Manual errors
- Thread starter Texy
- Start date
rq3
Senior Member
I always thought they were called "DED" (Darkness Emitting Diode).
Absolutely right on all counts! Anyone doubting this comment just needs to look at Page 74 of the Manual 1; A half-page colour illustration that has absolute "cataract quality" - a complete waste of space as nothing can be read on it. We are promised new manuals for PICAXE Editor 6 - Let us plead with the authors to address this problem and avoid it in the new manuals.
hippy
Ex-Staff (retired)
We appreciate the comments and will bear them in mind as we update manuals to reflect the new PE6.
With respect to the Manual 1, Page 74 example which is a good one to highlight; this image is really just an illustration of what the text describes, eg "This is what the Simulation mode looks like" / "If you are seeing something like this, you have correctly entered simulation mode". It is lower resolution because it was intended to be merely illustrative and does not contain any specifically useful information in itself. I doubt we were expecting anyone to actually read anything on it or would want to.
Many people do skip over the image as illustrative only and don't have an issue but it does seem some expect or desire to be able to zoom and clearly read all images and we will bear that fact in mind.
der_fisherman
Member
Firstly many thanks for your reply.
Secondly, maybe previous manuals did not have such illustrations and many learnt the PICAXE on those manuals and have no need of such illustrations anymore.....but then I would say, remove them completely if they serve no purpose, but as the text refers to them, the text will need to be updated as well. The easiest job is to simply increase the picture quality (makes for a larger download) to make them useful (to me at least!).
Also, two downloads could be offered and "customers" could make their own mind up - small or large!!
Many thanks again and I hope it does not take too long to make a larger download available.
I did find an older V7 section 1 manual, the diagrams here are just as useless, so its nothing new apparently.....
Regards
Andy
Well, touché I guess! Yes, I fully accept the "illustrative" nature of some of the "illustrations". As an author of a dozen clinical textbooks I guess that I tend to look at such things with a somewhat critical eye - and I am something of a perfectionist. But as an author I also very much appreciate what is involved in putting together this now four volume technical manual. The quality of the manual was probably the most important factor in drawing me into the PICAXE concept; like Andy I printed out all three volumes in full; two-sided on A4 and bound the lot. Now, of course, I just refer to the .PDF updates as I need to. The information is very well structured across the volumes and was pivotal in getting me to swap from working with interface boards on PCs to self-standing devices based upon PICs. Today, I just checked my stock levels and I found that I have a current inventory of 63 PICAXE chips of all types; I regularly just go to my component drawers, "pick up a PICAXE" and a few hours later I have another device operating. It is a pleasure to work with such predictably reliable software/hardware.
The low resolution images are basically an annoying niggle in otherwise excellent volumes. They just grate somewhat when the overall quality of the PICAXE system is so high; it makes that aspect of the manuals look like one of my students had scanned in something for a class project rather than it being a quality product from an admirable British company.
Now while I am here, can I say that I look forward to an expanded, updated and enriched Volume III? - or possibly an advanced supplement on interfacing. Hippy, you have written some super stuff and given us great insight with such things as your pulsout/interrupt approach to PICAXE-PICAXE comms; use of shift registers and I can think of many others, but without spending a whole heap of time browsing around this forum these excellent and clearly described applications are somewhat invisible. It would be just great to see them in a manual.
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westaust55
Moderator
The nature of the images has been raised on a number of occassions in the past. Here is one thread:
http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?22838-Pic-Axe-Manuals-bitmap-images-blurred-and-unreadable
Considering there is, as hippy indicates above, no specific content to be read or interpreted, the need for crystal clear images has not previously been seen as essential.
http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showthread.php?22838-Pic-Axe-Manuals-bitmap-images-blurred-and-unreadable
Considering there is, as hippy indicates above, no specific content to be read or interpreted, the need for crystal clear images has not previously been seen as essential.
Much expanded interfacing manual ?
Good for some, sure, but who pays ?
As anyone who has ever written a manual or even documented a project, producing good clear and accurate documentation takes a lot of time and effort, plus some sort of on-going commitment to keep updating it.
I too think the images do not provide much info.
But to not cause unecessary wondering and irritation, i think it should be stated in beginning of the documents something like:
" The colour images are only illustrative and to save on download size they are highly compressed.
Do not expect to be able to read text in i them. "
But to not cause unecessary wondering and irritation, i think it should be stated in beginning of the documents something like:
" The colour images are only illustrative and to save on download size they are highly compressed.
Do not expect to be able to read text in i them. "