Hi Steve.

It isn't as accessible as some radios, but it can be run by someone who is
totally blind.  Mainly, it is the setup menus that are cumbersome.  The
first menu in the set of menus lets out a slightly longer beep than the
others and you can use this feature to find your place in the menus.  The
radio accepts the UT-102 voice synthesizer from Icom.  The matching auto
tuner is very nice, although pretty pricey at $369.  I would also strongly
recommend the purchase of the Milenium QSYer from W2FS.  It makes rapid and
exact frequency changes a breeze.

So, in conclusion, while it is a bit of a pain, your friend can use this radio.

73, de Lou K2LKK




At 03:09 PM 9/12/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi everyone,
>
>A blind friend of mine has an opportunity to purchase a used Icom IC-706,
>but before he spends his money, he wants to know how accessible the radio
>is for a totally blind person.  I've never owned one, so I couldn't tell
>him, but I figured there are at least a few of you who might be able to
>tell us what we need to know.  Thanks in advance for any and all help.
>
>Steve

Louis Kim Kline
A.R.S. K2LKK
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