Flex Radio announces the Flex 6400 and 6600 series SDR Radios - Courtesy of Waters & Stanton

Flex Radio announces the Flex 6400 and 6600 series SDR Radios - Courtesy of Waters & Stanton

Waters & Stanton, the SDR Transceiver pioneer supplier in the UK announced today the launch of the new Flex 6400 and 6600 series radios which will be available in August/September 2017.

Orders are being taken now with a deposit payment of just 10% of the purchase price and it is expected that many order will be taken due to the ground-breaking software/hardware combination the new models possess. Some of the major highlights of these new products are listed below:

Modular Design

Both new models (6400/6600) are in a taller case which allows for a modular construction of the radio which in turn will lead to easier and faster servicing due to boards being able to be unplugged and replaced rather than surface-mount reworking being needed to replace faulty components.

The Flex 6600M​

Flex ‘M’ series is exactly the same as the flex 6400/6600 with a traditional radio front panel (Flex Maestro style) for those that prefer the look and feel of the 'classic' Ham radio. However, as with the existing Flex 6000 models, the Flex ‘M’ can still be used with an additional Flex Maestro in order two operators can use the same radio on different bands at the same time.

Improved Receiver Performance

Despite the fact the existing 6000 series models have excellent receiver performance, Flex Radio have pushed the boundaries once again to nudge performance up a little to ensure they stay right at the top of the pile in terms of receiver performance (Sherwood Engineering independent receiver performance comparison).

Now with 2 SCU's (Spectral Capture Units) 6600 models only

This is a massive feature which until now has only been available on the flagship model, the Flex 6700. With two SCU's SO2R (Single Operator, 2 Radios) operation is possible with two operators working 2 bands simultaneously. Most important of all, these operators can use different antenna sockets too. With a single SCU radio, up to 4 slice receivers can be used but only with a second SCU can an additional antenna socket be selected for one or more of the sub-band slices. Single SCU radios will have to operate with all slices on the same antenna socket.

Preselectors Standard on Flex 6400

Preselectors (Band Pass Filters or BPF) were not an option on the flex 6300 (which is now replaced by the 6400 series) and yet not they are a standard option on both the Flex 6400 and Flex 6400M models

Flex 6400 has 4 Slice Receivers

The Flex 6300 had 2 slice receivers as standard and this could not be increased. Anyone wanting up to 4 slices, needed to upgrade to the flex 6500. The flex 6400 has been upgraded to include 4 slice receivers as a standard feature.

Now with DUAL Preselectors! Flex 6600 models only

The 6500 has a single set of preselectors (Band Pass Filters or BPF) which can improve receiver performance on a single band. However, each SCU on the Flex 6600M can be stretched across a 14MHz section of band. If two or more slices where spread across multiple bands, the BPF would have to be switched off which could affect receive performance. Additionally, if using 2 antenna sockets across 2 or more slice receivers, only one of those would be able to have a BPF in place. By adding 2 BPFs, 1 BPF can be used per slice to ensure receiver performance remains uncompromised.

SmartSDR Version 2

While SmartSDR can be used on any Flex 6000 series, it is provided free of charge on the 6600. With ground-breaking single-click remote operation, Flex Radio have taken remote station operation to the next level by providing more users than ever with an easy route in.

Flex 6400​

For more information or to place your order, visit W&S at:
http://hamradiostore.co.uk/amateur-radio/hf-multiband-recievers/flexradio-hf.html

Flex Radio systems products are available from all IHSG companies, Nevada Radio, Waters & Stanton and InnovAntennas


http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2017/may/flex-radio-announces-6400-and-6600-series-sdr-radios.htm

 

Looking forward to seeing these tommorrow at Hamvention.

David KE8DVM

 

Cool!!! like that.

 

David,
If you don't mind please snap a few photos of the front and back and post it because these photos look bad. Not sure if I will make it to Dayton tomorrow

 

Product information including pictures and pricing is available on the Flex web-site.

 

Like the B-2000 and TS-2000 by Kenwood when they came out

 

finally something worthwhile posted! simply amazing!

 

Played with it today absolutely stunning!

 

Thanks for the photo. I was going to wait for the IC-7610 to hit the market but I may just say the heck with it and put down a deposit the 6600 instead. With 2 SCU's, and a price bellow the 6500, this may be my next HF rig for the next 5 years.

 

So, model numbers are now the price points? Looks like I need to start returning coke bottles for deposit refund again.

 

Why do you think 6600 is better than 7610?

 

I don't know that it is, but having 2 SCU's for diversity receive and now priced the same as the 6500 I find this very interesting. I am sure the 7610 will also be an excellent SDR but I think Flex has my interest now. Been wanting to upgrade and can't wait for ever.

 

That and I like the BIG display on the front, it looks larger than the 7300 maybe someone at Dayton can provide a comparison.

 

LOL, Flex must be really scared! Thank you Icom

Looking forward to the IC-7610 coming my way.

 

Price is $2999 for the M