Hi all.
Not to be silly but just to trow in my 2 cents. Well, it's a bigger 44 cents coin at the end.
Sorry for the rather long message, I hope it's clearly readable due by my poor English.
Unfortunately I don't own any flavor of the FT-9000. It's quite out my target, well several of my targets. Nonetheless I am here and with other groups/mail to read the several interesting thing that come out every day.
My experience on FLEX is really positive. Mine activities are centered around RTTY, both Contesting and DX chasing. I like also to have real QSO kbd to kbd or simply air checks with this or any other digital mode. No ROS.
I have to admit that before of this radio I get almost acquainted with non SDR radios in half the time. The SDR took a lot of time just because there are so many switch, buttons and lists of values that I have had my time to get it running as smooth as I like. My latest try was with a FT-897 and is 300 Hz filter, just after reselling an FT-450. All went working in some hours, perhaps spreading the efforts over days. But nothing compared to the pure joy of the FLEX.
I am using a dedicated and protected PC with W7 32bit(!) for the POWERSDR(tm)radio application with a FLEX-3000. The software environment is completed by N1MM with MMTY or alternatively with MMSSTV, WSPR, WSJT. Last but not least Tmate help me a lot with the VFO fiddling.
I have had hard times running the HRD-DM780-LOGGER trio, virtual serial port emulation is quite a nightmare. Now it is solved with mini deluxe, a stretched application that emulate HRD and permit to DM780 and the LOGGER to run flawlessly. The HRD Logger is still the main logger, with HRD utils it help me a lot sorting all electronic QSL activities.
As a result s 26", 16:9, monitor is fully crowded mainly by the N1MM bits and pieces together with POWERSDR(tm).
This screen is my radio and my radio is on this screen.
Filtering and bandpass commanding is written inside CAT commands within the digital set of macro for the N1MM digital window: no radio touching is needed, all the operations are driven by the N1MM windows in focus. Quite the same thing went done before the advent of the FLEX, for filters and some other controls, with the PROIII/FT-950. Well, not all together, some in the N1MM and some in DM780, as needed by the different activities.
I have done several RTTY contests from my small pistol shack, helped by a 1K-FA, the Tmate USB device, a trackball instead of a mouse and a multiband V shaped rigid trapped dipole by Create.
I have also done, as with some new release the FLEX went more stable, some contesting from the biggest than mine shack of ours club, IQ1RY: astonishing!!!
This is a quite good DX site, not so far away and not so exotic, from here. The aerial and some other piece of the facility could be seen on and from ww.qrz.com
The FLEX 3000 is at least a good radio. I have have in view the band as I need. All is commanded via the N1MM macro buttons set. All is done almost via a mouse, seldom with the keyboard when not in a chit chat QSO. I just need to find a free spot, if there is one of course, to start a RUN session. Save the current QRG, look at the cluster when permitted or to the band in the panadapter to check out who is there to have a QSO more. He would be a multiplier, luckily, or simply another RUNner just to improve the rate.
By this time not SDR software is almost integrated by CAT and virtual and physical serial ports. 1K-FA frequency/bands control was done routing the virtual serial port CAT also inside a physical port, by the way.
During DX chasing it's almost the same. After getting the TX QRG of the DX stations it's just a matter of finding in a "view and click" a free spot UP to start calling. Having also the idea on whats going on even on my TX QRG and not only on the DX receiving QRG. This is similar to the double set of filters applied to the RX and TX QRGs VFO for YAESU. A different beast of what ICOM does.
Tight filters are really tight with bigger software buffers. I couldn't cry too much about my old and trusted couple of PROIII with theirs one shot TPF. Nor with the nice filters of the FT-950.
One thing that I have done is to retain the FSK style operations also in AFSK. The radio will be set dead on the RTTY tones, inside the RTTY filter, not clicking-clacking the mouse to get on the RTTY mouse inside the band pass. This is as FSK fixed radio must be used not AFSK ones. There is also a TX filter for RTTY, tight enough not to spread or spit everywhere unwanted tones. BTW I am running lower tones, mark is 1445 Hz. More pleasant to listen hour after hour, IMO.
Another thing that I was doing is to enforce the whole setup environment as to use N1MM any activity, QSO & Contesting. I have learned, over time, a good knowledge of the N1MM environment. Forcing myself to use it anyway since the start of this SDR adventure. I have not to say again that I was maxed out to do this by the first unfruitful bunch of approaches with virtual serial port and the SDR. Things that someone others seems not to have had. The change from DX and QSO activities to the Contest activity "desk", of that time, I simple switch over the related macro sets. Then I engrave it in the database reload information. Each one of these is cooked as needed and will come alone up in the deprecated case there is any application shutdown. Those sets are for the input window. Digital modes macro with filters and general RTTY sentences are the same whiting the digital mode windows.
Now I am quite a "satisfied customer", but still asking myself if there is the the real need to change anything out of the main antenna, something of a lack here in a dense urban area, to improve the general setup and, of course, the performances. I still look at mine other radios with pleasure and joy, PROIII, FT-950 and TS-870. I already get rid of several more new ICs and some older FTs (MP). I would also consider a Ft-9000 and is “smaller” brother the FT-5000.
I will need something to fill in the portable operation hole. But no way since now, there isn't the right piece of hardware out now. Owning FT-897/857, IC-703, and TS-480, for portable activities, doesn't help too much, also with 500 Hz or 300 Hz filters (remember RTTY!). I see to buy a portable PC to have smooth operations with the 3000 another nightmare that I wouldn't like to start by now. May be the 1500 should be a good starting point, but ... by now I have other priorities. I am in view also for the HPSDR project, the mercury standalone board. Actually it lacks the software facilities side, no CAT, no serials, in one one a good experiment but not to much a radio for the everyday use.
May be there are several aspects on witch I get so acquainted and that I even forgot to write all down here. ALC, RTTY TX filter and so on. There could be possible bunch of issues on some of these forgotten things but those last are quite working/solved here. At least I was lucky to find out the mix and max of related adjustments, for now.
73 de iw1ayd Salvo
