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My review of the Vision Free HD Radio iTR-100A
Friday evening LJ user alexx_kay surprised me with a new talking HD radio http://www.icanseemypc.com/hdradio.html?gclid=CNWtgtXLxqQCFYa8Kgodmy3KfQ
I am a radio addict who pretty much listens to the radio 24/7 but the reception in the aerye is really poor, possibly due to the non-Euclidean geometry and no doubt exacerbated by having two UPSs and two computers in a relatively small space. I had been talking about getting a HD radio for a couple of years but, as most HD radios use touchpads and visual displays, they have not been very accessible until this model from Dice Electronics came out in June.
The Vision-Free HD radio has been specifically designed to be accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Each button press is followed by a spoken queue using a voice that the two people who have heard it both sepearately said sounded like a Japanese schoolgirl. Note that there is no way to turn these spoken announcements off.
It is about the size of a boombox with a series of small buttons on the front right, and a four-inch speaker on the front left. The buttons are arranged as a sort of right triangle, with one button, the power button at the top. The next row has two buttons, the mode button which cycles through AM, FM, and Aux for auxiliary, which allows you to plug in your MP3 player or accessible ebook reader, with the second button allowing you to set an alarm clock. The next row of buttons offers three pre-set buttons and a fourth button for switching to radio reading service (RRS) (for a list of these, many of which can be listened to through the Internet, go to http://radiotime.com/genre/c_2695/Blind_Reader_Service.aspx and also note that to receive these through the radio you will possibly have to register with your local service, again, refer to the above URL). The fourth row of buttons offers three more preset buttons.
To switch stations you turn the large dial in the lower right corner that has soft clicks which move along the band at .2 mH per click. This means no more having to make microscopic movements of the dial to land precisely on a station. The radio announces each station and tells you if it acquires an HD digital signal. The HD signal arrives on the same frequency as the station's AM or FM analog signal and some stations multicast two or three stations, so you get even more stations than you would with an analog radio.
The quality of the signal is incredibly clear, no static or fuzz. The radio comes with multiple antennae for AM and FM, but frankly, I haven't had to twiddle with these at all, although it is sitting on a desk next to a window. If you press the dial in, it will announce the number and often call letters of the station to which the radio is set. To read a list of HD radio stations for Boston http://stations.hdradio.com/boston although reception varies on where you live.
There is an audio tutorial on CD provided by I Can See My PC (also available at the Website), although I would have liked to have an etext version as well, since the MP3s files on the CD are not labeled in a way which tells you what the content is, and if you miss something you have to listen to the whole thing again.
Two more resources for finding out about the Vision-Free HD Radio are
1. Accessible World Tek Talk presents An Audio Demonstration of a new HD Radio, August 16, 2010 by Steve Bauer
http://www.accessibleworld.org/audio/by/title/accessible_world_tek_talk_presents_an_audio_demonstration_of_a_new_hd_radio_august_16_2010
2. AFB article about how the interface was designed
http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw110503
I am a radio addict who pretty much listens to the radio 24/7 but the reception in the aerye is really poor, possibly due to the non-Euclidean geometry and no doubt exacerbated by having two UPSs and two computers in a relatively small space. I had been talking about getting a HD radio for a couple of years but, as most HD radios use touchpads and visual displays, they have not been very accessible until this model from Dice Electronics came out in June.
The Vision-Free HD radio has been specifically designed to be accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Each button press is followed by a spoken queue using a voice that the two people who have heard it both sepearately said sounded like a Japanese schoolgirl. Note that there is no way to turn these spoken announcements off.
It is about the size of a boombox with a series of small buttons on the front right, and a four-inch speaker on the front left. The buttons are arranged as a sort of right triangle, with one button, the power button at the top. The next row has two buttons, the mode button which cycles through AM, FM, and Aux for auxiliary, which allows you to plug in your MP3 player or accessible ebook reader, with the second button allowing you to set an alarm clock. The next row of buttons offers three pre-set buttons and a fourth button for switching to radio reading service (RRS) (for a list of these, many of which can be listened to through the Internet, go to http://radiotime.com/genre/c_2695/Blind_Reader_Service.aspx and also note that to receive these through the radio you will possibly have to register with your local service, again, refer to the above URL). The fourth row of buttons offers three more preset buttons.
To switch stations you turn the large dial in the lower right corner that has soft clicks which move along the band at .2 mH per click. This means no more having to make microscopic movements of the dial to land precisely on a station. The radio announces each station and tells you if it acquires an HD digital signal. The HD signal arrives on the same frequency as the station's AM or FM analog signal and some stations multicast two or three stations, so you get even more stations than you would with an analog radio.
The quality of the signal is incredibly clear, no static or fuzz. The radio comes with multiple antennae for AM and FM, but frankly, I haven't had to twiddle with these at all, although it is sitting on a desk next to a window. If you press the dial in, it will announce the number and often call letters of the station to which the radio is set. To read a list of HD radio stations for Boston http://stations.hdradio.com/boston although reception varies on where you live.
There is an audio tutorial on CD provided by I Can See My PC (also available at the Website), although I would have liked to have an etext version as well, since the MP3s files on the CD are not labeled in a way which tells you what the content is, and if you miss something you have to listen to the whole thing again.
Two more resources for finding out about the Vision-Free HD Radio are
1. Accessible World Tek Talk presents An Audio Demonstration of a new HD Radio, August 16, 2010 by Steve Bauer
http://www.accessibleworld.org/audio/by/title/accessible_world_tek_talk_presents_an_audio_demonstration_of_a_new_hd_radio_august_16_2010
2. AFB article about how the interface was designed
http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw110503
no subject
I love the marketing of "Vision-Free." How's the sound quality? I guess the question is, is it better enough than the headphones that you'd actually plug in your BookSense or other little-boxes-with-jacks. And how heavy is it?
no subject
I haven't come close to maxing out the volume, as the signal and the sound quality are so excellent.
It is quite light, about the same as a boombox, maybe a little heavier, but not as heavy as a stereo. If I bump it with my hand or a book, it doesn't slide on the desk.
I could plug in my ebook reader, or even my PC, and I may under some situations (like playing Radio Margaritaville or other Internet radio stations, or playing audiobooks on my PC). However, a lot of time when I am listening to my ebook reader with the headphones on, it is because I am in bed going to sleep, and I feel that this is enough of a sleep habit that I want the headphones on. Also, the accessible ebook readers are consistently designed with short power cords, and the HD radio is on the far side of the aerye, so I couldn't use any of the keys if I wanted to.