Dear Tom:
Thank you very much for reminding us of the Flex product line. They have progressed a long way since the last time I looked into SDR. I will review the specifications of the Flex-5000 very closely. It does appear to be clearly the next generation of competition grade/satellite transceiver WF1F Miles
--- On Mon, 3/1/10, Tom Clark, K3IO tom.k3io@gmail.com wrote:
From: Tom Clark, K3IO tom.k3io@gmail.com Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Wish List, The Ideal VHF/UHF Sat Rig To: "AMSAT BB" amsat-bb@amsat.org Date: Monday, March 1, 2010, 4:55 PM There is one US made radio on the market today that will meet >>>ALL<<< the desires & requirements discussed in this thread -- and it is made by an AMSAT member (K5SDR)! It was on view at last fall's AMSAT Symposium. I say "ALL" contingent on the release of one module RSN (Real! Soon! Now!).
I'm talking about the software-defined Flex 5000 (see http://www.flex-radio.com/). When the new V/U module is released (by Dayton), the F5K can be used at the 100W level on 160-6M, and 60W on V=2M & U=70cm. It will operate Full-Duplex in any combination of V/U (+10 meters). Greg, K5GJ described the new V/U module fully at the AMSAT Symposium. Flex has offered significant door prizes (like half of a base 5K) at all the recent AMSAT & TAPR meetings (I won a prize that I converted to a V/U upgrade for my personal F5K; I eagerly expect it in the next month or so).
For some more info, this is clipped from the Flex advertising describing the new V/U module:
The FLEX-5000 V/U module is a fully integrated
all-mode, all-band
(144-148/430-450 MHz) full-duplex VHF/UHF module that
adds both 2m and
70 cm capabilities to the already outstanding
FLEX-5000 family of
software defined radios. All of the FLEX-5000
V/U module's
oscillators are locked to the 500 MHz master
oscillator in the
FLEX-5000, which in turn is locked to the internal
0.5ppm reference or
it may be connected to an external 10 MHz reference
for even greater
frequency stability.
If want additional HF capability, you can add a second receiver and/or automatic antenna tuner. You can tie the entire radio to a GPS or Rubidium frequency reference for accuracy/stability at levels better than a part per billion.
For any of the microwave bands (23 cm and up), either the V or U channel can serve as the IF for a transverter. For the wider bandwidth modes discussed for the "HR-956-Pro", the F5K is capable of supporting anything up to a few hundred kHz. For these SDRs, new software support shows up daily, contributed (free) by a significant cadre of amateurs. If a modem for some different mode, is needed, IOS (It's Only Software! ).
And the price for a fully decked out is less than half of that forecast for the "fictional HR-956-Pro" (even including a suitable PC).
SUPPORT THE US MANUFACTURERS! THEY ARE A RARE BREED!
73, Tom
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