoted Flex-500A users.
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