Guys,

This sounds like an awful lot of fun. I already know some of the objections some will raise to this proposal (sharp objects, soldering, high voltages), but bear in mind that a lot of us haven't really gotten to do a lot of soldering, nor have some of us played with high voltages directly, and the sharp objects thing is an understandable concern of someone who isn't very familiar with some of our methods. Still, the fact that Wayne is floating this idea is really exciting. I, for one, am totally in. All ideas and constructive feedback is, I'm sure, welcome. 
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY



Begin forwarded message:

> From: Wayne Burdick <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Idea for 2012 FDIM building contest
> Date: August 10, 2011 8:40:30 PM EDT
> To: Ken Evans <[log in to unmask]>
> Cc: Eric Swartz <[log in to unmask]>, Buddy Brannan <[log in to unmask]>
> 
> Hi Ken,
> 
> Hope things are going well for you this year. I'm really busy with the KX3 and other products, as you can imagine.
> 
> We have a number of blind customers using K3s, etc. I was discussing with one of them (Buddy, copied on this) the fact that there are no radio or electronic kits (that we know of) that could be constructed entirely by a blind hobbyist. I then mentioned that I'd think about how to do this :)
> 
> Then I realized this would be a novel theme for the FDIM building contest in 2012, assuming it hasn't already been tried. It would be a challenge for both the kit designers and target builders. For best results, they'd need to work together.
> 
> The most important thing about such a kit is the sense of empowerment it would provide the blind builder. From all my conversations with blind hams, it's clear they feel left out being unable to participate in some basic hands-on aspect of the hobby. I'm sure that's true of would-be blind builders in other genres as well. (Buddy may have thoughts on this.)
> 
> Even a simple kit would be a challenge. Here are some potential constraints (again, Buddy will know better than I):
> 
> - probably no soldering (safety concern)
> - suggest twisting component leads, or use spring terminals
> - no high voltages
> - all components that have the same size/shape must be carefully tagged or bagged
>  or have a tactile label
> - all components with more than two leads (e.g., a transistor) must have
>  an asymmetrical package so leads can be clearly identified; better yet,
>  one lead can be extended beyond the others
> - no use of color codes (obvious!)
> - nothing sharper than a component lead
> - hardware should be large (#4 or larger)
> - if a PCB or other substrate is provided, it should be asymmetrical or have
>  tactile guides
> - if knobs are used, they should have tactile pointers
> - manual either in Braille or in accessible electronic format (use with a PC screen reader)
> 
> With care, one could build a simple transceiver that satisfies all of these constraints.
> 
> Anyone entering such a kit into the contest should pair up with a blind builder -- or try building it blindfolded -- to prove that it works.
> 
> Any interest in this idea?
> 
> Thanks,
> Wayne
> 
> 
> 
>