Braille display quality and cleaning
Jasmine Metcalfe
Several questions.
It’s hardly noticeable at the moment, but a couple of dots on my hims display are slightly fainter than the rest sometimes. I think the sells are fully functional, I think maybe sometimes the dot just rises a millisecond slower than the rest. It’s minor at the moment, so I doubt myself that it’s even happening.
Is this something that starts happening to displays over time or is it a cleaning issue? The display is only two years old. Is there anyone in the UK who will professionally clean displays? I know thereused to be,and if it is a cleaning issue and causes problems, it seems worrying if the service is no longer available because we’ll just have bad quality tech…
Are there companies where this problem is less likely, such as human wear or signage quality braille? I tend to recall this might be a problem particularly prominent with hymns?
I feel quite reluctant to use the device and make it worse or buy a new device if it is going to be a recurring problem, which is expensive to fix. It’s ironic given the price of these things in the first place.
Sent from my iPhone
tim.p...@btinternet.com
I know what you mean about the worry of braille displays not producing high quality braille for as long as you might hope.
This seems to be specific to particular generations of technology, sometimes products from the same supplier will be more or less reliable over time. I would have thought that your first port of call is to the people that supplied your display.
Also, you might want to sign up to the email list for the Technology Association of Visually Impaired People "TAVIP", as there are both suppliers, and many users of the various types of display on this list.
You can subscribe at https://groups.tavip.org.uk/
You don't have to be a member of TAVIP to join their Email list.
Regards,
Tim Pennick
If you have any problems posting/replying to the Braillists Forum please email he...@braillists.org with a clear description of the issue and forward on any error messages you may have received.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Braillists" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to braillists+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/braillists/1FCC36F0-AFB7-4B4C-88FF-E9D69E49DD1C%40gmail.com.
Matthew Horspool
Hi Jasmine,
Sight and Sound are the UK distributor for Hims. I would encourage you to send the display back to them straight away if you notice a problem, especially if as you say the display is only two years old. Depending on how close to two years old you mean, it may either just still be in warranty or just out of it, but it’s definitely worth checking and if it’s still in warranty, definitely get it fixed before that warranty lapses.
Do you know the exact model of display? I.E. is it a BrailleSense Polaris, BrailleSense 6, QBraille or Braille Edge? If it is a BrailleSense 6 or QBraille, you will have a better chance of getting it fixed than if it is a Braille Edge or BrailleSense Polaris as the latter two are no longer being manufactured. I suspect some spare parts may be obtainable but I don’t know the extent.
I do not believe there is a third party dedicated braille display cleaning company. However, the distributor from whom you purchased your display should be able to clean it. If the display is still under warranty this is the only route I would consider, as that way the clean will not void the warranty.
Piezoelectric displays do wear out over time, yes. This is due to a combination of wear and tear on the pins themselves, I.E. as your fingers move across them they will slowly wear down, and internal wear and tear on the components which move the pins up and down. I suspect others may have more specific details on the latter aspect of this in particular. The problem you are describing is more likely a cells issue than a cleaning one and the repair is likely to involve replacing the cells, which is why I would say that getting it done under warranty is a good idea if you can swing it. The cost of a new cell varies from display to display, but a good ballpark is about £50 per cell, plus about £100 per hour of labour (two hours is usually enough) and courier costs in both directions. Fixing two cells out of warranty is therefore likely to cost somewhere in the region of £300-£350.
I don’t’ believe the issue you are experiencing is particularly common on Hims displays in particular. The electronics involved in refreshable braille displays are extremely delicate and unfortunately, it is inevitable that a small number of displays from any manufacturer will exhibit problems like you’re describing. Manufacturers are typically aware of this and don’t quibble when you ask for a repair. My view is that you have probably just been unlucky and in all likelihood, if you bought another Hims display in the future you would not have this problem. The same is true for HumanWare.
The exception to this rule may be Freedom Scientific, where there are very widely documented cases of poor quality control with the Focus line of displays. Apparently they have taken steps to remedy this, but there are batches of Focus displays which wear out extremely quickly. The silver lining is that it is typically well within warranty so the user does not bear the cost.
Signage quality braille is a colloquialism used by Orbit Research to differentiate their braille cell technology from the piezoelectric cells used in most other displays. It is a relatively new cell technology and in order to establish a low price point from the start, it was manufactured in relatively large quantities straight away. It therefore took a long time to sell the initial batch of units, which gave the appearance of teething problems not being fixed.
I can’t comment on the reliability of newly manufactured Orbit products as I don’t own any, but I suspect it has improved over the past couple of years. However, I would recommend you try an Orbit display before you buy one, as the alternative cell technology takes slightly longer to refresh and is noticeably louder than traditional braille display technology.
HTH,
Matthew
-----Original Message-----
From: brail...@googlegroups.com <brail...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Jasmine Metcalfe
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2024 9:24 AM
To: brail...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Braillists Forum: Braille display quality and cleaning
Hi everyone,
--
Harvey White
Just my own experience and opinion, based on no research, of course. But I found RNIB totally unwilling to offer any explanation for the failing display on Orbit, appearing to take the view "what do you expect at this price"!
Harvey White
> On 29 Mar 2024, at 11:43, tim.pennick via Braillists <brail...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Jasmine,
Rachel
On the other hand, in my experience the orbit reader doesn't appear to cope well with extremely heavy use which, for myself who relies on Braille heavily, is not ideal. I have had to send my Orbit back to RNIB for repairs several times and on each occasion I have been far from happy with their standard of service, being kept waiting for around eight weeks for the display to be repaired and returned is simply unacceptable.
Finally, as many other users have also mentioned, the audible noise coming from the display as dots are refreshing is far from ideal. I regularly help with readings during Sunday services at my local church, and in the silence as the congregation are trying to listen to the reading, the noise is certainly very inconvenient for me as it echoes around a silent church—a huge echoey space in our case with very high ceilings.
It is for the standalone features where the display doesn't need to rely on Bluetooth to work that has caused me to persevere with the machine, but admittedly I hate having to send it to RNIB for repairs due to the constant negative experiences I have had each time I do.
Rachel.
Sent from my iPhone
> On 2 Apr 2024, at 15:08, 'Harvey White' via Braillists <brail...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Jasmin, I know nothing of HIMS' displays, but I have suffered a good deal at the hands of the Orbit machine, having to send back thrree units to be replaced. I eventually lost heart, cut my losses and bought my present Brailliant Bi 20 from Humanware. The display on this device is clear, silent and dependable.