Apache News Dec 2019

[w-u-2-o]

All,

With all the rumors and such flying around, and people asking me on the air what I knew, which was nothing , I took it upon myself to go right to the horse's mouth to find out what is going on. This is what I got from Apache (posted here with permission).

Current status:

- Gigaparts is no longer an Apache distributor.
- HRO will continue to distribute Apache products.
- The 7000 MKII production continues, and while HRO is currently sold out more are on the way to HRO.
- The 7000 MKII is available right now directly from Apache, with orders placed in December getting free shipping. See the Apache website for more details.
- It appears that the rest of the old product line (e.g. 7000's with internal PCs, 8000's, piHPSDR controllers, etc.) are discontinued.

Future products under development:

- "Project Runnymede"; this will be a 500W version of the 7000 MKII. Not a lot of information here yet, not sure what it will look like. My personal guess is that it will look a lot like the old 8000 and will require an external 48VDC powers supply, one of the commercial off the shelf high current switchers that are very popular in the hobbyist LDMOS amp realm right now.

- "Project Andromeda"; this will be a completely integrated, stand-alone SDR that includes a 7" touch screen, some knobs and buttons, and an internal Windows 10 PC. This will be perfect for those people who like the Flex "M" form factor and who want everything in one box.

- piHPSDR Controller Version 2; I have no info. on what the differences will be. It will have a revised front panel (see below). Just guessing that it might have one of the newer Pi versions inside--not sure.

Please, do NOT ask me about schedules. I was not provided any information about schedules and don't know!

Teaser image of Andromeda front panel (this could change):

Capture.JPG (45.13 KiB) Viewed 16528 times

Teaser image of piHPSDR Controller v2 (this could change):

Controller v2.jpg (2.84 MiB) Viewed 16528 times

73,

Scott

[W1AEX]

Thank you Scott! Great news and lots to look forward to! 73, Rob W1AEX

[Tony EI7BMB]

Thanks for the info Scott . Have to wonder though why Apache themselves do not post this info and perhaps tell us why the 8000 MK2 disappeared ?

[G8VR]

Do we know why the 7Km2 has gone back in the old casing? I thought the new casing improved airflow and put the LAN connector on the back, which is what 99% of customers surely want?

[w-u-2-o]

My guess is that it was a design-to-cost decision, with the smaller chassis reducing production cost and therefore retail price.

[w9ac]

Do we know why the 7Km2 has gone back in the old casing? I thought the new casing improved airflow and put the LAN connector on the back, which is what 99% of customers surely want?

Having owned the 200D and 7000DLE, the latter runs substantially cooler during high duty cycle modes and I use no external cooling. I prefer the older case style and also prefer the Ethernet port on the front panel where link activity is easily observed.

The new 7000DLE MKII in the black case with recessed hex screws looks fantastic to me.

I keep hoping for a new remote panel from Apache with all the ergonomics of the Flex Maestro. When I owned a Flex and Maestro, it was beset with several operating issues, but IMHO, the panel layout is superb.

Paul, W9AC

[W4WMT]

Hi All,

Just received my new black-face 7000 MKII directly from Apache Labs in Victoria Australia. On their website, with PayPal checkout, the whole process took less than three minutes, and required no account creation or account login. The stated lead time of two weeks for new orders was met with an email from DHL on Tuesday with my tracking number. The rig was delivered, in fine shape, to my office in Georgia USA on Friday.

Other than the changes mentioned above by W9AC: The front panel (push-button) power switch has been replaced by a rocker style switch and the little rack handles in front are smaller than before. As with the latter production blue-face 7000's, the fan now runs at a higher speed without the pleasant little "rattle" it made in the earlier models.

The rig powered up and ran just fine right out of the box with no issues whatsoever.

73, Bryan W4WMT

[G8VR]

That's great.

I have a MK1 7kdle but had considered buying a mk2 for the reasons I questioned. I wondered why the casing had been 're-issued' shall we say. The LAN cable gets in the way in the 'trad' casing and when you see pictures of Anan's you almost always see that cable bent back because it's very unlikely it's being plugged into something in front of the radio.

If you are happy - great.

[W4GM]

Planning on buying a Black Face 7000 MKII. I now have the 7000DLE. So my question is are the 2 rigs footprints the same size? I thought the MarkII had a larger case, but from I’m reading it appears they are the same size.

So can somebody please help me by providing the
Updates made with the MarkII version over the DLE.


Thanks,
Mike

[w-u-2-o]

As far as I know, there are very few differences between a 7000DLE, a 7000DLE MKII with built-in PC, and 7000DLE MKII in the black case (and no PC).

I believe they all use the latest variant Orion MKII SDR board with the step attenuator on the TX path.

They all provide preselectors for both ADC0 and ADC1.

The amp's and RF switching boards are all essentially the same.

The only differences are variations in thermal design, chassis design (size and/or front panel connectors), and the presence or absence of an built-in PC.

[W4GM]

Scott,

Thanks for the info! Trying to convince myself to purchase the 7000 Mark II. My 7000dle is working great Is the upgrade worth the investment?


Thanks,
Mike

[G8VR]

Further to our discussions above, were the earlier 7000mk2's in the bigger casing not rated higher for digital modes than their earlier predecessors and now later cased replacements? I have a blue case faced 7k Mk1 and I think this can do or is rated at 30w digital, but seem to recall (or more accurately have been told) big case mk2's cd do 50w?

Thanks for any replies.

[airman1952]

What is the longest wait for acquiring a new Anan? I've had a 7000dle mkII i7 on order from HRO for a month, now. Still waiting. Probably just impatient on my part...

[rbduck]

I waited about six weeks for mine. That was at Christmas. Yes, I understand great anticipation. I was like a kid at Christmas. Oh yea, I was a kid at Christmas!

[airman1952]

I waited about six weeks for mine. That was at Christmas. Yes, I understand great anticipation. I was like a kid at Christmas. Oh yea, I was a kid at Christmas!

Thanks Ruben! That gives me some kind of an idea. I see Apache's website went from a two week lead time to a three week made to order on them. I'll just have to wait..

Gary
W7TRP

[w2ner]

All,

With all the rumors and such flying around, and people asking me on the air what I knew, which was nothing , I took it upon myself to go right to the horse's mouth to find out what is going on. This is what I got from Apache (posted here with permission).

Current status:

- Gigaparts is no longer an Apache distributor.
- HRO will continue to distribute Apache products.
- The 7000 MKII production continues, and while HRO is currently sold out more are on the way to HRO.
- The 7000 MKII is available right now directly from Apache, with orders placed in December getting free shipping. See the Apache website for more details.
- It appears that the rest of the old product line (e.g. 7000's with internal PCs, 8000's, piHPSDR controllers, etc.) are discontinued.

Future products under development:

- "Project Runnymede"; this will be a 500W version of the 7000 MKII. Not a lot of information here yet, not sure what it will look like. My personal guess is that it will look a lot like the old 8000 and will require an external 48VDC powers supply, one of the commercial off the shelf high current switchers that are very popular in the hobbyist LDMOS amp realm right now.

- "Project Andromeda"; this will be a completely integrated, stand-alone SDR that includes a 7" touch screen, some knobs and buttons, and an internal Windows 10 PC. This will be perfect for those people who like the Flex "M" form factor and who want everything in one box.

- piHPSDR Controller Version 2; I have no info. on what the differences will be. It will have a revised front panel (see below). Just guessing that it might have one of the newer Pi versions inside--not sure.

Please, do NOT ask me about schedules. I was not provided any information about schedules and don't know!

Teaser image of Andromeda front panel (this could change):

Capture.JPG

Teaser image of piHPSDR Controller v2 (this could change):

Controller v2.jpg

73,

Scott

It would be great to see these available, looks like it will be a long time till this sees the light of day I think.

[administrator]

Here is a link to the Controller v2 prototype:

https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/ ... e=5E910272

**Dual Receive with independent Panadapter/waterfall
**PureSignal Predistortion Supported
**Diversity Receive
**Supports latest Noise mitigation NR2 & Spectral Noise Blanker
**User configurable functions to all knobs & Buttons
**Gigabit Ethernet/USB 3.0/USB 2.0/HDMI Ports

ETA and Pricing to be updated shortly.

[w2ner]

Here is a link to the Controller v2 prototype:

https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/ ... e=5E910272

**Dual Receive with independent Panadapter/waterfall
**PureSignal Predistortion Supported
**Diversity Receive
**Supports latest Noise mitigation NR2 & Spectral Noise Blanker
**User configurable functions to all knobs & Buttons
**Gigabit Ethernet/USB 3.0/USB 2.0/HDMI Ports

ETA and Pricing to be updated shortly.

Thank you.. Site must be down, no response.

[administrator]

Try here:

https://qrznow.com/new-controller-for-a ... an-radios/

[w2ner]

Try here:

https://qrznow.com/new-controller-for-a ... an-radios/

That works, thanks! Nice!!