‰ NOW 30 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM SEPTEMBER 2013 QST PAGE 50‰ FIFI WITH RELATIVE EASE FIGURE 4. THE ONLY CUMBERSOME PART OF THE EXERCISE INVOLVED ALL THE CABLES AND ADAPTERS DANGLING OFF THE IPAD, NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT I STILL HAD TO PLUG THE FIFI USB CABLE INTO MY COMPUTER TO POWER THE RADIO. THE FIFI EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU ATTACH A USB CABLE BETWEEN FIFI AND YOUR COMPUTER, THE FRONT PANEL LED BEGINS TO BLINK THERE IS NO ON/OFF SWITCH. THIS MEANS THAT FIFIS MICROCONTROLLER HAS STARTED UP. NEXT, YOU FIRE UP YOUR CHOSEN SOFTWARE AND START LISTENING. IN A CRUDE A/B COMPARISON WITH MY KENWOOD TS 2000 TRANSCEIVER, FIFI COULD HEAR ANYTHING THE TS 2000 COULD, AND AT ABOUT THE SAME STRENGTH. OF COURSE, THE TRUE PERFORMANCE IS DETAILED IN THE ARRL LAB RESULTS YOULL SEE IN TABLE 1. ONE THING I NOTICED WAS THAT EVEN WITH THE HELP OF THE PRESELECTOR, FIFI TENDED TO BE OVERWHELMED BY STRONG SIGNALS. THIS WASNT A PROBLEM MOST OF THE TIME IT ONLY BECAME APPARENT WHEN TUNING THROUGH THE AMATEUR BANDS DURING CONTESTS WITH SEVERAL STRONG SIGNALS IN PROXIMITY. OTHERWISE, I CONSISTENTLY FOUND FIFI TO BE A PLEASURE TO OPERATE. AND LIKE MOST SOFTWARE DEFINED RECEIVERS, FIFI IS UPGRADABLE. WHEN YOU HOLD DOWN THE ‰ END OF 30 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ