Compaq FLEX-5000A - Manual (Page 3)

From July 2008 QST © ARRL
table 1
Flexradio FLeX-5000A, serial number 5107-5268
Manufacturer’s Specifications Measured in the ARRL Lab
FM adjacent channel rejection: Not specified. 20 kHz offset, preamp on:
29 MHz, 59 dB; 52 MHz, 44 dB.
FM two-tone, third-order IMD dynamic range: 20 kHz offset, preamp on:
Not specified. 29 MHz, 59 dB*; 52 MHz, 44 dB*;
10 MHz offset: 52 MHz, n/a. 3
S-meter sensitivity: Not specified. S9 signal at 14.2 MHz: preamp off,
50 µV; preamp on, 50 µV.
Squelch sensitivity: Not specified. At threshold, preamp on: SSB, 14 MHz,
0.28 µV; FM, 29 MHz, 0.22 µV;
52 MHz, 0.6 µV.
Audio output power: 10 dBV at 600 Ω. As specified. 4
IF/audio response: Not specified. Range at –6 dB points, (bandwidth):
CW (500 Hz): 345-856 Hz (511 Hz), **
Equivalent Rectangular BW: 499 Hz;
USB: 141-2851 Hz (2710 Hz);
LSB: 140-2850 Hz (2710 Hz);
AM: 71-3293 Hz (3222 Hz).
Image rejection: 70 dB. First IF rejection, 43 dB 5 ; image
rejection, 88 dB.
Transmitter Transmitter Dynamic Testing
Power output: HF and 50 MHz: SSB, CW, HF: CW, SSB, FM, typically 100 W high,
FM, 100 W (high); AM, 25 W (carrier) <1 W low; AM, typ. 25 W high, <1 W low;
50 MHz: CW, SSB, FM, typ 99 W high,
<1 W low; AM, typ. 25 W high, <1 W low.
Spurious and harmonic suppression: HF, 51 dB; VHF, 61 dB.
HF, >55 dB; VHF, >65 dB Meets FCC requirements.
SSB carrier suppression: >55 dB. HF, 51 dB; VHF, 54 dB.
Undesired sideband suppression: >55 dB. HF, 61 dB; VHF, 60 dB.
Third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD) 3rd/5th/7th/9th order (worst case band):
products: –33 dB PEP at 100 W on 14 MHz. HF, –34/–40/–48/–54 dB PEP;
VHF, –21/–32/–39/–40 dB PEP.
CW keyer speed range: Not specified. 1 to 60 WPM.
CW keying characteristics: Not specified. See Figures 1 and 2.
Transmit-receive turn-around time (PTT release 29 ms. 6
to 50% audio output): Not specified.
Receive-transmit turn-around time (tx delay): 25 ms. 6
Not specified.
Composite transmitted noise: Not specified.
See Figure 3.
Size (height, width, depth): 9 Ч 9.3 Ч 12.4 inches; weight, 13 pounds.
Price: FLEX-5000A, $2799; antenna tuner option, $299; RX2 second receiver, $649.
*Measurement was noise-limited at the value indicated.
**Varies with CW pitch setting.
1 The level indicated is where the sound card’s ADC went into overload. Gain compression
could not be measured because of this behavior.
2 An input level of 0 dBm was higher than the ADC overload level, so the test was not performed.
3 No IMD product could be detected.
4 Audio output is dependent on external amplified speakers.
5 Spur near the IF frequency. Note: The IF is in the audio range, so IF rejection will not
affect RF performance.
6 Measurements made with 1.6 GHz dual-core processor. Turnaround time may be faster with
higher speed CPU.
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QS0807-PR01
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
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QS0807-PR03
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really counts. The current maximum sampling
rate (more on this topic later) permits viewing
192 kHz of band spectrum, with immediate
access to both VFOs as well as to the panoply
of major functions, most common, some less
so. You access most functions via buttons,
sliders, menus and sub-menus or tabs.
“Light Years Ahead”
What the FLEX-5000A brings to the table
now is a far less complicated Amateur Radio
package that’s free of the surfeit of wires,
cables, boxes and connectors that character-
ized the SDR-1000. (Further eliminating the
need for wires is VAC [virtual audio cable],
third-party software that routes signals for
digital programs to and from the FLEX-
5000A.) As one “Flexer” remarked on the
FLEX-5000A Web site, “fit and finish are
light years ahead of the SDR-1000” and “it
looks like a professional radio.”
This ham radio system essentially consists
Figure 1 — CW keying waveform for
the FLEX-5000A showing the first two
dits in full-break-in (QSK) mode using
external keying. Equivalent keying speed
is 60 WPM. The upper trace is the actual
key closure; the lower trace is the RF
envelope. (Note that the first key closure
starts at the left edge of the figure.)
Horizontal divisions are 10 ms. The
transceiver was being operated at 100 W
output on the 14 MHz band.
Figure 3 — Spectral display of the
FLEX-5000A transmitter output during
composite-noise testing. Power output is
100 W on the 14 MHz band. The carrier, off
the left edge of the plot, is not shown. This
plot shows composite transmitted noise
100 Hz to 1 MHz from the carrier.
Figure 2 — Spectral display of the FLEX-
5000A transmitter during keying sideband
testing. Equivalent keying speed is
60 WPM using external keying. Spectrum
analyzer resolution bandwidth is 10 Hz,
and the sweep time is 30 seconds. The
transmitter was being operated at 100 W
PEP output on the 14 MHz band, and this
plot shows the transmitter output ±5 kHz
from the carrier.
QS0807-PR02
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