Hi Dan and welcome to the list. I have a crt lense and never heard of being able to take it appart. I thought you simply twisted the large circular control on the lense to loosen it and slide it in or out to vary the magnification. And, you can also screw the barrel in and out and lock it with a nut to vary the focus point. Haven't tried using it on a tv screen for the 800 numbers you mentioned, so will have to try that one. Don ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan and Bonnie Tonge" <dandbtonge@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Optacon" <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 6:31 PM Subject: [optacon-l] Hi from a New Member This is Dan from Mount Vernon, formerly from Seattle, WA. I have two Optacons right now, one of the "new" models and one of the older ones. I am the one that Catherine mentioned who used the Optacon to read the onscreen menu from my VCR to program it. On an older VCR, I was able to read the display on the front of the VCR as it didn't have capabilities for an onscreen menu. I was pretty tickled, because even most sighted people I talk with didn't know how to program theirs. Also, when one of those late-night infomercials was on, they didn't give the number to call auditorially, just said it was at the bottom of the screen. So I recorded a bit of the infomercial then put it on play and pause, and was able to read the number with the Optacon. I just love it, and was so distressed when they stopped making them, not too long after I had just finished paying for one on a long-term financing deal with Telesensory. Anyway, I even got the instructions on how to take the CRT l ens apart and change the magnification inside, but I'm not sure where those are. They sent a little, tiny screwdriver with which to take it apart, but I have had too many moves and not sure if I still have that or not. I wouldn't purposely let it go, but you know how things can get lost moving. Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself. I am 57 years old and started using the Optacon on my job in 1981. Talk with you all later. By the way, hello to Al. Haven't talked with you in a long time. Dan to view the list archives, go to: www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l 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. __________ NOD32 3816 (20090131) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com to view the list archives, go to: www.freelists.org/archives/optacon-l 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.