Hearing Enhancement and Spanish Translation

Hearing Enhancement and Spanish Translation

The Braille Monitor

March 2003

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Hearing

Enhancement and Spanish Translation Available at National Convention:

Spanish

Translators Needed

by D. Curtis Willoughby

Curtis

Willoughby works at the FM receiver check-out table.

From the Editor:

Curtis Willoughbyis a member of the NFB's Research and Development Committee

and head of our Ham Radio Interest Group. Here is his announcement:

Again this year at

national convention we will offer special arrangements for severely hearing

impaired people attending convention sessions and the banquet. This will consist

of transmission of the public address system signal over a special short-range

radio transmitter for the severely hearing-impaired. Also Spanish‑language

translation of convention proceedings will be provided using a similar arrangement.

The special receivers required for these services will also be provided.

In cooperation with several state affiliates (notably,

Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, Utah, and Virginia), the NFB will provide receivers

for these special transmissions to those needing them. The receiver lending

will be managed by the Ham Radio Group and will be operated from a table just

outside the meeting room. A deposit of $25, cash only, will be required of anyone

wishing to check out one of the Federation's receivers. The deposit will be

returned if the receiver is checked in at the check‑out table in good

condition by adjournment, or within thirty minutes after adjournment of the

last convention session. Batteries for the receiver will be provided. Upon request

anyone checking out a Federation receiver will be given a miniature earbud‑type

earphone to use with the receiver.

In addition to explaining what will be available at

convention, it is important that we explain what will not be available. The

miniature earbud loudspeaker‑type earphone will be the only kind of earphone

offered. No means of connection to a hearing aid will be available from the

check‑out table. The receiver does not have a built‑in loudspeaker.

The receiver requires a 1/8 inch earphone plug, in case you want to use your

own earphone(s), neck loop, adapter cable, etc. You are advised to arrange for

such things well ahead of arriving at the convention. While earphones, and even

neck loops, are sometimes available in the exhibit hall, you cannot be certain

of getting one there.

Many severely hearing-impaired people already use radio

systems that employ FM radio signals to carry the voice from a transmitter held

by the person speaking to a receiver in the hearing aid. Many such hearing aid

systems can be tuned to receive the Federation's special transmissions. In this

case the hearing‑impaired person may simply tune his or her own receiver

to receive the Federation's transmission and will not need to check out a Federation

receiver.

The transmitter for the hearing impaired will be connected

to the public address system so that the signals from the head table and the

aisle microphones will be transmitted on channel 36 (74.775 MHz narrow band

FM). Therefore people must not operate their personal transmitters on channel

36 or on channel 38 because that would interfere with the reception by others.

This means that folks wishing to use their own receivers (rather than checking

out one of the Federation's receivers) need to have their personal receivers

arranged so that they can switch between their personal channels and channel

36. Some people may need to purchase replacement or additional receivers.

This announcement is printed now to allow as much time

as possible for those interested to make the necessary arrangements before convention.

It contains this amount of detail so that any audiologist who works with this

equipment should know by reading this article exactly what capabilities a person's

FM hearing system must have to work with the Federation's system at convention.

Even if you do not use an FM hearing aid, you may be

able to purchase a neck loop or an adapter cable to couple the signal from a

Federation receiver directly to your hearing aid. Your audiologist should also

be able to help you with this.

The service for Spanish speakers will be similar, except

that a live Spanish translator will speak over a separate transmitter on channel

38 (75.275 MHz narrow band FM). We do not expect that people will bring their

own receivers for the Spanish, unless they are also hearing impaired and use

an FM hearing aid system.

Norm Gardner from

Utah will be coordinating the Spanish- language interpreters, and he would appreciate

hearing from anyone willing to volunteer to interpret. Please call him prior

to convention at (801) 224‑6969, or send him e‑mail at <[email protected]>.

Finally, if other

state affiliates or chapters are interested in purchasing this type of equipment

for use in state and local meetings, they are encouraged to purchase equipment

that is compatible with that which we are using and to allow it to be used in

the pool of equipment that the Ham Radio Group administers at national convention.

I, Curtis Willoughby, would like to help you choose equipment that is compatible

with that which the NFB is using. I may also be able to help you get the good

prices the NFB has been getting. You may contact me at (303) 424‑7373

or <[email protected]>.

The Federation is

pleased to offer these services to our severely hearing‑impaired colleagues

and to our Spanish‑speaking colleagues, and we hope and believe that it

will again significantly improve their convention experience.

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