[Blindmath] Optacon info

[Nelson Blachman]

Hi Lori,

  About ten years ago I bought an Optacon, hoping to become able to use it 
to read, though I hadn't yet learned to read Braille.  Within the next few 
years I learned Braille, and I'm able to read it at about a dozen words per 
minute, but I find the Optacon useful only for discovering which sides of 
sheets of paper I need to scan and which are blank, sometimes even being 
able to determine which way is up so that I can start scanning a pamphhlet 
at its beginning rather than at its end.

  I printed out alphabets in fonts of various sizes, and I printed little 
test sentences like "The cat sat on the mat," hoping I might become able to 
learn how to recognize all 26 letters and ten digits as well as short common 
words, but I never got far with that project.  Nonetheless, I do find my 
Optacon useful for the foregoing purposes as well as for finding out if my 
printer's working properly.

  --Nelson, retired physicist, Oakland, California
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lori" <twilight2 at kconline.com>
To: "Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics" 
<blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 1:16 PM
Subject: [Blindmath] Optacon info


> OPTACON USERS UNITE TO PRESERVE VALUABLE READING DEVICE
>      The Optacon user list would like to share the following
> information with all current and former Optacon users.
>      1. The Optacons can still be repaired. There are repairers
> located in the U.S., Canada, England and Australia.
>      2. We are seeking all non-working or unused Optacons. These
> will be repaired and put back into circulation.
>      3. We invite all current Optacon users to fill out a brief
> survey describing their experiences both negative and positive.
>      4. If we can collect enough survey data, there is a possibility of
> re-developing the Optacon with modern circuitry to read some of
> the types of modern displays which other devices cannot read at this
> time.
>      5. There is a very active Optacon e-list where users share
> experiences and make plans for the future of the Optacon.
>      IF YOU WOULD LIKE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THE ABOVE OR HAVE ANY
> QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL
> braille at panix.com
> . Thank you.
> WHAT IS AN OPTACON?
>      Invented in the early 1970's, the Optacon uses a hand-held camera
> to explore a print document and convert the picture of what it
> finds onto a small tactile array composed of vibrating pins. The
> tactile picture is very tiny--about the size of a standard print letter
> or number. With practice, the user can move the camera over the printed
> material and read the images on the tactile array. The Optacon was
> manufactured until the early 1990's.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -Catherine Thomas
> braille at panix.com
>                     /
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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