I’ll be interested in hearing what you think after you use a K4. Chuck Jack KE9UW
Sent from my iPhone, cjack > On May 24, 2019, at 7:00 PM, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Wayne and interested others, > > Way back when, I bought a loaded K3. I believe the S/N was around 4K? It was > back in the day when almost every DXpedition was using K3's so it was > obviously the radio to own. (Around 2009?) It was at the top of the Sherwood > ratings. Owner's bragged, incessantly, about its Sherwood rating. > > After a period of time I grew to really dislike that radio. The audio was > just plain awful and the man/machine interface was the worst I have ever > seen. I detest bar graphs. I suppose if you play at ham radio 8 hours a day, > seven days a week, the interface is "normal", even usable. For those of us > who might get on the air for an hour or two a week, the controls were a > mystery. Tap this button to do this, hold the same button for three seconds > to do that, the list goes on. NOTHING was intuitive. It did not help that it > was an incredibly ugly, too light and unsubstantial, radio. It's looks may > have been barely acceptable when first introduced but it aged badly, rapidly. > Over a ten year period it's price has become a real problem. > > There were many, many questions on this reflector regarding the controls, the > same questions about the same controls, over and over and over again. That > should have been a very large hint that the controls should be massively > improved in any new radio. > > I sold my K3 and moved on to the big Japanese three, ANAN, and Flex, over the > years. All had many, fairly easy to understand, controls. All were far, far > more usable than the K3. Both the ANAN and Flex service departments are as > good as Elecraft's. > > Eventually I left the Elecraft reflector, and that is a whole other story..... > > Last week the K4 was announced so I rejoined the reflector. It sounded like a > really great radio. Sadly, I have concluded it will be a dud, mostly because > it is designed with the same philosophy as the K3 was, a small, compact, > easily transportable radio, "a hallmark of Elecraft transceivers", to quote > you, Wayne. From all that I have read, the controls will be even more complex. > > Ham radio operators are an aging group. Some suffer from the "fat finger" > syndrome, others have vision problems, to name just two. The last thing they > need or want is a tiny radio with minimal controls, each of which serves two > or three or four or five purposes. They favor a radio that has many single or > dual purpose knobs. They want bigger screens, the K4 screens are too small. > > I suggest you double the size of the radio and change your design criteria. > Enlarging the physical size would not be a huge cost driver. Remember who > your customers are. > > And when the Flex 6700 kicked the K3 out of first place in the Sherwood > ratings in 2014, the Koolaid drinkers on this reflector were heard to say, > "People put too much faith in numbers". Hypocrisy is thy name. I haven't > stopped laughing. > > This email pertains to only the second and third paragraphs of Wayne's reply > below. > > I wish Elecraft well with the K4 but I really think your minimalist/too > complex way of designing needs to change. You've probably already guessed > that I won't be a customer of the K4 as currently proposed. And you really, > really ought to improve this reflector........... > > 73, > > Harry K1RSA > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On > Behalf Of Wayne Burdick > Sent: Friday, May 24, 2019 2:03 PM > To: Elecraft Reflector <[email protected]>; [email protected]; > [email protected] > Subject: [Elecraft] Elecraft K4 and Accessibility > > Hi Buddy et al, > > We've definitely been thinking about this. > > There's a paradigm shift going on in transceiver design, and we reached a > point where we needed to embrace it. This shift is not entirely aligned with > accessibility, as you know. I'll address alternatives in this email. > > As for the K4 specifically, its user interface is dependent in part on use of > the touch screen. This was simply the only way to integrate an equivalent of > the K3S, P3, and all of the new hardware/software required to implement a > direct-sampling radio. The use of a touch screen allows context sensitivity > (physical overloading) for controls, making the K4 the equivalent of a much > larger radio without touch. The resulting compact size is still compatible > with portable use (4.5" x 13.5" x 11", 10 pounds, and power-efficient), a > hallmark of Elecraft transceivers. > > Regarding accessibility, there are three possible approaches: > > 1. The K4's entire complement of controls, both hard and touch, will be > represented by a set of "2-letter" commands. This API will be fully public as > it is for our other transceivers. Presumably external devices or computers > will be able to immediately make use of these commands to effect a flexible > accessible interface. > > 2. In theory we could implement a large-target version of the LCD's touch > controls, with proximity-based audio feedback and no panadapter. This would > be a very ambitious project requiring ongoing support, similar to that needed > for mobile/fixed app development. We don't have the staff to support this, so > we'd need to engage the wider community to find a developer with suitable > skills and motivation. The API or spec for such an effort doesn't exist at > this time. > > 3. The K3S has very similar strong-signal performance and similar basic > features, without touch. Since many of the added features of the K4 are > panadapter-centric, a blind ham may very well find that the K3S is a viable > alternative. No doubt there will be more used K3's and K3S's on the market > over the next year. The KX3 and KX2 provide audio CW feedback on most > controls and are another non-touch alternative. > > I hope the alternatives I've suggested to use of the K4's normal UI will be > helpful in most cases. > > 73, > Wayne > N6KR > > > > >> On May 24, 2019, at 9:20 AM, Buddy Brannan [email protected] [KX3] >> <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> [Sorry, sent this to Gary instead of the list] Hey Gary, >> >> I’m curious about this as well, as are others…see K8HSY’s post on the >> blind-hams list. See also my response full of speculation (below). Wayne, >> please feel free to comment on my comments and correct me where I erred: >> >> I’ve been beating the accessibility drum on the Elecraft reflector for ages, >> and Wayne has assured that they would not go to all touch screen access, for >> that very reason. Elecraft has, in the person of one of their tech support >> people in the past, and Wayne in emails to me, committed to doing what they >> can in design parameters to make accessibility attainable, and they have >> been super cooperative with people like the Hampod folks and others who want >> to design accessibility tools. >> >> The K4 has a full GNU/Linux computer built into it, and it’s got a >> client/server architecture, with network access available, so it seems to me >> accessibility should be possible, even relatively easy, to implement. >> Especially given that there are still a wide range of physical buttons and >> knobs on board. >> >> And, unlike Yaecomwoodlincotec, the principals at Elecraft are not only >> available by email, but very responsive besides. If you’re really interested >> in a perspective direct from the horse’s mouth, write to Wayne directly at >> [email protected]. He really does answer email. >> >> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA >> Email: [email protected] >> Mobile: (814) 431-0962 >> >>> On May 23, 2019, at 1:47 PM, Gary Lee [email protected] [KX3] >>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> could someone describe the front panel of the k4 with reference to that of >>> the k3? With the added touch screen, I am wondering about usability for the >>> blind operator. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> __._,_.___ >> Posted by: Buddy Brannan <[email protected]> >> Reply via web post • Reply to sender • Reply to group • >> Start a New Topic • Messages in this topic (2) >> VISIT YOUR GROUP >> • Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use >> >> SPONSORED LINKS >> >> >> >> . >> >> >> __,_._,___ > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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 > > > --- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > https://www.avast.com/antivirus > > ______________________________________________________________ > 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
