(Snip)

This radio has been much maligned for it's operating system.
This criticism is simply a lot of noise. Work it for a couple of
hours, and the O/S becomes second nature. The O/S is also the
reason why this much performance comes at such a reasonable price.
This much radio, with every function on a dedicated switch, would
come in at more than twice the price.

Hello,

Are you familiar with the RxWings computer control program (written by
Jan Arkesteijn) which can be used with the AR7030? It DOES put every
function on a dedicated (though "virtual") switch.

Though you're absolutely right that the criticisms of the AOR's
operating system
are way off base (one of the rare times in PASSPORT that they are dead
wrong and,
worse, they refuse to correct their errors) and the receiver really is
very easy to use, this computer control program makes its use even
easier. And, best of all, it is totally FREE!

All the best,

Joe