In article qzoGh.7961$PG5.5729@trndny07, HFguy
wrote:

D Peter Maus wrote:

bpnjensen wrote:

Likewise here...and without a decent complement of knobs and switches
to control functionality - that remove the need to resort to nested
tech menus - the AOR is a nonstarter for me.

Bruce Jensen


I thought that way, too. Until I bought an HF-150. Using the software
driven interface took a bit of getting used to, but I noticed fairly
quickly, that there were none of the artifacts of switching with
dedicated controls that I'd begun to notice, even on rigs as simple as
my SW-2. And a year down the road, I wasn't having any of the artifacts
of dirty switches I see so much of with electronics in this neck of the
woods.

So, when I went to the AR-7030+, I already had a reasonably good sense
that control of parameters need not be a knobs-and-switches kind of
affair. And the operating within the menu trees, while presenting a
certain learning curve, became second nature fairly quickly, while
capturing some pretty difficult signals that even R-71 had trouble
sucking in. And the interface isn't as complicated as many have
suggested it may be. The controlling menues are logically laid out, so
most used functions are at the top. If you need to dig deeper, each
layer of controls groups similar functions together, so as you work
harder to capture that ephemeral signal, you can bring up complimentary
functions with a single button press, as you need them, without having
to renavigate the tree.

Once you use it for any length of time, you'll not notice the lack of
knobs and switches.

Now, I will say that AR-7030+ is a bit small for someone as ham handed
as I can be, but the operating system produces as fine a DXing
experience as anything I've used to date. In a small package on the
desktop, with plenty of room to grow on the inside. And as easy to
operate as the Ten-Tec sitting next to it.

The whole knobs-and-switches thing...I don't even notice anymore.

If you can't operate the radio without having to constantly look at the
display to see what the menu indicates, I wouldn't be interested,
regardless of the performance. One of the reasons I like the R8B is you
can operate most of the functions with the touch of a button, even in
the dark, without having to keep looking at the display to see what's
going on.

Use the remote control. It has a button for most functions irrespective
of where the radio is in the menu tree.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California