Focus 40 5th Gen pin not working
Mark Baxter
I have a Focus 40 5th gen braille display. It's about four years old. Lately, the Dot-4 pin in position 32 is not firing. I can sometimes coax the pin to come up fully when I tap over it a few times, but that's only about 50/50. Most times it just won't come up at all. I've tried cleaning the display with rubbing alcohol which has not helped.
Is there anything else I can do to try and restore this pin to working reliably?
Thanks for any suggestions.
—Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Twitter: @MarkBurningHawk
Sent from my iPhone
Amy R
Rubbing alcohol is 70% alcohol and 30% water. I would not use that on a braille display. I think freedom scientific suggest using 99.9% isopropyl alcohol. That only has .1% water which is safer for our displays.
Amy
> On Jul 16, 2024, at 9:44 AM, Mark Baxter <markba...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi, folks. I'm asking here because I don't know where is appropriate for this question, so forgive me if it's off-topic.
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Mark Baxter
—Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Twitter: @MarkBurningHawk
Sent from my iPhone
>
> Hi,
Diana Brent
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2024 9:44:36 AM
To: appleb...@googlegroups.com <appleb...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Apple Braille] Focus 40 5th Gen pin not working
Diana Brent
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2024 9:49:01 AM
To: appleb...@googlegroups.com <appleb...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Apple Braille] Focus 40 5th Gen pin not working
Mark Baxter
On Jul 16, 2024, at 11:23 AM, Diana Brent <dlbr...@gmail.com> wrote:
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/applebraille/DM6PR19MB42960CC23572CD3478A20568F2A22%40DM6PR19MB4296.namprd19.prod.outlook.com.
Amy R
It never hurts to have the best alcohol on hand so you can clean your braille displays.
If you could get the pin in it's up position you could give it a really good cleaning. Clean it, let it dry clean it again, let it dry clean it again, let it dry. This alcohol dries really fast. Only use a microfiber cloth on it. Do not put your microfiber cloth in the dryer, do not use hot water. I usually just give it a thorough rinsing in cold to lukewarm water and let it air dry.
I will not buy another Focus display. Way too many lemons.
If you can get the pin to come back up consistently you could keep it or you could try and sell it. I would suggest selling it on Blind Adsw
Good luck,
Amy
> On Jul 16, 2024, at 10:49 AM, Mark Baxter <markba...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Amy. I'll pick some up, but at this point am doubtful of its efficacy. All in all I'm rather disapointed in the Focus for a few different reasons. Now I can't even sell it for much. Nuts.
Ron Miller
Greetings Mark,
As has already been mentioned, please do not use rubbing alcohol to attempt to clean your braille display, it contains a high percentage of water and, potentially, other additives which will either contribute to sticking pins, or even damage your braille display. Below, I have pasted the contents of the current Focus Braille Display cleaning Instructions document. Please feel free to contact me should you have further questions.
Cleaning the Focus Braille Display
Overview
It is not necessary to clean your Focus braille display on a set schedule. Rather, the frequency of cleaning the display will depend upon factors such as the cleanliness of the hands, the oiliness and/or sweatiness of the hands and the amount of moisture, dust, and other particulates in your current environment. Based on these considerations, Vispero recommends the following:
· Avoid using your braille display after eating or handling items which have soiled your hands or left powder or other debris on your fingers without first washing and thoroughly drying your hands.
· Avoid applying hand lotions such as skin moisturizers or hand sanitizers/cleansers prior to using your braille display. These products can cause dirt and other contaminants to stick to your fingers and transfer to your braille display. Also, lotions and creams can themselves be transferred to the braille dots and surface of your display, thereby soiling it directly or attracting other contaminants.
· If sticking braille dots should occur, please do not insert small, pointed objects (i.e., pins, pen tips, etc.) into the braille dot holes to free the sticking braille dots. This is likely to cause damage to your braille display that is not covered under your Vispero product warranty. Following the cleaning procedure outlined below is your best option to resolving sticking braille dot issues.
Cleaning Your Focus Braille Display
Items needed to clean your Focus Braille Display:
· Two clean, lint-free cloths; avoid using paper towels or tissue type paper which may leave paper particles on or in your braille display.
· High purity isopropyl alcohol. Avoid using alcohols or other cleaners that include scents or other ingredients which may result in further soiling or potentially damaging your braille display.
Note: if high purity isopropyl alcohol is not available, high-purity distilled water can be used instead. Using water instead may require more cleaning effort to remove sticking contaminants.
· A new, clean, finely bristled brush that will be used for removing contaminants from the braille deck & dots (e.g., a new soft-bristled toothbrush or other new soft bristled brush that is used only for cleaning the Braille Display)
First, clean your braille display with the fine bristled brush by following the steps below:
1. If a USB cable is connected to the display’s USB port, disconnect it for the duration of the cleaning process.
2. If your Focus braille display is turned on, press and hold the Power button until the display powers off.
3. Pick up and turn your braille display upside down and gently shake the display. This will help remove loose contaminants on the surface of the braille deck or in the braille dot holes.
4. Press and hold the Power button while pressing the two rightmost Cursor Router keys. Hold both the Power button and the two rightmost Cursor Router keys until the display powers on with all braille dots in all cells raised.
5. Carefully turn the display upside down to allow any debris loosened by the movement of the braille dots to fall out of the display.
6. With the braille display upside down, using the fine bristled brush, lightly brush across the entire braille deck multiple times ensuring all dots have been lightly brushed. (If brushing the braille display upside down is too difficult, you can instead turn the braille display tilted on its side with the braille dots slightly facing downward and brush it.
Note: It is important to not have the braille dots facing up when brushing as this increases the risk of the brush pushing contaminants into the braille dot holes which may cause the braille dots to stick.)
7. Keeping the display upside down or on its side tilted downward, press the Right NAV Mode button to cause all braille dots to begin cycling down then up.
8. While the braille dots are moving up and down, use the fine bristled brush to lightly brush across the entire braille deck multiple times ensuring all braille dots have been lightly brushed.
9. Press the Right NAV Mode button again to stop the cycling of the braille dots.
10. Place the braille display right-side up on a table or other flat, stable surface.
11. Press and hold the Power button until the display powers off.
Now, clean your display with the two lint-free cloths by doing the following:
1. Lightly moisten a lint-free, soft cloth with the high purity isopropyl alcohol or high purity distilled water. IMPORTANT! Do not soak the cloth. It should not be saturated so that cleaning liquid can be wrung from the cloth. This will help reduce risk of liquid entering the braille display which could damage internal components.
2. Place the lightly moistened cloth aside in an easily accessible location.
3. Confirm the braille display power is turned off and verify the unit is unplugged from the charger or PC USB port.
WARNING: Any liquids entering the braille display may potentially damage the product. So, it is important during cleaning with the alcohol or water moistened cloth to have the display powered off during the cleaning procedure. This reduces risk of damage while cleaning with the lightly moistened cleaning cloth.
4. Turn the display upside down or on its side tilted with the braille dots pointing downward (like in steps 5 & 6 of the previous procedure).
5. Keeping the display upside down or on its side tilting downward, gently wipe the raised braille dots with the alcohol or water dampened cloth. Use as much of the cloth’s surface area as necessary to be sure that all dots are wiped with the clean cloth.
6. Then, keeping the display upside down or on its side with the braille dots pointing downward, take the clean, dry cloth and wipe the braille dot area thoroughly; this removes any residual contaminants and cleaning liquids left behind by step 5.
7. Inspect the braille deck surface for any remaining moisture that exists. Use the clean, dry cloth to remove as needed.
8. After confirming all residual moisture has been removed, place the braille display right-side up.
9. Power on the display.
10. Press the Right NAV Mode button to cause all braille dots to begin cycling down then up.
11. After a few up & down cycles of the braille dots, check to see if the braille dots and braille deck surface feel clean; the dots and display surface should gain a “squeaky” feel when they are clean and free from hand oils and other contaminants.
12. Any sticking braille dots may require special attention to allow them to move up and down freely. You may need to repeat the entire cleaning process several times to be sure the braille dots and surface of the display are clean and any sticking braille dots are free to move.
Important: When repeating the cleaning procedure, we recommend cleaning the fine bristled brush prior to brushing the braille display. Additionally, please use clean cloths when repeating the cleaning procedure.
13. You may also want to clean the braille keys, other controls, and other surfaces of the braille display to be sure that the rest of the display is also free from hand oils and other contaminants.
14. When you are satisfied that the display is thoroughly cleaned, press and hold the Power button until the display powers off.
Best regards,
Ron Miller
Vispero® | Blindness Technology Training Specialist
17757 US Highway 19 N, Suite 200, Clearwater, FL 33764
-----Original Message-----
From: appleb...@googlegroups.com <appleb...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Mark Baxter
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2024 10:44 AM
To: appleb...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Apple Braille] Focus 40 5th Gen pin not working
CAUTION:EXTERNAL EMAIL SENDER!
--
Mark Baxter
—Mark BurningHawk Baxter
Twitter: @MarkBurningHawk
Sent from my iPhone
>
> Hi Mark,
Mark Baxter
On Jul 16, 2024, at 12:17 PM, Ron Miller <RMi...@vispero.com> wrote:
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/applebraille/DM6PR20MB336156BCD13754E5F0EB016EB0A22%40DM6PR20MB3361.namprd20.prod.outlook.com.
Lenore Presley
Lenore here.
Hey Mark,
When shopping for isopropyl alcohol, please be sure to check for the percentage of pure alcohol. Scott Davert once advised on anotyher list years ago toget at least 90 percent of pure alchol. The less purity, more damage. Ideally, 99 percent would do a super job. Hope Depot might carry such.
Hope this helps!
EOM
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/applebraille/7297A86E-A0FD-4F9C-9CE1-4D326FBAAEAA%40gmail.com.
Mark Baxter
On Jul 16, 2024, at 3:16 PM, Lenore Presley <lenore...@gmail.com> wrote:
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/applebraille/016901dad7c5%248465e390%248d31aab0%24%40gmail.com.
Lenore Presley
Lenore here. Grt that you have a wife who’s handy! As indicated in the manual excerpt that Ron provided, using high purity alcohol is the name of the game. I’ve done this a few times myself. I prefer to use a dry microfiber cloth first while cleaning my display upside down and turned off because the braille pins come out loosely on their own and you can easily clean them and also at the same time gently pat the dot keys to get crumbs or whatever.
Also you need tobe a stickler for brushing off the crumbs or grais off the inside case cover before closing the case over the display. This way you’re guaranteed that no crumbs or grains get inside the keys or the pins. I do it each time I use the display inside its case. My partner, who is alsoDeafBlind, told me I was smart to do that even though it might seem compulsive or obsessive. I don’t care if anyone calls me insane, but it is best this way to protect my display from substancesdor damage that might result in me sending for repairs which has a darn long turnaround! Like the one that was 3 months last year which I would like to avoid at all costs.
So be vigilant with your Focus.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/applebraille/9D8D6234-60EE-4403-ABA4-424A2940EAB8%40gmail.com.