Hearing Enhancement and Spanish Translation

Hearing Enhancement and Spanish Translation

Braille Monitor
April 2008
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Hearing Enhancement and Spanish Translation
Available at National Convention
Spanish Translators Needed
by D. Curtis Willoughby

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 about FM receivers at convention:

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 in general sessions and the banquet 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 special receivers for these
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 checkout table in good condition by adjournment or within
thirty minutes of adjournment of the last convention session that the borrower
plans to attend. 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 3.5 mm (formerly
called 1/8-inch) earphone plug, in case you want to use your own earphone(s),
Silhouette, 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 checkout table. The receiver does not have a built-in loudspeaker. 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 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 3.5 mm (formerly called 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. Caution your audiologist that there is more than one
channel 36, and he or she must also verify that your frequency matches our frequency.
This announcement is published 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 in order to work with the Federation's system at
convention.
Even if your hearing aid is not of the FM type, you may be able to purchase
a Silhouette, 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. Spanish speakers may, however, wish to bring their
own ear phones. See above for a description of the type of plug needed.
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 before 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 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 at <[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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