[Elecraft] New products

[John]

Ha, Elecraft needs to progress at some stage, or get left behind.

Touch screen UI is and has been extensively used - 3 billion touch screen smart phones
out there, 1.2 billion touch screen tablets. I can see you all reaching for your keyboards
to protest that phones and tablets are not the same thing. Well, touch screen UI have
also moved over to commercial products, the military and airline pilots also use touch screen
UI communication devices. If they are good enough to be used on commercial aircraft
and in military applications, then it sure is good enough for ham radio.
Touch screen UI panels having become so prolific, that they have dropped the cost enormously,
resolution is picture sharp and reliability is extremely good. 
Touch screens have huge potential, and almost unlimited versatility. If you need more knobs 
or buttons on your rig, due to new features having been added……no problem with a touch screen.
Just a firmware update to add a knob, button, slider or meter onto the screen.
The problem with conventional rigs, is you run out of physical knobs and buttons when features
are added to the radio. I see this in my KX3 - some knobs have three functions, and to try and
remember what each knobs second or third function does, becomes difficult.

Food for thought :-)

73
John




On 5 Jun 2016, at 10:13 PM, Amateur Radio Operator N5GE <n5ge at n5ge.com> wrote:

Don,

I suspect that having redesigned a rig with touch screen
capability the manufacturer would, in a short period of time realize
the error of their ways.  Hopfully they would still have enough
capital to revert to the original design and fire the person
responsible for the change.

On Sun, 5 Jun 2016 15:37:42 -0400, you wrote:

> Lynn,
> 
> Please tell us how a touchscreen interface can enhance usability for 
> blind operators.
> Elecraft has made a commitment for such usability for all their radios 
> with those blind operators particularly in mind.
> A GUI interface means nothing to those who cannot see it.
> 
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
> 
> On 6/5/2016 3:16 PM, Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT wrote:
>> A radio with only physical knobs and buttons severely limits future 
>> upgradability, and leads to crazy button combinations to turn things 
>> on and off that weren't even a dream when the radio was originally 
>> released.
>> 
>> Touch screens may not be always convenient, but they're much more 
>> flexible than a silk-screened metal panel.
>> 
>> I realize that knobs and buttons are a religion for some, but it's 
>> really time to lighten up, folks.
>> 
>> Either that or for Elecraft to release a rig with a whole bunch of 
>> "empty" buttons and sell stickers to update the front panel when the 
>> firmware grows to need them.
>> 
>> On 6/5/2016 10:18 AM, Buddy Brannan wrote:
>>> Also, can we pllease, for the love of all that is holy, not do the 
>>> touch screen GUI? At least, not an exclusively touch
>> 
>> 
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