[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ana Rodriguez (far left) and Curtis Willoughby (far right)

at the FM receiver table with two unidentified men

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ana Rodriguez (far left) and Curtis Willoughby (far right)

at the FM receiver table with two unidentified men

Braille Monitor

April 2004

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Hearing Enhancement

and Spanish Translation

Available at National Convention:

Spanish Translators Needed

by

D. Curtis Willoughby

Ana

Rodriguez (far left) and Curtis Willoughby (far right) at the FM receiver

table with two unidentified men.

From the Editor: Curtis

Willoughby is 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 following adjournment of the last convention session.

Batteries

for the receiver will be provided. Anyone checking out a Federation receiver

will be given, upon request, a miniature earbud-type earphone to use with the

receiver.

Along

with explaining what will be available, 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. 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. Other than the earphone jack on the receiver, 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. While earphones, and even neck loops, are sometimes

available in the exhibit room, 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 transmitters. In this case the hearing-impaired

person may simply tune his or her own receiver to receive the Federation's transmitter

and will not need to check out a Federation receiver.

Some

audiologists and rehabilitation agencies are now buying digital and other FM

hearing aids that cannot be tuned to the Federation's frequency. If you have

one of these or if you have any other type of hearing aid, you should obtain

from your audiologist an adapter cable to connect from your hearing aid to a

monaural 1/8-inch earphone jack. This will allow you to plug the cable from

your hearing aid directly into a receiver you check out from our table. This

will allow you to hear as well as anyone else using one of our receivers.

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). (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. Warn your audiologist that there is more than one channel

36, so he or she must also verify that the frequency selected matches our frequency.

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 type of equipment should

be able to 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

translation service, 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 email 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 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 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 and Spanish-speaking

colleagues, and we hope and believe that it will again significantly improve

their convention experience.

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