[Elecraft] New products

[Matt Zilmer]

Just a benign note.  Primary aircraft engine controls will probably 
always be manual and "hard".  Procedures will always have paper backups, 
even if the manuals are also available via the glass in the flight 
deck.  Most navigation and related functions are already primary on 
touch, or at least "soft switches" aligned with the touchscreen, but I 
believe the FAA has requirements about hard instruments as backup (and 
primary instruments always will be).  I know nothing about military 
aviation requirements, but often their aircraft are more conservative in 
design than civilian equipment.

Touch screen controls are standard fare in consumer electronics, and one 
of the main reasons is that such devices are flexible in use cases and 
not very expensive.  Hard controls have a fixed cost structure.  
Consumer electronics are on a declining cost curve.

Note: I am an Elecraft employee.

73,

matt W6NIA


On 6/6/2016 5:52 PM, Kevin Stover wrote:
> I agree totally.
>
> One thing I never hope to see and thankfully probably won't is a pilot 
> reaching for a touch screen while the aircraft is doing + or - 50ft 
> "hops" in turbulence. Touch the screen to reduce thrust, slip of the 
> finger and the engines shut off.
> What's the procedure for restarting engines in turbulence like that? 
> Wanna try that with a touch screen?
>
> BTW, I'm the legally blind ham. Never did I mention in ANY email to 
> this list pilots or cockpits, military or commercial...PERIOD. Some of 
> you might do better focusing on your email editing and keyboard skills 
> and forget the touch screens. The local community college probably has 
> beginner computer classes available for continuing education credits.
>
> I'm done.
>
>
> On 6/6/2016 12:18 PM, len at ka7ftp.com wrote:
>> As a developer of both hardware and software products that use touch 
>> screens
>> I have mixed feelings.
>>
>> My number one gripe with soft environments is the tendency to 
>> continually
>> modify the environment and jam more and more functionality into the same
>> footprint.  This either needs to be done with width or depth, take your
>> pick.  Both Apple and Windows are horrible abusers.  Every new 
>> version of
>> their software requires users to hunt down functions that have been 
>> moved or
>> crammed down.  Functions that were originally intuitive are now 
>> obfuscated
>> in the name of progress. Lack of consistency is extremely frustrating 
>> for
>> most users.
>>
>> Today because of the ease of soft environments it seems that 
>> companies feel
>> compelled to continually bring a "new look" to each software revision of
>> their website or product.  How many of you think Yahoo scored a home run
>> with NEO?  In my opinion NEO is an absolute disaster.  But corporate 
>> egos
>> won't allow users out.  How would you like someone mucking with your 
>> beloved
>> radio in the name of pretty progress.  I'll take consistency over 
>> pretty and
>> modern every time.  I'm buying a radio, I don't want an iPhone clone, 
>> or an
>> Icom clone, I want my KX3 to look and exactly like the KX3 I bought.  I
>> trust the engineers at Elecraft to make acceptable and necessary 
>> upgrades
>> for functionality.  I also trust that they are not going to ruin a great
>> radio in the name of glitter..
>>
>> It has been pointed out previously in this thread that all of Elecraft's
>> radios can be easily connected to a computer for computer control.  Not
>> everything in the world needs to be integrated, and often doing so 
>> creates
>> compromises that are much more difficult to live with and limit the 
>> lifetime
>> of a product.  I'm tickled pink with my Elecraft products and don't 
>> feel the
>> need for them to emulate anyone else to keep me as a customer! We 
>> shouldn't
>> be compelled to buy a radio every two years like we do with cell 
>> phones.  My
>> expectation is to buy a product that will function for many years, and
>> possibly a decade or more.  I would rather have multiple Elecraft 
>> products
>> rather than one that pretends to be all things to all people.
>>
>> 73
>>
>> len
>>
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>
>

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