Hi Richard.

Yes indeed on the accessibility.  I can't fault Handiham though.  I attended
one of their Radio Camps and they provided me some lender radio gear to get
started.  I think that Handiham is actually an excellent organization and my
pushing for greater real accessibility has nothing to do with blaming them.



----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 2:30 PM
Subject: Re: Revisiting accessible amateur radio study materials.


> Message-Id:
> <20050116153315.IHZR1992.imf20aec.mail.bellsouth.net@[68.212.104.94]>
>
> n7i wrote:
>   >I actually have no problems providing reasonable proof of
>   >disability to join Handiham.  It is an excellent organization.
>   >Like all organizations dealing with those of us who have
>   >disabilities, Handiham staff need to take all reasonable steps to
>   >be accessible to us, including making the membership process as
>   >accessible as possible.  This is just a matter of common sense. Why
>   >not join Handiham?
> Cassette and audio reading are fine for light reading such as a novel,
> but I've not cared for refernce material in that format since I was a
> student in the 60's and '70's but it was often the only game in town.
> I can skim material in braille or electronic formats.
>
> Why not join?  I don't see with a lot of what they offer I'm getting
> that much.  I know, it's partly my activist bent.  I know blind folks
> who are very active with the organization with their radio camps etc.
> A couple are good friends of mine.  I just don't have a need for what
> they offer.  Part of it is as you said, I think the league leans to
> heavily upon them for acessibility to materials and then we're not
> really consulted on how this is done.  AGain I site the manual for the
> piece of radio equipment which they had on cassette.  By the time I
> went through any hoops to join and finally got the cassette manual
> back I'd have already found out the info I really wanted about setting
> up the equipment which I bought for less than a hundred bucks at a
> hamfest <grin>.
>
> TO me their first option for accessible materials should be machine
> readable with cassette as the second choice offering.  wHen I was a
> student I much preferred braille to tapes, then mostly 7 inch reels
> btw.  FOr the latest tOm Clancy novel an audio only edition is fine
> but for anything which is intended as a reference work tapes are an
> inferior method of accessing information.
>
>
>
>
> 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