[optacon-l] Re: New Optacon
- From: "H & C Arnold" <4carolyna@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 18:03:31 -0400
Thanks, Mike for good continuing education.
In God We Trust,
Carolyn
----- Original Message -----
From: "MikeD" <donegan@xxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2010 4:40 PM
Subject: [optacon-l] New Optacon
There has been a lot of messages about 'fixing' the Optacon lately
So some answers to some questions.
I am an electronics engineer (sighted) that has been helping Charles Pond
get his collection of technical info on the Optacon, out to the various
service people including Richard Ohm.
There is a group of technical minded people on this list (Wizards....)
who have been looking at updating and redesigning
the good old Optacon (things have been real slow lately....)
Some answers to some of the questions:
Can you eliminate the vibration?
No! That's how it works! The pins vibrate and your finger feels the
vibration
and your brain converts the vibration to the equivalent of an image.
Therefore you can 'read' the page.
There have been a number of 'Solutions' offered over the last 10 years
NON of which can be used to read non standard text.
Can the camera be stabilized on the page?
Yes and No. There was a plate that could be put under a page,
with magnets that kept the camera from sliding,
but it also made it harder to move the camera around and some times the
page got stuck
and wrinkled. How big a plate would you use? A large one would be clumsy
and a small
one needed to be moved all the time.
Can you eliminate the cable?
Yes. You can even use a Bluetooth link, but to do so would require a total
rebuild/redesign of the Optacon. You can also change the cable into a
4/5 wire
design (rather than the 20 wire currently), but also not a trivial redesign.
Can you have replaceable battery packs?
Yes. You can even get more powerful batteries
(Lithium - would need a new charging system) but the metal case
on the rd1 doesn't have a convenient way for non techs to get in
and plug in a replacement pack. UL and CSA get upset when people get
shocks from exposed circuits in equipment.
Can you get new display arrays? Why not bigger or smaller?
Yes. Bimorph piezoelectric strips can still be made. Nobody is
manufacturing them that we know of.
BUT are you willing to pay - BIG TIME. Charles had inquired about getting
some manufactured a few years ago and was quote 15 to 20 THOUSAND each array
for quantities of 1 thousand units.
The Wizards have been looking at upgrading parts of the Optacon,
but most of us have other lives and some of the work would take
substantial time.
Any changes that need small and lightweight results need more
sophisticated design work.
The things that most people seem to want changed are the battery/power
system.
It can be done but because one is working with 120Volts AC and batteries
it needs to be done properly and safely.
The second thing is the camera and cable, this requires more technical
expertise.
Using off-the-self digital cameras sounds nice, but they aren't designed
to work
where the object/page is less than a tenth of an inch from the lens!
People with this kind of expertise want to get paid for their time!
So a few answers to a few suggestions,
Mike Donegan
donegan@xxxxxxxx
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.
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.
Other related posts:
