Yep :) as I said, the navigator will work with jaws, if you're running
on a 32 bit operating system up to windows 7. (unless you can find
prolithic drivers for 8 so you can successfully run a serial to USB
dongle of course) As an update, I have obtained my navigator 80 today
and have it up and running with no issues using BRLTTY as a background
service and interfacing that with NVDA. I'm also running 64 bit
windows 7 ultimate and the whole setup is rock stable at present.
Unfortunately, my navigator has a baffed "line down" button so if I
don't hit it in exactly the right way, it spams "line down" and
autoscrolls through a novel in text format in about 5 seconds. :)
However, these old clunky displays seem to be easy to service. I saw a
few Phillips head screws on the bottom and should be able to pop it
off and (hopefully) replace the springs in the effective button. By
the way, does anyone have a manual for the TSI navigator series? I
can't find it online and would really like to know what the other
buttons on this thing are supposed to do so I can get them working
properly with BRLTTY.

On 4/13/14, COLLEEN ROTH <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>  Hello,
> Well I planned to use a PacMate 20-35ll Braille Display with a Braille Plus
> Original but couldn't because the PacMate Braille needed Drivers.
> I was able to sell it. I just could not underand how to use a PacMate.
>
> Given the poor quality of braille cells on the market today why would anyone
> wish to buy a new braille display.
> It's interesting how the braille cells on the Braille Sense Classic and
> displays made before 2005 or partway through that year work very well.
> If someone has Office 2010 I think Window-eyes is available for free.
> I do not know if Window-eyes supprts the Navigator Braille Display though.
> Colleen Roth
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Rylan Vroom <[log in to unmask]>
> ,to3 [log in to unmask]
> Date: Saturday, April 12, 2014 5:50 pm
> Subject: Re: Off topic -- JAWS new version and old braille display
>
>>
>>
>> Hi E73, this is a topic that has been coming up a lot recently in
>> access technology circles. I myself am getting an old navigator 80
>> tomorrow. Unfortunately, if you're running a 64 bit operating system
>> you're out of luck as far as Jaws is concerned. Basically, the
>> navigator uses the same communications protocol as the old Blazie
>> PowerBraille displays, but Freedom Scientific in its infinite wisdom
>> has stopped allowing people to use the power braille models through
>> serial connections as of Jaws 11. If you had a power braille you could
>> still use it with Jaws 12 to 15, but only through an old style 25 pin
>> parallel port. However, the navigators don't ship with LPT ports so
>> you're out of luck. Now, if you're running a 32 bit operating system,
>> you can request a special build of Jaws from FS that will allow you to
>> use the navigator with PowerBraille drivers on a serial connection or
>> through a serial to USB dongle, but even then they might not provide
>> it to you. Fortunately, all is not lossed, because NVDA supports all
>> the old displays through BRAILLETTY. (and that includes using those
>> displays on 64 bit operating systems). This issue is so stupid, those
>> old braille displays are still in use all over the world, they were
>> made to last, and given the price people have to pay just to get the
>> blind equivalent of a computer monitor, you'd think FS would make sure
>> it supported as many displays as possible right? I for one can't
>> afford to buy a new focus 80, and I don't see why a navigator 80
>> shouldn't work with a screen reader I spent close to a thousand bucks
>> to buy. Could everyone on this list do people like E73 and myself a
>> favour? The more times people EMail freedom scientific tech support
>> and ask why old braille displays aren't supported, (hopefully) the
>> more freedom will realise that this is something their user base
>> wants. When that navigator 80 gets dropped off tomorrow, I'm
>> regrettably going to have to switch to NVDA for tasks involving
>> braille, (which is about half of what I use a computer for). I
>> definitely won't be buying Jaws anymore that's for sure. But, I would
>> if they were a little more responsive to user input and a little less
>> capitalistically motivated.
>>
>> On 4/12/14, E73KG -- Gradimir <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >     Hi to all,
>> >
>> > Today I got an old Braille display. On Braille display write: Navigator
>> > Vblec/2 40-8. Is there any more information about this Braille displays?
>> > How
>> > to set this old model that works with newer versions of JAWS, such as
>> > version 12.0 or later his
>> >
>> > E73KG,     Gradimir
>> >
>