There was a microwave sold by Walmart that was three times the price of any 
other which was a talking model.

Except for the very low-end models, all have touch-screens.  I used thick 
clear shelf liner cut out to the exact dimensions of my touch panel to make 
a template.  But, some manufacturers used to furnish Braille overlays.

The funny thing with my microwave was the overlay they furnished just had 
braille for the numbers, they sheet came as a 9 by 11 size that you had to 
cut out each number and glue it on in the appropriate spot.  It was a total 
waste.

Steve
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Anthony Vece" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 11:41 AM
Subject: Re: OT regarding making home appliances accessible


> Hi Steve;
> How about microwaves?
>
>
> Sent from my Verizon iPhone 5s!
>
>> On Mar 14, 2014, at 10:56 AM, Steve <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>=20
>> The most accessible brand is Whirrlpool; they worked with the 
>> Electrical=20=
>
>> Engineering Department several years ago at Michigan State to build=20
>> accessibility into their appliances.  For example, our front load washer 
>> h=
> as=20
>> a knob that selects between twelve cycles; it is detented and beeps at 
>> the=
> =20
>> Normal position.  They have a Braille manual available so you can learn 
>> or=
> =20
>> write a cheat-sheet to show the position and settings of the knob for 
>> the=20=
>
>> other cycles.  The other buttons give auditory feedback, e.g. the Spin=20
>> control has five different pitched beeps that correspond to highest, 
>> mediu=
> m,=20
>> and low spin speeds; same with Water Temperature.  On our Whirlpool 
>> stove,=
> =20
>> the Bake Broil and Clean buttons all beep, and the temperature comes on 
>> at=
> =20
>> the same point each time; and the temperature up/down buttons beep each 
>> ti=
> me=20
>> they are pressed.
>>=20
>> But, some blind people don't know how to determine if something could 
>> be=20=
>
>> accessible.  It is just like troubleshooting a rig, you have to know=20
>> sometimes if you disconnect the appliance's power, do things 
>> consistently=20=
>
>> reset to a certain position.
>>=20
>> Some manufacturers think they have done a great job at accessibility 
>> when=20=
>
>> they really didn't.  My hot tub has Braille controls--L for light, J for 
>> j=
> et=20
>> 1 and Jet 2, U for Up Down for Down and P for Programming.   They knew 
>> a=20=
>
>> blind Opera singer, apparently.  Even with these controls though, there 
>> is=
> =20
>> no feedback when you press a button and no way to tell when you have 
>> gotte=
> n=20
>> to the correct section you want to access when you program the tub in 
>> term=
> s=20
>> of cycle length, number of times the filters run, time of day to run=20
>> filtration, etc.
>>=20
>> But, I know what you mean about inaccessibility.  I looked at an LG 
>> washer=
> =20
>> before we bought our Whirlpool; it had a knob with a light chopper 
>> mechani=
> sm=20
>> similar to the modern ham rig tuning control for the cycle selector; 
>> there=
> =20
>> was no way to tell when you switched from one position to the other.
>>=20
>> Sometimes, as we face these issues currently, we can't select appliances 
>> s=
> o=20
>> much by features or efficiency, we need to first consider 
>> accessibility.=20=
>
>> So, I wholeheartedly support this initiative.  Even though I can't get 
>> inf=
> o=20
>> off the display of the washer (which would be nice to know time 
>> remaining,=
> =20
>> etc.), the steps they took to make the unit accessible had to cost all of 
>> a=
> =20
>> dollar and just took forethought in planning out the layout.
>> ----- Original Message -----=20
>> From: "Alan R. Downing" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 5:11 PM
>> Subject: Re: OT regarding making home appliances accessible
>>=20
>>=20
>>> 2 years or so ago, I was shopping for a new washing machine.  I looked 
>>> =3D=
>
>>> at the usual places such as Home Depot, Lowes, Fry's Electronics, and 
>>> =3D=
>
>>> the Maytag store.  I remember going into the Maytag store and asking to 
>>> =3D=
>
>>> be shown all of the washing machines, that I could operate without =3D
>>> sighted help.  The salesperson called the store manager over, and he =3D
>>> walked over and quietly explained that they didn't have any machines =3D
>>> with click-type knobs, or any thing else that he felt that I could =3D
>>> successfully use on my own.  After examining all of the display models I 
>>> =3D=
>
>>> concluded that he was absolutely right, there wasn't a single washing 
>>> =3D=
>
>>> machine in the place that I could independently operate.
>>> What a world, Hi.
>>>=20
>>> Alan/KD7GC
>>>=20