[Electronics-talk] microwaves

[Gerald Levy]

No, unfortunately, nobody seems to make a microwave with discreet keys or 
buttons anymore.  Avanti used to make a small microwave that had mechanical 
knobs to set the power level and cooking time, but it was discontinued last 
year, although you may still be able to find one on EBay or other online 
merchant.  So unless you opt for the $360 talking microwave avaiable from 
Maxi-Aids and Blind Mice Mart, you will have to purchase a microwave with a 
flat, membrane keypad.  You will need sighted help to place tactile markers 
on the keys used most often, but once labled, it should be easy to use as 
long as you stick to simple cooking and reheating tasks.  I recommend 
looking for a model that has an express set feature that allows you to set 
the cooking time in 30 or 60 second increments simply by pressing the start 
key repeatedly.  This way, you don't have to grope all over the numeric 
keypad to set the cooking time, which makes things a whole lot easier.  For 
most cooking and reheating tasks, the power level can be left on the default 
high setting, so all you have to do is press the start key a few times, and 
the microwave will start cooking and shut off automatically with a series of 
beeps when the cooking time has elapsed.

Gerald


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances" 
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2014 11:56 PM
Subject: [Electronics-talk] microwaves


> Hi all,
>
> How do you make your microwave accessible? Do they make ones with dials 
> where you click them into place as they used to?
> These strike me as more accessible as there is less things to press.
> I don’t think they make microwaves with buttons anymore, right?
> I had one like that in our old house, twenty years ago.
> It felt like a telephone keypad and was easy to use.
>
> All new appliances seem to have flat screens.
> If not, all are those touch pads, which mean we have to label them.
>
>
> If you label it, do you use braille? I’ve noticed there’s so many buttons. 
> I’ve just labeled the essential items. I was able to label with two 
> letters per button which is a good thing as one letter would not work 
> because it could mean several things. So, I wrote cl for clear and ck for 
> cook time.
> I heard there was one talking microwave, but I would not get it, as its 
> overpriced. I figure I can adapt an off the shelf product.
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