Hi Jim,
I've actually been kicking this around for quite some time, specifically
with respect to software Defined Radios and a way to tactually represent the
waterfall display they often use to show signals across their receive range.

There's a couple of ways you might approach this exciting idea. One is more
technically difficult, but may be a more responsive and flexible method: you
could create an interface which would send the dots you want directly to the
Braille display. Depending on the Braille display or displays you wish to
support, you could get the necessary driver info from the manufacturers and
creat a specific set of driver files for your interface app.

The second way is less "gourmet" and may not work well:
You could send the character equivalents for what you wish to see in each
cell to the display, updating as necessary. So, you would create an ever
changing line of "text". For example, You might represent the "grass," the
background noise on using dots 7 and 8, maybe leaving them out for a quiet
band, or not showing "grass" since we know there is always some kind of
noise and using all four vertical levels of dots to represent signal.

With the exception of dots 7 and 8, you can "fire" each dot independently,
if you want it to stand alone by using the correct computer character. This
can be done for, I believe,  every dot configuration up to all eight dots
raised. Build from the bottom up to show increasing signal strength, make
your interface aware of how many cells the display has so that yu can know
what size band segment you're displaying across x number of cells and be
able to zoom in and out for more or less granularity.

I think it could work but it would take some thought to iron out the
details.

Best regards, 

Ron Miller

-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Jim Shaffer
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 10:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: braille pan adapter

It occurs to me that I could, using the TS-590, computer and braille =
display, put together a pretty good tactile pan adapter.  You could = enter
a frequency range, or of course a band designation, and get a look = at
where the activity is within the spectrum for that band.

What I=E2=80=99m currently stumbling over is having control over the =
individual dots on a braille display.  Does anyone know if = there=E2=80=99s
a way to, for example, tell a braille display to put up = just dot 7?
I=E2=80=99d like to have a frequency rule in the bottom = dots, with the
strength of signals shown in the top half of each cell.
--
Jim Shaffer, KE5AL
Pflugerville, TX
www.jjshaffer.net
www.pgramblers.com