Catherine,
I'm sorry to hear the Radio Shack no longer sells the nice $10 Chinese
talking watches it used to carry. (No, they didn't include a radio.) I
bought myself one in 1999 that kept working till mid-2004, thereafter still
keeping good time but no longer able to speakbecause, I guess, the battery's
too weak. Luckily I was given another just like it some months before it
went bad, and I hope this gift from the Oakland, Calif., Lions' Center for
the Blind keeps me going through 2009.
To avoid overtaxing it, I have a clock that chimes every quarter hour, and
I use broken answering machines in different rooms that can speak the time
whenever I press a button. I also have a working answering machine that can
be used for the same purpose, but its clock gets slow and needs resetting
every few months as well as, like the others, when the power fails for more
than a few seconds.
I bought a fancier talking watch from the MaxiAids catalogue a few years
ago for
$35 + shipping but was very disappointed that it showed seconds but wouldn't
speak them. It included a stopwatch, but it died after a few months when I
bumped one of its side buttons
and knodked it irretrievably off. It had a bar on its face to press for
hearing the time, but I found this bar unpleasant because it got bumped all
too often when I didn't want to hear the time.
I also bought a talking calculator with a clock from MaxiAids at the same
time for $15 because it wouldn't add to the shipping cost, but it too
disappointed me because it wouldn't speak the time. The MaxiAids telephone
operator I talked with evidently didn't know what her products could and
couldn't do and didn't care; she guessed these devices would report the
seconds in one case and the time in the other. Since MaxiAids keeps 30% of
the cost when refunding your money for inadequate goods, I didn't bother to
go through the agony of returning the merchandise, but I won't do business
with that organization again.
Good luck in finding what you need, and best wishes for 2005.
Nelson
Oakland, Calif.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Catherine Armstrong" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 4:20 PM
Subject: Re: Talking wristwatch with Stopwatch
> My talking watch just died today. I bought it from the NFB website. I've
> had good experiences with their watches in the past, but this one only
> lasted about four months before tanking. I even tried replacing the
> battery, but that didn't help. The voice just kept getting lower and
lower,
> quieter and quieter, slower and slower, until it didn't work at all. So
now
> I'm in search of a really reliable one. I'll even pay $40 or $50 for it
if
> it will last me several years (haven't found one yet that will do that).
> All I need is for it to have an alarm. My Braille Lite has a stop watch,
so
> I use that if I need it. A little trick for almost completely muffling
the
> sound if the speaker is not mounted on top of the watch -- press the watch
> hard to your wrist and hold it to your ear. Only you will hear it. Any
> suggestions would be appreciated. I'm thinking about switching back to a
> Braille watch, but I don't know of any that have alarms. Happy New Year!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Terri Hedgpeth" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 4:45 PM
> Subject: Re: Talking wristwatch with Stopwatch
>
>
> > Nelson, does this watch have a radio in it?
> >
> > Terri Hedgpeth
> > Disability Research Specialist
> > Cubic, iCare box 87-8909
> > Arizona State University
> > Tempe, AZ 85287-8909
> > (480) 727-8133 (voice)
> > (480) 965-2751 (fax)
> > http://cubic.asu.edu
> > =20
> > The positive thinker sees
> > the invisible, feels the intangible,
> > and achieves the impossible.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: VICUG-L: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Seymour
> > Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 4:29 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Talking wristwatch with Stopwatch
> >
> > To All,
> >
> > In searching for a talking watch, as mentioned a few weeks ago, I
> > called several Radio Shacks in Manhattan. I was unsuccessful
> > until I found a local one, in Montclair New Jersey, that had the
> > talking wristwatch in stock. (A clerk in one of the Manhattan
> > stores insisted that Radio Shack doesn't sell them at all, and I
> > might try Toys R Us.)
> >
> > Two days before Christmas, I rushed out to the local Radio Shack,
> > with the memory of my very first talking watch, which I had
> > received for Christmas, 20 years ago. It was my first and
> > favorite, and it was off the shelf from Radio Shack.
> >
> > That talking watch was easy to set and easy to use. The button
> > for triggering the time was a slightly raised bar on the face of
> > the watch. Very convenient when walking down the street with my
> > right hand holding onto my cane. Wearing this watch on my left
> > wrist, I just lifted the watch to my face, pressed the bar
> > against my chin, then moved it to my ear to hear the time. A nice
> > ability that I haven't had with the small, side-mounted buttons
> > on my subsequent watches.
> >
> > The sound for this watch came out of a button-sized speaker on
> > the upper-right section of the face, and was easy to feel. I
> > would put my fingertip over that little speaker and trigger the
> > speech. It was the aural equivalent of furtively glancing at my
> > watch. Without it, I can't check the time without letting
> > everybody around me know that I am doing so.
> >
> > Lastly, it had a stop watch, and I really made use of that
> > feature.
> >
> > Anyway, I got to my local Radio Shack and examined their newest
> > models of talking watches. None had those great features that I
> > had 20 years ago.
> >
> > Has anybody on this list found talking watches that will fit the
> > bill? Again, the 3 key features are:
> >
> > Easy to trigger, finger not necessary
> > Easy to mute for discreet listening
> > A stop watch
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Peter Seymour
> >
> >
> > At 11:23 AM 12/22/04 -0800, Nelson Blachman wrote:
> > > The Radio Shack sells a talking wristwatch that can be set
> > digitally along
> > >with its alarm for $10. It's very good, is made in China,
> > speaks English,
> > >and crows like a rooster at the alarm time, also announcing the
> > time.
> > >
> > > When you press its button to stop its crowing, you can also
> > turn on your
> > >radio.
> > >
> > > There are Radio Shacks all over the US and affiliated stores
> > in other
> > >countries as well as a Website RadioShack.com.
> > >
> > >Nelson Blachman
> > >Oakland, Calif.
> > >
> > >
> > >VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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> >
> >
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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
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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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