Documentation Overview

Purpose

The purpose of this overview is to provide information that applies to all of our documentation. For example, the Glossary describes the terminology, acronyms and abbreviations used throughout our product descriptions.

Distribution

Organization

The Product Index Page provides a master index that links to the documentation for each product and project. The links each point to a directory on the distribution CD that contains all of the information for each product or project. For example, the YACC directory on the distribution disk contains all of the documentation for the "Yet Another Crystal Calibrator" module.

Within each of the project directories on the distribution disk are subdirectories with names such as "schematics" and "photos" that provide image files that can be separately displayed and printed. In some cases, schematic and other non-photo files are available for download so they can be viewed and printed on your local printer.

Because browsers differ in their rendering of schematic and plot files, displayed images may not be optimal for viewing. We try to check the Web site with various browsers such as Firefox, Iceweasel, Chrome, Explorer and the Mac browser. But, if a particular browser is not displaying properly, let us know and we will try to make adjustments. Note: we do not scale photos within the browser. Not only do different browsers scale differently, the entire file must be downloaded even if the scaling is a fraction of the actual file size.

Images contained in documentation directories by right-clicking on them and selecting the "view image info" option. Also, images are normally labeled so that they can be easily identified. For example, an image labeled "Photo 1" in a "photos" directory would normally have "photo1" in the first part of its file name.

Audience

Our audience includes hobbyists, experimenters, Ham radio operators, technicians and engineers. Hence, the documentation assumes that the reader has some familiarity with electronic circuits, schematic diagrams, software terminology and surface mount technology.

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Hard Copy

Some manuals and miscellaneous documentation are contained in the "manuals" directory. These can be printed by displaying them (e.g., with a PDF reader) and printing them from the viewer.

Documention prepared recently has forced page breaks embedded in the HTML so that printouts have logical page breaks (e.g., tables appear on a single page or start at the top of a page). Where page breaks are used, the page is indicated by a horizontal line with the page number shown immediately below it at the right edge of the display. Thus selected pages or sequences can be easily printed by selecting a page or page range corresponding to the displayed page numbers. The index can be printed as Page 1. This section has been prepared with page labels.

Because most of our products are now documented in HTML format, schematics and photos displayed from the documentation disk can be printed by right-clicking on the image and selecting the "Print" option or printing the entire page of HTML.

In some cases, printing from a browser will not produce a high-quality full-page schematic or photo. For Web users, we are attempting to make critical files, such as schematics and programming files, available as zip files that can be downloaded.

For users with access to the documentation CD, the photos and schematics can be printed in high-quality from the CD without using a browser. To do this, go to the appropriate project directory on the CD and use the display/print facilities of programs such as Picasa.

For Web users, if you are having trouble printing from a browser and the file isn't available for download, contact us at the "support" email address given at the bottom of each document page. We will send you a hardcopy as a file attachment. We can also accommodate users who want the documentation CD, but there may be a nominal charge to cover shipping and handling.

When separately printing photos or schematics from Windows, we recommend that you display the directory containing the visual files using the "Filmstrip" option on the File Explorer toolbar. This shows images in the directory in a filmstrip format that allows each image to be selected and displayed in a large format. The selected image can usually be printed by right-clicking on it and selecting the "Print" option. Similar options are available from most Linux graphical interfaces.

Note that users with a distribution CD have access to all displayed content, including photographs of modules and projects. Web users can generally download critical content, such as schematics, but do not have access to photos.

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Glossary