| M0ITY |
Rating:  |
2024-07-13 | |
| Probably the best remote radio? |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Well, I have to say I am an IT Professional, with a focus on Wireless and IP and i work for top tier vendor. I understand not everybody is IT Expert but some 1 star reviews - common, get your PC / LAN sorted...
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Now I run 95% of time remote and tried all sorts - ICOMs with RSP1 / WFVIEW (Great...but...) then Hermes Lite2 SDR which is great also. But since moving to FlexSDR Signature series I am blown away - key differences? All radios where you want full SDR Experience, you have to transfer large chunks of I/Q Data. HL2 is 12bits and minimum of 48kbps stream being delviered from "there" to "wherever you are".
I had a look at stream using Wireshark and fol 75M SSB operations, seeing 100kHz of spectrum I only need about a 500kbps! All of hard stuff is being done on FPGA and you get sent processed data.
HL2 or any other OpenHPSDR Protocol1 radios - APACHE ANANs, HERMES, HERMES LITE etc. you need about 4-6Mbps if you run 16bits ADC and want 96kHz chunk(slice).
Performance-wise radio is great - OK, newer rigs might perform better, yaesu 710 seems great frontend, but you need another BOX to run remote and I havent tested it. If you can and plan running REMOTE, do yourself a favour... buy used Flex6x00 (no need for M). I though I will buy Maestro, but since Marcus got us Apps for iOS/ipadOS, no need for that either!
PS - I do run QRO, I do use RX antennas and full size antennas, yet I never ran into issues with overload or any misbehaving - CQWW,CQ160 WPX etc.
73 Jiri OK2IT/OK4I |
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| N9AMI |
Rating: |
2023-11-03 | |
| Pretty Nice Rig |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Purchased a used 6300 with ATU. This is the first 6000 series I have tried. I have had many other "legacy" flex radios but stopped supporting them because of the purchase of firmware upgrades. I did not feel it was right. However, I did get a good deal on this one. I will say this it took me literally 30 seconds time to get it removed to my office after I installed the software. So easy it was actually funny as compared to the Apache lab stuff. So the rig does 100 watts and the atu seems pretty decent on all my antennas. I was able to setup digital modes pretty quick after I watched the flex video. I have not tried running 2 slices of ft8 however I have done multiflex and the works fine. The audio setup is no where near as robust as the Anans. I do not like having the monitor function pre... I have to record myself and listen back? Come on flex that's crap. I used my anan to listen to the flex audio. I am still not satisfied with it as compared to my anan but am getting good reports. The rx is as good as the anan or my 7610. I think the NR (noise reduction) is better than my anan as I can understand people better and not as digital sounding. So it's a keeper. |
|
| 9A5EAT |
Rating: |
2021-12-08 | |
| The biggest bang for the buck! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
After really bad experiences with a Flex 6400 I purchased a pre-loved Flex 6300 including ATU.
The biggest bang for the buck! No problems - either local or remote. I used that radio meanwhile 6 months fully remote from 1000 miles away along with my homebrew solid state amp on a daily basis. All fine - never failed....always satisfying.
Modulation great - crystal clear ..... strong recommendation!
My advise: Don't go for Flex 6400 and/or 6600....big difference!
BTW, I now purchased another Flex - this time a Flex 6500 including GPSDO.
Review willl come up after extended tests... |
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| W9BB |
Rating: |
2020-11-29 | |
| Great buy for the money |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| This is my fourth Flex radio , first was a 6500 which I never used to it's potential ( great radio MISSED ) second 6400, third 6400m . The 6300 for the money is a great value and fun to use , I would recommend a 6300 for a person looking to go SDR for the first time. |
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| M0MBD |
Rating: |
2020-10-13 | |
| SDR - The future of Radio. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is my first foray into SDR Radio. I have been operating regular Boxes with knobs on until now, and now my other gear sits in the shack pretty much unused!
Bought second hand, the first thing I did was invest in upgrading to the latest software. It is one of the best things about SDR, you don't upgrade the hardware, you upgrade the software! The latest upgrade gave me the option of operating remotely using Flexradio's Smartlink service which allows you to connect and operate remotely from anywhere, using a phone, tablet or laptop!
When trying it for the first time, I marvelled at how bands which were previously unusable (80m and 40m with difficulty) during the day due to suburban QRM were now usable.
My audio reports are always exemplary, if I can hear the station, I can work them no problem. I have yet to fail to contact someone, even in a pileup, that I can hear.
Interfacing with other apps is relatively easy. I use it with HRD for general use and N1MM+ for special events and contests. I just need to work out how to get spots to display on the main signal screen!
It has worked pretty reliably. I have had the occasional glitch where something stops working, but they are few and far between and nothing a re-boot does not cure.
I have even started using it with a transverter for 2m. Integration is a breeze and by just setting up the IF frequency in the settings, the display accurately shows the correct frequency on the Panadaptor. i have still to get get my head around using CTCSS and setting up repeater splits yet though!
This is truly a transceiver that you can grow with. I can't see myself parting with this radio..
My choice of purchase was either the ICOM 7300 (not as many features as this radio) and the ICOM 7610 (Much more expensive) and I was so glad I went for this.
Much has been said in other reviews about the filtering and noise cancellation for reception, also on the number of options for honing your transmit audio using the built in compression and graphic equaliser. If you cannot make all the contact you want with this Radio, then you must be plugged into a dummy load! |
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| W8NVC |
Rating: |
2020-01-11 | |
| The best RX in my noisy environment. Absolutely A1 |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Hello fellow Flexers. I have to give my 2 cents on this wonderful radio. The Flex 6300. Before I continue I must say that I have owned 3 Flex 5000As
I loved them. Here is my issue, I live in a small suburb. Parma Hts, Ohio.
Near Cleveland. I have been a ham a long while. I have owned and sold many HF radios,and at my QTH. I have always been plagued with a sizzling noise. Power line noise. I happen to have a transformer behind my next door neighbors back yard. I have went round and round with the power company for over 10 years and I could never get results. Present day, I'm on to my 4th Flex and it just happens to be a Flex 6300. I must tell you all that the WNB AKA wide band noise blanker takes the noise completely away. I mean when it's on, the noise is gone. I set it to 75 percent. When I turn it off the constant S7 S8 Sizzling noise would drive any amateur operator crazy. The only good signals I could ever hear had to be over S8. All other signals where useless. Now that I found the radio that actually works for me I can enjoy my hobby finally. I was even contemplating on relocating my QTH just to get away from all this crazy noise. The only thing that kept me from slashing my wrists was the fact that I could at least use web SDR to hear who I was talking to but, that too was a pain in the ARS because there was a delay. But thanks to the Flex 6300, I am just as happy as I can be. And the RX is crisp clear and I just love everything about it. Now, I really loved my 5000As and even with that ESC feature that Power SDR has, you know, the feature that you use another RX antenna that made it possible to notch out noise, It changed it's phase and took out some noise. It looked like a bulls eye, and your dragged the dot with your mouse slowly to remove the noise but, with the Flex 6300 the WNB blows it away. and It does not change the incoming signals, it just removes my noise. Now, I am not saying that it will remove your noise issue, It may, but it works for me. Being self employed, I can play radio at work. I take my laptop to work with me and leave the Flex 6300 at home and thanks to Flex radio's Smartlink, I can remote my radio and make all the contacts that I can all from my office. It just blows me away knowing that I can take my laptop anyplace in the world and connect and operate my home station with the click of the mouse. I can even use an I phone. If I had an I phone, I don't but, If I did I could use it in the car as my mobile radio. I hope soon they make an app for all of us android cell phone users. It's gonna be worth the wait. They will, somebody will. Why would anyone spend all that extra cash on a mobile radio and huge expense of a decent mobile HF antenna to go mobile? Now I know there is a lot of hams that would disagree but as for me, If I can use my huge antenna at home with only 100 watts and make contacts, well guys, to me, that's the Cats Ass. Did you know that most problems and the very few complaints posted here are operator error? Not to mention that our beloved Microsoft windows updates screw with the Flex updates. At Flex radio labs they are constantly on top of it and sometimes it takes time. be patient. All you gotta do is read and stay on top of the latest news in the Flex forum. There is always someone else that has the exact same issue and the answers to any issues are usually right there for the reading. If any problem comes up with a 6300 and a ham has an issue, I get an email and I read it. Sometimes it's relevant, sometimes it's not. All I can say is. If you want the best, Go Flex. And keep this in mind. The best is always worth waiting for. I thank you Flex radio for giving me back my hobby that I love so very much. 73 from Cleveland Ohio W8NVC. |
|
| N2DTS |
Rating: |
2018-08-19 | |
| VERY good! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I got a used one direct from Flex, very fast shipping (same day).
I needed tech support because the first time you fire up the radio it has to be connected to the web along with the computer (to get the software licence).
Flex responded in under one hour.
Very good performance, and I really like the new software. It seems to do everything I would want.
I can see it not being a contest radio though, not because of the performance, but you can hit something by mistake and hose things up and not know what is going on, the radio (software) can do some crazy stuff, like switching to vfo b by mistake and not knowing what is going on.
You can also push the panadaptor from one band to another, for example, you can click on the 80 meter tab and tune down to 160, and if you hit the 80 meter button its still where you left it (on 160 meters).
The hardware seems great, the fan can make some noise when its on high but you don't have to have the radio close. The software is really the major thing and I find it very easy to figure out and use for all the basic operations. Most stuff is right on the screen for adjustment with very limited things in menu's.
CW seems to work great, audio out on RX and TX seems great, the only minor issue I can find is the delay through the radio on TX is high on phone.
The Anan had less delay (latency) and the Elad has almost none.
The Elad (FDM DUO) standalone has almost no latency from the microphone to the antenna, the Flex has quite a bit. The Anan had a small amount when low latency filter option was selected...
Somehow they get CW to work really well though.
The antenna tuner has been able to match everything, it has a memory, but takes a while to tune when it needs to.
The global profile is very handy, it remembers all the settings, frequency, levels, mode, antenna tuner settings, EQ, etc.
This seems to be a lot of radio for the money (used) and a very good radio at that.
The RX seems very quiet and sensitive.
Two antenna ports plus an RX port, I would like more, same as every other radio.
For only a bit more, it offers much more then the Icom 7300 I had, easier to use, better performance, many more things it can do and better fidelity.
Very pleased with the radio. |
|
| K4FX |
Rating: |
2018-05-08 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I really love this radio. It has brought new excitement to this hobby for me. I use it remotely with my IPad and IPhone as well as in front of the PC. I do not miss knobs, I have a Flex Control and that is all I need. The rig has a superb receiver, the best I have ever owned. I upgraded from a Flex 3000 and at first I was a little disappointed with the SSDR as compared to PowerSDR, but as I have learned other add on programs like DDUtil, FRStack and others that greatly enhance SSDR, so now I am completely happy with the upgrade. I use the KPA500 and KAT500 with the 6300 and DDUtil's lets me interface it like it was designed for the Flex. Auto drive settings set the 6300 for precise drive levels for each band with the amp on and full power with it off or in standby just as with the K3. It makes contesting a lot easier. No screw-ups. I really enjoy all digital modes, especially RTTY. The best RTTY rig I have had prior to the 6300 was an Icom IC-756 Pro II. It was a very nice RTTY performer. However this 6300 blows it out of the water. The filtering is outstanding, I can use 250 hz with no problems on RTTY, on CW I normally use 250, and in tight spots I can go to 100 hz, or even 50 hz with no ringing. On SSB the filtering really shines. I can go as tight as 1.6 KHz and it is still very readable. I can actually enjoy phone contests now. The SSB stock filtering works fine for me, it goes from 4.0, 3.3, 2.7, 2.4, 2.1, 1.8, 1.6 KHz. I hear it does ESSB out of the box if you are into that sort of thing. It has a 10 band EQ for TX and/or RX, as well as a Downward Expander (Noise gate). I use a Heil PR-20 and it sounds great, I have a nice Normal mic profile and a DX mic profile.
I use QSK and it works fine with my KPA-500, it's a very competent CW rig.
I hope to upgrade to a 6600 by the end of the year. With the 6400 and 6600 now being shipped, there are plenty of 6300's on the market for excellent prices. You won't regret buying one. |
|
| K7QDX |
Rating: |
2018-01-17 | |
| No problems, and I miss my 6300 |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Great radio. I had it for about 7 months before I traded it into Flex for the 6400.
I was first looking at the Anan Apache Lab radios, and did a lot of research on the difference between the Apache Lab and Flex. Even one of the Anan users said, if you want support and good running software then go with Flex. He said you need to be really good with computers since the only support you get are other users on the forum for the Anan radios. So I signed up on the Anan forums. So a lot of people “bricking” their radios with the software updates. However this still didn’t sell me on Flex.
While I was doing this research I had an Icom 756 Pro III, but flex offered a trade in for it. So I went for the flex or the Anan Apache Lab Radio. I did think in the back of my head that maybe I should’ve but once I got the flex radio, I was sure that I made the right choice.
The Flex was easy to set up, even though I had a few issues but a few calls to Flex resolved that issue.
I’m currently back to a “box radio” (FT-1000MP) that my boss loaned me while I wait for my 6400 to arrive. I have to say it’s the hardest and longest wait ever. At least I’m on the air, but wow have I missed a lot of DX having this Yaesu radio. The receiver is so much better in the Flex. You can do so much more with the Flex.
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| K4YAB |
Rating: |
2017-06-06 | |
| Top of the Line ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I purchased my Flex 6300 and Maestro used. It is a Top of the line HF Transceiver . The Panadapter on the Maestro is Great ! GREAT RESOLUTION |
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