Manufacturing Documentation /
Digital Talking Book Player System
Digital Talking Book Machine
Standard Player User Guide
Document Number: / 4824590049
Revision: / 1.4
Date: / October 28th, 2008
/ National Library Service
for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress
Engineering Section
Materials Development Division
Issue / Date / Change Description
Report / Rev. 1.0 / 12/21/2006 / Initial Release
Revision / Rev. 1.1Draft / 04/23/2007 / Revised document
History
Rev. 1.2 / 06/23/2007 / Revised Document
Document No. / Rev. 1.3 / 10/16/2008 / Revision
4824590031 / Rev. 1.4 / 10/28/2008 / Added additional UL instructions
Rev. 1.3
Table of Contents
1.Welcome!
2.Contents of the box
3.Introducing your new talking-book player
3.1Power
3.2Play/stop
3.3Rewind
3.4Fast forward
3.5Volume up and down
3.6Sleep
3.7Tone up and down
3.8Speed up and down
3.9Button describer mode
4.Book cartridges and containers
4.1Cartridge container
4.2Description of book cartridge
4.3Inserting and removing the book cartridge from the player
4.4Books from the Internet
5.Battery operation
6.Important safety instructions
7.Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Statement
8.Customer support
9.Appendix: Learning mode
1.Welcome!
Welcome to your new talking-book player Standard Player User Guide. This document will guide you through the various features the player has to offer, discuss where the buttons are located and their functions, and describe how to use the player and how to read books.
2.Contents of the box
When you open your talking-book player box, here is what you will find:
- A series of instruction sheets
- The player
- Packing materials
The instruction sheets, in large print, comprise a list of important safety instructions and a Quick Start guide. The Quick Start Guide, embossed in Braille, is also included. All instruction sheets should be saved for reference. Your player came packaged with protective foam caps on either end of the player and a protective plastic bag covering the player. Please save these packaging materials, including the box, should you ever need to return your player for servicing.
3.Introducing your new talking-book player
Let’s begin with a tour of your new talking-book player. Pleaseplace the player in front of you. The retractable carrying handle should be facing you and the power cord should be at the back. The handle is light gray in color to contrast with the body of the player. The power cord is stored in the enclosure at the back of the player. To plug in the player, unfold the power cord and plug it into a power outlet. Note that the player will turn on automatically when you plug it into the power outlet.
Above the handle is an opening where you will insert the book cartridge that you will receive in the mail from the library. We will discuss how to play a book in a later section.
A headphone connector jack is on the right side of the player near the front. Headphones are not included. The player has a built-in speaker so using headphones is optional. If you do plug in headphones the built-in speaker will be silent. On the right side behind the headphone jack is a connector port covered with a cap. This is an optional connection for a remote access control toassist physically disabled persons who cannot use the player’s button controls. Conventional USB flash memory drives may also be plugged into this connector to play books obtained from the library via the internet.
Finally, on the bottom of the player near the front are two recessed bars for attaching a shoulder strap. A shoulder strap is not supplied.
3.1Power
Now let’s explore the top surface of the player. This is where the control buttons and the speaker are located.
Near the front, on the left side, is a round red button. It is surrounded by a raised ridge. This is the power button. The letter P appears in braille next to this power button.You will use thepowerbutton to turn the player on and off.
3.2Play/stop
At the front of the player, in the middle, is a large green rectangular button. This is the play/stop button. The play/stop button is labeled with the letter P in braille. Press theplay/stop button once to start playing the book. If the book is already playing or if the player is speaking a message, you can press this same play/stop button to stop playing.
Pressing and holding down the Play/Stop button will enter and exit the built-in user guide. The user guide can be accessed at any time the player is turned on. A book need not be present to use the user guide.
3.3Rewind
To the left of the play/stop button, you will find the rewind button. It is light gray in color and it is shaped like a triangle pointing toward the left. The edges of the left point of the rewind button are raised. The rewind button is labeled with the letter R in braille. The rewind button is used to move the reading position backward.
Tap the rewind button once to move backward 5 seconds in the book. Press and hold the rewind button to move back further in the book. The longer you hold the button down the more quickly you will move backward. The player will tell you the how far the reading position has moved. If you hold down the rewind button for 10 seconds you will back up 15 minutes in the book. If you hold down the Rewind button longer than 10 seconds the reading position will continue moving, progressively faster, back to the previous chapter where it will then move from chapter to chapter. You will hear a beep at the start of each chapter. If you hold down the rewind button long enough you will reach the beginning of the book. When you release the rewind button, immediately after hearing a chapter beep, the player will announce the name of that chapter and play from its beginning. If the player was stopped prior to pressing the rewind button you will need to press the play button to hear the book. It is not necessary to rewind the book before returning it to the library.
3.4Fast forward
To the right of the play/stop button, you will find the fast forward button. It is light gray in color and it is shaped like a triangle pointing toward the right. The edges of the right point of the fast forward button are raised. The fast forward button is labeled with the letter F in braille. The fast forward button is used to move the reading position forward.
Tapthe fast forward button once to move forward 5 seconds in the book. Press and hold the fast forward button to move further forward in the book. The longer you hold the button down the more quickly you will move forward. The player will tell you the how far the reading position has moved. If you hold down the fast forward button for 10 seconds you will advance 15 minutes in the book. If you hold down the fast forward button longer than 10 seconds the reading position will continue moving, progressively faster, to the next chapter where it will then move from chapter to chapter. You will hear a beep at the start of each chapter. If you hold down the fast forward button long enough you will reach the end of the book. When you release the fast forward button, after moving to a different chapter, the player will announce the name of that chapter and play from its beginning. If the player was stopped prior to pressing the Fast Forward button you will need to press the play button to hear the book.
3.5Volume up and down
To the right of the fast forward button, you will find the volume buttons. The two buttons are yellow and shaped like rounded triangles. The rounded edge of each volume button is raised. The letter V appears in braille next to the volume buttons.
The lower button, the button pointing down, is the volume down button. When listening to a book, press thevolume down button to lower the volume by one level. There are fifteen volume levels. Note that you cannot turn the volume off completely. A double beep will inform you when you have reached minimum volume.
Above the volume down button, you will find the volume up button. It is yellow and is shaped like a rounded triangle pointing up. When listening to a book, press thevolume up button to raise the volume by one level. There are fifteenvolume levels. A double beep and will inform you when you have reached maximum volume.
3.6Sleep
Directly above the play/stop button, you will find a gray crescent-shaped button. This is the sleep button. The sleep button is labeled with the letter S in braille. This sleep button is used to play the book for a time and then stop. You can set the length of time to play in increments of fifteen minutes up to one hour. This feature can be useful when you think you may fall asleep with the player on and do not wish to lose your place in the book.Pressing the sleep button once will play the book for fifteen minutes. Pressing the sleep button twice in succession will play for thirty minutes, three times forty five minutes and four times for one hour.
Each time you press thesleep button after a pause of several seconds, the timer will be reset to fifteen minutes. Pressing the Stop button cancels the sleep timer.
3.7Tone up and down
Now, moving to the top half of the player, you will find on the left side of the central speaker two buttons shaped like rounded triangles pointing up and down. These are the tone up and tone down buttons. They are light gray in color. The rounded edge of each tone button is raised. The letter T appears in braille next to these tone buttons. You can use these tone buttons to adjust the tone of the reading voice. There are eleven levels of tone. A single beep will inform you when you have reached the normal level and a double beep will tell you that you have reached the minimum or maximum level. The tone setting of each book can be adjusted to suite your preference and the narrator’s voice.
3.8Speed up and down
To the right side of the central speaker, you will find two buttons shaped like rounded triangles pointing up and down. These are the speed up and down buttons. They are light gray in color. The letter S appears in braille next to the speed buttons. You can use these speed buttons to adjust the speed of the reading voice. There are sixteen levels of speed. A single beep will inform you when you have reached the normal level and a double beep will tell you that you have reached the minimum or maximumlevel. The speed setting of each book can be adjusted to suite your preference and the narrator’s pace.
This concludes the description of the standard buttons. An advanced player with additional functions is available. Please contact your local library for more information.
3.9Button describer mode
The player can quickly remind you of what each control button is and what the button does. This feature is called the button describer mode. The button describer is active any time the player is turned on and there is no book cartridge loaded. Simply press the button you are curious about and the player will announce its name and how to use it. So when you are reading and wish to remind yourself about any of the buttons, simply pull out the book cartridge and press the button you want to know more about. When you are ready to continue reading again,simply push the book cartridge back into the player. The player will remember your place in the book.
The next section of this user guide will discuss the book cartridge. If you wish to exit the user guide now, press and hold the play/stop button. You can return at any time to the user guide where you left off by pressing and holding the play/stopbutton.
4.Book cartridges and containers
4.1Cartridge container
Book cartridges are sent through the mail in blue plastic containers. The containers are held closed by two plastic tabs on one of the short edges. To open, find the two depressions in the top surface and pull the plastic tabs up until they pop out. You can now open the hinged container to remove the book cartridge.
When returning the book cartridge to the library, place the cartridge back into the container, label side up, close the lid and snap down the two plastic tabs.
The address card on the bottom face of the container has the library’s return address printed on the reverse side. Remove the card from the container, turn in around so that the library’s address is showing on the outside, and replace the card into the plastic edge guides of container’s bottom face. When orientated correctly for returning to the library, the address card will have a small hole punched in the top right corner or have this corner beveled.
4.2Description of book cartridge
The books you will receive in the mail will be on small plastic cartridges about the size of an audiocassette. However, unlike cassettes, the entire book will be on a single cartridge for nearly all books. A book cartridge is white in color to contrast with the player and rectangular in shape. The top surface is flat and there are print/braille labels on the top for the book title, author, and book number. The bottom surface has angles on the side edges. One end of the cartridge has a finger hole. This is to make it easier to insert the cartridge and to remove it from the player.
4.3Inserting and removing the book cartridge from the player
Book cartridges are shaped so that they can only be inserted the correct way. To insert the cartridge in the player, make sure the flat, rectangular top surface with the print and braille labels is facing up. Insert the end that does not have the finger hole into the player’s cartridge slot. The player’s cartridge slot is located above the player’s retractable carrying handle and under the play/stop button. Push the cartridge in firmly. The cartridge will lock into place and the book will begin to play. To remove the cartridge, gently tug on the finger hole and pull the cartridge out.
4.4Books from the Internet
In addition to the delivery of book cartridges by mail, books are available from your library electronically through the internet. By this means, the entire catalog of books is available to access twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. To take advantage of this alternate method of receiving books, you require a computer and a high speed internet connection.
Once you have been signed up by your library for access, books can be downloaded from the library’s website to your computer. To play the books on this player copy the files from the computer to a cartridge or conventional USB flash drive.
5.Battery operation
This player is equipped with a built-in rechargeable battery. This means that it does not always have to be plugged into the wall outlet to be usable. However, you have to plug the player in from time to time to recharge the battery. When the battery is fully charged, you will have well overtwenty hours of play time. The player’s battery automatically charges itself whenever the stored charge has declined significantly and player is plugged into a wall outlet. Note that the battery is not charged every time the player is connected to power outlet so you may notice a reduction in available capacity reported before the player will recharge. It takes about two-and-a-half hours to fully charge a completely discharged battery. You will be able to use the player normally when the battery is recharging. It will not harm the player or battery to leave the player plugged into a wall outlet at all times. If the player is running on battery and not playing a book, it will automatically power off after thirty minutes to save battery power. Note that the battery is sealed and can only be changed by a service technician.
The next section of this user guide contains important safety information. If you wish to exit the user guide now, press and hold the play/stop button. You can return at any time to the user guide where you left off at any time by pressing and holding the play/stop button.