Afternoon all. My opta has been in the shop for 18 days. I just got it back. Alas, my joy was short-lived. It isn't working. I can't read anything. I have every faith in the Tech. His name is Fred, a great guy. He did forewarn me of the possibility of problems. He told me last week that he's used every spare part he has. I spoke to him a moment ago. He suggested I send it back, and he'll give it another shot. It's easy to see that all 144 pins are showing on the array. I think the problem is with the retina. When I try to read something, all I get is a bunch of gibberish. After 24 years and 8 months, I'm wondering if isn't time to bid my dear optacon goodbye. I'm grateful to Fred for the time and trouble he's taken to fix the darned thing; 3 times in 5 years I think. He said that although he can fix the optacon, he lacks the sensitivity in his index finger to detect the different letters. My father's passing, and subsequent family unpleasantness have left me emotionally spent. I don't know if I have the strength to re box the damned thing and send it back. I have a scanner with Kurzweil 1000 version 6.0. It does a fair job. should I let the tech have another crack at it, or bid it goodbye? Mary L mailto:mariooch@xxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject.