[TenTec] Programming bugs

[Stuart Rohre]

George, good points, but with 3 Icom 756 Pro IIs (or more) in our lab
programs for various telemetry projects;
I HAVE seen inconsistent, undocumented problems with two of them, so I
remain unconvinced the Icom is any better tested then Orion.

Pushed to some limits, I believe a given user can find a problem with some
way he uses any radio.   Certainly our near by overload of the Icom by
digital transmissions was an extreme operating condition not suffered in the
usual ham home use.  The other failure was also with  digital formats.
They push the design of any radio  Now, manufacturers do have to anticipate
how hams will use their radios; but hams have an uncanny talent for trying
just that much more than even the best design department can anticipate.

It is a good observation that how do you test software for every possible
signal condition and band performance in a time of changing propagation and
the rush to market?  That is pretty hard to model and no model beats on the
air use, (and abuse).  The amount of testing to cover every condition and
eventuality may be too costly to implement.   Sales departments are always
trying to push product, (not just ham radios) out the door; engineering is
saying, "wait, just one more thing to try"----
We see it in the research lab with problems in $100,000 instrumentation.
About the time I modify them to work well, the equipment is replaced with
another $100,000 box with another set of problems.

My overall view is that society is beginning to accept software bugs in
order to enjoy the many things you can do with computers (when they work
right), that you could not do years ago.  That goes against a lot of our
quality oriented souls; but seems to be a trade off that industry has made
and the marketplace has supported more than it has condemned.  The
occasional "blue screen" seems to be casually accepted in the bigger scheme
of many applications we could not enjoy before.

Looking back, maybe software bugs are today like the background hum we all
accepted in the tube receivers.  Just that little nag that you can't seem to
get rig of.

That is another reason, I like a radio mostly being a radio with minimal
appearances of being a computing device. ;-)

73, Stuart K5KVH