its getting smug in the shack

[steve_qix]

it is on its way, my smug delivery should be early this week.
I purchased the smug 3000
it should drive the E rig fine and maybe even get me talking on SSB  

Somehow I don't think the firmware upgrade is going to affect Blaine driving his class E rig one iota  

[W1AEX]

Somehow I don't think the firmware upgrade is going to affect Blaine driving his class E rig one iota  

Very true, but then again, Blaine might enjoy some AM operation up on 10 meters now and then!   

[Steve - K4HX]

LOL. That $20 class e rig just became a couple thousand dollar rig.

[ke7trp]

True but he gets a nice reciever with it!  I wish they made just the RXer.

C

[Steve - K4HX]

I thought they did back in the 1000 era. Or maybe it was just a low power version.

[ke7trp]

When I was at the DX convention this year I talked to Flex about this.  They do offer the QRP Transciever but by the time you get it is $700.   

[Blaine N1GTU]

I almost bought the 1500 to use as a receiver, but after the drivers in my 746 blew, i firgured I might as well get the 3000. I like the idea of just a receiver, would be just like the softrock, they could make it cheap

[steve_qix]

LOL. That $20 class e rig just became a couple thousand dollar rig.

I use a VFO that cost less than $30.00 to build 

[Pete, WA2CWA]

When I was at the DX convention this year I talked to Flex about this.  They do offer the QRP Transciever but by the time you get it is $700.   

The Flex 1500 is a great QRP rig (5 watts max). It sells for $649 but I've seen used prices between 500 and 600 when people who "got the SDR taste" then wanted to upgrade to a Flex 3000 or 5000. If you just want a SDR receiver, check out the Perseus or some of the RF Space models.

[WA1GFZ]

HPSDR Hermes is almost in production 160 through 6M Transceiver 1/2 watt SSB IP3 better than -50dB. All on a 4 inch by 6 inch card ETHERNET interface.

Also QSR1 will have an exciter soon. I'm sure Covington will at least match the performance of HPSDR

[W1ATR]

True but he gets a nice reciever with it!  I wish they made just the RXer.

C

I agree. I would buy an RX only version in a heartbeat. Just give me ptt muting on it so I can use it with a real transmitter and that would be perfect. Most of the flex's I've heard on the air sound great, they have nice smooth audio on am and ssb, but they totally lack the needed BA's when the band gets ugly and one needs to turn the wick up as Don would say. Not trying to start a flame or nothing, and it's just my opinion, but I know what my ears hear and what I read on the forums.

[Steve - K4HX]

Yep. All of your rigs combined cost only $20. The parts just fall out of the sky and into your junk box. It's magic.

LOL. That $20 class e rig just became a couple thousand dollar rig.

I use a VFO that cost less than $30.00 to build 

[steve_qix]

Yep. All of your rigs combined cost only $20. The parts just fall out of the sky and into your junk box. It's magic.

LOL. That $20 class e rig just became a couple thousand dollar rig.

I use a VFO that cost less than $30.00 to build 

Eh?   Don't know about magic...   I do have 40 years of [high power] parts accumulated and that sure makes it easy to build just about anything    And, I recycle chassis parts, panels, meters, etc.  And, my stuff isn't all that beautiful!  But, alas, I did have to buy a vacuum variable capacitor for a new transmitter I built recently, and that cost $180.  Then I bought another one for a loading cap, and that one cost $120.00. 

The $20.00 class E rigs were transmitters delivering around 200 watts of power that used relatively small tuning caps and power transformers - all of which were in my junk collection.  Anyone who has been building for a long time probably has a reasonable collection of "junk" parts just waiting for an application.  The fact that the parts needed to build a 400 watt or less class E rig are both readily available from multiple, cheap sources - and are not particularly special - keep the prices DOWN (if you can do your own work!)   

[K1JJ]

Yep, it costs a little more than $20 these days..    

Rico Suave, a 24 FET PDM class E rig,  cost me about $1K to build.   I already had the vacuum caps, but added a lot of bells and whistles.

http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=23354.0

T

[N3WWL]

So much for "$50.00 and a handful of fets"   

[W1AEX]

Well, in my humble opinion, it just doesn't matter how someone gets on the air, as long as they're having fun.

Rob

[Steve - K4HX]

It never cost $20 at any power level. The reality is that meters, cabinets and power supply components cost the same, class B, C, D or E. The fact that most class e rigs I've seen use a vac cap immediately remove them from the realm of low cost. And that's OK. What isn't OK is perpetuating a myth that they are low cost.

Yep, it cost a little more than $20 these days..     

Rico Suave, a 24 FET PDM class E rig,  cost me about $1K to build.   I already had the vacuum caps, but added a lot of bells and whistles.

http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=23354.0

T

[WA1GFZ]

Just the metal work alone costs a lot of time and money

[W2PFY]

Too bad Gary never finished his class E rig. He had that so overbuild, it could have passed for a commercial rig.

[Steve - K4HX]

Gary who?

[WA3VJB]

... small tuning caps and power transformers - all of which were in my junk collection.

Reminds me of the old Steve Martin bit:

HOW TO MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS
AND    N E V E R   PAY TAXES
_{First, make a million dollars...}

Uh-huh

Or maybe for you kids:
Kool-Aid costs only 3 cents a glass !!!
With one package
_{and your sugar...}

Thus:

$20 and a handful of FETs
_{and a few hundred dollars of parts-on-hand}

[The Slab Bacon]

Youse guys forgot the $100 worth of clipleads..................

[W7TFO]

Man, PLEASE don't force me to think about how much I have tied up in radio parts.....

73-broke-DG

[KB2WIG]

We was so poor, we didn't have clip leads.  We just tacked stuff together with solder. We lived for three months in a paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for six dollars a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep wi' his belt.


klc

[steve_qix]

It never cost $20 at any power level. The reality is that meters, cabinets and power supply components cost the same, class B, C, D or E. The fact that most class e rigs I've seen use a vac cap immediately remove them from the realm of low cost. And that's OK. What isn't OK is perpetuating a myth that they are low cost.

Well, in this case you might be mistaken    Watt for watt (between a few hundred watts and a kW), and for transmitters with similar audio performance, class E rigs are FAR less expensive than any other technology available.  This is a provable fact.  I can buy all the parts from conventional suppliers and build a 400 watt carrier output class E transmitter that's flat from 5 to 20kHz and will modulate 200% positive for about $600.  And that's buying everything.

I am rather sure I couldn't even buy the iron required for a similarly powered tube rig of similar audio performance for $600.  Then I have to buy tube sockets, tubes, filament transformers, etc.... No junk box parts allowed - everything has to be bought from conventional suppliers  

From direct, real experience in building multitudes of tube rigs and multitudes of class E rigs, the class E rigs are, by every measure available, significantly less expensive to build than anything else of equal power and audio quality.  That which can be proven by fact is not a myth  

Hey, we are holding a class E forum at NearFest on Saturday at 10:30AM.  Come and check it out!!!!!!