Now I wish that I could give you accurate information but I can't.  Senior
moment I suppose.  Yes, I did join Handiham just to support them but I don't
remember providing any proof of blindness.  I sure hope I'm not wrong about
this.  My doctor gave me a letter some years ago that said not too nicely,
"This patient has two prosthetic eyes and travels with the assistance of a
guide dog.  What more proof do you want"?  I ran off 10 or so copies and use
one whenever I need it but I don't remember sending a copy of that letter to
Handiham.  Why not just call Nancy and ask.  Their 800 number is a free
phone call.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Darrell Shandrow" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 8:19 PM
Subject: Re: Revisiting accessible amateur radio study materials.


> Hi Bob,
>
> Did you actually join Handiham without verifying your disability, or did
> they permit you to purchase the material without the need to join?  Please
> tell me when you did this so I can make sure Karen is also able to enjoy
> the
> same benefit.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bob Humbert" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 9:03 PM
> Subject: Re: Revisiting accessible amateur radio study materials.
>
>
>>I got their tape materials and Gordon West's CD from them and I didn't
>> provide any proof of blindness.  I could have but I didn't have to.  Did
>> I
>> just slip through or do they simply take your word for it?
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 11:42 PM
>> Subject: Re: Revisiting accessible amateur radio study materials.
>>
>>
>>> Message-Id:
>>> <20050116014521.CYLF1992.imf20aec.mail.bellsouth.net@[68.212.97.82]>
>>>
>>> nu7i wrote:
>>>   >Handiham's web site indicates that membership is required in order
>>>   >to purchase materials...
>>> That is always as I understood it when I was checking into their
>>> equipment manuals.  I had a 2 meter rig I wanted am anual for.  I
>>> didn't want a cassette manual for the same reason I wouldn't want
>>> cassette or audio file study materials.
>>> SUch formats are not quickly searchable, hence the same weakness with
>>> mp3 audio files.  Any word processor or text file viewer has a text
>>> string search function making such doccuments  quite usable when one
>>> wants to get to a certain piece of information quickly.  Manuals on
>>> tape were good enough when that's all there was, I grew up with many
>>> textbooks for school and college on tape, but the capabilities fr
>>> surpass that era.
>>> Halfwayu isn't good enough when you hold yourself out as "doing
>>> something for the disabled" and hence I join no general purpose
>>> disability organizations, handihams included.
>>> I know folks they've benefited greatly and I applaud their efforts,
>>> but when it comes to blindness they've only gone part of the distance.
>>> I can see no reason to supply them with the doccumentation they might
>>> need from doctors voc rehab etc. to prove I'm really blind to join
>>> their organization and get a manual on cassette tape.
>>>
>>> My lady and I end up going through manuals for audio equipment for my
>>> studio as well as ham gear and translating the weirdness as we go
>>> making me usable quick refernce guides which I then buzz off on my
>>> braille embosser.  sTill cumbersome but beats abridged study materials
>>> and manuals on cassette.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Richard Webb
>>>
>>> Electric Spider Productions
>>>                                            "They that can give up
>>> essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
>>> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
>>>
>>> --- Benjamin Franklin, NOvember 1755 from the
>>> Historical review of Pennsylvania
>>>
>>>
>