[nfbcs] Programming with a Braille display

[Jaquiss, Robert]

Hello:

     When I was in college in the early 1970's, there was no adaptive equipment. The closest I got to being able to actually see a printout was when some friends at Oregon State University crippled a tape punch. Instead of punching holes in the paper tape, it made raised dots. This special punch was connected to a tape reader to form a stand alone unit. A program was written for the Control Data Corporation CDC3300 which would punch a tape with holes corresponding to the Braille dots. This punched tape was then copied with the stand alone unit. The result was a listing that I could actually read. I only had this equipment for the spring term that I graduated in. It was just the boost I needed to complete my coursework.

     In the summer of 1976, I started work at Tektronix and was provided a Triformation LED120 braille embosser. This was basically a Braille teletype and I used it for the next eight years.

Getting my hands on a Versabraille p2c and later a Vtek 20 cell display in the 1980's was fabulous.

Regards,

Robert