Latest news of the FX-4CR and my dialog with Yu

Yu BG2FX and I have exchanged a lot of emails over the past week; all of them cordial and respectful - and with an increasing amount of understanding taking place.

For my part, I ultimately wanted to understand how a designer could offer up a radio with flaws that were obvious, as well as others that were not so obvious (RF spur, CW issues). These are things beta-testing normally takes care of.

Yu is currently having 500 PC boards in the FX-4CR re-worked. Forty people who received the problematic boards are being asked to send them back, at Yu's expense, for modification.

With our email dialog being personable and friendly, I felt comfortable asking outright: How did this happen?

I really don't know what I was expecting to hear as an answer, but Yu's heartfelt reply struck a chord in me with his transparency and with his willingness to allow me to share it here. Thank you, Yu.

I have every expectation that the FX-4CR will quickly evolve into the radio I was hoping for.

Firmware updates will fix some issues; the re-worked board will fix others. And I've sent Yu my (very short) list of mostly ergonomic changes he might consider. I won't bother with the details of that list here except to say that they are all firmware fixable.

Yu's response to my question:

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I understand what you're saying, but I can't. I was alone, and I made mistakes even when assembling the FX-4CR, such as forgetting to install the amplifier module and forgetting to adjust the current. I work like an assembly line of one person, I even wonder how such a stupid problem can happen, but it does happen. This is just one example. And these RIT defect issues that you mentioned. You know the whole FX-4CR requires a lot of logic, and yes, I'll test it while debugging, and it looks normal.

Then I would ignore this RIT because it is normal. Then I spent all the time testing other operations, and after dozens of firmware changes, RIT may have been re-affected and changed long ago [unintentionally]. But I still didn't pay attention to it, because before that, I judged it to be normal. Because I'm not a real operator, I don't know CW operations. A long time ago, I tried to get someone else to help test other products. In fact, it does not do much. Many defects were not found.

I only have one programmer, and this programmer, like me, is a farmer. But programmers rarely operate commercial shortwave radios, so he is very unfamiliar with the operation functions of shortwave radios, and many operation logic is written according to his own ideas, and it can be said that some operating logic is anti-human. I had to correct him, but sometimes he was very stubborn. I don't think I'm a particularly logical and planning person, and I'm not even as good as most DIY makers.

I feel tired every day now, mentally, to assemble FX-4CR, to solve various problems, to purchase more components, to package and ship, to record the delivery address and phone number of each order in detail, to avoid errors.

So what you said, why not solve these problems before shipping. Yes. That's what I want to do. But maybe it can be done in the next year, is that really the case? Won't there be another problem in the next year's time?

I'm not a business, I'm not a communications equipment manufacturer, I'm like many DIY product authors, find problems to solve. If the firmware is defective, fix it. The FX-4CR is not perfect, and maybe many people will hate it，I can only try to do my best, I can't satisfy everyone, and I can't make everyone like it.

I thank you for finding the problem and letting me fix it. I wish you all the best.
    

73,
YU BG2FX

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As I said, the transparency of Yu's reply illustrates the human element in the process of radio design, radio marketing and the cultural differences that come into play when trying to present a finished product to a global market.

It's obvious that Yu is working hard to produce a transceiver that will be well-received.

Based on receiver performance, he is on the cusp of bringing a truly awesome radio to the hobby. And with POTA becoming so incredibly popular, the upcoming Gen 2 of the FX-4CR is going to become the go-to rig for many.

There is an FX-4CR in my future, once these things are ironed out.

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