K1LSB wrote:I robustly disagree. As just one example, the new history feature in Richie's RX and TX Power analog meters conveys a large amount of easy-to-digest at-a-glance information in a single presentation that isn't available in any other format.
They display no more than two pieces of information at once, with a confusing and bewildering background of multiple scales, and in the RX case all but one or two of which are irrelevant to the current metering mode. How is that a "large amount"?
In fact, easy-to-digest at-a-glance information is the reason that several critical gauges in aircraft are still analog.
As a commercial helicopter pilot I can assure you that statement is substantially irrelevant to both my points and concerns.
You are confusing "analog" as equating to a dial type indicator. Anything with a pointer on top of a scale is "analog", so that includes bar type meters as well. I'm not against analog presentations of data, in fact they are very important. But old style moving coil meters represent a huge design compromise associated with inflexible hardware, limited panel space, and cost considerations. None of these factors are associated with modern software-driven, information displays.
When you look at any
modern EIS (engine indication system) in an aircraft, and I stress
modern because you can find some really dumb stuff in older instrumentation designs, you find:
1. A single value per meter, be they dial or bar type.
2. Rarely two values per meter, and only on dial types.
3. If there are two values those values are closely related somehow.
4. If there are two values they either share the same scale or the scales are physically part of different meter areas. Under no exception is more than one scale shown in an overlapping manner, they are always on different parts of the dial. There is one special exception to this that I can think of (see below).
5. In most cases the actual value is also indicated numerically.
Both analog and numeric presentations are important. This way you can obtain both a quick, general idea of the state of the value from the analog presentation, as well as a very precise measurement from the numeric presentation.
These are all excellent UI and ergonomic guidelines, and that's how modern cockpits are designed.
Old-style, moving coil simulations meet almost none of the guidelines. Metering in Thetis or any other modern SDR software should meet these same guidelines.Here's an example of a relatively low cost display that is currently available. It displays no less than 24 parameters
3 numeric only parameters
9 combined analog and numeric parameters
12 analog parameters summarized by two numeric parameters
- gi-275-eis.jpg (77.19 KiB) Viewed 7365 times
The one special exception I alluded to is the engine/rotor RPM display in a helicopter. Many of these (not all, not the one in my helicopter) display both rotor and engine RPM over two disparate scales. However the pointers and scales are arranged so that under nominal operating conditions both pointers are aligned right on top of each other, or nearly so. This is one of the rare exceptions, and there are unique ergonomic requirements associated with the maintenance of rotor and engine RPM in a helicopter that make this exception desirable.