[Elecraft] What made you decide on purchasing an Elecrafttransceiver?

[Lou Kolb]

As a ham who is totally blind, I must confess, I was a bit leery of buying a 
K3.  After all, there are certainly more accessible rigs out there, 
especially the Kenwood TS480 and 590.  The voice chip in those rigs speaks 
not only frequency and S-meter but all the menu items and their status as 
well.

However, a good friend of mine, Bob, K3Ul who is also blind and a first-rate 
DX-op to boot had a K3 and liked it so much he bought a second one to use as 
a spare.  That, plus the fact that I had heard of Elecraft's intention to 
make voice readout available via the DVR tipped the scales in Elecraft's 
favor and I took the plunge last May.

Performance wise, I have no complaints.  Though neither contester nor 
DX-chaser, I love CW and work about 50 per cent cw and 50 per cent SSB. 
With direct frequency entry and most of the everyday operations available on 
the front panel, I've done well enough, but remain frustrated at the lack of 
access to the menus.  Elecraft has provided some help via K3 voice, a 
program which gives access to S-meter readings, frequency readout and 
several other useful items but no menu.  Also, they used an odd aproach by 
making K3 voice a self-voicing program where all the output is done by means 
of recorded announcements.  Perhaps there were reasons I'm not aware of for 
doing this but it unnecessarily complicates things as those of us who are 
blind use screen reading software.  If output is properly displayed on the 
screen, the screen reader speaks the information eliminating the need for 
someone to record any possible output.

I believe the fact that Elecraft has given us K3 Voice demonstrates their 
willingness to provide solutions to those of us who are blind or visually 
impaired.  I also apreciate that we are a tiny per centage of their customer 
base and that they need to spend most of their time and resources doing 
what's best for business and catering to the 99 per cent of their users who 
are sighted.  Understandable, but frustrating to those of us who need access 
and are not willing to compromise on performance.  I know of at least one 
blind op who was very high on Elecraft and whom, I believe, was actually in 
consultation with them on these issues.  However, after several of his 
correspondences to them went unanswered, he tired of waiting, sold his K3 
and bought a 590 instead.  K3UL, whom I mentioned above, also bought a 590 
and, while he still has and loves his K3's, is delighted with the access the 
Kenwood voice chip provides.  Most of us, myself included, are in a position 
to have only one rig.  So here is my suggestion.  Any programmers out there 
who might be willing to work on a speech-friendly program that would give 
access to the K3's menus?  How about it guys and gals?  Up for a challenge? 
Thanks for your consideration.  Lou WA3MIX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Burdick" <n6kr at elecraft.com>
To: <Elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] What made you decide on purchasing an 
Elecrafttransceiver?


> I'm on a little 2-day vacation up in Bear Valley, CA, with Lillian and the 
> kids. I'm not allowed to work, but I've really enjoyed reading this 
> thread. (Who wouldn't?)
>
> Thanks, everyone.... With your help, we hope our future products will also 
> earn such praise.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
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