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

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/29/06 8:33:49 AM Eastern Daylight Time, aa4lr at arrl.net 
writes:


> 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.

I'd go even bigger, because I have big hands. Tuning knob should be in excess 
of 2". other knobs in excess of 1". Say 2-1/2" for the tuning and 1" for 
everything else. Yes, that's big!

> 
> 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).

Good ideas. Or there could be a switch or button with, say, 4 programmable 
power levels that you'd cycle through.

On the K2 I run 5 W for contests and full blast for most other stuff. 

> 
> 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)
> 

Some form of dedicated bandswitch

Some form of dedicated filter selector

Some form of dedicated AGC selector


> 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.

They seem small to me, but that's because I have....

 I  
> 
> certainly agree that the dual-function nature of the K2 buttons is  
> pretty hard to get used to at first. 

I found it easy to get used to. It's not as convenient as dedicated controls 
but it's the best way I've seen of getting the most from the limited number of 
buttons.

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).
> 

The K2 display is a stock item, not custom. The display was designed around 
the available indicators. 

Perhaps a 'K2BIG' could use two of them - one for each VFO?

> 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.
> 

The existing K2 front panel and ergonomics are a masterpiece for putting the 
most in the given space, IMHO. Going bigger would require a lot of thought and 
development. If we're gping to go bigger, might as well go all the way.

73 de Jim, N2EY