It may be that part of amateur radio equipment¹s future is already here, and clearly so in avionics (i.e. the electronic display and control interfaces for navigation, communication, and aircraft performance.) One major feature is the ³softkey² - a mechanical button with no exclusive function but rather a function defined by the subsystem the screen is in. We-all have this already in the P3, for example, which allows labelling two rows of buttons albeit by a selection process that is tedious and very slow compared to the better avionics systems. And we have it in elementary ways in certain of the display functions in the K3 and KX3. I can imagine a great deal more of it in amateur equipment, with a large central display surrounded by buttons and on-screen labels changing with the subsystem. It would be far better and more intuitive for configuration changes than the menu system we have now. Even in the relatively simple GA aircraft I¹ve flown I can manage the avionics much faster than I can operate any amateur transceiver I¹ve seen. Which is a good thing when you¹re moving at a couple of hundred knots. Compared to touchscreens, soft keys are more accurate IMHO; but more important, they keep the residual PB&J confined to small areas and away from the main display.
Ted, KN1CBR > >------------------------------ > >Message: 24 >Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2016 21:31:25 -0700 >From: "Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT" <k...@coldrockshotbrooms.com> >To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net >Subject: Re: [Elecraft] IC-7300 video - things to come >Message-ID: <56fa051d.7090...@coldrockshotbrooms.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > >There is one overwhelming reason that we'll see touchscreens: > >As radios become even more software driven, we'll see more and more new >features added (like ESSB). > >The engineers and developers have to find a way to add those functions >to existing buttons (push this button 3 times, or go to a menu, or >something), provide a radio with blank buttons (which makes that new >radio look unfinished, or a "stripped" version of a more expensive rig). > >... or use a technology that allows buttons to be painted on the screen >-- so the front of the radio can evolve along with the radio itself. > >I'm not ready for a rig that requires a separate device/computer to run. > >73 -- Lynn > >On 3/28/2016 8:22 PM, Rick Robinson wrote: >> I foresee Bluetooth or newer technology tablets or phone size units that >> control our radio as an option to control our radios . So touchscreen >> control seems like more than a fad. > > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
