Hello Chuck,

> I think the simple answer to why few people are using 
> Linrad with Perseus, SDR-IQ, Softrock, etc. is because the 
> operation of the program is so difficult. 
That is an interesting statement, but it does not convey any
information at all to me. Surely it is difficult to get the 
optimum performance for specialized tasks, but operating as a 
normal receiver should not be difficult at all. The new option
"newcomer mode" will disable a lot of things and make setup
trivial (I believe.)

> Of the people I know who have tried Linrad (including myself), 
> everyone has given up.
Hmmm, and none of you have put forward a signle question
as far as I know.
 
> Why? Mostly because there is not a single piece of text 
> anywhere on the screen that explains a function.
Well, there is a lot of text that describes every function.
There is not room for all of it simultaneously on screen so
you have to put the mouse on the function and press F1.
(F1 on black screen will show where all the functions are.)

> The lack of any sort of manual is a hindrance.
Hmmm, I am afraid I have written far too much about various aspects 
of operating Linrad. The "manual" is here:
http://www.sm5bsz.com/linuxdsp/usage/newco/newcomer.htm
By following the links you would find pages that treat general
aspects and on them links pages with more specialized information.

To use Linrad to do everything you can do with a normal SDR,
the information on the newcomer page should be sufficient
(In combination with the F1 help) 

It is most likely that there are still trivial obstacles that
I could change if someone made me aware of it. 

> The words used in the setup function often do not help 
> people understand what entries are needed.
You would make me happy by giving me an example. If a couple
of people told me what the first confusing wording is in the setup
function(s) I would try to rephrase it or perhaps write a new
section in the "manual".
 
> I appreciate the technical knowledge that lies behind Linrad. 
> What Linrad needs is a greatly improved operator interface.
And that needs some kind of feedback. I honestly do not understand
where the problem is. Surely Linrad is mure user-friendly today
than it was a couple of years ago, and that is because of the
feedbak I have received. It happens once or twice a year only and
that is the explanation why improvement is so slow.

73

Leif / SM5BSZ

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