[TenTec] Jupiter- How easy to operate?

[Michael O. Hyder]

*** Reply interlaced. . .

----- Original Message -----
From: "George, W5YR" <w5yr@att.net>
To: "W7TRX" <w7trx@mindspring.com>
Cc: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 12:07 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Jupiter- How easy to operate?


|
| I think that I am missing a very basic point here:
|
| Why would anyone spend over a thousand bucks for a radio and then not be
| willing to spend the time that it takes to absorb the contents of an
| instruction manual that tells how to operate it?
| *** Use and location of or steps to obtain esoteric functions is difficult
for me to learn by study of a book.  Do you use Windows 98?

| Which is more important for a radio: doing the job it is intended to do,
| and do it well, or being easy to operate? Why?
| *** For me, if a radio is difficult to operate, I probably won't operate
it.  I use radio for relaxation and fun, not as an intellectual challenge.

| I agree that it is initially convenient for a radio to be "intuitively
| obvious" to operate, but how much of the inherent performance of a
| complex rig goes unrealized if the owner is unwilling to invest the time
| required to learn "all about it."
| *** Much of the inherent performance of a complex rig goes unrealized
because it is seldom if ever needed. There is a basic misunderstanding here.
Many complex operations of a rig are only needed in extreme conditions.  I
encounter extreme conditions very rarely, so how to use the complex stuff
wouldn't be kept in my ready memory -- and I forget how to do things I
seldom do.

| Tracy, I am not trying to rattle your chain especially, but I see this
| same sentiment a lot and wonder what is behind it.
*** What is behind it is probably this:  there seems to be a type of person
who uses a rig to communicate with others, a means to an end; and another
type of person who sees the rig as an end in itself.  Tracy seems to be
among the former and you, George, the latter.

A young man, having finished medical school and his internship was just at
the point of earning some money.  All through his schooling he would think
of his father's coming home tired from his factory job and sitting down to
listen to the music he loved so dearly.  The young man always dreamed of the
day when he could afford to buy a very fine stereo system for his father.

When that day arrived, the son took the father on a shopping trip.  They
auditioned many stereo components.  The father learned of wow and flutter
and harmonic distortion.  He learned of frequency response and crossovers.
They got the finest set of components money could buy and took them home to
replace the old Hi-Fi set.

The next time the son visited his dad, he was surprised to see that the
older man was no longer listening to his music.  The father said that he
just didn't enjoy it much anymore.  Instead of listening to the music he so
loved, he had learned to listen to the pops, scratches, harmonic distortion,
wow and flutter.

Regards, Mike N4NT@chartertn.net
|
| 72/73, George   W5YR - the Yellow Rose of Texas      NETXQRP 6
| Fairview, TX   30 mi NE Dallas in Collin county      QRP-L 1373
| Amateur Radio W5YR, in the 55th year and it just keeps getting better!
| Icom IC-756 PRO #02121 (9/00) Kachina #91900556 (12/99) IC-765 (6/90)
|
| W7TRX wrote:
| >
| > The Jupiter is an intriguing rig. The trait that I am most interested in
is
| > ease of use. How intuitive is it to operate? I really don't care for
radios
| > with tons of menus, cryptic buttons, and non-intuitive procedures to
work
| > them. I have sold several 2m mobile and HT rigs for just this reason. I
| > currently have an Icom 706IIG. I've learned how to work it for day to
day
| > needs, but to access all the other features requires the operators
manual
| > within reach. Ten-Tec advertises the Jupiter as simple to operate. The
pics
| > I've seen would seem to confirm this.
| >
| > So, how about it, new Jupiter owners. Can you understand and operate
this
| > radio without looking at the operations manual?
| >
| > Keep your bells and whistles. I'm hankering from a solid, easy to use
radio.
| > I fear I'll have to go back to an 80s vintage radio or analog to achieve
| > this.
| >
| > Thanks for your input.
| >
| > 73, Tracy
| > W7TRX



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