2000 Chevrolet flashers reimbursment

Question:

I have a 2000 Malibu in which i replaced hazard light flasher along with rear taillight circuit board. Taillight was collecting water inside and possibly caused flasher unit to fail. Right now there is GM campaign to extend the warranty on flasher unit, and reimburse for the repair costs… Need some info on this campaign, will i be reimbursed just for the flasher unit , or for the taillight board as well? Is there any reimbursement for my time fixin’ this? Thanks

Response:

The recall campaign appears to be for a different defect than the one you experienced. Document ID# 1469409 2000 Chevrolet/Geo Malibu Product Safety – Turn Signals/Hazard Warning Flashers Inoperative #03043A – (Mar 8, 2004) 03043A — Turn Signal/Hazard Warning Flashers Inoperative 2000-2001 Chevrolet Malibu 2000-2001 Oldsmobile Alero 2000-2001 Pontiac Grand Am THIS BULLETIN IS BEING REVISED TO INCLUDE 2000 AND 2001 MODEL YEAR PONTIAC GRAND AM VEHICLES. DISCARD ALL COPIES OF BULLETIN 03043, ISSUED FEBRUARY 2004. Condition General Motors has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2000 and 2001 model year Chevrolet Malibu and Oldsmobile Alero, and Pontiac Grand Am vehicles. Some of these vehicles have a condition in which solder joints in the hazard warning flasher switch may crack. If cracking occurs, it may cause the audible flasher indicator, visual flasher indicator in the instrument cluster, turn signals, and the hazard warning flashers to work intermittently or not at all. If the turn signals or hazard warning flasher are not working, others may react more slowly to a turning or stopped vehicle and a crash could occur. Correction Dealers are to replace the hazard warning flasher switch. Vehicles Involved Involved are certain 2000 and 2001 Chevrolet Malibu and Oldsmobile Alero, and Pontiac Grand Am vehicles built within these VIN breakpoints: Year – Division – Model – From – Through 2000 – Chevrolet – Malibu – Y6226571 – Y6352520 2001 – Chevrolet – Malibu – 16100003 – 16281822 2001 – Chevrolet – Malibu – 1M500024 – 1M669822 2000 – Oldsmobile – Alero – YC001581 – YC002052 2000 – Oldsmobile – Alero – YC372245 – YC435078 2001 – Oldsmobile – Alero – 1C100001 – 1C250905 2000 – Pontiac – Grand Am – YC535849 – YC568892 2000 – Pontiac – Grand Am – YM792549 – YM886948 2001 – Pontiac – Grand Am – 1C100008 – 1C250906 2001 – Pontiac – Grand Am – 1M500001 – 1M648029 Important: Dealers should confirm vehicle eligibility through GMVIS (GM Vehicle Inquiry System) before beginning recall repairs. [Not all vehicles within the above breakpoints may be involved.] [...] Parts Information Parts required to complete this recall are to be obtained from General Motors Service Parts Operations (GMSPO). Please refer to your "involved vehicles listing" before ordering parts. Normal orders should be placed on a DRO=Daily Replenishment Order. In an emergency situation, parts should be ordered on a CSO=Customer Special Order. Part Number – Description – Qty 22594146 – Switch, Hazard Wrng (W/Flasher) (Malibu) – 1 22642606 – Switch, Hazard Wrng (W/Flasher) (Alero) – 1 22642605 – Switch, Hazard Wrng (W/Flasher) (2000 Grand Am) – 1 22624799 – Switch, Hazard Wrng (W/Flasher) (2001 Grand Am) – 1 [...] GENERAL MOTORS PRODUCT PROGRAM CUSTOMER REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURE If you have paid to have this recall condition corrected prior to receiving this notification, you may be eligible to receive reimbursement. Requests for reimbursement may include parts, labor, fees and taxes. Reimbursement may be limited to the amount the repair would have cost if completed by an authorized General Motors dealer. Your claim will be acted upon within 60 days of receipt. If your claim is:

Cell phones for the deaf

Question:

(Bill Machrone, PC Magazine)—Why don’t we have cell phones for deaf people?   Pocket PCs, smart phones, and similar devices can exchange e-mail from anywhere, but they can’t communicate with TTY/TDD machines. It would take an order from fairly high up the chain to support the TTY protocol, which uses the old five-bit Baudot code system instead of ASCII. If we were starting today, the whole deaf-communication system could be handled by a blend of instant messaging and text messaging, but the TTY system is too deeply embedded to be replaced any time soon. So what’s needed is an interface from the existing system to the new wireless world.   I did some research, and am pleased to report that others are aware of the problem and are working on it. Lormar Logic (www.lormarlogic.com/iptty.htm) offers Lormar Internet TTY, a service that extends TTY access to Sidekick, BlackBerry, Treo, and Palm devices. The service lets you use your keyboard phone as a TTY device; you can also reach relay operators, who are the human interface between the deaf and the hearing, typing words from your voice calls and giving voice to your caller’s TTY-originated messages. I also found a version of the Danger hiptop smart phone (www.danger.com) which is tailored for deaf and hearing-impaired use. The hiptop2 has a stronger vibration motor, and with its flip-up screen, a more spacious keyboard than many competing devices. In addition to instant messages and e-mail, the hiptop2 supports a variety of services, including MCI’s Wireless IP-Relay and Sprint Relay Wireless; both are available as free downloads from a preloaded catalog of services.   Others will offer their own versions of wireless IP relay services. Another version of the hiptop design, the Sidekick II, plays on the T-Mobile service. The Sidekick phone uses GoAmerica’s WyndPower 2.0 to allow full-duplex TTY calls as well as relay-operator calls. It even includes built-in access to InSight Cinema, which gives local listings for captioned movies.   These are very recent developments, sure to please the deaf and hearing-impaired community, which numbers nearly 28 million people in the U.S. The above list is not meant to be exhaustive, just indicative of the progress being made. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1731012,00.asp

Response:

Instant messaging and email is eclipsing tty for deaf-to-deaf communication. tty is for contacting hearing people.  IP relay is better than tty because the keyboard is normal and the screen is large.  tty is almost obsolete now, but will be around for a long time because is it is the government’s official deaf communication device. For hard of hearing, the ultimat cell phone is the Nokia that folds out into a keyboard, has loudspeaker and loop set, does instant message, email, and other things.  Sidekick is maybe better, except for voice calls.  Sidekick 2 is maybe OK for voice calls. Bill M "Steve" <q…@jfg.inv> wrote in message

news:tncer050d94ems8s6tfnbj3n129bl8dfa4@4ax.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> (Bill Machrone, PC Magazine)—Why don’t we have cell phones for deaf > people? > Pocket PCs, smart phones, and similar devices can exchange e-mail from > anywhere, but they can’t communicate with TTY/TDD machines. It would > take an order from fairly high up the chain to support the TTY > protocol, which uses the old five-bit Baudot code system instead of > ASCII. > If we were starting today, the whole deaf-communication system could > be handled by a blend of instant messaging and text messaging, but the > TTY system is too deeply embedded to be replaced any time soon. So > what’s needed is an interface from the existing system to the new > wireless world. > I did some research, and am pleased to report that others are aware of > the problem and are working on it. > Lormar Logic (www.lormarlogic.com/iptty.htm) offers Lormar Internet > TTY, a service that extends TTY access to Sidekick, BlackBerry, Treo, > and Palm devices. The service lets you use your keyboard phone as a > TTY device; you can also reach relay operators, who are the human > interface between the deaf and the hearing, typing words from your > voice calls and giving voice to your caller’s TTY-originated messages. > I also found a version of the Danger hiptop smart phone > (www.danger.com) which is tailored for deaf and hearing-impaired use. > The hiptop2 has a stronger vibration motor, and with its flip-up > screen, a more spacious keyboard than many competing devices. In > addition to instant messages and e-mail, the hiptop2 supports a > variety of services, including MCI’s Wireless IP-Relay and Sprint > Relay Wireless; both are available as free downloads from a preloaded > catalog of services. > Others will offer their own versions of wireless IP relay services. > Another version of the hiptop design, the Sidekick II, plays on the > T-Mobile service. The Sidekick phone uses GoAmerica’s WyndPower 2.0 to > allow full-duplex TTY calls as well as relay-operator calls. It even > includes built-in access to InSight Cinema, which gives local listings > for captioned movies. > These are very recent developments, sure to please the deaf and > hearing-impaired community, which numbers nearly 28 million people in > the U.S. The above list is not meant to be exhaustive, just indicative > of the progress being made. > http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1731012,00.asp

Response:

Back They Go

Question:

In article <bearclaw-367DF1.13191618082…@newsclstr01.news.prodigy.com>, bearc…@cruller.invalid wrote: >A little background: I had three different hearing tests before going >to purchase hearing aids. They were virtually identical. I have >considerable high-frequency loss. I was very excited about getting >these HAs–it is the first time in over twenty years that I have >assumed debt for anything, mostly based on what I have read in this >group. >The first dispenser I saw at Costco apparently had some kind of >disagreement with management and wound up leaving the store immediately >after I ordered and paid for my aids. I don’t know if he fitted me >wrong for the earmolds or what, but I can positively say that after a >few full days of wear, the insides of my ear canals felt very sore and >chafed.

I was in agony a week or two into wearing my HAs – kept checking to make sure my ears weren’t bleeding, it was so bad.  That eventually subsided within a month I was so comfortable with them on that I’d forget I had them in.   Actually, I still have to double check whether I’ve got them in or not when I’m about to take a shower or jump in the pool ….. Woods

Response:

I’ve been preaching BTE for years. Glad my arguments didn’t fall on deaf ears. ….had to say it. Henry

Response:

A little background: I had three different hearing tests before going to purchase hearing aids. They were virtually identical. I have considerable high-frequency loss. I was very excited about getting these HAs–it is the first time in over twenty years that I have assumed debt for anything, mostly based on what I have read in this group. The first dispenser I saw at Costco apparently had some kind of disagreement with management and wound up leaving the store immediately after I ordered and paid for my aids. I don’t know if he fitted me wrong for the earmolds or what, but I can positively say that after a few full days of wear, the insides of my ear canals felt very sore and chafed. The first day I wore these things, I was surprised to find myself thinking, "You’ve GOT to be kidding…the world CAN’T be this quiet of a place!" Seriously, leafblowers didn’t bother me anymore. Loud, booming-bass rap music from neighboring vehicles on the road didn’t bother me. I figured it was because the aids were blocking all sounds that it didn’t amplify. This became problematic later, as I explain in my letter to Costco, which follows. I could hear crickets and the cat crunching her kibble. Announcements over the work-facility loudspeaker, which I used to have to ask co-workers about (and you’d be shocked to find out how many of *them* couldn’t hear it either!), suddenly came in loud and clear. When the directional function worked right, it absolutely knocked my socks off; it sounded like they were speaking directly into my ear over a very clear walkie-talkie or something. Unfortunately, it didn’t always work (especially when the speaker turned away from me). I am very unhappy to return these things, but I can’t make full use of them with the kind of service Costco wants me to accept. Here is my letter to Costco: ****************************************** To whom it may concern: I am returning the Siemens Triano 3 Mic BTE hearing aid I purchased at the Sunnyvale, CA Costco on June 21st, 2004 and received on July 28th, 2004 for the following reasons (listed in ascending order of significance): 1. The aids hurt the insides of my ears after hours of wear. 2. The amplification is so subtle that sometimes I

New chapter to the "You don't look sick" book (RANT!!!)

Question:

Just knock on any wall in the house and say someone is at the door. LOL Sometimes I can talk forever. But that doesn’t mean friends can talk if I call them. And sometimes I can’t talk on the phone for all sorts of reasons. I, too, have little windows of time in which I can converse with someone. I know exactly what Michael is talking about when he says friends just want to talk forever and sometimes you can’t get off the phone. Many years ago I almost went insane because a very close friend was going through a rough time which ended in divorce and she’d call me and talk for hours. Not once a week or once a month but daily, sometimes a couple of times a day. By the time I’d get off the phone with her I was jumping at my own husband for not taking the trash out, etc. Every time the phone rang I was almost afraid to answer it. I finally realized what her "friendship" was doing to me and I had to put an end to it. I think Maggie has a great idea for an answering machine. Also if you use the one from the phone company you can program it from almost anyplace. So if Michael is in the hospital he can do it from the hospital phone. "Hi, this is Michael I can’t talk right now…………." But remember you do not want to give too much information. You don’t want a would be burglar to have enough information to know when to strike because you are not home! Bev – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I get my husband to ring me on my mobile, then tell the OP that I have to > get the other phone!!! > Janet

Response:

In article <2i92umFjlbj…@uni-berlin.de>,  "Snake Lady" <janetand…@btbroadband.com> wrote: > I get my husband to ring me on my mobile, then tell the OP that I have to > get the other phone!!!

My method is much easier: I tell the caller I need to hang up and rest now. As for the original poster: could you record a message on your answering machine/voicemail stating that you’re not in the hospital but not available to talk; leave a message and I’ll call you later? — "Did Father shoot him? I will eat Grandfather for dinner." – Helen Keller, on learning of the death of her grandfather

Response:

Hi Michael! I have an idea.  It comes from being hearing impaired & knowing what deaf people have to do to call an ambulance.  I don’t have to do it personally, but they have a tape recorder & they record a continuous message for 911 & play it when they call.  So, you could get you a few tapes for your answering machine & record you some messages & mark on them which message each one is. Just keep them right next to the machine & use them as needed. Message one:  This is Michael.  Thank you for your call.  I’m feeling crummy at the moment, but I’ll get back to you within the day.   Message two: This is Michael.  Thank you for your call.  I’m feeling quite awful.  Not enough to go to the hospital, but just unable to move my mouth to talk clearly enough for you to understand anything I would want to say.  I will call you as soon as I’m feeling better.  If it’s been two days, please check on me cuz I could be in the hospital. Message three: Hi this is Michael.  I just called 911 & I’m on my way to such & such hospital. Message four:  Yep, Michael again!  I’m fine…I just don’t wanna talk about neighbors & dogs today.  Mugsy’s feeling neglected, so we’re having some quality time with Milk-Bones & frisbies. : ) Remember, they just care enough to check on you & I know that can be annoying at times, but it’s a blessing indeed.   Hugs, Maggie

Response:

"Andy" <a…@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > In article <8%Ivc.660737$Ig.206100@pd7tw2no>, Shelagh > <valleylu…@hotmail.com> wrote > [ > >I don't like the phone a bit ..... never have..... and during a > >flare, I dislike it even more than just a bit... it is an > >annoying and a noisy interruption IMO. > Oh, the phone is a *wonderful* invention. > Pity they had to spoil it by making two of them > -- > Andy Taylor

LOL!! well said Andy... EXACTLY right! imo anyhow! ....... Shelagh

Response:

"Shelagh" <valleylu...@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:8%Ivc.660737$Ig.206100@pd7tw2no... > "Andy" <a...@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > > In article <REFvc.37013$3x.31861@attbi_s54>, Michael Roeper > > <roe...@comcast.net> wrote > Funny! seems whenever my phone rings that within approx. 5 > minutes >  'oh dear, someone is at the front door' ...... which means of > course that  I have to get off the phone quite quickly,  usually > saying 'I'll talk to you later, do keep in touch!'

I have pictured you here as the Travelocity Gnome... "don't forget your hat!"  LOL Mair - Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -> > [ > > >There's no such thing as telling em that I'm dead tired and > ionly have a few > > >minutes to > > >talk. > > I did once consider getting a loud bell or bleeper, then I > could set it > > going and say Have to go that's the fire alarm / police at the > door / > > souffle ready... > > -- and I quickly > click off the connection to prevent more chitchat ... > I really don't believe it is deceitful; I do believe it is one > appropriate way to end what would become an exhausting > conversation that I was not up to at that point in time .... and > if/when I do have the energy reserves I can always call back at > that point and/or email whomever. > I don't like the phone a bit ..... never have..... and during a > flare, I dislike it even more than just a bit... it is an > annoying and a noisy interruption IMO. >  (perhaps one day someone will come up with a better means of > contacting each other for people like us - one can hope) > If I am having a very bad day I turn the ringer off and leave a > message explaining to some extent that >  'I am not up for a chat but thanks for calling' and I suggest > they maybe send an email instead 'as I check that pretty much > daily!' > fwiw........ Shelagh

Response:

Lately I;ve been taking the Cytoxan (along with all the other crap that the Doctors give me to "make me well." IAnd I'm a lucky guy. I have so many friends and fasmily that love me and care about me and wonder how I;m doing. As many of you know, I spend a lot of time in the hospital. "That which ails me," is so rare that I've become a himan guinia pig and, while the Doc's have been up front about that from day one, It's real obvious that I gety sick a lot and end up in the hospi. Here's the problem......If someone calls me and I don't get right back to them (they leave a voice message cause I'm just too damn tired to talk n the phone for an hour) they freak out if I don;t get right back to them and let em know I'm OK. EVERYTHING that's wrong with me along with EVERYTHING I take medicine-wise has fatigue as a part of it. IF I don't get right back to them they start calling the emergency rooms and asking if I'm in the hospital. THEN, when I do finally get enough energy to spend half a day on the phone returning phone calls, they're rea;;y pissed of that I didn't call them right away. I can't figure out how to tell them I get too tired to spend so much time on the phone. My 79 year old "little old lady" girlfriend is always relieved to find out I'm alive but then I have to hear about her daughter, what she had for breakfast, why the neighbors hate her little dog (she's ruined this little "barker." If I  lived in her neighborhood I'd have a real problem wioth the dog too....). There's no such thing as telling em that I'm dead tired and ionly have a few minutes to talk. Maybe I need to put together a mailing list and do a mass mailing everytime I get too tired to talk on the phone. I try sending mas e-mails but then I get, "Oh, I only check my e-mail once a week or so....." Makes me want to report them to the "E-mail police." FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!! The hard part is that I know they just mean well and they get worried about me. Ijust get too tired to talk on the phone with this new chemotherapy. It's bustin my chops! There! I got to complain a little and I feel better..

Response:

In article <8%Ivc.660737$Ig.206100@pd7tw2no>, Shelagh <valleylu...@hotmail.com> wrote [ >I don't like the phone a bit ..... never have..... and during a >flare, I dislike it even more than just a bit... it is an >annoying and a noisy interruption IMO.

Oh, the phone is a *wonderful* invention. Pity they had to spoil it by making two of them -- Andy Taylor [Chair, N E Lupus Group] See http://www.northeastlupus.org.uk for more!

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -"Andy" <a…@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > In article <REFvc.37013$3x.31861@attbi_s54>, Michael Roeper > <roe…@comcast.net> wrote > [ > >There's no such thing as telling em that I'm dead tired and ionly have a few > >minutes to > >talk. > I did once consider getting a loud bell or bleeper, then I could set it > going and say Have to go that's the fire alarm / police at the door / > souffle ready... > --

Funny! seems whenever my phone rings that within approx. 5 minutes  'oh dear, someone is at the front door' ...... which means of course that  I have to get off the phone quite quickly,  usually saying 'I'll talk to you later, do keep in touch!' and I quickly click off the connection to prevent more chitchat ... I really don't believe it is deceitful; I do believe it is one appropriate way to end what would become an exhausting conversation that I was not up to at that point in time .... and if/when I do have the energy reserves I can always call back at that point and/or email whomever. I don't like the phone a bit ..... never have..... and during a flare, I dislike it even more than just a bit... it is an annoying and a noisy interruption IMO.  (perhaps one day someone will come up with a better means of contacting each other for people like us - one can hope) If I am having a very bad day I turn the ringer off and leave a message explaining to some extent that  'I am not up for a chat but thanks for calling' and I suggest they maybe send an email instead 'as I check that pretty much daily!' fwiw........ Shelagh

Response:

In article <REFvc.37013$3x.31861@attbi_s54>, Michael Roeper <roe...@comcast.net> wrote [ >There's no such thing as telling em that I'm dead tired and ionly have a few >minutes to >talk.

I did once consider getting a loud bell or bleeper, then I could set it going and say Have to go that's the fire alarm / police at the door / souffle ready... -- Andy Taylor [Chair, N E Lupus Group] See http://www.northeastlupus.org.uk for more!

Response:

"Maggie" <JD…@webtv.net> wrote in message

news:20145-40BF512D-297@storefull-3214.bay.webtv.net… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi Michael! > I have an idea.  It comes from being hearing impaired & knowing what > deaf people have to do to call an ambulance.  I don’t have to do it > personally, but they have a tape recorder & they record a continuous > message for 911 & play it when they call.  So, you could get you a few > tapes for your answering machine & record you some messages & mark on > them which message each one is. Just keep them right next to the machine > & use them as needed. > Message one:  This is Michael.  Thank you for your call.  I’m feeling > crummy at the moment, but I’ll get back to you within the day. > Message two: This is Michael.  Thank you for your call.  I’m feeling > quite awful.  Not enough to go to the hospital, but just unable to move > my mouth to talk clearly enough for you to understand anything I would > want to say.  I will call you as soon as I’m feeling better.  If it’s > been two days, please check on me cuz I could be in the hospital. > Message three: Hi this is Michael.  I just called 911 & I’m on my way to > such & such hospital. > Message four:  Yep, Michael again!  I’m fine…I just don’t wanna talk > about neighbors & dogs today.  Mugsy’s feeling neglected, so we’re > having some quality time with Milk-Bones & frisbies. : ) > Remember, they just care enough to check on you & I know that can be > annoying at times, but it’s a blessing indeed. > Hugs, > Maggie

I get my husband to ring me on my mobile, then tell the OP that I have to get the other phone!!! Janet — www.doohickeys.co.uk for desirable devices — Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.698 / Virus Database: 455 – Release Date: 02/06/2004

Response:

Phonak Claro behaviour

Question:

Take the HA out before you build up such a sweat. Put it back in after you dry off. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> When I run up and down 8 floors twice guaranteed I start sweatinf and that > was precisely what I was after. No people to talk to so I did n’t mind if > the HA’s fell out. Well, one did fall out as expected. > – first some cracking sound, than the volume went very low > – drying my inner ears did not matter > – changing batteries didn’t matter > – despite the low volume the HA kept responding with program-change beeps > (appearing alive and me a lot more deaf…) > – there was no water in the earpieces causing the low volume > It’s OK that a HA goed down when the electonics get wet. But damned do not > keep behaving as if all is well. > A hearing-impaired person does NOT like it when volumes go down !!!!! > Someone from Phonak caring to respond to this ? My GNResound Canta handles > this situation fine as far as I remember, I could blow the battery > compartment dry and the HA would operate again immediatelty, worst case the > battery ran empty because of the water and replacing it solved that part. > Unfortunately the Canta’s sound was not for me. And now Phonak has good > sound but bat sweat behaviour. Called my audicien today to try thr Siemens > Triano 3, hope this has the best of both world…. > Ton den Hartog > — > — > Computer museum tonh: http://www.tonh.net > GGGallery website generator: http://www.tonh.net/gggallery > – Added a PDP 8

Response:

Would you through salty water over your television and then complain about the volume going down?! Hearing aids like all electronic devices and are sensitive to getting wet and will behave strangely while wet or exposed to salts and moisture. If you are going to perform a heavy workload, and DON’T need your aids, TAKE THE DAMN THINGS OFF!! The worst thing you can do is keep turning the thing on while its still wet. "Ton den Hartog" <t…@xs4all.nl> wrote in message news:3f3964ce$0$49103$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> When I run up and down 8 floors twice guaranteed I start sweatinf and that > was precisely what I was after. No people to talk to so I did n’t mind if > the HA’s fell out. Well, one did fall out as expected. > – first some cracking sound, than the volume went very low > – drying my inner ears did not matter > – changing batteries didn’t matter > – despite the low volume the HA kept responding with program-change beeps > (appearing alive and me a lot more deaf…) > – there was no water in the earpieces causing the low volume > It’s OK that a HA goed down when the electonics get wet. But damned do not > keep behaving as if all is well. > A hearing-impaired person does NOT like it when volumes go down !!!!! > Someone from Phonak caring to respond to this ? My GNResound Canta handles > this situation fine as far as I remember, I could blow the battery > compartment dry and the HA would operate again immediatelty, worst case the > battery ran empty because of the water and replacing it solved that part. > Unfortunately the Canta’s sound was not for me. And now Phonak has good > sound but bat sweat behaviour. Called my audicien today to try thr Siemens > Triano 3, hope this has the best of both world…. > Ton den Hartog > — > — > Computer museum tonh: http://www.tonh.net > GGGallery website generator: http://www.tonh.net/gggallery > – Added a PDP 8

Response:

When I run up and down 8 floors twice guaranteed I start sweatinf and that was precisely what I was after. No people to talk to so I did n’t mind if the HA’s fell out. Well, one did fall out as expected. – first some cracking sound, than the volume went very low – drying my inner ears did not matter – changing batteries didn’t matter – despite the low volume the HA kept responding with program-change beeps (appearing alive and me a lot more deaf…) – there was no water in the earpieces causing the low volume It’s OK that a HA goed down when the electonics get wet. But damned do not keep behaving as if all is well. A hearing-impaired person does NOT like it when volumes go down !!!!! Someone from Phonak caring to respond to this ? My GNResound Canta handles this situation fine as far as I remember, I could blow the battery compartment dry and the HA would operate again immediatelty, worst case the battery ran empty because of the water and replacing it solved that part. Unfortunately the Canta’s sound was not for me. And now Phonak has good sound but bat sweat behaviour. Called my audicien today to try thr Siemens Triano 3, hope this has the best of both world…. Ton den Hartog — — Computer museum tonh: http://www.tonh.net GGGallery website generator: http://www.tonh.net/gggallery – Added a PDP 8

Response:

Kind of OT…telephone in wood shop

Question:

I’ve got one of those old 1940’s rotary phones in my shop and the ring on that thing could wake the dead ! Even with the planer on I can hear it go off, the trick is getting all the way over to the phone in four rings :~))

  You can probably call the phone company and change how many rings it takes before the voice mail kicks in…. steve

Response:

You can even go through the interminable menu and change the number of rings yourself.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve got one of those old 1940’s rotary phones in my shop and the ring on that thing could wake the dead ! Even with the planer on I can hear it go off, the trick is getting all the way over to the phone in four rings :~))   You can probably call the phone company and change how many rings it takes before the voice mail kicks in…. steve

Response:

You can even go through the interminable menu and change the number of rings yourself.

uh, ok, I’ll bite.  What and how do you get to the interminable menu? "Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and as sweet as love."         – Turkish proverb

Response:

There are devices sold for the hearing-impaired that flash a light when the phone rings. Check with your phone company. Here’s a URL to one such product         http://www.telemovers.com/accessories.htm#telestrobe         Al Cooperband – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –      Hi and thanks for reading this….I apologize if anyone thinks this is off topic….but it IS for my wood shop in the back yard where I run my table saw etc.     Have you ever found yourself waiting for an important call and are too afraid to turn on the table saw or any other tool for fear it might drown out the phone if it rings? I make my living waiting for the phone to ring so I can go to work. When things are slow at work I want to go to my shop and play….but when I get there I find myself too damned scared to turn anything on for fear the phone just might ring.       My telephones work like this….I have  a cable running throughout the house……4 wires in it…blue, red, yellow and black…Only two wires are used to make the phone work…other two are curled up and not in use. The phone line runs 90 feet to the shop (undergound) from the house.         Can anyone tell me what kind of voltage runs to the phone to cause the phone to ring? Reason for this is that I would like to hook up a light bulb some way so it flashes when the phone rings. I don’t want to go to Radio Shack and PAY 50 bucks for this…(Not to mention that the guy that works there is somewhat of an ass)…I see it sitting there in the store and from what I can see of it….it’s just not worth the fifty bucks. If I can’t build it myself I will do without it and simply not use loud tools.            I can buy lots of other stuff for that kind of money and have LOTS of junk around to make this I am certain!!!                      …I only require knowledge.           What goes to the phone to make that sucker ring?…Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Response:

I wouldn’t give up the Radio Shack Fone Ringer II (I think the name)for ~$29.00 years ago that rings LOUD and flashes a strobe light while ringing.  With earmuffs the flashing light is almost always enough to turn stuff off and answer prior to answering machie kickin.  Phone line splitter and 110VAC is all it takes. Have simular problem myself.  Took old phone (dial type with LOUD bell type ringer)  and hooked in to phone line with splitter.

Name works for E-mail

Response:

Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Remember the CLAPPER ( clap on, clap off) device that used to be advertised on TV? If your phone was next to a CLAPPER , the sound of the phone ringing could turn a light on or off. You might have to put the clapper and phone fairly close together and insulate them from the shop noises some to get it to work. just an idea. Dennis

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Wait a Hold it !!!!!  (vbg) I use 3 of those "strobe lights" in my shop that I purchased from radio Shack (the big ones not the little things) and they did not cost anywhere near 50 bucks…But honestly still not cheap at about 30 bucks.. BUT that is NOT the point…   I never miss a phone call … ! when the phone rings I have a strobe light firing off on 3 of my four walls in the shop… noway can I not see it… You make your living waiting for the phone BUT you are NOT willing to invest 50 bucks ….  kind of like the beer salesman who does not want to invest in a hand truck to unload his product… If the salesman was an ASS  then drive across town to another Radio Shack store…  I have my favorite store and it is not the closest to the house…but connecting the strobes took 10 minutes they work and work well no matter if I have 5 machines running at the same time…(which I do not) … I’m sorry if I sound like I am blasting you… I did not mean to do that..but just spending 50 bucks would allow you to be "free" to relax and honestly spending 50 bucks to relax is in my opinion better then spending 50 bucks to increase your income… Bob Griffiths

Hi Bob, I’ve got one of those old 1940’s rotary phones in my shop and the ring on that thing could wake the dead ! Even with the planer on I can hear it go off, the trick is getting all the way over to the phone in four rings :~)) Mike Wilcox

Response:

Thanks for all of your sugestions…I have printed them out . Regards…Jim Morris

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Wait a Hold it !!!!!  (vbg) I use 3 of those "strobe lights" in my shop that I purchased from radio Shack (the big ones not the little things) and they did not cost anywhere near 50 bucks…But honestly still not cheap at about 30 bucks.. BUT that is NOT the point…   I never miss a phone call … ! when the phone rings I have a strobe light firing off on 3 of my four walls in the shop… noway can I not see it… You make your living waiting for the phone BUT you are NOT willing to invest 50 bucks ….  kind of like the beer salesman who does not want to invest in a hand truck to unload his product… If the salesman was an ASS  then drive across town to another Radio Shack store…  I have my favorite store and it is not the closest to the house…but connecting the strobes took 10 minutes they work and work well no matter if I have 5 machines running at the same time…(which I do not) … I’m sorry if I sound like I am blasting you… I did not mean to do that..but just spending 50 bucks would allow you to be "free" to relax and honestly spending 50 bucks to relax is in my opinion better then spending 50 bucks to increase your income… Bob Griffiths      Hi and thanks for reading this….I apologize if anyone thinks this is off topic….but it IS for my wood shop in the back yard where I run my table saw etc.     Have you ever found yourself waiting for an important call and are too afraid to turn on the table saw or any other tool for fear it might drown out the phone if it rings? I make my living waiting for the phone to ring so I can go to work. When things are slow at work I want to go to my shop and play….but when I get there I find myself too damned scared to turn anything on for fear the phone just might ring.       My telephones work like this….I have  a cable running throughout the house……4 wires in it…blue, red, yellow and black…Only two wires are used to make the phone work…other two are curled up and not in use. The phone line runs 90 feet to the shop (undergound) from the house.         Can anyone tell me what kind of voltage runs to the phone to cause the phone to ring? Reason for this is that I would like to hook up a light bulb some way so it flashes when the phone rings. I don’t want to go to Radio Shack and PAY 50 bucks for this…(Not to mention that the guy that works there is somewhat of an ass)…I see it sitting there in the store and from what I can see of it….it’s just not worth the fifty bucks. If I can’t build it myself I will do without it and simply not use loud tools.            I can buy lots of other stuff for that kind of money and have LOTS of junk around to make this I am certain!!!                      …I only require knowledge.           What goes to the phone to make that sucker ring?…Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Response:

Have simular problem myself.  Took old phone (dial type with LOUD bell type ringer)  and hooked in to phone line with splitter.  Place old phone on high shelf so that it is in the clear and can be heard. Use cordless phone with cricket sounding ringer to talk on.  Works well except when running loud equipment where I wear ear protection. Lights I wonder about since when I am working I am looking at where my fingers are not at the phone. If I miss a call I have an answering machine to catch it. But for important calls within a time frame it does the job. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –      Hi and thanks for reading this….I apologize if anyone thinks this is off topic….but it IS for my wood shop in the back yard where I run my table saw etc.     Have you ever found yourself waiting for an important call and are too afraid to turn on the table saw or any other tool for fear it might drown out the phone if it rings? I make my living waiting for the phone to ring so I can go to work. When things are slow at work I want to go to my shop and play….but when I get there I find myself too damned scared to turn anything on for fear the phone just might ring.       My telephones work like this….I have  a cable running throughout the house……4 wires in it…blue, red, yellow and black…Only two wires are used to make the phone work…other two are curled up and not in use. The phone line runs 90 feet to the shop (undergound) from the house.         Can anyone tell me what kind of voltage runs to the phone to cause the phone to ring? Reason for this is that I would like to hook up a light bulb some way so it flashes when the phone rings. I don’t want to go to Radio Shack and PAY 50 bucks for this…(Not to mention that the guy that works there is somewhat of an ass)…I see it sitting there in the store and from what I can see of it….it’s just not worth the fifty bucks. If I can’t build it myself I will do without it and simply not use loud tools.            I can buy lots of other stuff for that kind of money and have LOTS of junk around to make this I am certain!!!                      …I only require knowledge.           What goes to the phone to make that sucker ring?…Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Response:

I bought one of those Radio Shack units for $8.99 (PN# 43-179)  I took it apart and found a bulb and a resister in series with it.  From this I built  three flashing units using LED’s  If you spend the $9 and get the unit, carefully take it apart and see what makes it tick.  Then take it back and get the parts you need to build your own or use this unit.  It plugs into the phone line and comes with it’s own cord and a line splitter.  You just unplug the cord, plug in the line splitter, plug in the cord and the unit to the cord and the phone into the splitter.  I might suggest that if you install the flashing light, somewhere where it will attract your attention, such as a dark corner, it will work. BTW, I believe I used an LED in series with a 3300 ohm resister. — Woody What is life like? http://community.webtv.net/WoodworkerJoe/LifesLikeThat   85 Life tips. Updated 11-26-01 Build This Dust Collector Separator Lid (With Photos): http://community.webtv.net/WoodworkerJoe/buildadustcollector Murphy’s Woodworking Definitions at: http://comunity.webtv.net/WoodworkerJoe/MurphysDictionary   Updated 6-16-01 Murphy’s 105 Woodworking Laws: http://community.webtv.net/WoodworkerJoe/MurphysWoodworking   Updated 6-2-2001

Response:

http://dynamic-living.com/telephone_signaler.htm $40 and all set to go for ya – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –      Hi and thanks for reading this….I apologize if anyone thinks this is off topic….but it IS for my wood shop in the back yard where I run my table saw etc.     Have you ever found yourself waiting for an important call and are too afraid to turn on the table saw or any other tool for fear it might drown out the phone if it rings? I make my living waiting for the phone to ring so I can go to work. When things are slow at work I want to go to my shop and play….but when I get there I find myself too damned scared to turn anything on for fear the phone just might ring.       My telephones work like this….I have  a cable running throughout the house……4 wires in it…blue, red, yellow and black…Only two wires are used to make the phone work…other two are curled up and not in use. The phone line runs 90 feet to the shop (undergound) from the house.         Can anyone tell me what kind of voltage runs to the phone to cause the phone to ring? Reason for this is that I would like to hook up a light bulb some way so it flashes when the phone rings. I don’t want to go to Radio Shack and PAY 50 bucks for this…(Not to mention that the guy that works there is somewhat of an ass)…I see it sitting there in the store and from what I can see of it….it’s just not worth the fifty bucks. If I can’t build it myself I will do without it and simply not use loud tools.            I can buy lots of other stuff for that kind of money and have LOTS of junk around to make this I am certain!!!                      …I only require knowledge.           What goes to the phone to make that sucker ring?…Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Response:

Don’t know if this would work, but it should: Use the phone as your interface device.  Get some cheap phone, maybe someone else’s cast-off, put it in the shop, and connect a light to where the bell is wired inside the phone.  Disconnect the bell so as to now overdraw the acceptable equivalency.  Anyway, I feel comfortable experimenting with phone stuff (since before "Carter Phone") and this is what I would probably do.   Here is a link that came up 3rd on the list with a Yahoo search "phone light ring" http://www.aaroncake.net/circuits/pflash.htm  (hint, hint)  If you are comfortable with relays and schematics, that link is one way to go and won’t upset the phone company since power comes from 120v plug in your house.   Rick may be right in his post, but I vaguely recall that the phone rings at 48 volts. Easy enough to check with a meter.  Maybe you can get a more definitive answer at alt.engineering.electrical NG.   – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –     Hi and thanks for reading this….I apologize if anyone thinks this is off topic….but it IS for my wood shop in the back yard where I run my table saw etc.    Have you ever found yourself waiting for an important call and are too afraid to turn on the table saw or any other tool for fear it might drown out the phone if it rings? I make my living waiting for the phone to ring so I can go to work. When things are slow at work I want to go to my shop and play….but when I get there I find myself too damned scared to turn anything on for fear the phone just might ring.      My telephones work like this….I have  a cable running throughout the house……4 wires in it…blue, red, yellow and black…Only two wires are used to make the phone work…other two are curled up and not in use. The phone line runs 90 feet to the shop (undergound) from the house.        Can anyone tell me what kind of voltage runs to the phone to cause the phone to ring? Reason for this is that I would like to hook up a light bulb some way so it flashes when the phone rings. I don’t want to go to Radio Shack and PAY 50 bucks for this…(Not to mention that the guy that works there is somewhat of an ass)…I see it sitting there in the store and from what I can see of it….it’s just not worth the fifty bucks. If I can’t build it myself I will do without it and simply not use loud tools.           I can buy lots of other stuff for that kind of money and have LOTS of junk around to make this I am certain!!!                     …I only require knowledge.          What goes to the phone to make that sucker ring?…Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Response:

Jim: Working with a telephone line can be interesting,  but you have to follow a bunch of rules to get it to work well. Typical on hook (the handset on the cradle, no call in progress) voltage on the line is 48 volts DC. When you pick up the handset, you go off hook, and the voltage drops to near nothing because  you close the circuit in a current loop that powers the phone and signals the dial central office (DCO) to give you a dial tone. When you are on hook, and the phone is ringing, there is a 100 Volt AC signal put on the line at about 25 hertz or so (depends on the DCO) which, on the old phones, was coupled through a capacitor to the electromagnets that made up the ringer (causing a metal clapper to alternately strike the two bells).  As you might imagine from the small size of the wires, there isn’t much current there, but it was enough to make the bell work.  Newer phones use electronic bells or beepers, and can run directly from the signal, or by charging a capacitor by taking a very small current from the line when the phone is not in use. Anything you hook to a telephone line must meet certain isolation standards, and there is  a ringer equivalence number for each instrument you purchase.  If you put too  many instruments on a given line, the phone company has to compensate by providing more ring current, or you may get erratic (or no) ring when you are supposed to, and other difficulties with your phone. As you know, there are external circuits you can add to the phone to add an external bell, and Radio Shack does (or used to) carry one.  There are types that can switch a larger load, like a light (particularly good for noisy environments or deaf people that use tty equipment on phone lines to communicate) or really large, noisy bells (like you might hear at a used car lot, for example).  I don’t believe the one from Radio Shack can do either. I remember seeing a circuit that a hobbyist electronic type could put together that could switch the external load (light or bell) but can’t put my finger on one right now.  As I remember it, there were enough components involved that to build just one would have cost around thirty dollars, so for most people it’s generally best to bite the bullet and just find a commercial unit. –Rick   AH7H – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –      Hi and thanks for reading this….I apologize if anyone thinks this is off topic….but it IS for my wood shop in the back yard where I run my table saw etc.     Have you ever found yourself waiting for an important call and are too afraid to turn on the table saw or any other tool for fear it might drown out the phone if it rings? I make my living waiting for the phone to ring so I can go to work. When things are slow at work I want to go to my shop and play….but when I get there I find myself too damned scared to turn anything on for fear the phone just might ring.       My telephones work like this….I have  a cable running throughout the house……4 wires in it…blue, red, yellow and black…Only two wires are used to make the phone work…other two are curled up and not in use. The phone line runs 90 feet to the shop (undergound) from the house.         Can anyone tell me what kind of voltage runs to the phone to cause the phone to ring? Reason for this is that I would like to hook up a light bulb some way so it flashes when the phone rings. I don’t want to go to Radio Shack and PAY 50 bucks for this…(Not to mention that the guy that works there is somewhat of an ass)…I see it sitting there in the store and from what I can see of it….it’s just not worth the fifty bucks. If I can’t build it myself I will do without it and simply not use loud tools.            I can buy lots of other stuff for that kind of money and have LOTS of junk around to make this I am certain!!!                      …I only require knowledge.           What goes to the phone to make that sucker ring?…Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Response:

     Hi and thanks for reading this….I apologize if anyone thinks this is off topic….but it IS for my wood shop in the back yard where I run my table saw etc.     Have you ever found yourself waiting for an important call and are too afraid to turn on the table saw or any other tool for fear it might drown out the phone if it rings? I make my living waiting for the phone to ring so I can go to work. When things are slow at work I want to go to my shop and play….but when I get there I find myself too damned scared to turn anything on for fear the phone just might ring.       My telephones work like this….I have  a cable running throughout the house……4 wires in it…blue, red, yellow and black…Only two wires are used to make the phone work…other two are curled up and not in use. The phone line runs 90 feet to the shop (undergound) from the house.         Can anyone tell me what kind of voltage runs to the phone to cause the phone to ring? Reason for this is that I would like to hook up a light bulb some way so it flashes when the phone rings. I don’t want to go to Radio Shack and PAY 50 bucks for this…(Not to mention that the guy that works there is somewhat of an ass)…I see it sitting there in the store and from what I can see of it….it’s just not worth the fifty bucks. If I can’t build it myself I will do without it and simply not use loud tools.            I can buy lots of other stuff for that kind of money and have LOTS of junk around to make this I am certain!!!                      …I only require knowledge.           What goes to the phone to make that sucker ring?…Where can I tap into this wonderful machine and make a light shine when that "Ball and chain " decides to ring?….Regards…Jim Morris

Response:

Bush Kicks Off New Tech Push for Disabled People

Question:

In article <bT%X6.18457$eK.1894…@typhoon.neo.rr.com>, "John Husvar" <jhus…@neo.rr.com> writes: >> In Tenn. 94% of medicare and medicaid dollars are directed t o nursing >homes, >> not home care. >> Amazing. >> Kathi >Possibly the most effective lobbying group in any state is the nursing home >industry. >One group that tries to counter that is ADAPT, but they sometimes run so far >to the radical they do more harm than good. www.adapt.org

Yes I am becoming involved with it lately. Kathi

Response:

In article <3b2fbd0e.20513…@news.optonline.net>, hotwh…@optonline.net writes: >– Directing federal agencies to coordinate state efforts to provide >"community-based" alternatives to institutionalization for disabled >people. >The order stems from a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring states >to place people with mental disabilities in community settings rather >than institutions. Bush expanded the ruling by applying it to all >Americans with disabilities.

In Tenn. 94% of medicare and medicaid dollars are directed t o nursing homes, not home care. Amazing. Kathi

Response:

"Kathi Matthews" <kamatth…@aol.com> wrote in message

news:20010620055403.12858.00000089@nso-fi.aol.com… > In Tenn. 94% of medicare and medicaid dollars are directed t o nursing homes, > not home care. > Amazing. > Kathi

Possibly the most effective lobbying group in any state is the nursing home industry. One group that tries to counter that is ADAPT, but they sometimes run so far to the radical they do more harm than good. www.adapt.org Last time they came to Ohio, a bunch of them occupied the Governor’s office, got themselves trapped there, and ended up using the plants, etc. as bathrooms and so pissed off the legislators, giving them an excuse, that the bill ADAPT was supporting was withdrawn. Thanks for nothing, guys! Another is the Independent Living Centers that vary from radical to in politicians’ pockets. ( Lots of references from a search on independent+living+center ) The National Association of the Physically Handicapped (NAPH) used to be rated as one of the strongest and most effective groups, but an aging membership has lately reduced their strength, (National President works with me.) www.naph.net We really need to develop an effective counter lobby.

Response:

  Bush Kicks Off New Tech Push for Disabled People Reuters Jun 19 2001 1:53PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bush on Tuesday kicked off a government effort to make computers and other technology friendlier to disabled workers and to improve government services and benefits for them. In examples cited by the White House, government computers with sound would include captioning technology for the hearing impaired, and government Internet sites would be designed to accommodate people with disabilities. "The brilliant graphics that add life to many Web pages can make it difficult for a visually impaired person to get the information he or she needs from a Web site. Video technology is turning many computers into television sets. Yet, without closed captioning, many see a picture and no words. And complex keyboard commands make it difficult for a person with impaired motor skills to tap a computer’s full potential," Bush said in remarks at a Pentagon center where technology is developed for disabled workers. There are an estimated 54 million Americans with some form of disability. Touring the center, Bush leaned toward a computer demonstrating a high-accuracy voice-recognition program. He spoke his name, and "George Bush" popped up on the screen. "The Internet brings a world of information into a computer screen which has enriched the lives of many with disabilities. Yet, technology creates challenges of its own," the president said. Bush announced steps on Tuesday which dovetail with his campaign proposals for the disabled or implement new laws and court decisions. These are: — Requiring the federal government to buy information technology that accommodates disabled workers and members of the public, as mandated under a 1998 law. The move aims to make it easier for disabled people to work for the government and to use the government’s huge purchasing power to drive private sector development of disabled-friendly technology. — Allowing disabled people to make down payments on homes using federal low-income housing benefits that previously could be used only for rent. This three-year pilot program implements legislation passed last year. — Directing federal agencies to coordinate state efforts to provide "community-based" alternatives to institutionalization for disabled people. The order stems from a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring states to place people with mental disabilities in community settings rather than institutions. Bush expanded the ruling by applying it to all Americans with disabilities. Bush noted in his remarks that disabled people use computers and the Internet at half the rate of the non-disabled. During his campaign, Bush proposed a "New Freedom Initiative" which included some of the steps announced on Tuesday and is aimed at increasing opportunities for the disabled. In his February budget request for fiscal 2002, Bush also proposed spending to help small businesses comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, expand research into technologies to help the disabled, offer financial assistance for buying devices that assist disabled people and develop new  transportation programs. Bill McCartney Farmingdale, New York 11735       ~|__        ( o )_   email address: hotwh…@optonline.net              or   MrBil…@optonline.net           Instant Message:  MrBill0726

Response:

Assistive Devices

Question:

Wednesday January 3, 3:00 am Eastern Time BusinessWeek Previewing a Year of Promise for the Disabled 2001 may not be a space odyssey for the dot-com world. But for makers of assistive-technology products, it’s shaping up as another innovative year as manufacturers introduce hundreds of gadgets for people with disabilities. Some are complex, like the gadgets that refine garbled speech as if by magic. Some are simple, such as metal chutes that help an unsteady hand load a videotape into a VCR. The new products for 2001 come in all sizes and shapes. While prices range from $30 to $3,000, for the most part, the cost of assistive technology remains appallingly steep for the average buyer. That’s particularly true for the computer-based technologies that do the most to enhance users’ lives. Companies say the lofty prices are a matter of economics because of relatively low sales volumes on high-end assistive tech products. All the same, these new offerings can be a godsend for millions of people with disabilities. They mean more opportunities for inclusion in mainstream society, as well as expanded possibilities for travel, education, and employment. They are also more compact and easier to use. Perhaps affordability will come in the next few years, as more and more people with disabilities enter the workforce and require assistive technology to do their jobs. Let’s look at some of the hot newcomers: A better boom box. Inaudible speech resulting from neuromuscular dysfunction is a particularly thorny problem for thousands of people whose minds work better than their mouths. For many, it’s a simple lack of volume: They speak clearly — but without enough oomph. Now comes Luminaud’s ChatterVox. Although this pint-size amplifier fits in a fanny pack and weighs just over a pound, it can boost a user’s voice by 15 decibels. Several types of microphones work with the ChatterVox: headband mikes, handheld mikes, collar mikes, and a unique transdermal throat mike for those who have lost their larynx because of cancer or another illness. The device can help a wide variety of speech-impaired conditions, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and vocal-chord nodules. The product sells for $195, plus an additional $45 to $85 for a microphone. Considering the benefits, that’s not a bad price. You can learn more about it by visiting www.luminaud.com. Loud and clear. Another nifty new speech-enhancement device can help people who lack not only volume but the neuromuscular control required for clear enunciation. St. Louis-based Electronic Speech Enhancement (ESE), a leader in the field, has done it again with a new battery-powered cordless headset that lets people with inaudible and incomprehensible voices use wireless telephones for the first time. Here’s how it works: The user wears a Spectrum VP voice processor and speaks into a microphone that can be part of a headset or attached to a collar. The device cleans up the speech, amplifies it, and then beams the signal to a wireless base unit plugged into a computer. With specialized software, the computer takes the audible speech from the base station and sends it out over standard phone lines. The combination translates low volume and extremely garbled words into speech that is easily understandable. This product could help anyone with a severe speech impediment, such as stuttering, as well as those with Parkinson’s disease or cerebral palsy. And it could dramatically improve the quality of life of someone who is both mobility- and speech-impaired. To be sure, ESE has built similar battery-powered speech enhancers in the past, one of which is the Spectrum VP. But the company claims it has dramatically increased the effectiveness of its speech recognition by eliminating a lot of background noises. The phone-transmission software works with any type of computer. That’s a big plus. The device supports both group and private communications. The price is steep, at $1,695. But for many, it’s probably worth the cost. Find out more at www.speechenhancer.com. See hear. The deaf and hearing-impaired have long used TTY — the blanket acronym for text-display phones and other telecommunications devices. On these networks, specially trained operators quickly translate conversations into text and relay them to hearing-impaired users. But TTY phones rule out spoken and audible communication — something that never sat well with the many hearing-impaired people, who use a combination of spoken and text cues in conversations. For these folks, the Ultratec CapTel could prove a significant improvement. Unlike existing relay services that provide only text captions, the CapTel allows users to combine both audible and visual signals to provide even more enhanced conversation. To activate the CapTel, a user presses the phone’s "Captions" button, which automatically connects the call to a captioning service. At the service center, an operator trained to use voice-recognition software revoices whatever is said by the party being called. The voice-recognition system transcribes the operator’s voice into a text stream (captions), which is spliced together with the called party’s actual voice and sent down the line to the CapTel. When the CapTel phone receives this combined information, the voice and text are split — the voice going to the phone’s earpiece while the captions are routed to the display screen. Perfect for someone who is hard of hearing but not deaf, this combination of sound and text allows people with partial hearing to use the telephone in a far more functional and comfortable way. Though the price has yet to be determined, the final figure once the company has figured in its profit margin is unlikely to exceed $500. For more information visit www.ultratec.com. Loading the VCR. Some of my friends have limited hand strength or lack fine finger control because of muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, or Parkinson’s disease tremors. For them, the simple act of sliding a videotape into a VCR is big problem. This year, however, many will be microwaving popcorn and settling down to double features with the help of an elegantly simple gadget from the State University of New York at Buffalo’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Transfer, which has developed a VCR videotape guide to make loading tapes easier. Designed to fit any standard front-loading VHS-format player or recorder, the guide consists of a metal cover that partially encloses the machine. Users push tapes into a pivoting chute that can be easily positioned to feed directly into the VCR’s tape slot. The cost is a mere $29.95 and can be ordered by visiting www.dynamic-living.com/VCR tape.guide.htm. Taking the digital revolution on the road. For the blind, "digital portable" has long been an oxymoron. Not anymore, thanks to HumanWare’s VoiceNote. The purse-size note-taking computer has a built-in speech synthesizer that can vocalize text files. The device’s underlying operating system is Windows CE, version 2.12, so it’s compatible with most Windows-friendly software. Tipping the scales at a scant 1.6 pounds, the VoiceNote translates files across a broad range of formats, including text, braille, ASCII, Microsoft Word, and WordPerfect formats. That makes for awesome versatility. Using braille keys, VoiceNote users can create word processing documents, send and receive e-mail with an internal (albeit slow) 33.6 kilobits-per-second modem, schedule appointments, check phone numbers, or perform scientific calculations. By inserting an IBM MicroDrive into the PC card slot of the VoiceNote, users can create a virtual hard drive with up to 1 gigabyte of storage space. The device also has a small visual display screen so classmates, teachers, or other sighted colleagues can read VoiceNote’s contents as well. Serial and infrared ports make it easy to beam the contents of any VoiceNote document to another personal or handheld computer. While the $1,799 price may hurt a bit, this product is very versatile. Find out information about the VoiceNote at www.humanware.com. The final chapter. For the last word on this year’s new goodies, we turn to page-turners. These mechanical devices are vital to people lacking the strength or motor control to turn pages because of cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, or other neuromuscular disorders. Until recently, page-turners might just as easily have been called page-trashers since they often destroyed books or magazines by pulling too hard on the pages and stretching or tearing bindings. Now there is a book-friendly page-turner from the Swedish company GEWA. The Page Turner BLV-6 uses a more gentle approach. Rubber rollers flip the pages gently forward or backward — and they do so one at a time or a number of pages in a continuous movement. The 15-pound device readily clamps onto special reading tables to permit its use while sitting, standing, or reclining. The unit works with books, magazines, catalogs, brochures, mail, and can be operated with a variety of multiple-switch assemblies or, as an option, with a visual scanner. Having used a number of page-turners, I can tell you that this one is a winner. The price is a huge $3,095. No doubt, that’s too much. But it sure beats hiring an assistant to come and turn your pages at all hours. GEWA is distributed in this country by assistive technology retailer Zygo. For information visit www.zygo-usa.com. All told, this year’s crop of devices represents some encouraging progress. And as the computer revolution rushes onward, I am hopeful that the new generation of tablet computers and other wireless devices will provide more opportunities for assistive-technology manufacturers to make their products truly affordable. The gee-whiz factor is there, already. Now all it will take is a pricing structure that brings the miracle of technology to millions of folks with disabilities. A wonderfully functional page-turner … read more »

Response:

"cowboy" <mscow…@zianet.com> wrote in message

news:3a563598.0@oracle.zianet.com… > While prices range from $30 to $3,000, for the most part, the cost of > assistive technology remains appallingly steep for the average buyer. That’s > particularly true for the computer-based technologies that do the most to > enhance users’ lives. Companies say the lofty prices are a matter of > economics because of relatively low sales volumes on high-end assistive tech > products.

This part caught my eye, maybe because I work for a non-profit home medical equipment and durable medical equipment dealer. Sales volumes are indeed low on many of the higher technology items and that would tend to help explain their pricing. Another problem is product liability. One example (really ridiculously low-tech) is automotive hand controls. I don’t mean the highly sophisticated electronic kind that enable a quadraplegic who can move one finger to drive a car, but the simple mechanical linkage that enables one to work the throttle and brake by hand. Our agency went looking for a line of hand controls. The result: we said the heck with it. To buy the units we would have been required to supply proof of minimum US$ 5 million liability coverage, explain what types of disability we intended to address, estimate how many units we would install annually, take a training course at the factory to do an installation that involves four bolts, and a host of other issues that would let the manufacturer assess our and their liability exposure. Why? Because whenever a hand control equipped vehicle is involved in even the slightest accident, the very first entities the lawyers attack are the manufacturer and installer of the hand controls. The dealer and manufacturer have to _prove_ the hand controls were installed correctly, did not fail and could not have failed, and that the driver using them was "properly" trained and could not have mistakenly made the throttle motion rather than the brake motion. (Usually two _very_ distinctly different motions — besides the impossibility of proving a negative proposition) Product liability coverage for assistive devices, especially automotive but for almost all of them, is hideously expensive. the coverage for one manufacturer’s products accounts for more than 70 percent of their dealer price. One maker told us they could sell their hand controls for $75 and make a good profit _if_ their insurance coverage cost less. As it is their dealer price is $300. And they have had _not one_ unit installed in a car that was involved in an accident! (Which they freely admit has been pure luck — but they’ve been in business more than 20 years.) Another Pet Peeve — people who think "non-profit" should equal "sell at cost–no markup." GRRRRRR!  What do they think pays the light and heat bill, the phone bills for numerous long-distance calls to manufacturers trying to find the absolute cheapest way to repair something for someone who has no funding source, the mortgage on the facility or the rent, the salaries of the staff, etc, etc. (cheap as I work as one of their techs, I can’t afford to do it for nuttin’, especially when Social Security demands to know about every penny I earn, could earn, or even might earn someday, maybe. — If anyone’s interested, I work for a little under half what a for-profit dealer would/could pay me.:)

Response:

Bootlegs recorded with those hearing-impaired devices

Question:

That recording technique hasn’t been quite so popular until the last few years. Expect a big flood of ALDs for the new U2 tour (not a bad thing though, just keep the audience recording coming too) Seneca – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ok, so I’m reading in the news the other day how the RIAA is suing the makers of those hearing-impaired devices that are used in many arenas during concerts to allow nearly-deaf patrons to hear the show. Now, despite the irony in a deaf-concert goer needing a device like that, I find it interesting that the lawsuit is actually taking place, despite the fact that the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) explicitly calls for them to be used. The way it works is a that a low level FM feed from the soundboard is piped throught the headsets. And as a result, have become VERY popular with bootleggers (hence the lawsuit . Anyhoo, I was just wondering about some of the U2 boots I’ve heard over the years, esp. the soundboard quality shows (like the DC Zoo-TV show), how many of them were recorded using these devices. Quite a trick if I do say so myself. The RIAA is going up against the hearing impaired now, the bastards

Response:

Ok, so I’m reading in the news the other day how the RIAA is suing the makers of those hearing-impaired devices that are used in many arenas during concerts to allow nearly-deaf patrons to hear the show. Now, despite the irony in a deaf-concert goer needing a device like that, I find it interesting that the lawsuit is actually taking place, despite the fact that the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) explicitly calls for them to be used. The way it works is a that a low level FM feed from the soundboard is piped throught the headsets. And as a result, have become VERY popular with bootleggers (hence the lawsuit . Anyhoo, I was just wondering about some of the U2 boots I’ve heard over the years, esp. the soundboard quality shows (like the DC Zoo-TV show), how many of them were recorded using these devices. Quite a trick if I do say so myself. The RIAA is going up against the hearing impaired now, the bastards

Response:

Developing an artificial hearing chip ?

Question:

SCIENTISTS in the UK have scored a world first by developing an artificial hearing chip that can be wired straight into the brain. The system, which has only been possible because of recent developments in chip technology, is sure to re-ignite the ethical debate over implants into our heads also makes the creation of a totally artificial ear based on techniques that have seen ears sculpted on to the backs of mice a real possibility. See website shown below for more info: http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/cgi-bin/t3.cgi/taf/technology.taf?fun… =detail&Sunday_uid1=tech0502&desk=Business&cat=technology&sec=0

Response:

I didn’t find anything about it at this URL. Michael HHIssues <hhiss…@aol.com> wrote in message

news:20000119153733.03567.00000317@ng-ck1.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> SCIENTISTS in the UK have scored a world first by developing an artificial > hearing chip that can be wired straight into the brain. The system, which has > only been possible because of recent developments in chip technology, is sure > to re-ignite the ethical debate over implants into our heads also makes the > creation of a totally artificial ear based on techniques that have seen ears > sculpted on to the backs of mice a real possibility. > See website shown below for more info: > http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/cgi-bin/t3.cgi/taf/technology.taf?fun… > =detail&Sunday_uid1=tech0502&desk=Business&cat=technology&sec=0

Response:

>I didn’t find anything about it at this URL. >Michael

Ok, it seems that due to its long web address, the blue hyperlink only connected to the 1st part of the web address. If you can, try again, but this time, make sure you copy the whole web address and not just click on only the underlined blue link. Try it and see if it works ? Good luck ! : )   http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/cgi-bin/t3.cgi/taf/technology.taf?fun… =detail&Sunday_uid1=tech0502&desk=Business&cat=technology&sec=0

Response:

It’s another form of the CI. Its sounds kinda scary that it is wired directly into the brain. what if one gets an infection? Meningitis, aaaarggghhhh! It stands to reason that better methods of  helping the profoundly impaired would come along. I like the idea of the individual setting the device at home with his PC. It surely will save everybody lots of time. I wish I had a way for my patients to set their digital aids at home. They know what they want. I have to guess from an exhaustive history taking procedure. Michael HHIssues <hhiss…@aol.com> wrote in message

news:20000119174430.03581.00000472@ng-bk1.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> >I didn’t find anything about it at this URL. > >Michael > Ok, it seems that due to its long web address, the blue hyperlink only > connected to the 1st part of the web address. If you can, try again, but this > time, make sure you copy the whole web address and not just click on only the > underlined blue link. Try it and see if it works ? Good luck ! : ) > http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/cgi-bin/t3.cgi/taf/technology.taf?fun… > =detail&Sunday_uid1=tech0502&desk=Business&cat=technology&sec=0

Response:

New hearing aid swaps batteries for brain power By Peter Warren SCIENTISTS in the UK have scored a world first by developing an artificial hearing chip that can be wired straight into the brain. The system, which has only been possible because of recent developments in chip technology, is sure to re-ignite the ethical debate over implants into our heads also makes the creation of a totally artificial ear based on techniques that have seen ears sculpted on to the backs of mice a real possibility. The research, carried out by a team from Imperial College led by Professor Chris Toumazou, uses a tiny electronic device to pick up sounds and then transmit them to the brain by to mimic the way our brains receive auditory impulses from the ear, and promises to free the profoundly deaf of their unsightly hearing aids.