Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Hi, Can someone examine a picture of the other phone to determine if the unnecessary buttons could be in some way covered. Are they recessed, is there a rim, for even a piece ov plexi to go across. It won't damage the buttons, it won't depress them, they won't get accidently activated, and Mom will have the continuous tone. Heck depending on placement, gluing a small plastic hinge to the case and the plexi could allow utilization of programming buttons on-the-fly (by who ever helps your mom) without a major dis-assembly of tape. I don't know. But this other phones features may be a help for that 1 button dial management in the future. On Fri, 24 Aug 2007, Lenny McHugh wrote: I have a major telephone dilemma. My mother is 86 years old and lost most of her eyesight. She was having difficulty using her telephone. I located a large button phone that would also help with her hearing loss. Now the problem is in her senior apartment there is a security system where someone at the main door calls her room and she holds the 9 button and it unlocks the door. The new phone will not unlock the door. When you hold the 9 button it only gives the tone for about one second as opposed to a continuous tone. I learned that there are several other residents with the same problem. The ideal fix for this would be a one button box hooked up to the phone line that would produce the tone. I have no idea how difficult it would be to create this. My second choice was to find an old phone dialer. twenty years ago I had one to use with a ham radio for the autopatch. I searched Radio Shack where I purchased mine a long time ago. and they don't carry that product any more. I did some internet searches and again could not locate one. Any suggestions? The manufacturer makes one other large button model but it has too many buttons and features on it for her to operate, that model has the continuous tone. Lenny http://www.geocities.com/lenny_mchugh/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] Home Speaker Frequently Asked Questions
Interesting addendum to Ray's post, thanks. David Ferrin - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 8:21 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Home Speaker Frequently Asked Questions Very good article. The one thing they failed to mention; was that there is a trade off when going satelite/sub if done as mentioned. The reason the save space is that there is only one sub. So you are saving the space of the other box entirely. The trade of is that if the bass is recorded with any stereo separation, (concert DVD's, and true 7.1 surround) the effect is deminished to having bass project from one space. Also, when using the HT for music, (when one doesn't have a dedicated room for HT or for music) the stereo effect utilized by producers as far back stereo itself, (especially in the 60's, 70's though *not exclusively) bass separation will be lost. Thanks for this good article. On Mon, 27 Aug 2007, Ray Boyce wrote: Q: What's the difference between a subwoofer/satellite system and a conventional speaker system? A: A subwoofer/satellite system is a room-friendly, space-efficient alternative to the conventional stereo speaker system. Sub/sat systems use small enclosures for the tweeters and midranges, and a separate, specially designed box to house the subwoofer. Subwoofer/satellite systems are very popular because they save space, blend into the room's decor, and offer full, rich sound. The bass module can be placed almost anywhere because it produces only low, non-directional bass frequencies. Q: Can I hook up a powered subwoofer if my receiver doesn't have a subwoofer output? A: Absolutely. Most powered subwoofers have speaker-level connections for use with virtually any receiver. Just run one set of speaker cables from your receiver's main left and right speaker outputs to the subwoofer, then another from the subwoofer to your main left and right speakers (you'll need an extra pair of speaker cables). Q: If I buy a set of large floor-standing speakers, will I still need a powered subwoofer? What about speakers with their own built-in powered subs? A: The answer to the first question is going to depend on individual taste. If your main interest is home theater, and you enjoy re-creating the body-slamming bass that you experience in the movie theater, it's difficult to achieve without a powered subwoofer. Also, a powered subwoofer gives you many more placement options. A pair of floor-standing speakers with built-in powered subwoofers will usually deliver plenty of deep, room-filling bass. Q: Can a pair of smaller speakers and a powered sub really sound as good as a pair of larger speakers? A: Definitely. In fact, there are some folks who prefer a bookshelf/sub system to tower speakers. You must be sure to choose bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer that blend well together, and you may need to tweak the crossover to get the ideal sound. But a bookshelf/sub system can deliver impressive, full-range sound without taking up too much space in your home. Q: What should I know about my speakers' impedance? A: A speaker's impedance rating refers to the amount of electrical resistance it presents against current flowing from your amplifier or receiver's powered outputs. Though impedance actually fluctuates as the speaker reproduces different frequencies, manufacturers usually publish a single, average figure, known as nominal impedance. Most home speakers have a nominal impedance rating of 8 ohms; likewise, practically all home A/V receivers are designed to be stable when pushing an 8-ohm load. There are a number of higher-end receivers that are capable of handling a 4-ohm load (if you're not sure about your receiver, check the specs in your owner's manual). Speakers with significantly lower impedance (4 ohms or less) may cause problems with 8-ohm receivers by asking them to deliver more current than they are capable of producing. When you drop from an 8-ohm to a 4-ohm load, you cut the electrical resistance in half, which usually causes your receiver to increase its total power output. Some people are tempted to mate their 8-ohm receivers with 4-ohm speakers, in order to get more wattage. It's wise to avoid this temptation, since it can lead to greater distortion, and cause the receiver to run hot or activate its protection circuitry. Q: Can I use my receiver's B speaker connections for surround speakers? A: Definitely not. Your receiver's B speaker outputs provide the exact same stereo signal as its A speaker outputs. (The B speaker outputs are useful for connecting a second pair of stereo speakers for some other area in or around the house.) Surround sound, on the other hand, consists of multiple audio channels which carry different portions of a soundtrack. These channels must be decoded by a multichannel surround sound
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Can you hook up her other, small button, phone as an extention and disable all but the number 9 button? She would only use that phone to answer a call or the door. She would use the large button phone to make calls. depending on the old phone, some super glue or epoxy might fix the buttons in place so they couldn't be depressed, other than the number 9. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel:(412) 268-9081
Re: [BlindHandyMan] This weeks shows.
Just so you know folks, handyman 204 is the file Don sent even though he named it handyman 104 in error. So just rename it for archival purposes if you wish. David Ferrin - Original Message - From: Don To: blind handy man Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 12:01 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] This weeks shows. It's that time again, new show's coming at you. On the handy man show this week, Don Patterson reads some list mail, our guest this week is Harry Cowen, from Talking Thermostats a fine product by the way, for any one in the market for a Talking Thermostat link www.TalkingThermostats.com Listen in and find out all about that. On the blind like me show Phil talks with not one but two guest this week. The first guest is a young girl from England named Kay Scrimshaw Thee next guest is a blind chef. That has a most interesting story too tell. download links follow. The show will be broadcasted in all the usual places. I miss numbered the handy man show, I called it show 104 It is really show 204, grin. you can either rename the show, are you can say to hell with it, and just ignore the number, smile. The shows are back on send space this week. BHM http://www.sendspace.com/file/pbmmi4 BLM http://www.sendspace.com/file/t914a7 Have a fine week. Don Shaw. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Well, that was an $89 phone that was returned and replaced with this model. I just found out that her corded phone in the bedroom works the same way so she can not use that one. I have a friend checking out some corded large button phones he just called me and will be testing one later this morning. Funny, I have 6 phones in the home and only two have a continuous tone. She really needs a wireless so she can keep it in her walker. I would be able to place the corded one next to the base of the cordless so she could open the door. As for the suggestion of a plexiglas overlay it will not work on the cordless phone. I did entertain the thought of cementing the unused options so she can't activate. I hate to do that to a $100 phone because of warranty. - Original Message - From: Dan Rossi [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Handyman-Blind blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 9:22 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma Can you hook up her other, small button, phone as an extention and disable all but the number 9 button? She would only use that phone to answer a call or the door. She would use the large button phone to make calls. depending on the old phone, some super glue or epoxy might fix the buttons in place so they couldn't be depressed, other than the number 9. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (412) 268-9081 To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ If you would like to join the Blind Computing list, then visit the following address for more information: http://jaws-users.com/mailman/listinfo/blind-computing_jaws-users.com For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Lenny, If you are going to disable the buttons on a phone just to be used as the door opener phone, don't get a hundred dollar phone. I always have at least one corded phone in the house in case of a power outage. I think I got my last one for 8 bucks. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel:(412) 268-9081
Re: [BlindHandyMan] Gas stove
Clean the points, and be careful not to break the insulation around the wire. RJ - Original Message - From: David Sexton To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 4:00 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Gas stove I have a gas stove with the click-click-click electric starter. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Is there anything I can do to make it work better? David [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [SPAM] [BlindHandyMan] Gas stove
Mine started that about 3 month before it died. You might want to take the numbers off your electronic ignition module and check how redily available it is where you live. ...bob [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[BlindHandyMan] Tonight.
I no, I went to sleep in my chair last week and missed the hole thing, but what the hell. Shell we try again tonight. Around mine eastern, blind handyman room at for the people. I will try to show up tonight, Phil Parr. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
or just glue something big to the 9 button on the old phone so it is very readily, primarily accessable, put it on the wall near the door? On Fri, 24 Aug 2007, Dan Rossi wrote: Can you hook up her other, small button, phone as an extention and disable all but the number 9 button? She would only use that phone to answer a call or the door. She would use the large button phone to make calls. depending on the old phone, some super glue or epoxy might fix the buttons in place so they couldn't be depressed, other than the number 9. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (412) 268-9081
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Heehee, but is it a continuous tone dialer? I prefer those as I often use pay-by-phone, and other number entry systems. (even voice mail can flake and not get a burst tone) where a continuous tone is best. On Fri, 24 Aug 2007, Dan Rossi wrote: Lenny, If you are going to disable the buttons on a phone just to be used as the door opener phone, don't get a hundred dollar phone. I always have at least one corded phone in the house in case of a power outage. I think I got my last one for 8 bucks. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (412) 268-9081
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Dan, No I would not disable all the buttons just the ones that would get her in trouble. Like the cid, menu, pulse/tone, and a lot more for the answering machine. I would only leave the talk, number pad memory and make it a fairly basic phone. - Original Message - From: Dan Rossi [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 10:08 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma Lenny, If you are going to disable the buttons on a phone just to be used as the door opener phone, don't get a hundred dollar phone. I always have at least one corded phone in the house in case of a power outage. I think I got my last one for 8 bucks. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (412) 268-9081 To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ If you would like to join the Blind Computing list, then visit the following address for more information: http://jaws-users.com/mailman/listinfo/blind-computing_jaws-users.com For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
How about another cheap $8 phone and a double phone jack adapter and mark quitelarge the number 9 only. Ron - Original Message - From: Lenny McHugh To: Handyman-Blind Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 7:12 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma I have a major telephone dilemma. My mother is 86 years old and lost most of her eyesight. She was having difficulty using her telephone. I located a large button phone that would also help with her hearing loss. Now the problem is in her senior apartment there is a security system where someone at the main door calls her room and she holds the 9 button and it unlocks the door. The new phone will not unlock the door. When you hold the 9 button it only gives the tone for about one second as opposed to a continuous tone. I learned that there are several other residents with the same problem. The ideal fix for this would be a one button box hooked up to the phone line that would produce the tone. I have no idea how difficult it would be to create this. My second choice was to find an old phone dialer. twenty years ago I had one to use with a ham radio for the autopatch. I searched Radio Shack where I purchased mine a long time ago. and they don't carry that product any more. I did some internet searches and again could not locate one. Any suggestions? The manufacturer makes one other large button model but it has too many buttons and features on it for her to operate, that model has the continuous tone. Lenny http://www.geocities.com/lenny_mchugh/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
RE: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Lenny: I don't know how practical this is, but I've used a tape recording of the nine tone on a touch tone dial to open doors etc. Bill Stephan Kansas City, MO (816)803-2469 William Stephan -Original Message- .From: Lenny McHugh[EMAIL PROTECTED] .Sent: 8/24/07 7:12:56 AM .To: Handyman-Blindblindhandyman@yahoogroups.com .Subject: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma . .I have a major telephone dilemma. My mother is 86 years old and lost most of her eyesight. She was having difficulty using her telephone. I located a large button phone that would also help with her hearing loss. Now the problem is in her senior apartment there is a security system where someone at the main door calls her room and she holds the 9 button and it unlocks the door. The new phone will not unlock the door. When you hold the 9 button it only gives the tone for about one second as opposed to a continuous tone. .I learned that there are several other residents with the same problem. .The ideal fix for this would be a one button box hooked up to the phone line that would produce the tone. I have no idea how difficult it would be to create this. My second choice was to find an old phone dialer. twenty years ago I had one to use with a ham radio for the autopatch. I searched Radio Shack where I purchased mine a long time ago. and they don't carry that product any more. I did some internet searches and again could not locate one. .Any suggestions? .The manufacturer makes one other large button model but it has too many buttons and features on it for her to operate, that model has the continuous tone. .Lenny http://www.geocities.com/lenny_mchugh/ . .[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] . .
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
How about a splitter so she could have the regular type phone for use when she needs to press the 9 key. You could put something on the 9 key, like high marks or velcro tab so she could easily identify it and then for calling people she would have her big button phone. - Original Message - From: Lenny McHugh To: Handyman-Blind Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 4:12 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma I have a major telephone dilemma. My mother is 86 years old and lost most of her eyesight. She was having difficulty using her telephone. I located a large button phone that would also help with her hearing loss. Now the problem is in her senior apartment there is a security system where someone at the main door calls her room and she holds the 9 button and it unlocks the door. The new phone will not unlock the door. When you hold the 9 button it only gives the tone for about one second as opposed to a continuous tone. I learned that there are several other residents with the same problem. The ideal fix for this would be a one button box hooked up to the phone line that would produce the tone. I have no idea how difficult it would be to create this. My second choice was to find an old phone dialer. twenty years ago I had one to use with a ham radio for the autopatch. I searched Radio Shack where I purchased mine a long time ago. and they don't carry that product any more. I did some internet searches and again could not locate one. Any suggestions? The manufacturer makes one other large button model but it has too many buttons and features on it for her to operate, that model has the continuous tone. Lenny http://www.geocities.com/lenny_mchugh/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] telephone dilemma
Hi Lenny, Several thoughts: Don't know what state you're in, but here in Calif. we have a state agency that supplies such phones to folks who are deaf etc. if you're state has such, might be worth a check with them. I'd start with any agency that helps the hard of hearing to track that possibility down. You could get a simple digital message recorder that does only 1 message and record the correct tone in it. She'd have to hold it up to the phone and press play. Would take some looking to find one that'd be mistake proof enough to be practical. Also maybe worth a call to a manufacturer of specialized phones etc. to state the need, see if they care. I can suggest UltraTech of Maddison Wisconsin, they make TDDs and special phones for that market. Technically it wouldn't be a big deal to make one, there are integrated circuit chips that do the touch tones, all you need is a few parts to interface to the phone line. However to sell one, anything that is to be connected to the phone line has to meet rather rigid specs and be type certified. This is no deal for a big company who makes phone equipment, but would be rather expensive for a small manufacturer. It is not worth complaining to the maker of the door entry system, there are solid reasons why they need to use the longer tone to unlock. I could build a single prototype for your mom, but can't do more than one under our silly grant and have no means of getting stuff type certified, so that doesn't help much. I hate phones that give only a short burst of tone with a button press, don't know who thought that was an idea. Let me know how it works out, and maybe we can help persue ideas. Tom fowle smith-Kettlewell RERC Net-Tamer V 1.13 Beta - Registered
[BlindHandyMan] Re: phone long 9
Sorry for the changed subject line on this thought of another idea I have several very cheap phones all of which will do long tones. How about getting a cheapie with wall mount, then using a small block of plastic etc. and tape fasten the 9 button down all the time. Mount the wall phone in a handy place so all she need do is lift it from the cradle for a few seconews. It won't be usable for anything else but otherwise cheap and simple to use. Tom Fowle Net-Tamer V 1.13 Beta - Registered
