[Elecraft] A way to show both "SPLIT" and "NON-SPLIT" warnings

[Wayne Burdick]

User interface design is often called upon to make up for human failings. We get distracted, we forget, we have trouble breaking bad habits, we easily acquire new ones. This is true no matter how much training we have. The designer tries to take such issues into account up front, but sometimes we find out later and make adjustments.

My cognitive science professor, Don Norman, put a heavy emphasis on embedding knowledge "in the world." Signs and indicators need to be as unambiguous as possible to help those of us who can't or won't pay attention. Ideally the indications are intuitive, so users adapt to them easily and don't feel oppressed by them. That distinction is in play here. And while I'd love to add a dozen more LEDs, a klaxon horn, and a Van de Graf generator to the K3's user interface, we have to work within the limits of the existing hardware.

Providing an optional means of reinforcing split/non-split state is in the tradition of design iteration -- using feedback about real errors that people make, then minimizing them. That's why we're having this conversation.

Wayne
N6KR