Hi Terry.

I probably should look for a Perkins brailler.  I only lost my vision a few
years ago, so it has been kind of a slow transition from print to
braille.  I know my Grade 1, and a lot of the Grade 2 contractions, but
there are still some that I forget.

Unfortunately, modern technology is both a blessing and a curse.  Computer
technology has kept me working, but it makes it possible to limp along
without the older technology for writing braille.  I suppose I could always
cast around for a Braille Blazer and a copy of Duxbury, too.  I find that
taking down traffic on a keyboard is easier than taking it down on a
Perkins, anyway, but that is probably because I have been typing since I
was 14, and I'm pretty used to keyboards.

73, de Lou K2LKK



At 11:39 PM 11/28/2005 -0800, you wrote:
>Dear Lou,
>
>When I used to send a lot of traffic, I had a headset with a boom mike and a
>foot switch.  I bought two headsets, one for hf and another for vhf.  Some
>friends helped me get them put together.  That kept my hands free for
>reading and writing.  In those days, I banged everything down on a Perkins
>brailler.
>
>I have a different station nowadays and I don't have the headsets or foot
>switches because my rigs are very different.  I haven't sent much traffic,
>but I take it down using my BrailleNote or my PC which has an old PB40
>braille display attached to it.
>
>I personally prefer using braille.  I knew a man who used a tape recorder to
>take down the messages and he later transcribed them into braille using a
>slate and stylus.  He read messages from the braille he'd written on paper.
>
>I know some people who have used tape both to send and receive traffic, but
>I think it's more difficult.  I don't know how they are able to listen to
>the tape and speak what they've heard into the mike without getting
>tongue-twisted.
>
>I still have my brailler and a slate or two kicking around in case the
>electricity goes out so I could still handle traffic.
>
>Terri, Amateur Radio call sign KF6CA.  Army MARS call sign AAT9PX,
>California
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Louis Kim Kline" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 7:48 PM
>Subject: Sending Traffic on NTS
>
>
> > Hi to all.
> >
> > I had an interesting experience the other night.  A friend called me and
> > asked me to put a message into the NTS for him.  I took down the message
> > on
> > my trusty Type 'n Speak (yep, I'm still using the old dinosaur).  When I
> > went to send the message, though, there were a couple of places where the
> > spelling was not easy and I needed to read through it character by
> > character.  Suddenly, I found the need to have one hand for the RIGHT
> > ARROW
> > key, one hand for the LEFT SHIFT key, and one hand to key the
> > microphone.  Awkward, to say the least!
> >
> > Since I don't have a Perkins braille writer, I have had to resort to
> > putting things on one computer device or another.  I'm curious about
> > whether anyone else has faced this problem when sending traffic, and if
> > so,
> > what you did about it.
> >
> > 73, de Lou K2LKK
> >
> > P.S.  My braille is probably even less legible than my handwriting!
> >
> >
> >
> > Louis Kim Kline
> > A.R.S. K2LKK
> > Home e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
> > Work e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
> > Work Telephone:  (585) 697-5753
> >
> >
> > __________ NOD32 1.1306 (20051128) Information __________
> >
> > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
> > http://www.eset.com
> >
> >

Louis Kim Kline
A.R.S. K2LKK
Home e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
Work e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
Work Telephone:  (585) 697-5753