Hi,
No need for the optacon as it is frankly overkill for your needs. The
optacon is a text reading device, converting the printed shapes on the
page, e.g. letters, into vibrating pins which take on the shape of the
letters under a hand camera which the user uses. When the device was
produced, it generally cost about $3,000.
What you need is a simple light detection device designed similarly to
what you described. They should cost no more than $30 or $40. I don't
know who you could check but I would think any rehab department of your
state dealing with blindness could indicate where to go.
Here in Chicago we have the Hines Rehabilitation Center, I believe that is
the name. You can check with them as they specialized with blindness
rehab. They are nationally known. Also there is an organization here
which sells, as a side line, various blindness related devices, talking
clocks, watches, some canes, etc. They are called The Guild for the
Blind, located in downtown Chicago. They can be found on the web at
www.guildfortheblind.org. Write them or call for information.
There are plenty of other groups which would know of the kind of device
you need. The optacon is complete overkill, and quite unnecessary for
your needs. I also have one, in need of repair but choose not to sell.
Steve
On Mon, 21 May 2001, Bill McCann wrote:
Hi,
You might be interested in a device called the OPTACON: Optical to Tactile
Converter. I am totally blind and I use my OPTACON to read all kinds of
printed material. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, the OPTACON,
which was first manufactured in the early 1970's, is no longer produced. I
have a few used units available for sale. I acquired these a while ago to
use for spare parts but I could part with one or two and still be covered.
You, may contact me directly at [log in to unmask]
Regards,
Bill
Dancing Dots
www.dancingdots.com
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
1754 Quarry Lane
PO Box 927
Valley Forge, PA 19482-0927
Tel: 610-783-6692
Fax: 610-783-6732
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nelson Blachman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2001 5:53 PM
Subject: A pen-like grayness sensor?
> I'm a retired physicist born with high myopia and 20:70 vision that
began
> deteriorating five years ago in my right eye from myopic degeneration
(which
> occurred around sixty years ago in my left eye). As a result I've been
> totally blind for a year and began Braille lessons in January.
>
> I'm writing to ask if there's any device on the market at a reasonable
> price that could serve to tell me quickly which side of a sheet of paper
is
> printed so that I can put it on my scanner the right way on my first try.
I
> imagine it could resemble a penlight, emitting a tone whose loudness or
> pitch would indicate the level of gray it's pointed at.
>
> It might even emit three different tones if it could sense red, green,
and
> blue to indicate the color it sees as an aid in sorting clothes. But
> monochrome perception should be quite enough for determining whether the
> material to be scanned is laid out in a single column or many, in finding
> out whether an attempt at printing out a file had been successful, etc.
>
> Nelson Blachman, Oakland, Calif.
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> To join or leave the list, send a message to
> [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
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> VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
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>
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
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--
+----------------------------+
| Steve Zielinski (N8UJS) |
| [log in to unmask] |
+----------------------------+
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
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