Source: The Great International Math on Keys Book, Texas Instruments Inc., Dallas, Texas, p. 4-7, 1976.
Pressing Buttons. Twirling Knobs and Throwing Switches
Move along. Nothing informative to read here, just the wandering of an idle mind scheming with meandering fingers on a keyboard. On the other hand, if your curiosity can’t be controlled, consider that a significant amount of enjoyment in this hobby is the mere operation of the radio – seeing what all the buttons, knobs, and switches do, both separately and in combination. It’s always been this way. Beginning in the Amplifiozoic Epoch there was continual rotation of the knobs. This occurred before the discovery of ganged capacitors, when each circuit had to be tuned independently to resonate at the proper frequency. Otherwise, nothing.
It could be quite confounding for a non-radiofile trying to break into the sport. Just getting some sound out of a two-knob radio could be a challenge. My late mother solved this problem on all our radios by painting a dab of red nail polish at the points on the dial where each local station came in.
The Complexities of Shortwave
Later, with the humble entry-level shortwave “set” there was conundrum in the way the bandspread interacted with the main tuning control, and the curious effect of the BFO switch. Even the venerable Hallicrafters Company, which catered to the hams and SWLs of the time, recognized the problem. They tried to solve this by prescribing a default setting in installation and operating procedures for model S-40 receiver, The Hallicrafters Company, Chicago, USA, p. 4, 1946:
“NOTE. – Some of the control markings are in RED. This is an added feature incorporated for the convenience of the listener who is not familiar with radio terminology as an aid in setting the controls most used for the reception of standard broadcast stations.”
That was the nice way of saying it. After many years, I still chuckle to myself thinking of an old ham radio mentor of mine who insensitively explained that the purpose of these markings was for certain members of the household who could not otherwise make the radio work. On my S-40B, the “convenience” markings are white dots.
Modern Radios
Modern radios have many buttons, which can work in different ways. A short press will do one thing while a long press will do something else. Some buttons do one thing with the radio turned off and another thing with the radio turned on. On many radios you can lock the buttons and knobs, in which case they won’t do anything. You must get it right.
Hidden Features
Today, the possibilities with all these variables are boundless, even beyond the control of the manufacturers who incorporate the complex TEF6686 30-pin IC chips in their designs. Qodosen has set the bar high by making a plethora of user-adjustable functions available on the DX-286. An uncommonly informative 40-page manual has been included with each radio and is highly recommended as an essential tool to assist with its operation.
In recent years, Tecsun has capitalized on this by incorporating “hidden features” in some of their models; that is, their operation and even their very existence are not revealed in the manual. In computer gaming parlance, these features are called “Easter eggs” for which one must hunt. Originally, the inclusion of hidden features may not have been intentional, but with the introduction of the PL-880 in 2013 they became a veritable sensation, as testified by the countless owner postings on the PL-880 Yahoo users’ group of that time. A prize of unbounded esteem and self-satisfaction went to the intrepid listener who discovered and solved a hidden feature. This interest went on for several months as Tecsun tweaked the firmware and the “features” migrated somewhat. But unfortunately, a spoiler has been introduced. Hidden feature data sheets are now packaged with current models. In case you are missing any, here is a sampling.
For the Tecsun PL-368 see https://swling.com/blog/2021/08/troys-tecsun-pl-368-hidden-features-quick-reference-sheet/
For the Tecsun PL-990 see https://swling.com/blog/2020/10/johns-pl-990-hidden-features-quick-reference-sheet/
For the Tecsun PL-880 see https://swling.com/blog/2019/10/40072/
For the Tecsun S-8800 see https://swling.com/blog/2018/08/bill-discovers-a-number-of-tecsun-s-8800-hidden-features/
SDR
The complexity of radio operation is compounded still further by the advent of SDR, wherein combinations of various hardware and software components result in a host of possibilities. Features and their placement seem endless as they are distributed on multiple menus. As my personal experience is limited to WebSDR, I leave the pursuit of this point to others.
Manual Power Generation
Finally, the inclusion of some elementary form of leverage and dexterity is present in some radios. Isn’t the hand-powered crank on today’s emergency radio akin to the vintage treadle-operated transcription machine pictured at the beginning of this posting? Perhaps we have come full circle.
Conclusion
Today’s radios are a sort of Rubik’s cube which can continually be manipulated to provide many hours of discovery and complement the listening and DXing experiences. So, the next time you crawl underneath the headset and unconsciously tune to the object frequency, zero beat on the necessary sideband, and adjust the proper bandwidth and volume, reflect on all the time and practice it took you to develop this useful skill.
Yes, operating and understanding all those controls is part of the fun and mystery of this hobby. I remember my first experience with an army R-390/URR way back when. To this day, operating that monster separates the proverbial men from the boys.
My Hallicrafters S-38C remains a lovely memory. Sure we’re a lot more SWBC stations to log in.
I agree. Humor definitely has the potential to fill some of the void left by the decline of AM.
I often wonder what the imbeciles were thinking that decided that light grey lettering on a dark grey or black background was a smart way to label a knob or button.
I have DAB+ radio. On the LCD screen is a list of available program streams. The only controls are up and down buttons, 5 preset memory buttons to select programs. A volume up and down buttons and a power button are in addition.
There is a menu button which is used to initiate a scan to look for signals, display for bit rates, frequency, channel number
I think my Icom IC-R6 receiver might be at the pinnacle of button minimization, where everything is controlled with just four buttons, using press, long-press, and function-press sequences. Well, OK, there are more than four if you count Function, squelch open, On/Off, and volume control, but basically all operating functions use just four buttons.
Sometimes I wonder if radio designers have ever met a real human being.
I enjoyed the article.
Not every useful thing is “High Tech.”
Most households have either “Post-It-Notes” or blue painter’s tape.
When needing a marker for a SR-I, SR-II, Selec-A-Tenna or similar
I snip a easy to remove/relocate wedge “pointer” from
Blue Painter’s tape,
yellow Post-It-Note tops,
or even used and cancelled postage stamps.
I admire the early “analog circuit” Sangean PR-D5 radios for their “in the mud” weak signal AM sensitivity. These early production models can be identified as they have two dots below the volume control. When the Sangean PR-D15 was introduced, both it and thereafter PR-D5’s got the SiLabs chip with much reduced weak signal volume controlability.
Since this early model PR-D5 can switch 9/10 kHZ stepping on MW in its MENU, it would seem that just a few extra lines of EPROM programming could unlock 1 kHz increment tuning, which would be handy at odd DX’ing times.
The company “SK Merchandising Corp” has long sold “Super Metal Marker” paint pens. These are very handy for putting small dots of paint on wires, terminals, parts and so forth. They come in white and yellow and the paint is quick dry.
Bob, that was a wonderful summary history of radio! The mixture of humor and technology was just right. We need more of this line of edu-tainment in our hobby. Thank you!