?

Neil,

?

I’m sure that the designers of the FT-60 find their interface intuitively obvious and simple to use. Maybe 99% of the owners of this radio feel the same way. But, like you, I have trouble. The key is for us to find what is sometimes called “the mental model”. This is a way of thinking about the interface that matches what is in the heads of the designers. Adopting the correct mental model will help us reason out what to do in most cases.

?

Deleting entries drove me crazy for a few days until I realized that there are two different things that can be deleted. You can delete the actual data [page 32] which consists of frequency plus, optionally, offset, tone, and power. But you can also delete pointers to this data [page 34] which is used in the memory banks. The designers chose to make these two procedures different. Don’t know why yet.

?

You also mentioned what I call “error branches” which is when you are trying to do one thing and accidently end up doing another. I am trying to capture as many of these as possible in my Beginner’s Guide and explain how to escape the unintended state and repair any damage.

?

73,

?

Rick

KG7MQL

?

?

From: FT-60@... [mailto:FT-60@...]
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2014 5:52 AM
To: FT-60@...
Subject: [FT-60] Re: User Manual Addendum #1

?

?

Rick:

Your idea sounds good. MY problem is that, even after owning the cussed thing for over a year, I can never remember how to delete a frequency from a group. There's something I try to do (can't remember what it is, dammit) that caused me to add the frequency In current use to the group I am currently in. Then I scan the frequency two! three, sometimes four times each time through the band! until I can go through the PDF manual to find yet again how to delete a frequency from a memory bank.

Yes, it's dead easy, but for me, it is not intuitive for some stupid reason.

73,
Neil
VA5SCA
SKCC 12198