Although my original response to "the original suggestion" was intended to be somewhat jocular, I am really quite appalled at the number of people who (a) thought I suggested DOING AWAY with manuals, and (b) took their hip-shot at me for making a suggestion which was (1) not mine, and (2) not what was suggested anyhow.
It makes me wonder if written manuals serve any purpose at all -- since people evidently can't extract meaning from what they read. It is also appalling (but no longer surprising to me) that there are so many hams out there who are relegating themselves to the early 20th century. The Elecraft design line is very modern and designed to take advantage of, but not be dependent upon, the ubiquitous presence of computers. According to the latest surveys, roughly 2/3 of ALL American households contain at least one computer. Why is it that a supposedly technologically-adept hobby like ham radio contains such a larger than average Luddite constituency? In addition, though some readers thought they saw the concept "GREEN" in my note, again this is reading with no comprehension. The original point, which BTW came from Alistair Cooper's post, was that people might recognize the choice offered and save the manufacturer and themselves money by not requesting a pretty-printed manual. The lovely Elecraft manuals, printed on high quality stock, are not cheap to produce, and local printing of a few selected pages on cheap Staples stock is certainly "greener." With regard to checking boxes, I have made a K2 with almost all its accessories, an XV144, along with numerous other kits over the years, and in the recent half-dozen builds, I have not used the printed manuals at all. Anyone who thinks it is somehow difficult to check the boxes in an electronic version is just plain out of touch with reality. If one has a computer, for heaven's sake use it! After all, it is supposed to be a labor-saving tool, not some shibboleth from a previous culture. John Ragle -- W1ZI ===== On 8/21/2011 9:04 AM, Gary Gregory wrote: > The original suggestion was to make the paper manual 'optional' at > time of > order... ______________________________________________________________ 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
