• LCD Screen - Displays latest GhostNet headlines (news items) as well as menu options.
• Select Dial - Allows user to scroll through current headlines. Button in center of knob allows user to select the highlighted news item or option.
• Volume - Adjusts the volume of the radio or digital voice synthesizer. Turning it all the way down will click off audio
• Circular Mode Select - Allows user to select from different modes: Radio, GhostNet, or Internet. Radio mode is plain old FM radio and the user can navigate the frequencies via the Select Dial and LCD screen. GhostNet mode activates Bluetooth and searches for GhostNet-compatible devices in the area. It displays news items as they arrive and displays older items for as long as the user has specified. Internet mode uses wi-fi to take RSS feeds from specified favorite sources and displays them in much the same way.
• Virtual Keyboard Switch - Turns the laser-light virtual keyboard on.
• Virtual Keyboard - Permits the user to publish stories to GhostNet via the PA-200.
• Power Generator - Crank that generates power for the unit when batteries are low or spent. Only works in GhostNet and Radio (low-power) modes.
• Power Source Switch - choose from batteries, dynamo/adaptor (crank), or off.
• Speaker - If volume is up, it will play

A user wants to publish to GhostNet using PA-200. He or she first powers on the device either by a lengthy cranking or selecting battery power. Then, making sure the circular select switch is set to GhostNet mode, the user turns on the virtual keyboard.

On the LCD screen will be the latest retrieved headlines and the option, "PUBLISH." Selecting that option with the dial, the user presses the select button and is taken to the publishing screen. He or she enters in a headline and full story via the laser-light, virtual keyboard and then selects "SUBMIT" once finished.

Meanwhile, if active, the GhostNet application attempts to detect other bluetooth-enabled devices and transmit itself. That is, if the recipient is willing and does not already have the application. If devices in close geographical proximity are already running GhostNet, these devices will automatically begin to exchange news items based on user-defined criteria and filters. PA-200 units are already GhostNet-compatible.

These new headlines will appear on the LCD screen and can be selected and read in full. If the user is in a public area and would like to broadcast the latest GhostNet news, he or she may do so by simply turning the volume up. A digitally synthesized voice will read the text aloud.

This particular radio made the project far easier than we expected it to be. The various functions it needed to serve came quite naturally to the design of the Grundig FR-200. The only difficulty was on the input end -- deciding how the user might be able to publish news items with this device rather than simply reading them. Once we hit the idea of the virtual keyboard, everything went smoothly after that.