Ron,

Good luck with your dealings with LDG.   Don't forget, this could be a 
shortened, or vacation week for some people.   Hope  you can get the 
info you need.

The frequent questions about  the availability of the TW-1 or TW-2 units 
makes it clear that there is a need for something in this area.

Every so often there is a post about  something being looked into or 
developed, but they never seem to see the light of day.

The talking swr/power meter in the 590 is nice, but  no help when 
running an amp.

The currently available  stuff usable by a blind ham isn't cheap.  A 
Powermaster by Array Solutions in conjunction with a Hampod is  probably 
the better part of $1,000.  I think the Hampod will also work with 
Elecraft meter, but not sure if that would limit you to a Elecraft radio.

I use a Wavenode WN-2,  which  is pc controlled and has speech.  The 
software is very graphical  and I find  many features  not usable,  but 
hot keys will give  swr and power readings.    This is in the $400 
range, but doesn't need a  Hampod.

Anyway, something usable,  and  that doesn't break the bank would be  a 
big help to the blind ham world.

Good luck in your quest, Steve KW3A




On 4/2/2015 9:40 AM, Dr. Ronald E. Milliman]\\` wrote:
> I am glad that Howard was able to talk to someone in LDG. I am going to make
> another attempt to contact someone in LDG again today, either Dwayne or
> Jennifer Kincaid. So far, I have left messages on their phone system, and
> nobody has returned my calls. The last message I left specifically for
> Dwayne Kincaid, and he didn't return my call. I am not being negative or
> offensive in any manner when I call. So, I do not see any reason why I am
> being ignored. Further, just because certain parts are no longer available
> today does not mean the general circuit cannot be duplicated with presently
> available parts and chips. My Son has done this with numerous other obsolete
> circuits. Millitronics, Inc. currently specializes in cell phone repeater
> systems, and we have updated several devices that employed obsolete parts
> with new IC's.
>
> We are currently evaluating several different devices, researching how they
> can be made to talk. However, in general, designing products just for blind
> hams cannot be done profitably, and nobody is in business to lose money.
> Blind hams is a relatively tiny subset among blind people, and blind people
> is a relatively small segment of the total population. That is why firms
> have no other choice but to either charge much higher prices for products
> aimed at the blind market segment or obtain some type of subsidy, e.g. a
> government grant to design and produce products for the blind. Again, blind
> hams is even a very small subset within the market segment of blind people.
> Kenwood can incorporate speech technology into their equipment because the
> equipment is really designed for the broader ham market, and to make their
> equipment talk, we blind hams have to purchase an additional optional
> plug-in board, and even then, the plug-in board is not designed just for
> blind hams to make their radios talk. The speech boards are designed to also
> appeal to sighted hams that want the other features, such as the recording
> and playback features, that the optional plug-in boards provide. Thus,
> Kenwood is able to produce the boards in large production runs to keep their
> costs down and be able to sell the boards at a reasonable price and still
> make a little money on each board they sell. However, I doubt if they are
> making very much on the VGS-1 boards.
>
> I'm writing all of this to share with all of you the challenges of providing
> some of the specialized equipment and devices we blind hams want. Often it
> makes more sense to take an off the shelf product and somehow modify it or
> create an add-on that makes it assessable rather than design a total product
> from the ground up.
>
> Ron, K8HSY
> President: Millitronics, Inc. (www.millitronics.biz)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: howard kaufman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 10:06 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: RE: My response back from LDG Electronics...
>
> I had a nice call from ldg tonight.
> I think it was Dwayne, but since I missed his name, I didn't want to ask for
> it again.
> He said he would e-mail me the rest of the story, and I promised to forward
> it to the list.
> Basically, he taught a ham radio class for blind students while in school.
> This got him interested in us and our needs for talking stuff.
> They made the tw-1 and tw-2 for years, and sold it at cost.  Ibelow 1 unit
> per month.  Now, the programming is here, but many of the parts are
> unavailable.  This includes the voice chip.
> I think he would be more comfortable talking to an engineer about the idea.
> It sounds like even if he gave somebody all the information, it wouldn't
> help, given the current technology.
> I wonder if a ham-pod type of aproach would work, accessing off the shelf
> meters?
> So given that LDG was the only company to make a unit that we could
> independantly and accureately use, I tend to believe him.
> Ron, your son given his background may have better luck.
> t was discontinued when sales dropped
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Dr. Ronald E. Milliman]\\`
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 5:43 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: My response back from LDG Electronics...
>
> John, do you know how Jennifer Kincaid is related to Duane Kincaid? He is
> the contact person I have, but I have not been able to reach him.
>
> Ron
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of John Vernaleken`
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 5:17 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: My response back from LDG Electronics...
>
> Ron
>
> I don't know who you sent the email to, try sending it to - Jennifer Kincaid
> President and CFO of LDG. She has always been very helpful.
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> John  KC2QJB
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Steve Dresser
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 5:41 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: My response back from LDG Electronics...
>
> Sounds like that was the designer's decision, but not the company's.  Too
> bad, since they probably won't attempt another one.
>
> Steve
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: March 31, 2015 16:54
> Subject: Re: My response back from LDG Electronics...
>
>
>> Yeah it's an odd response since they happily sent out the schematics
>> shortly after they stopped producing the meter to anyone who asked.
>> Several people on list obtained the schematics that way at the time.
>> The actual designer of those meters at LDG personally sent the
>> schematics out from what I recall.
>> He's probably not there anymore, and you likely got a standard party
>> line type response.
>>
>> 73
>> Colin, V A6BKX
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dr. Ronald E. Milliman]\\`
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2015 2:34 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: My response back from LDG Electronics...
>>
>> First, I thank all of you who provided me with the information on the
>> LDG
>> TW-1 and TW-2 units. Unfortunately, none of the materials I was sent
>> included the schematic diagrams for the devices. Therefore, I
>> contacted LDG and asked them if they would send me the schematics.
>> Below is the response
>
>> I
>> just received back from LDG. Needless to say, I am not impressed, and
>> it will be a cold day in hell before I ever purchase another one of
>> their products!
>>
>>
>>
>> ***###***
>>
>>
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>>
>>
>> Sorry, we don't send out schematics. We also do not send out the
>> source code or the voice codes.
>>
>>
>>
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>>
>> LDG Electronics
>>
>> www.ldgelectronics.com
>>
>> www.yahoo.com/groups/LDG-auto-tuners
>>
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>>
>>
>>
>> ***###***
>>
>>
>>
>> This is totally rediculous, especially since the TW-1 and TW-2 are no
>> longer in production and have not been produced now for several years.
>> Many of the other manufacturers include schematic diagrams of their
>> equipment with the users' manual or at least with the
>> technical/service manual. Wow, does this ever piss me off!
>>
>>
>>
>> Ron, K8HSY
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
>>
>> Retired Professor of Marketing
>>
>>
>>
>> President: Millitronics, Inc. (millitronics.biz)
>>
>> President: A3 Business Solutions (a3businesssolutions.com)
>>
>> President: M&M Properties
>>
>> President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB.ORG)
>>
>
>
>