The little Yaesu ft817 is a dynamite _little_ rig if it could be made to be
a little more accessible.  Another blind ham and I have had and somewhat
successfully used a couple of them, and could operate them somewhat with the
John Hansen Millenium QSYer, but there were still too many things you just
couldn't determine "blindly" unless you were operating the radio while
hooked up to your trusty computer, which defeats the _Wonderfully extreme
portability factor of the 817 and 817ND all mode, almost handheld rigs,
which operate 160 through 2meters+70CM, (have a Nearly Completely general
coverage receiver<WX and some public service freqs,) and all this, using a
supplied rechargeable internal battery pack.
Both Jack, wa5rop and I have moved on to the little Icom IC703+, which is
about twice the size of the 817, and has no internal battery, and no
coverage above sixty mhz, _Does have a good internal tuner, + talking freq,
S meter, and mode chip; dsp, and most importantly, a system of long and
short tones and countable clicks you can use from wherever in the menus you
are, to bring the radio to a known state:"whether you have a computer
present or not.  I hope the new man at Yaesu can be open to accessibility
concerns.  We'll see, Danny.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 12:19 PM
Subject: Re: This might present blind hams with an opportunity


> any little bit helps...but i think standard/vertex is a lost cause...since
> their amateur radio devision is going down hill fast anyway.
> Maybe that's why they hired Mr. Motschenbacher  to help get their amateur
> sales and market share up enough to support its continued existence.
> They are big into camercial radio and that is what keeps the company
afloat.
> Their amateur radio sales are probably something like third as far as
market
> share goes.
>
> I still maintain hope though since they did have a couple radios that were
> relatively accessible.
> With some new blood in the corporation, maybe they'll reimplement some of
> those features more commonly found now on kenwood and icom rigs.
> They have to do something anyway....pretty much every fellow ham I know
> doesn't like yaesu, with the exception of the older rigs and the FT897/857
> and perhaps the ft1000.
> 73
> Colin, V A6BKX
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Walt Smith" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 9:59 AM
> Subject: This might present blind hams with an opportunity
>
>
> > This comes from the current issue of the ARRL Letter. I strongly
encourage
> > blind hams and their affiliate organizations within both ACB and NFB to
> > contact Mr. Motschenbacher and make strong but _rational_ arguments as
to
> > why Yaesu should do more to accommodate the needs of blind amateurs. His
> > activity in the wake of Hurricane Katrina might be one avenue of
> > approach--the lack of accessibility of most Yaesu equipment makes it
> > difficult, if not impossible, for blind hams to use in emergency
> situations.
> > I suspect that writing to [log in to unmask] should get mail to him.
> >
> > ==>ARRL'S DENNIS MOTSCHENBACHER, K7BV, ACCEPTS EXECUTIVE POSITION WITH
> YAESU
> >
> > ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, has
accepted
> a
> > position with Vertex Standard (Yaesu) as Executive Vice President of its
> > Amateur Radio Sales Division. ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold
Kramer,
> > WJ1B, announced Motschenbacher's departure August 28 "with regret" and
> > congratulated him on his new position.
> >
> > "This is an incredible opportunity for Dennis, who will be relocating to
> > Yaesu's Corporate Office in Cypress, California," Kramer said.
> >
> > In addition to his comprehensive knowledge of the Amateur Radio industry
> and
> > extraordinary marketing and sales skills, Motschenbacher "also brought
us
> an
> > unbridled passion about Amateur Radio and a vision for the ARRL's
future,"
> > when he arrived at League Headquarters four years ago, Kramer said.
> >
> > "The ARRL will miss him," he added. "We have become a better
organization
> > because of him."
> >
> > At Vertex Standard, Motschenbacher will be responsible for Yaesu Amateur
> > Radio equipment sales and marketing in the US and Canada. He'll leave
the
> > League in mid-September.
> >
> > "I dreamed of working at ARRL HQ ever since I was a teenager, never
really
> > believing I would actually get here," Motschenbacher said. "It has been
a
> > terrific four and half years packed with lots of change and new
> friendships.
> > I am deeply honored to now have this opportunity to work for Mr.
Hasegawa
> > and Yaesu, serving the Amateur Radio community in a different but
equally
> as
> > important manner."
> >
> > First licensed in 1962 at age 13 as WV6WTD, Motschenbacher -- a
Minnesota
> > native -- has operated under various US and foreign call signs over the
> > years. Well known as a DXer and top-tier contester, he's operated from
35
> > different countries and competed at World Radiosport Team Championship
> 2000
> > in Slovenia.
> >
> > Motschenbacher is an ARRL Life and Diamond Club member and belongs to
the
> > ARRL Legacy Circle. He's also a past president of the Texas DX Society.
> > Before joining the ARRL Headquarters staff, Motschenbacher served as
> editor
> > of National Contest Journal (NCJ) for four years. In his current
position
> at
> > ARRL Headquarters, he oversees the League's publication and advertising
> > sales as well as product marketing and membership recruitment
activities.
> >
> > A year ago, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Motschenbacher was among
> those
> > HQ staff members who were instrumental in coordinating the procurement
and
> > shipping of equipment to aid radio amateurs responding in the field. He
> also
> > traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, to assist Alabama Section Manager Greg
> > Sarratt, W4OZK, who was overseeing the intake of American Red Cross ham
> > radio volunteers supporting communication at its 250 shelters and
kitchens
> > along the devastated US Gulf Coast.
> >
> >  --
> >  Walt Smith - Clearwater, FL
> >  [log in to unmask]
> >