Flexradio 6300 review (6 months on)

A repeat review (last time 1/5) after waiting another 6 months for SSDR to evolve and after sending my 6300 for repair due a cpu fan failure. The main problem with the software (Smart SDR) is that it evolves very slowly. I'm not talking about new features, I'm talking about fixing bugs which have plagued users for years. The trouble seems to be that different hardware units behave differently with the same version of SSDR software/firmware mix. This means that sometimes the bug needs several fixes before being fixed for everyone. Different sets of users cry with every version of SSDR so much so I wonder about the quality of the development process. The time between a bug being reported and it being fixed is not dependant on the complexity of the bug, but rather on Flex's own internal development prioritisation. An example of this was the maestro being developed despite a long list of outstanding bugs in the original system. Of course the new Maestro SSDR version caused new bugs and these are being fixed now. New features are rare however, as the job (even after all these years) is still to get the original promised features working effectively. The main problem with the hardware is the racket of the fan which runs constantly. If you imagine putting this transceiver on a desk beside your operating position you'd better have a good pair of noise cancelling headphones ready. This is not just my unit (yes I do own one ;-)) but most other users I have spoken to on air agree. I feel the company are getting there and they definately care about the user base (being radio hams themselves), but they do not seem to have the development talent to get things right first time on time. I'm sure that given time (near future) new users will enjoy a fully working product (I'm still hoping to get an effective noise blanker). The receiver is sensitive, but the noise floor tends to bounce up and down covering weak stations during contests etc. The transmitter tends to output less than 100w and SSDR shows worrying large repeating off frequency spikes (admittedly of a low level) during cw transmission (this effect seems to grow with frequency, 6m being worst). The stability of the system is very much dependant on your desktop PC and home network and your knowledge of it's operation eg. CW transmission starts misbehaving, access your windows task manager and increase priorities for SSDR and decrease priorities of any other software running - of course!). If you are operating remotely, panafall freezing and audio "motor boating" are commonplace, due to latency/buffering, but be assured it is your faithfull wireless routers fault... However the architecture of the 6000 series would suggest these kind of problems are less likely than in some of the competitor products. I am gratefull to Flexradio for bringing us hams these cutting edge products and in the true spirit of ham radio buyers be ready and willing to learn new skills in computer operating systems and networking to get the most out of it. My score of 4/5 is based on an excellent transceiver performance for modest antennas setups (simple wire antennas) in non contesting conditions. It doesn't get a 5 due to the effectiveness of some of SSDR's facilities e.g. NB, NR etc all of which are bested by the big 3.