I finally saw the new touchscreen test set in action against our old manual units.

The touchscreen interface added 15 minutes to a basic transponder check because you have to navigate three menus just to set the RF output, so I'm sticking with physical knobs and switches for speed and reliability, has anyone else had this experience with the newer digital gear?

4 comments

4 Comments

max_torres442mo ago

Yeah that "under pressure" part is so true lol. Sometimes you just need it to work, not fight through a touchscreen.

the_claire21d ago

Maybe it's just me but the real issue here is that touchscreens remove the tactile feedback that tells your fingers what they're doing without looking. With knobs you can feel the click or detent at each setting, and your hand knows where it's at even if your eyes are on the connector or the aircraft. On a touchscreen you have to visually confirm every single tap, and in a hangar with bad lighting or reflections that can be a nightmare. I've seen guys miss a button by a quarter inch and set something wrong without noticing until the test fails. Plus when your hands are greasy or sweaty from climbing around a plane, touchscreens just become a smudged mess that registers ghost taps. Nobody designing these things thought about the actual physical environment they'd be used in.

taylorshah2mo ago

Right? It feels like they design this stuff in a perfect lab, not a noisy hangar. I bet the menus get even worse with gloves on.

ellioth372mo ago

Watched a guy try to do a quick continuity check on a new analyzer last week, same deal. He spent more time looking for the right soft key than actually testing. Makes you wonder if the people who design this stuff ever have to use it under pressure.