Flex-6400M - Preview from the Dayton Hamvention 2017

There's a joke about a new German microwave oven but I know I'd be banned if I typed it here. (If you PM me I'll send it to you.) Jokes aside, Unimog rocks!

KR3DX and KA4DPO: That's true, but I look at this way: Say a miracle happens and the FCC says, "Guess what, hams--you now have new band privileges available!" With SDR, it's a simple matter of upgrading firmware and/or the addition/replacement of a few components and you're good-to-go; non-SDR, not so easy...if at all.

N2PHI: Supply and demand, mon frere: If manufacturers could sell more rigs then the price would go down...in theory, anyway. ...which has always made me wonder: how do ham radio manufacturers make a profit selling rigs? We're such a niche market--that's reportedly shrinking--so how do 'the big three' manufacturers turn a profit selling so few units, even at current prices? Of course we're back to supply-and-demand but still... a lot of money goes into designing and manufacturing rigs--including minor changes with them every model year--so I don't see how they make any money off of us cheapskates. :|

 

KR3DX and KA4DPO: That's true, but I look at this way: Say a miracle happens and the FCC says, "Guess what, hams--you now have new band privileges available!" With SDR, it's a simple matter of upgrading firmware and/or the addition/replacement of a few components and you're good-to-go; non-SDR, not so easy...if at all

HUH? If a rig has general coverage receive, the transmit frequency ranges between 160M and 10M are limited by firmware. Any changes to existing bands or the addition of new bands between 160M and 10M would require only a firmware change, regardless if the rig is SDR or analog. An SDR transceiver would still have the same requirements in its transmit section as an analog rig.

Please send the microwave oven joke to my e-mail

 

I have rigs that don't have WARC capability but I still use them. If it was that hard I would just buy a new radio that includes the new frequencies or use my old Drakes.

 

Outrageous prices? Not really. Consider the expenses involved with building a new product from concept to market - from engineering to advertising and everything in between. Then there are always ongoing costs - labor, materials, marketing, product support, web presence, utility bills, insurance, machinery & tooling, utility bills, etc, etc., and then the company still has to hope for a profit, even if small. I don't see where anybody will get rich from producing and selling ham radio products.

And you really do get a lot of bang for your dollar these days with most new radios. Much more than in the past. Its really all about perceived value, then and now. In, say, 1960 for example, there were some who thought that the Collins KWM-2 was outrageously priced while others thought it to be a bargain

 

No. No you do not!

 

You don't need a computer with the M models.

 

Experience? Really?

Flex is responding to the success of the IC-7300 which put a very large dent in their bottom line. Like it or not the majority of the amateur community really does want knobs and an integrated front panel control system, they don't want a bunch of ancillary junk spread all over the place just to get on the air. If that was not the case Flex would not be going to the expense of taking a Maestro onto some hastily designed radios.

There are people who will buy Flex products no matter what but the company realizes they have to follow market trends if they want to increase sales. It is nothing short of amazing that the prices for Flex products, which include a twelve hundred dollar Maestro dropped so much in just one year. I think if I owned a 6700 I would feel like I got ripped off.

 

SDR will increase profits for the manufacturers. Far few parts, less testing (Effectively sell a beta version labeled as release and field upgrade the bugs like everything nowadays...)

The new technology will help bring younger hams. I bought a 7300 as my first radio (licensed last year). It is a really nice rig. From a generalized consumer electronics standpoint it is way overpriced. The per unit profit must be huge, when you just consider parts. But due to the low volume numbers in the ham industry (compared to Blue Ray players or cell phones), it takes them a long time to recoup R&D, which drives the prices up.

New rigs are great, but I have been having a lot more fun with the old TS-820s I got for $200 and have been fixing up myself. Getting in there and tinkering just feels more like ham radio to me than appliance operation. Perhaps someone should release an SDR with at least some user access to the software such that hams could write their own filters, etc. Would require different knowledge (programming and DSP vs. caps and coils), but would preserve the experimental nature of ham radio.

 

YOU CAN HOOK THE IC-7300 TO YOUR COMPUTER ALSO AND PLAY BIG BAD RADIO

 

I disagree that the IC-7300 put a dent in Flex Radio's bottom line. The dent, more like crater was at the expense of Yaesu and Kenwood. Icom has sold nearly 11,000 7300's worldwide.
This is unheard of. YaeWood had nothing at Dayton and re-sellers will confirm a cooling of sales. Icom showed off the 7610 and Flex had the 6400 and 66oo in two models.
I would suggest watching Rob Sherwoods presentation of "Disruptive Technologies how they change our Hobby" at Contest University.
I own a 7300 and sold my FT-991 after just one week of operation. Will probably pick up a Flex 6400M.
SDR is the future of our hobby, that said it will be long time before I part with my FT-2000D.

W4FSA

 

HAHA! - Flex are discovering at long last that "Real Op's" like radios with knobs and buttons - not a $10K PC / 40" LCD and a mouse substitute!

If/When 'dxpeditions' switch to "bloatware" (aka Flex Radios) - I might take another look - meantime "Elecraft" meets ALL my needs for portability!