[Elecraft] Wha'ts Wrong With Our Radios (WAS:NewProducts, Building Demo, ...

[Bill Coleman]

On May 28, 2006, at 10:47 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:

> We end up with something perhaps 10 X 18
> inches. Now we build the radio behind it. A transceiver like the  
> K2/100
> probably wouldn't require more than an inch or two deep covering an  
> area
> that large. Put everything on one huge PC board so all the parts  
> are easily
> accessible for service and general "poking around". Now to put in  
> in a good
> position for human operation. Hold it up at about a 50 to 80 degree  
> angle to
> the desk. Use a "foot" at the bottom not unlike flat panel  
> displays. Put the
> power/antenna/key/mic/computer/etc connectors in the foot so the  
> cables run
> directly off the desk.

This sounds a lot like the most recent iMac design, which basically  
looks like a 5 cm thick flat panel display. (look ma, where's the  
computer?)

10 x 18 inches seems huge. Let's see if we can define a few  
parameters. How small can knobs get and still be comfortably  
manipulated by normal hands? Seems like the standard radios in my  
youth all had 1/2" diameter knobs, and they were spaced at least 1  
3/4" inches apart or more. So, the ones on the K2 are probably too  
small, and too close together.

How many knobs do we need? If we use the K2 as an example we have:  
main tuning, RIT/XIT offset, AF Gain, Keyer speed, RF Gain, Power. I  
would argue that I don't need power in a knob. It could easily be,  
for me, a menu setting. (Or maybe something where I hold down one  
button down and rotate the big knob to set) I don't change my power  
level that often. It's usually set to 100 watts or 25-60 watts (if  
I'm running RTTY or powering the amp).

What other knobs would you have on a K2-like radio? (I would have the  
RIT/XIT offset by an encoder, instead of a pot, but I can't think of  
anything else I need as a knob)

What are the parameters for the buttons? Seems like the K2 buttons  
are plenty big enough to me, and they are spaced appropriately,  
although it might be easier if they were a few mm further apart. I  
certainly agree that the dual-function nature of the K2 buttons is  
pretty hard to get used to at first. One problem I continue to have  
is trying to press a secondary function repeatedly in order to step  
through the options. For example, if I press AFIL several times to  
select the DSP filter I want, sometimes I change XFIL. I think the  
rule should be no secondary functions that have a sequence -- that  
eliminates the repeated key-presses.

Probably the biggest killer for a K2-like radio is display size. The  
K2 doesn't have quite enough indicators for my tastes. It's missing  
indicators for AGC state, filter state, dsp state (filter, notch,  
NR). And some of the indicators it has are too subtle - split state,  
NB threshold. It also might be nice to show the second VFO frequency,  
the RANT selection, the selected power level (especially if we  
eliminated the knob above).

Even if we do all that, it seems that a K2-like radio would have a  
front panel 3-4x the current size. I don't think that's as big as  
18x10 inches.

Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901