Accessible Tools for Work and Play
April 2014
Mike May and Robert Sweetman will discuss technology resources for work and play.
Long-time visually impaired people are likely to have many talking devices. Some of these items are no longer sold new but may be found on eBay, Blind Bargains or elsewhere.If there is a link, you can probably still purchase the item. We will not list kitchen and other items found in the mainstream market.
Home Tools
Home Appliances and Electronics
Home and Mobile Phones
Clocks and Watches
Identifying and Labeling
Book Readers, Radios and Audio
Television and Accessories
Walkie Talkies and ham radio
Earphones
Braille Writing and Printing
Braille embossers
Computers and Portable Data Assistants
Note Takers
GPS Programs and Devices
Video Magnifiers
Other Helpful Resources
Home Tools
Talking measuring tape, ProTape 16-foot Home Contractor talking measuring tape
12-foot Starrett precision tape. This has a 6-inch tactile piece and periodic dots on the tape itself.
One foot aluminum measuring stick
ProLevel Home Contractor; has an audible mode.
American Foundation for the Blind, (AFB), has many tools, kitchen appliances, and games that have been modified for use by persons who are blind or have low vision.
AFB carries many specialized devices such as talking blood pressure monitors. They also run Career Connect for job searches and employment development, and publish Accessible World which reviews assistive technology and general market devices.
Home Appliances and Electronics
Talking Microwave from Cobalt in the UK. This comes only with 220V British plug and wiring.
iGrill module, which works with smart phone app.
Talking Thermostat from
Manufactures the VIP 3000Talking thermostat.
Honeywell Security alarm controller
Phoenix My Weigh, Talking scale
Home and Mobile Phones
Talking Caller ID, ClasscoCidney 95000CW and the ClasscoVoice Announce 500
Panasonic KX-TG2386B Talking Cordless phone
iPhone with VoiceOver.
Clocks and Watches
Sharp Elsi Mate EL-640, voice synthesized clock and calculator
Tissot tactile watch. Discontinued but a different model we have not tried is the Alexandra Vision Mediore Tactile Watch
Seiko Braille watch, (available from MaxiAids)
The Bradley. A watch designed for everyone, (a watch to see and touch). Ball bearings are moved magnetically around two tracks so that time can be determined tactually or visually.
Reizen talking clock/thermometer
Identifying and Labeling
ID Mate Summit and Quest by Envision America, stand-alone barcode reader
PenFriend, to add talking labels.
Book Readers, Radios and Audio
Victor Reader Stream New Generation, (with wireless)from HumanWare Supports reading of Bookshare books, Newspapers and magazines from NFB Newsline, and Internet Radio.
Plextalk Pocket
BookSense from HIMS
Bones Milestone 312 digital recorder/player with color identifier
Audiovox accessible HD radio to be released in 2014 replaces the discontinued Insignia AM/FM/HD radio from Best Buy
Television and Accessories
Apple TV with VoiceOver. This is not actually a TV but a box that connects via a router to the Internet to provide audio/video content but not live or cable television.
TiVo set-top box with iPhone TiVo app for full live TV and cable accessibility. We use Comcast. Make sure it is compatible with your provider.
Walkie Talkies and ham radio
Kenwood NX320K, 5 Watt UHF 16 channel Digital,
Cobra microtalk-cxt85-16-mile-radio.
Motorola TalkAbout with speech
Kirmuss search and rescue radios with speech
The highly accessible Elecraft ham radio is the KX3. It’s QRP (12 Watts) but has an optional 100 Watt amp. Their larger K3 is also very accessible but requires their K3 Voice software that runs on a connected PC. The KX3 reads out in Morse code and it’s self-contained.
Earphones
AfterShokz Bluez Bluetooth or wired headphones with bone conduction so they don’t cover the ears.
AirDrives open earphones.
BLUEBUDS X. Bluetooth earbuds from Jaybird. Audio output assists with configuration with computers, note takers, and the iPhone. Phone: 866-244-3399.
Braille Writing and Printing
Slate and stylus with roll of dymo tape for labeling
6-Dot Braille labeler, original model discontinued but new model from ProxTalker expected out in 2014
Braille embossers
American Foundation for the Blind has complete listing
Perkins Braillewriter
Slate and stylus
HIMS Braille display
Focus Braille Displays from Freedom Scientific
Brailliant Braille Displays from Humanware.
Computers and Portable Data Assistants
Talking Computers with JAWS
MAGic Screen Magnification. Highly compatible with JAWS
Talking Computers with Window-Eyes, talking screenreader free with Microsoft Office
ZoomText screen Magnification
Note Takers
Braille Sense U2 and BrailleSense U2 Mini from HIMS
BrailleNote Apex from HumanWare
BrailleNote PK from Humanware.
Discontinued, but may be available on E-bay
Braille Edge from Hims. Primarily a Braille display, but has basic notetaking capabilities (see Braille displays above)
GPS Programs and Devices
Sendero GPS for the BrailleNote. Manufactured by Sendero Group, this program gives BrailleNote users location information, and the ability to plan and follow routes in either a vehicle or while walking. The display of street names and businesses in Braille shows how place names are spelled.
SenseNav. Sendero GPS also runs on the BrailleSense note takers.
Seeing Eye GPS. Sendero GPS is also available on the iPhone. Search for Seeing Eye GPS in the App store.
Trekker Breeze. The Trekker Breze is a portable hand-held GPS manufactured by Humanware. It is a basic GPS device with speech output.
Video Magnifiers
Other Helpful Resources
American Foundation for the Blind(AFB) Product Database allows you to search for products by category or task:
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Technology Resource List.Brings up a very complete listing of technology resources.
NFB Blindness resources
Braille Instructional Resources
APH Resources about Blindness and Visual Impairment
Resources for Blind Musicians
iOS Apps for people who are blind or low vision
Resources for parents of blind children
Macular Degeneration Foundation Resource List
Resources for homeschooling
Chicago Lighthouse Resource List
Resources for teaching visually impaired students
Guide Dog schools
Blind Babies Foundation resource list
Recreation resources
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