Every User Manual Is Online

Already found one "gotcha" Richard. I have been aware of online manuals for years, and these days, nearly every conceivable manual is available in PDF format.

However, I bought a D-Llink DIR-600 wireless router at Panafoto, and yes, the manual and all the menus were in Spanish.

First, I tried to change the menus to English. Oops! That's not available on this router.

Then I did some investigating with Google, and found out that this is an international version with Español only, and is marked as obsolete and no longer in production by D-Link. Yet they are still selling it in Panama.

So I found the manual in English and downloaded it, expecting to have an exact translation for each menu item of the multiple nested menus. Oops! The menus structure of the English version of the DIR-600 is quite different from the Spanish version, so no easy translation of the option lines.

Finally, since I knew there was an excellent freeware Linux substitute for the DIR-600 software called DD-WRT, I downloaded it, but it wouldn't install. Oops! This obsolete wireless router, still sold in Panama doesn't have enough memory on board to install the Linux OS.

Of course, the obvious answer is that when you buy electronics that use menus for configuration, to make sure it also has selectable languages for those menus. Combined with a downloaded English manual, your configuration problems will then be much easier to handle.

And of course, for electrical appliances that don't have computer screen setup and configuration, the downloaded manual in English is all that you need - worked perfectly for the LG clothes washer in my rental casita.

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Robert Bowes January 4, 2013 at 8:38pm

I tried to download an English manual for a Chinese made GPS to no avail. I'm still trying to get the seller to forward me one that was promised on the website but nothing yet. Of several items ordered the Freelander M100 was the only item that didn't have the English manual included. Everything else ordered has been great.
David van Harn January 4, 2013 at 12:08pm

Already found one "gotcha" Richard. I have been aware of online manuals for years, and these days, nearly every conceivable manual is available in PDF format.

However, I bought a D-Llink DIR-600 wireless router at Panafoto, and yes, the manual and all the menus were in Spanish.

First, I tried to change the menus to English. Oops! That's not available on this router.

Then I did some investigating with Google, and found out that this is an international version with Español only, and is marked as obsolete and no longer in production by D-Link. Yet they are still selling it in Panama.

So I found the manual in English and downloaded it, expecting to have an exact translation for each menu item of the multiple nested menus. Oops! The menus structure of the English version of the DIR-600 is quite different from the Spanish version, so no easy translation of the option lines.

Finally, since I knew there was an excellent freeware Linux substitute for the DIR-600 software called DD-WRT, I downloaded it, but it wouldn't install. Oops! This obsolete wireless router, still sold in Panama doesn't have enough memory on board to install the Linux OS.

Of course, the obvious answer is that when you buy electronics that use menus for configuration, to make sure it also has selectable languages for those menus. Combined with a downloaded English manual, your configuration problems will then be much easier to handle.

And of course, for electrical appliances that don't have computer screen setup and configuration, the downloaded manual in English is all that you need - worked perfectly for the LG clothes washer in my rental casita.
wryawry January 4, 2013 at 11:05am

I couldn't find one for my wife ....
- David van Harn > wryawry January 4, 2013 at 12:09pm
  
  But she probably has one for you!!

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Every User Manual Is Online

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