[Elecraft] KIO2 "Gotcha's" and "Trip Wires"?

[Guy Olinger, K2AV]

> The Elecraft instruction manuals are VERY good, but the warnings
about not
> using a standard serial cable were evidently  not strong enough.
Tom's
> document includes those warning in bold colors - I would suggest
reading
> that document if one has a KIO2 or the KPA100.

Human Factors studies on why people miss this kind of thing, for
explanation tend to center on information overload as one cause, and
how we learn as another.

If one is looking for one thing reading through difficult material
(such as a construction manual for a K2) then one will probably find
the one thing and remember the answer. But if the exercise is an
attempt to dump everything into one's brain and remember it all
(funnel mode), what one remembers, and not, is quite random.

The best learning of new things occurs when they have some
relationship with something we already know well. Some sense of
emotional urgency improves learning further. The latter seems to occur
AFTER we have smoked the K2, not before.

These two basic limitations do not disappear based upon trying hard or
not, reading "carefully" or not, being "intelligent" or not, or upon
the presence of any number of worthwhile attributes we assign to
others, or not.

It seems to be a species related natural limitation like only two
hands, no eyes in the back of the head, etc.

The BEST two ways to deal with it would be:

1) a mechanical fail/safe that is part of the normal construction, as
in some ideas already posted.

2) improving the normal circuitry itself, so that it simply withstands
the incorrect connection, and does nothing, waiting for the operator
to discover that the connection clearly does not work like they think
it does, and correct it.

The only reason the warning works for me is because I have already
carbonized radios and PC motherboards making plug vs. socket errors,
and I have the sense of "emotional urgency" for the warning to
connect.

As excellent as it is, the first time I tried to read the entire K2
manual I got this huge headache. There is a LOT of stuff in it.
Funnel-to-the-brain mode does not work.

73, Guy.