Hi Harvey!

I think you missed a step in the process. True you do read with both index
fingers on the same line, but that's only when you're at the beginning of
the line. When you are at about the middle of the line, the left index
finger is supposed to drop down to the next line and keep the flow going.
You've got to coordinate that yourself, but it will workObviously you don't
have that luxury when you are sending traffic in cw, but I wonder, is anyone
still doing that? 

I was working a guy on 20 meters yesterday using the remote base. He rather
stounded me when he complained that my call WD8LDY/ZL4 was too big to fit
into the call field of his log book programme. I incorrectly thought this
must be one of the crowd so new that they could only do radio with a
computer. He then said he got his license back in the sixties and was hoping
to upgrade this Saturday to advanced. He wanted to upgrade to Extra, but
couldn't pass a 20 wpm code test. He had a nice 20 over signal banging into
Lake George. I tried to reassure him he could get by with putting WD8LDY in
his log book. The rest of the call is only my responsibility to say it, and
probably isn't as important for him to collect because it was clearly
causing a hardship.

73,
Dave  

-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Harvey Heagy
Sent: Friday, 8 May 2015 3:33 a.m.
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: braille, was: absolutely nothing to do with ham radio but
Dayton made me think about it.

Well, Jim, join the club.  I wish I was a fast Braille reader, but I'm just
not.  We were reading it with our primary hand index finger with the index
finger on the other hand marking our place on the next line which worked for
me pretty well.  But some superintendent felt it was faster to read it with
both index fingers following each other on the same line, so we did.  I
think for me that slowed me down.  But like you, I do support Braille
instruction for all legally blind children as well as those newly blinded
adults who can learn it.
Harvey

-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Jim Shaffer
Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2015 8:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: braille, was: absolutely nothing to do with ham radio but Dayton
made me think about it.

I've never been a fast braille reader either.  In second grade, my teacher
noticed that I was struggling with print and my limited sight, and switched
me to braille.  She told me later that I did two years of work in one year
using braille.  I tell this story in a letter I wrote to President Obama as
part of an NFB campaign to send 100 letters supporting braille instruction
to the president.  My letter was one of those chosen.

I wrote the JJRadio program so that I'd have what amounts to a braille ham
rig.  I use braille to monitor/control the radio now, and keep the TS-590's
VGS-1 turned off.  When in a QSO, I turn my computer's speech off too.
--
Jim, ke5al