Well white print on black might be easy on the eyes but black print on white
is even easier.
Every now and then you'll see a magazine page printed with white print on
black.
You wouldn't want to read a whole newspaper like that!
Your example is indeed a good one, but not something I do very often. I
guess that's why I didn't rank it higher.
I agree the OR is easy to operate but I still preferred the OM6. Different
strokes.
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
marsh@ka5m.net
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2016 9:57 PM
To: 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'
Subject: Re: [TenTec] I hate to say it but...
Rick,
My Ten-Tec Orion II has a black front panel and white lettering on the knobs
and buttons - great contrast and easy to read.
Yes, for me the Orion II is easier to operate than the Omni VI+ was. Reason?
It is easier, in my opinion, to listen to a DX station operating split and
monitor your transmit frequency with dual receivers (Orion II) that it is
with a single receiver and switching between receive and transmit VFOs (Omni
VI+). That's just my opinion and how I like to operate.
73,
Marsh, KA5M
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
Rick@DJ0IP.de
Sent: Saturday, September 3, 2016 2:14 AM
To: 'Greg S' <oldlongbeard@yahoo.com>; 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'
<tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] I hate to say it but...
No radio with a dark, almost black front panel is ergonomic. The first time
I sat down at a TS-850 at Field Day, I quit operating within 5 minutes. I
had forgotten my reading glasses and for the life of me, couldn't read the
tiny print on its front panel.
We are not at war in our ham shack and don't need to camouflage our radios.
A light background with dark print is the easiest thing for eyes to read.
If you don't have bad eyes, you probably see it differently.
(PUN intended)
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Greg S via
TenTec
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2016 9:45 PM
To: k9yc@arrl.net; tentec@contesting.com; Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Cc: Greg S
Subject: Re: [TenTec] I hate to say it but...
1. They never made an Omni V+. (RTFM)2. I concur, the TS-850S was also
ergonomic for me. 3. I will suggest, if you used your KX3, for several
years, and never used your K3, you would say the opposite about their UI's.
You "like" the K3 because you are used to it. The older one gets, the more
likely one is to "like" what they are familiar with....... and forget some
things. Like Roman Numeral designations of TenTec rigs. ;-) 73-Greg, KC8HXO
From: Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com>
To: tentec@contesting.com
Sent: Friday, September 2, 2016 2:12 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] I hate to say it but...
How we view ergonomics is a very personal thing. Itis strongly affected by
what we're used to, to how our minds work, and what we do with our radios.
ICOM's is different from Yaesu's, which is different from Kenwood, which is
different from Ten Tec. The last rigs I've owned from these companies (in
the order I mentioned them) are the 746, the FT1000MP, the TS850, and the
Omni V+. The UI that I liked the least was the 746, the MP was better, and
Omni V+ was third, and the Kenwood UI was the one I liked the best.
Enter the Elecraft K2, which my friends, including NY9H, were telling me was
the new big thing, and I bought one (no time to build it, I was running my
own small biz). This was 2003, and my other radio was the Omni V+, also
bought used. The K2 is tiny by comparison to any of those other radios, so
get all the functions and controls we need, buttons and controls had to do
double, triple, and even quadruple duty. Think about the functionality of
early handheld GPS units; my primary GPS is still a wonderful handheld
Garmin that runs on AA batteries, has a full set of maps (I had to buy
them), has great sensitivity, and does waypoints. 8 buttons total. Can you
say SLOOOW? But I love it because it runs on AAs, it does waypoints, and it
tracks me walking on trails!
That K2 got my brain used to the control logic that was greatly expanded and
refined for the K3. The target market for the K3 is the high end user who
doesn't have high end bucks. It's highly modular, and it is MUCH smaller and
lighter than other high end radios. I'm part of the target market -- very
demanding of performance, take my radios out in the field so I really
appreciate the compact size and weight, also have limited space on my
operating desk for two complete stations, and that compactness and
modularity helps there too.
I do NOT find the K3 UI in any way limiting or frustrating. Perhaps that's
because I RTFM before I start using a new product, whatever it is. I was
unable to RTFM when I sat down in front of an Orion at a friend's contest
station, so I had no idea what to do with it. And I never made a QSO with
it. The K3 (and K3S) UI meshes ideally with MY operating style, MY mindset.
Yes, I nearly always go the wrong way round the mode toggle. But as to
changing bands and modes, the K3 and K3S have a bunch of memories that can
be easily programmed (if you RTFM) to hold a bunch of standard setups. These
radios can be set to remember power and other settings by band, and some by
mode.
And once I've set up my radio for a given station (or on FD for the
preferences of the operators, the mic/cans we'll be using and where we plug
them in), there's zero need to access the menus. In 2008, when the
K3 was a brand new radio, Elecraft loaned a bunch of them to the VP6DX
expedition, and K3NA sat the team down to give them a half hour class on the
new radio. He then sat them down in front of the radios, and later reported
that these experienced operators from all over the world felt comfortable
with the new radios almost immediately, and found them very logical and easy
to operate.
The UI in the K3 and K3S (virtually the same) is, by far, the best of any
radio I've ever used. Operationally, I find it no more complicated than my
S38D, my BC348, and my HQ129X, all of which did a LOT less! It's FAR easier
to control bandwidth and move the IF around than in the Omni
V+, the FT1000MP, or the TS850. There's a built-in keyer, also very
adjustable (from the menu), with a front panel knob for speed. My Omni
V+ lacked a keyer. A very good antenna tuner is an option in the K3; my
Omni V+ lacked an antenna tuner. The K3 and K3S have an optional 2nd RX that
is equal in performance to the main RX. The only shortcoming of that 2nd RX
is that you DO need to mess with the menus to adjust it. OR
-- with two quick pushes of the A>B button, you can transfer all settings of
the main RX to the 2nd RX. AND -- I can set up BOTH receivers with the NB
and NR turned on. That can be a VERY big deal if you use diversity mode and
one or both of your RX antennas is noisy.
I also own a KX3, a far more compact radio than even the K3/K3S, and each of
the buttons and knobs has even more multiple functions. I don't use this
radio much, so I find the UI frustrating at times. But it's a very powerful
radio, it fits in the pocket of my winter jacket, and I've loaned it to a
friend who, with help from XYL and W6JTI, have dragged it up a 2-3 mile
trail that gains 1,000 ft elevation, along with its 100W amp, batteries,
antenna, and coax! Try doing that with an Omni VI+. :)
73, Jim K9YC
On Fri,9/2/2016 2:39 AM, Barry N1EU wrote:
> The front panel ergonomics on the K3 is a nightmare compared to the
> Omni
> 6+, which has perhaps the best front panel EVER. FWIW, I've owned
> 6+them
> both for many years.
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