I respectfully disagree. If I had been presented a URL or pdf manual for my stuffed K2/100 kit rather than the paper manuals I would have sold the kit. Looking through my K2 manual right now there is a check mark next to every construction step. When building the rig, I didn't mark the manual till the component was installed correctly or the procedure completed successfully.
By using this process I eliminated a lot of problems before they ever cropped up. I also understood the rig much better since assembly and operator manual was one in the same. Trying to build something like a K2/100, loaded with options, from a .pdf on a computer would have tripled the time of assembly and no doubt produced many mistakes. I'd be willing to say we have so many questions about the K3 and accesories because the manusl(s) don't get read. Having a separate assembly and operators manual was a mistake IMHO, especially having to refer to the operators manual to finish the assembly (configuration and alignment). Not good process. Yes, I know, a lot of K3's get sold as assembled units not in kit form. A combined manual might still be of use to those who don't buy the kit but want to know the basics of how one is built. Or, they could simply skip the assembly parts. /Beginning of OT part The "paperless office" was/is a fallacy foisted on us by the PC/IT industry. I work in IT, it ain't ever gonna happen. I'm planning on retiring in 20 some years. I'd be willing to bet there are the same number or more printers in service then as there are now. The only thing the PC contributed to the paperless office was kill the typewriter market and shift printing from many manual printers to not quite so many network or locally attached printers. /End of OT part. Just my .03 On 8/21/2011 5:56 AM, John Ragle wrote: > An excellent suggestion! Many manufacturers already do this, e.g. my > Samsung Galaxy Tab comes with a bare piece of "getting started" paper, > but on-line there is an excellent 144 page (3.2 MB) "users' manual." > > I have owned or now own several pieces of Elecraft hardware, and in no > case have I ever refered to the printed manual (either "Assembly" or > "Users''"). To me the production of pretty-printed paper manuals is > twice a nuisance: (1) it is a waste of paper and manufacturers' process > time, and (2) it is an aggravation for me because of the storage problem > -- I have manuals of practically every description, size and color, and > they just take up shelf space. -- R. Kevin Stover ACØH
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