Preface
Welcome to the exciting world of software defined radio. The FLEX-5000
™
transceiver is the culmination of many years of experience gained with FlexRadio's ground breaking
SDR-1000
™
transceiver. The experience gained and lessons learned have resulted in an SDR platform
that is truly state of the art, offering unsurpassed Amateur Radio performance. And unlike most other
transceivers, which once acquired, rarely if ever change, the FLEX-5000 will continue to (rapidly)
evolve, offering future capabilities currently only dreamed of.
Although the rapid development of the FLEX-5000 can be exhilarating, it can also be somewhat
daunting. When first confronted with an FLEX-5000 and its PowerSDR
™
operating software, the sheer
number of connections, controls, and settings can seem mind boggling even to the most seasoned
Ham radio operator. This operating manual attempts to both guide a user step by step through the
setup process (both hardware and software) and to act as a reference once the radio has been set up.
Additionally, the freely downloadable PowerSDR software will install with default settings that, in most
cases, will require little adjustment. Any adjustments that you make are automatically saved and can
be imported into an updated version of the software.
Due to the nature of the FLEX-5000, the largest part of this operating manual, by far, will refer to
software. The operating manual has numerous screenshots of windows and forms to detail the various
steps. Although the manual describes the latest official release of the PowerSDR software, you may
occasionally notice an earlier version identified in the title bar of a screenshot. This is because FlexRadio
Systems
®
has decided to only update a screenshot if it changes. If you have any ideas on how to
improve the FLEX-5000, please feel free to contact us, or better still, to join our email reflector (see
http://kc.flex-radio.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50024.aspx
). Not only is the FLEX-5000 a software
defined radio; it is also a user defined radio.
FlexRadio Systems is committed to ensuring that your experience with the FLEX-5000 will be one of the
most enjoyable you have with Ham radio. If you have any questions, issues or problems operating
PowerSDR and/or the FLEX-5000, you may be able to find the solution on the Support Pages of our
website (
http://support.flex-radio.com/
), or through our highly active email
reflector (
http://kc.flex-radio.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50024.aspx
). If none of these sources provide
you the assistance required, please contact FlexRadio Systems using the information provided on the
Contact Page of our website (
http://www.flex-radio.com/About.aspx?topic=contactus
).
1
FlexRadio Systems is a registered trademark of Bronze Bear Communications, Inc. DBA FlexRadio Systems. The FlexRadio
Systems Waves Design (logo), SDR-1000, FLEX-5000 and the FLEX-5000 logo, FlexWire, ClickTune, MultiRX, PanaFall and
PanaScope are trademarks of FlexRadio Systems.
xi
2003-2008 FlexRadio Systems
