What makes the KE7X Elecraft book different than the Elecraft owner’s manuals?

Let’s start by saying the KE7X books do not have any information needed to operate the radios that is not in the Elecraft Owner’s manuals.  Owner’s manuals are by design succinct and concise descriptions of the controls and features of the radio.  Elecraft manuals are very well done but I found during my 40+ years as an EE prof that there are various ways that people learn.  Some are visual learners and learn by seeing diagrams and images, some can gain comprehension just be reading.  Others are more hands-on learners, needing the “lab experience” to cement their understanding of the concepts.  I’m a visual and hands-on learner.  When I first got my K3 I had trouble understanding how the sub receiver worked and what the different antenna switching options were.  So I drew it out in a diagram and that made it much more clear to me.  If that helped me, wouldn’t it help others?  So the idea of a K3 book was born.  (The original title was to be “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the K3” but I got talked out of that!)

The concept that takes these books beyond the Elecraft manuals is support for the visual, reading, and doing learning styles.    There are many, many diagrams.   In the K3S book there are 131 diagrams, 16 on the sub receiver alone.  There are expanded explanations (and diagrams) for all radio operations and in-depth explanations of topics such as the various controls for the receiver’s AGC.  And to top it all off, most topics have a “lab exercise” that you can do sitting at your radio to make sure you understand the concept. 

The printed versions of the books all have an extensive index and, of course, the pdf versions can be easily searched for what you are looking for.