what "accessible" means, varies from person to person.
In my case, I always just wanted something I could turn on, press
record, and let it do its thing. No talking etc.
Do you have an iPhone?
If so, maybe just get one of the Shure Motiv microphones that plugs
right into the lightning port, and works with the Shure Motiv app.
Obviously, the phone talks, and that particular app is accessible.
The Senhizer Ambio headset is another option that works with your
phone, in this case, letting you make binaural recordings.
Chris
At 06:06 PM 4/18/2018, you wrote:
Hi, it's Annabelle.
Any of you fellow music members know of a good field recorder with accessibility features for the blind? I want to be able to capture foreground and background sounds of places like airports, churches, schools, stadiums, arenas, theaters, playgrounds, and room tones. I'm planning to purchase a digital recorder like the Zoom H1N, which I want to take with me to these various places and make field recordings. However, this guy at the company that makes the recorders, John Molfetas, says that these recorders don't have accessibility features for the blind. Which brings me to my question. I wonder if it's possible that these recorders can be made accessible to blind customers like you and me. In other words, they could have buttons that have raised markings, plus a voice that tells customers what parameters they've selected. I talked with Bill McCann, and he said that he knows a guy who's blind, who is able to independently operate one of those Zoom recorders. Below is what I sent to the Zoom company.
Hi, my name is Annabelle.
I am a blind young woman who absolutely loves to make recordings of all
kinds, and since I'm a sound designer, I have a specific question for you
about your Digital Recorders. I'm planning to make field recordings of places
like airports, churches, schools, concert halls, and playgrounds, as well as
things like various crowd sizes, and individual and group movements, and I
wonder, which of your Zoom Digital recorders would be the best one for me?
Since I'm blind, will your digital recorders have accessible buttons, dials,
and switches that I can easily feel? Also, is there a way to put a feature
on, like an audible tone for each button, at a different frequency? Or
perhaps the buttons can have raised shapes on them. For example, the play
button can have a raised musical note, the stop button can have a raised X,
the Record button can have a raised circle, the pause button can have a
raised line, the rewind button can have a raised left-pointing arrow, and the
fastforward can have a raised right-pointing arrow. Also, the headphone jack
can have a raised inverted U, symbolizing a pair of headphones. Perhaps there
can also be a talking feature that explains how to operate the machine. If
you have any further information, questions, or suggestions for me, please
feel free to contact me via phone or email at any time.
Kind Regards,
Annabelle
541-844-1558
P.S.: Any time after 6:00 AM Pacific Time, and any time before 10:00 PM
Pacific Time is when I'm usually awake. Also, when you call, you might get an
answering machine, as I'm sometimes not home when the phone rings. If you do
get an answering machine, don't be fooled by the greeting, as it is simply me
with an Australian accent. Usually when I talk to people on the phone, my
English is what some people call an American accent, which really irks me to
the point of getting mad. To be technically accurate, I'd rather say that
it's unaccented English. Anyway, if you can't fully understand it, here's
what I say in the greeting when the answering machine comes on.
"G'day, mate! You've reached the house of Annabelle. The lovely House Of
Australia! I can't come to the phone right now. But if you leave your name,
your number, and a message after the tone, I'll get back with you as soon as
I can. Thank you, and have a nice day! Cheerio!".
