[Elecraft] Parting shot

[Jim Brown]

On 12/9/2010 11:34 PM, Ed Muns wrote:
>   What's right or wrong about the K3 manual is largely personal
> preference.  Some people want a training manual on radio usability.  Others
> know how radios work and simply need to know the specific K3 details.

I think most K3 users want to know

1) What functions, adjustments, and settings the radio has

2)  where to find controls for those functions, adjustments and settings

3) the nature of specialized adjustments (like AGC) that are available 
and how those adjustments affect how the radio works in a given application

4) A well organized table listing functions, adjustments, and settings, 
and where to find them, both in the manual and on the radio

IMO, the primary shortcoming of Elecraft documentation is that it is 
organized by "where the controls are" (the menus), rather than the 
function itself.  This shortcoming could be overcome without a major 
rewrite, simply by adding a GOOD index.  As an experienced K3 user, I'm 
often answering questions about "how find a control" that should be 
obvious but isn't. The second most asked question is, "why is the radio 
doing something I don't expect?", which often happens when the user has 
unintentionally operated a control that set the rig in a different mode 
(like TX TEST).   For example, NI6T, a VERY experienced operator and 
retired EE, called me to ask, "how in hell do I get this radio in split 
mode so I can call a DX station?"  Yes, it's easy, but the manual sure 
doesn't help.

The other major shortcoming of the documentation is that it fails to 
tell you things you need to know about the details of how something 
works. For example, that if the rig is in VOX mode, breathing into the 
mic will stop DVR playback.  This is CRITICAL information, yet you don't 
learn it until you buy a DVR, plug it into the radio, and try to use it 
during a contest, at which time you find it is useless if you want to 
use VOX.

73, Jim K9YC