[Elecraft] Band button

[David Yarnes]

Brian,

While I see your point clearly, I'm not sure it holds up 
under what has been the "convention" just about forever.  At 
first blush it does seem to be contradictory. Yes, the band 
numbers actually do go down, rather than up, as frequency 
increases.  However, We have always considered 20 meters, 
for example, to be a "higher" band than 40 meters.  We think 
of 10, 15, and 20 as the "high bands", and 40, 80, and 160 
as the lower bands.  That's because in actuality, the 
reference is not to the band number, or wavelength, being 
higher, but to the "band of frequencies" (in khz and mhz), 
which are indeed higher.  In other words, it's just 
shorthand.  In fact, the term "band" is often thought of, 
not just in terms of wavelength, but in terms of frequency. 
If you ask someone what "band" they like to operate on, for 
example, they commonly respond with a frequency reference, 
like 7 mhz.  Also, I'd be willing to bet that you yourself 
refer to 20 or10 meters as a high band, and not a low band, 
when you are making a comparison to the lower frequency 
bands.

In any event, you aren't going to convince very many people 
to change their ways at this point.  Whether it's totally 
logical or not, it is the commonly accepted convention.  And 
it's the accepted reference world-wide.  So, unfortunately, 
you are Don Quixote at the windmill!  Just imagine if ON4UN 
had to issue an apology to the world for having mis-titled 
his classic antenna book about "Low Band DXing".  Just about 
everything between the covers is about 40, 80, and 160 
meters!

Good try, but no sale!

Dave W7AQK

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brian Alsop" <alsopb at nc.rr.com>
To: <w3fpr at arrl.net>
Cc: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 5:54 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Band button


> Don ,
>
> I agree we think in bands.  That's why the band button 
> arrows ought to do the right thing.
>
> Here is the situation now:
> I want to go from 20 to 10 meters.  I have to press the 
> DOWN button to go from 10 -->20.  Doesn't makes sense by 
> any thought process.
> Last I knew they still teach counting UP as  0, 1, 2, 3 
> ....10.... 20.
>
> The DOWN arrow changes FREQUENCY down.    That's why 
> frequency is the right label.
>
> Sure it is a nit.  However, more than half the time I end 
> up going the wrong direction because I think in bands and 
> conventional count directions..
>
> 73 de Brian/K3KO
>
>
>
> Don Wilhelm wrote:
>
>> Your lexicon must be quite different than mine.  In my 54 
>> years of association with ham radio, we have had Amateur 
>> "Bands".  Why would one want to label the device that 
>> changes between these bands as a "frequency" switch?  The 
>> VFO changes frequency, the band switch changes bands.
>>
>> You are free to re-label yours -- just don't do the same 
>> to mine.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> K3KO wrote:
>>
>>> This isn't just the K3.  Other radios have the same 
>>> problem.   It seems to be
>>> a mistake that persisted through the years.
>>>
>>> The button marked "band" with up and down arrows really 
>>> is frequency.
>>>
>>> You push the up arrow and the band goes down.  Press 
>>> down arrow and band
>>> goes up.
>>>
>>> It would be nice to have this fixed in the K3.  No hope 
>>> for other radios.
>>>
>>> Right now I have a white sticky label with freq on it 
>>> pasted over the band
>>> marking.
>>>
>>
>>
>
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