Kudos to Elecraft for going the extra mile with the
operators manual.
I laser printed the K2 PDF manual which I first
scribbled construction notes and parts changes onto,
then checked off each step as it was performed, and at
times even soldered on the pages. The pristine
original manual was kept by the radio for reference
after the build.
Market standard these days is to throw a CDROM in the
box and the documents are rarely worth referring to.
Examples of good documentation that I've seen include
Ten Tec VI+, Yaesu FT890AT, and the original FT101E
service manual. Oh yeah K2!!!
My impression is that the printed documentation is
also often representative of the firmware in the
radio. If it's slapped together and incomplete...
[Elecraft] Standby for a Great Manual!
Rick Tavan N6XI rtavan at gmail.com
Wed Oct 10 14:44:59 EDT 2007
As a reviewer of the draft Owners Manual, I've got to
tell you that you're in for a treat later today when
Wayne puts a revised version up on the Web site. Not
that any of the Elecraft Faithful will be surprised -
quality documentation has always been a high order
value at Elecraft. I think it's an important
differentiator. So many manufacturers of ham radio
equipment (or any kind of technology, for that matter)
seem to think that the manual is one of those Dumb
Things I Gotta Do. Their docs tend to be nothing but a
list of buttons, dials, connectors and commands and
(sort of) what they do.
The Elecraft docs also tell you how to use the product
and how it works. This one includes a lot of what tech
writers call "task-oriented documentation" that
explains the sequence of operations needed to achieve
a
real operational goal. There is a good Quick Start
section for the huge majority who neither want nor
need to read every last word. But do read those words
eventually. Even as an active field tester, I learned
several new tricks to make my K3 work better just by
reading the draft. Take particular note of the Theory
of Operation section which provides just the right
amount of detail for the ham who wants to know what's
inside the box. You're going to like it.
/Rick N6XI
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