Don et al., As a pro technical writer, I should like to address myself to your point.
I am not and have never been an Elecraft employee, and I have not worked on the Elecraft documentation. Had I been privileged to be asked to do so, however, I would have lobbied hard for taking a slightly different tack with some of it -- something more along the lines that you suggest. One of the truisms in technical writing is that most people don't like to read manuals, and it is clinically true that some people -- those with learning disabilities -- CANNOT read manuals: or, at least, cannot retain any meaningful knowledge from reading them. Their brains simply don't work that way. This affliction seems to be increasingly prevalent as the years go by. Some blame the media, some the educational system. In any event, a derivative truism has developed over the past couple of decades as people's attention spans have become shorter and shorter. And that is: Shorter is Better. Less is More. As an editor, I spent much of each day deleting unnecessary verbiage from other people's technical writing. I am unstinting in my use of the Delete key. However, just as often, I find that key concepts are not adequately explained. Sometimes it is abundantly clear to me that the original writer simply didn't actually understand the material; in other cases, however, it is equally clear that the writer was just trying to keep the material as brief as possible, on instructions from "higher up." And in many such cases, the material winds up being too terse to be comprehensible to any beyond that cadre of readers who already understand it. To write a technical document that completely explains every nuance of a highly sophisticated, complex piece of equipment is to write a Book. The "religion" of technical writing nowadays is that Nobody Reads Books. Anything that has page numbers in three digits is a Book. With the K3 Manual version I currently have on my computer at 82 pages, Elecraft has stayed well under that numinous edge-of-the-world limitation -- I believe, to its detriment. But that is just one man's belief -- well, perhaps two or three. I am admittedly old-school when it comes to such matters. Perhaps, with all my skills accumulated over many years, the fact that I am only part-time employed (albeit at a goodly rate) speaks to that fact to some degree. In any case, I just wanted to let you know that there was somebody out here who's in the same choir you're preaching to. Bill W5WVO New Mexico -----Original Message----- From: Don Cunningham Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 18:30 To: Wayne Burdick ; [email protected] Cc: Elecraft List Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need for advice was; noise reduction Wayne, You didn't ask me, but I'm going to break my rule and respond to this one. The K3 has been a unique radio in a respect that you may be overlooking. It has "evolved" over many years, with some of the "knowledgeable" guys owning low serial numbered rigs, and they don't see what we are faced with as new owners. My K3 is serial number 4076, and my background is more into analog rigs, but I have owned many "DSP" based rigs, from the IC-775/TS-870 era up. I used to do mostly digital (RTTY), but find upon this return to ham radio that RTTY rag chewing is sort of a thing of the past and I am re-learning SSB and hopefully CW in the future. All that said, the K3 manual, to this old guy, looks more like a reference book for the low serial numbered guys that have helped this fine radio evolve over the years. It doesn't explain button/knob functions like you would for a new user, but is a fine reference for those who have helped determine just what that knob/button would do. I HAVE read through the manual, but it has changed three or four times since I bought my K3 in February of this year, and I haven't taken time to read through them all to see what the differences are. What I think "MIGHT" clear up things somewhat is a Mode section that actually teaches you what default settings are, and what "enhancements" changes might make to your operation, by mode. In the front of the manual where you try to explain what each knob/button does, refer the user to the "advanced page" by mode. In other words, if a control does different things in SSB, CW or DATA, refer the user to the appropriate page by mode for further learning. I think that would take some of the fatigue we are seeing as new users. We haven't been here since the birth of the K3, and anyone can see in a day's read of the reflector that the archives are nearly useless for learning, as each subject gets so convoluted that you can search forever and not find what you want. I am retired, have lots of time, BUT I want to spend my remaining years operating, not reading all the time, hi. When I have asked about things on the reflector, the common answer from the "experts" is RTFM!!! That's lots of help. I hope others will chime in, but the manual needs to become a "new user's guide" as well as a nice reference for the old timers. 73, Don, WB5HAK ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
