QST Review: Minor Quibble
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>This really IS a minor quibble, but the QST review noted that some hams
>might prefer the larger and more widely spaced buttons and knobs on "full >size" transceivers. Turns out this isn't generally correct. I don't own a K3, at least, not yet, but got to play with one at a Frankford Radio Club meeting. I don't have a problem with the size of the knobs and/or buttons. However, the tuning knob is too close to the power and width controls. I tune with my left hand and found myself hitting those controls a lot. Rather annoying. I had mentioned that issue way back with the K2 and was hoping that a K3 would not have that issue. But, alas. Actually, that is the biggest reason why K2 serial number 2552 is no longer in my arsenal. My hand simply doesn't fit. Oh well. Guess I need to learn to grasp the edge of the tuning knob instead of the whole knob (as I've done for the last 42 years). Or, I need to learn to have smaller hands. :-) Strangely enough, this is not an issue on some of the micro-sized radios, like the FT-857 and IC-7000. In any case, I'm hoping that left-handed tuners will be considered in the layout of the K4. :-) 73, Bob K3PH -- +----------------------------------------------+ | Bob Schreibmaier K3PH | E-mail: [hidden email] | | Kresgeville, PA 18333 | http://www.dxis.org | +----------------------------------------------+ _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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Hi,
I tune with my right forefinger and I have the same problem, although not too seriously. Coming to the K3 from an ICOM IC-718 I had grown accustomed to using my thumb in the swiveling dimple on that machine's tuning knob. I really miss that. I would pay real dollars for somebody to come up with a YeaComWood quality tuning knob that would fit the K3.
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In reply to this post by Bob Schreibmaier
Maybe just loosen the setscrew and move the knob away from the panel
for a bit more hand clearance? (This mod probably not approved by Elecraft ;-) ) Jerry W4UK At 05:07 PM 11/26/2008, Bob Schreibmaier wrote: >>This really IS a minor quibble, but the QST review noted that some hams >>might prefer the larger and more widely spaced buttons and knobs on "full >>size" transceivers. Turns out this isn't generally correct. > >I don't own a K3, at least, not yet, but got to >play with one at a Frankford Radio Club meeting. > >I don't have a problem with the size of the knobs >and/or buttons. However, the tuning knob is too >close to the power and width controls. I tune >with my left hand and found myself hitting those >controls a lot. Rather annoying. > >I had mentioned that issue way back with the K2 >and was hoping that a K3 would not have that issue. >But, alas. Actually, that is the biggest reason >why K2 serial number 2552 is no longer in my arsenal. >My hand simply doesn't fit. > >Oh well. Guess I need to learn to grasp the edge >of the tuning knob instead of the whole knob >(as I've done for the last 42 years). Or, I need >to learn to have smaller hands. :-) > >Strangely enough, this is not an issue on some >of the micro-sized radios, like the FT-857 >and IC-7000. > >In any case, I'm hoping that left-handed tuners >will be considered in the layout of the K4. :-) > >73, >Bob >K3PH > >-- >+----------------------------------------------+ >| Bob Schreibmaier K3PH | E-mail: [hidden email] | >| Kresgeville, PA 18333 | http://www.dxis.org | >+----------------------------------------------+ >_______________________________________________ >Elecraft mailing list >Post to: [hidden email] >You must be a subscriber to post to the list. >Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): >http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > >Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm >Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by ab2tc
I came over from a 718 also. I tune with my left thumb with the rest of the hand resting on the table and the fingertips on the bottom of the radio. I don't have any problems hitting other buttons or knobs. I with there were a freewheeling dimple, but it's not a major problem, I just use a lighter touch with my thumb. Rob NV5E > Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:41:52 -0800 > From: [hidden email] > To: [hidden email] > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QST Review: Minor Quibble > > > Hi, > > I tune with my right forefinger and I have the same problem, although not > too seriously. Coming to the K3 from an ICOM IC-718 I had grown accustomed > to using my thumb in the swiveling dimple on that machine's tuning knob. I > really miss that. I would pay real dollars for somebody to come up with a > YeaComWood quality tuning knob that would fit the K3. > > > > Bob Schreibmaier wrote: >> >>>This really IS a minor quibble, but the QST review noted that some hams >>>might prefer the larger and more widely spaced buttons and knobs on "full >>>size" transceivers. Turns out this isn't generally correct. >> >> I don't own a K3, at least, not yet, but got to >> play with one at a Frankford Radio Club meeting. >> >> I don't have a problem with the size of the knobs >> and/or buttons. However, the tuning knob is too >> close to the power and width controls. I tune >> with my left hand and found myself hitting those >> controls a lot. Rather annoying. >> >> > > > ----- > AB2TC - Knut > -- > View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/QST-Review%3A-Minor-Quibble-tp1583014p1583129.html > Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _________________________________________________________________ Proud to be a PC? Show the world. Download the “I’m a PC” Messenger themepack now. hthttp://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/119642558/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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I used a Griffin Power Knob, using N4PY software on the K2. Now,
Mike, KE4U, has written software for using the Griffin Tuning Knob and the K3. I found with the K2 it was very useful to be able to move the Knob around the table, and not have to reach up to the rig. Maybe this should be looked at by some. (Mike, I have to dig through 85+ boxes in the basement "storage" area to find my Powermate!). I would like to try it myself. Please note that this solution requires the $ 45 Powermate and your shack computer. It has a way cool blue LED glow from the bottom. K8AJ really likes that! The Powermate is shown at: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate tom K8TB Rob May wrote: >I came over from a 718 also. I tune with my left thumb with the rest of the hand resting on the table and the fingertips on the bottom of the radio. ...... >>Coming to the K3 from an ICOM IC-718 I had grown accustomed >>to using my thumb in the swiveling dimple on that machine's tuning knob. >>>However, the tuning knob is too close to the power and width controls. I tune >>>with my left hand and found myself hitting those controls a lot. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Rob May-2
For each radio with a dimpled tuning knob I have had, I always end up not
using the dimple. Instead I tune by rolling the tip of the index finger aroud the outermost part of the cylindrical knob surface. This just seems much better for generating the slight torque required to overcome either friction of the mechanism or inertia of the knob. It also feels much more positive in making that last fine adjustment due to the larger effective diameter and thus larger finger movement. (That said, I often put additional fingers on the knob for the final adjustment, but still only touching the outermost 1/8" to 1/4".) This is not a tuning method that I have come up with to suit the K3; it is what I do for almost all radios, including the tiny FT-817, where fingers really risk hitting unintended controls. For this method to work well, there should not be too much friction (as from the felt washer) - but the larger effective diameter overcomes friction better than the dimple does. It is important that the cylindrical part of the knob be rubberized almost all the way out to the flat surface, or else have multiple finger indentations like the old S-line. Finally, the knob diameter should be neither too small nor too big. Bottom line: the K3 knob is near perfect (with any reasonable friction setting). My hands are rather small, but even if they were not, I cannot see any interference between the left hand and the knobs to the left of the tuning knob. The index finger doing the tuning just doesn't reach close enough to the panel to reach the smaller knobs. 73, Erik K7TV ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob May" <[hidden email]> To: <[hidden email]> Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 6:01 PM Subject: RE: [Elecraft] QST Review: Minor Quibble I came over from a 718 also. I tune with my left thumb with the rest of the hand resting on the table and the fingertips on the bottom of the radio. I don't have any problems hitting other buttons or knobs. I with there were a freewheeling dimple, but it's not a major problem, I just use a lighter touch with my thumb. Rob NV5E _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Jerry Flanders
That will, of course, change the friction considerably, too. So ... iffy ... unless you like a completely freewheeling tuning knob. Grant/NQ5T On Nov 26, 2008, at 5:10 PM, Jerry Flanders wrote: > Maybe just loosen the setscrew and move the knob away from the panel > for a bit more hand clearance? (This mod probably not approved by > Elecraft ;-) ) > >> _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by K7TV
One more comment: While I find the K3's main tuning knob to be very good, I
do find fault with the VFO B knob. It really needs to be rubberized. 73, Erik K7TV ----- Original Message ----- From: "Erik N Basilier" <[hidden email]> To: "Rob May" <[hidden email]>; <[hidden email]> Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 6:42 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QST Review: Minor Quibble > For each radio with a dimpled tuning knob I have had, I always end up not > using the dimple. Instead I tune by rolling the tip of the index finger > aroud the outermost part of the cylindrical knob surface. This just seems > much better for generating the slight torque required to overcome either > friction of the mechanism or inertia of the knob. It also feels much more > positive in making that last fine adjustment due to the larger effective > diameter and thus larger finger movement. (That said, I often put > additional fingers on the knob for the final adjustment, but still only > touching the outermost 1/8" to 1/4".) This is not a tuning method that I > have come up with to suit the K3; it is what I do for almost all radios, > including the tiny FT-817, where fingers really risk hitting unintended > controls. > > For this method to work well, there should not be too much friction (as > from the felt washer) - but the larger effective diameter overcomes > friction better than the dimple does. It is important that the cylindrical > part of the knob be rubberized almost all the way out to the flat surface, > or else have multiple finger indentations like the old S-line. Finally, > the knob diameter should be neither too small nor too big. Bottom line: > the K3 knob is near perfect (with any reasonable friction setting). > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Tom-5
Several years ago I bought a Griffin PowerMate for use with Ham Radio
Deluxe. I was disappointed because it just did not have the resolution of the Rotary Encoder in transceivers - not enough Pulses / Rotation. A number of years ago, K9SD made a Remote Tuning Knob (a remote incremental encoder) for the IC-781. I kept it to the right of my keyboard and hardly every turned the Tuning Knobs on the IC-781 chassis. Occasionally I might reach for the NOTCH or tweak the DUAL Passband controls, but in a Contest a great Radio doesn't have to be fiddled with very much. That's been my (limited) Contest experience with the K3. I used my K3 down at a vacation QTH in far Southwestern North Carolina in the CW WW Phone - 100W to a Dipole at 50-feet looking into mountains 1000 feet higher than my QTH. I had virtually no propagation to Asia, the Pacific, or South/Central America but ended up with 24 zones and 87 countries. My xyl said if they couldn't hear me on the radio, they could probably have heard me yelling! I found myself wishing that I had a similar Relocatable Remote Tuning Knob for the K3 sitting next to my Laptop Keyboard. That would also take care of the needs of left-handed users as well. It REALLY is hard to tune with the "wrong" hand! By "wrong" I mean the hand that is NOT natural to the user. Wayne & Eric that would make a wonderful accessory for Elecraft to market! 73 ---> Dave, W9ZRX -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of K8TB Sent: Wednesday, 26 November, 2008 8:41 PM To: 'Elecraft Reflector' Subject: Re: [Elecraft] QST Review: Minor Quibble I used a Griffin Power Knob, using N4PY software on the K2. Now, Mike, KE4U, has written software for using the Griffin Tuning Knob and the K3. I found with the K2 it was very useful to be able to move the Knob around the table, and not have to reach up to the rig. Maybe this should be looked at by some. (Mike, I have to dig through 85+ boxes in the basement "storage" area to find my Powermate!). I would like to try it myself. Please note that this solution requires the $ 45 Powermate and your shack computer. It has a way cool blue LED glow from the bottom. K8AJ really likes that! The Powermate is shown at: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate tom K8TB Rob May wrote: >I came over from a 718 also. I tune with my left thumb with the rest of the hand resting on the table and the fingertips on the bottom of the radio. ...... >>Coming to the K3 from an ICOM IC-718 I had grown accustomed >>to using my thumb in the swiveling dimple on that machine's tuning knob. >>>However, the tuning knob is too close to the power and width controls. I tune >>>with my left hand and found myself hitting those controls a lot. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Jerry Flanders
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In reply to this post by K7TV
Hi All,
I have to agree with Erik 100% on this. After years of using the K2 I either use the tip of my forefinger on the edge of the VFO knob to roll the knob around, or I use it on the outer edge of the front face. Same with the K3. My K2 knob looks burnished from doing this. Actually I think we should defer judgment of this subject to my cats. Shadow has always preferred the paw on the edge of the knob when using my K2 and has never had a problem hitting the other controls. http://www.pituch.net/Steve%27s%20Page/Radio/cat/Cat.htm However, Bumper the kitten is doing very well with the K3, and is showing much promise. I was going to buy an LP Pan, but I am thinking that a cat might be even better. http://www.pituch.net/Pet%20Main%20Page/Pet%20Main%20Page.html After all, Albert Einstein compared (the lack of) cats to radio: "You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." ------------------------------------------------ One thing I was worried about after I ordered the K3 was that when I would read the user's manual I would fall asleep. I sort of got the jist of how the controls worked but really could not visualize actually operating the radio myself without the excellent and very informative manual next to me. It was actually a bit disconcerting as I wondered how easy the K3 would be to use since it has so many features. I'm not dissing the manual in any way as I think it is excellent. It has everything you need to know about the K3. But it is very hard to know how good the controls on the K3 are unless you have one in front of you. Well after building the radio, and building it is such an enlightening experience, it was time to actually use it. And that's what I did. After I turned it on, I started using it as if I had been familiar with it for 10 years. Once in a while it took me a while to find a control, but I sort of intuitively knew what control was needed. I wasn't wasting time figuring out how to do something. It seems I'm just able to do it. I guess I think the radio is highly intuitive, although I couldn't really decide that from reading the manual. The K3 has become the first radio I have had that is sort of an extension of myself. Sort of hard to explain but I spend less time focused on the radio front panel and more time communicating with the signals coming out of it. In fact I often find myself not looking at the radio during critical net control operations for many minutes at a time. Its like no stress operating. On difficult nets when the f0F2 is way below the operating frequency I hear better, and while others on the net are stressing out I am enjoying myself and the challenge. I think that part of this is due to Wayne's degree in Cognitive Science. I doubted his judgment on this initially after first reading the manual. I thought maybe he was trying to jam too much on the front panel. But after operating the radio I think the control layout is a great feature set. I'm not a die hard contester, but I like using the radio very much. I think its hard to put this kind of feeling in a QST review, but I think the reviewer (Joel, W1ZR it seems) actually did reveal his positive enthusiasm toward the rig. I don't think I've ever read a more enthusiastic review in QST. In reading it, its like the messiah of radios has finally come to hamdom. Can't get much better than that. I think Joel realizes that the K3 pushes the state-of-art and will make Yaecomwood work a lot harder in the future on their designs. My cats also prefer the layout on the K3 to all the other radios I have in the shack. Regards, Steve, W2MY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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