The Elecraft booth has been teeming with people. Of course, large crowds around the KX3–perhaps almost as many as last year, when they first introduced this hand held QRP magic. I know I want one.
Elecraft at the Hamvention
Photos of the Kenwood TS-990
The display model of the Kenwood TS-990 is covered under plexiglass in Hara Arena. Here are a few photos I took this morning. Note that they’ve covered the back panel of the radio with black cloth.
Photos of the Yaesu FT DX 3000
Here are a few first photos of the Yaesu FT DX 3000 at the 2012 Dayton Hamvention. I’ve also taken shots of the product sheet below. Better images will follow. Tagged: Yaesu
Ten-Tec Model 418 pricing and availability
Ten-Tec announced that the price is $785. They’re taking orders at Dayton and shipping end of June.
Flex Radio: a few photos of the new Flex 6000 product line
Yaesu FT DX 3000
A poster of Yaesu’s new FT DX 3000 HF/50 MHz 100 Watt transceiver. More to come from the Dayton Hamvention.
Sneak peek: Ten-Tec Model 539 Argonaut VI and Model 418 Amplifier at FDiM and Hamvention
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see the new Argonaut VI and Model 418 100 Watt amplifier up close and even operate them.
Though I’ll keep my comments short–I have a l o n g day at the Hamvention ahead of me–I thought I’d share a few first impressions.
The guys at Ten-Tec were kind enough to allow me to take a few shots of the Argonaut VI and the Model 418 Amp, both in Hara Arena and at Four Days In May yesterday.
Contest conditions
If you’re coming to the Hamvention, you will want to stop by the Ten-Tec booth. Through some sort of feat of engineering (or–as I first thought–dark magic!) they have a recorded chunk of 20M spectrum taken from a recent contest. They’re feeding most of their rigs with this spectrum IQ and you, in turn, hear exactly what each radio will sound like. Not only that, but you can operate the radio as if “live”–tuning, adjusting filters, bandwidth, notch etc. Indeed, you can use any receiver feature on the rig.
Additionally, they have one of the Argonaut VI’s hooked up to a Model 418 Amplifier. With these two linked, you can operate CW into a dummy load. Through this set-up I got a very good idea of how the Argonaut VI sounds and how well the amplifier works in conjunction.
First impressions are very positive. A few notes about the Model 539 Argonaut VI:
- Very low noise floor.
- Excellent audio fidelity.
- The knobs, buttons and all features are quite easy to operate.
- The filters (especially as tested in CW) are simply amazing. I think they are comparable to the Ten-Tec Eagle.
- I like the size–slightly larger than an FT-817, much smaller than the Argonaut V.
- All of the important controls are right there on the front: AF/RF Gain, Bandwidth/PBT, Power, RIT, Memories, Split, etc.
- Nice touch: On transmit, the red dot in the Ten Tec Logo lights up on both the Argonaut and ‘418. See photos below.
Not many criticisms yet, but mind you, these are first impressions.
Though the Model 418 was hooked into a dummy load, I was able to get a feel for how well the amp responded while sending CW. I’m happy to say that the QSK is silky smooth. Ten-Tec has never disappointed me on this point–their QSK is a benchmark.
Tomorrow, I will post the price of the Model 418 Amplifier–as I mentioned before, the Argonaut VI pricing is at least a few months off, most likely.
Many of you asked about the omission of 12 and 60 Meters. I asked Ten-Tec about this and, in short, it was a balance of performance vs. features. Through their research, they found that 12 and 60 would be the least missed, while 160M would be a great addition (initially, they did not plan to add 160M).
In an effort to save time, I’m simply posting a load of photos below in a thumbnail gallery. Simply click on the thumbnail to enlarge each photo. Feel free to comment and ask questions if you can’t make it to the Hamvention. I will do my best to answer.
Flex-Radio introduces the Flex 6000 “game changer” and takes pre-orders at the Hamvention
Today, at the Dayton Hamvention, Flex-Radio Systems will introduce their newest transceiver, the Flex 6000.
I have read through the preliminary specs and it does promise to be a game changer as they implied in earlier teaser ads.
From their product brochure:
Imagine SmartSDR™
With the FLEX-6000 Signature Series radios, FlexRadio brings a wealth of new capabilities to the amateur including direct digital reception, transmission and networking. At the core of all these new capabilities is SmartSDR. SmartSDR organizes all of the signal processing power in the FLEX-6000 Signature Series radios into an advanced reusable framework. First, the RF subsystems in the FLEX-6000 are virtualized as reusable hardware blocks or Signal Capture Units (SCU) with specific capabilities. SmartSDR understands the capabilities of each SCU and how to harness its power.
As data from the SCUs enters the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) at a combined rate of over 7.8Gbps, SmartSDR performs advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) on the data, splitting it into individual Panadapters and Slice Receivers. Panadapters are visual displays of the RF spectrum akin to a spectrum analyzer, but with more capabilities for the amateur. Slice Receivers are dynamically allocated full performance receivers that can be directed to the speaker or headphones for listening, or can be streamed as digitized RF to external digital applications.
Panadapters and Slice Receivers can be created and destroyed atwill. What distinguishes SmartSDR is the simplification of theseadvanced concepts into an elegant graphical user interface (GUI) that places you in complete control. Want to create an additional Panadapter to watch for possible 10m band openings?
No problem, simply click to add the Panadapter and SmartSDR directs everything from the advanced signal processing software down to the filters in the SCU to form an optimized receiver. Want to decode all of the CW signals on 40m while working DX on 20m? It’s just a few clicks away. In the future, remote FLEX-6000 Signature Series radios will be equal partners in the SmartSDR ecosystem. Imagine the capabilities: Want to add two remote receivers so you never miss another check-in as Net Control? Just click to add and combine them.
The brochure goes into great detail about the Flex 6000’s features. Its networking abilities, multiple receivers and even frequency lock that is tied into the GPS system will make this SDR stand out from the crowd.
Pricing?
Prices vary from $3999 for the Flex-6500 to $6999 for the Flex-6700. FlexRadio is taking deposits on pre-orders.
As I head out the door for Dayton, stay tuned. We will post other updates and product announcements throughout the day as time permits. In the meantime, click here to download the Flex 6000 series brochure. I will tag any other notable Flex announcement with: FlexRadio
Kenwood’s booth the day before
I just walked past the Kenwood booth where they’ve prepared a place for the TS-990S. I have a feeling it’s going to be very busy here tomorrow morning.
I will fight my way through the crowds and grab a few photos of the real thing. Check back here tomorrow!
Tagged: TS-990s
Going to Dayton? Visit Ears to Our World’s booth–and meet us!
For the second year in a row at the Dayton Hamvention, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW). We will be in booth 601 in the East Hall. Stop by and introduce yourself! Here’s a map of how to find us.
If you’re not familiar with Ears To Our World and our mission to empower children and teachers in the third word through radio, check out our website and this article from the Wall Street Journal.
Look forward to meeting you there!