Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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How I got my video magnifier, a story of triumph (self.Blind)
submitted by GoBlindOrGoHome
I posted recently asking about charities and other funding for accessibility devices.
I decided I should message my contact at the Canadian National Institute of the Blind (again) to see if he had any leads. He got back to me very quickly and gave me an offer. He said that an Eschenbach Smartlux had come in for someone, but that it didn't hold a charge, so it would be a write-off. He gave it to me for free and helped me figure out all the controls, all while plugged into the wall.
I brought home the Smartlux, and I opened the back to identify the battery and see if it could be replaced. Low and behold, the battery had only come disconnected! After snapping one wire into a small port, it worked perfectly!
I felt very lucky! I hope you all find ways to get the tools you need, too!
I decided I should message my contact at the Canadian National Institute of the Blind (again) to see if he had any leads. He got back to me very quickly and gave me an offer. He said that an Eschenbach Smartlux had come in for someone, but that it didn't hold a charge, so it would be a write-off. He gave it to me for free and helped me figure out all the controls, all while plugged into the wall.
I brought home the Smartlux, and I opened the back to identify the battery and see if it could be replaced. Low and behold, the battery had only come disconnected! After snapping one wire into a small port, it worked perfectly!
I felt very lucky! I hope you all find ways to get the tools you need, too!
Tmacd1 2 points 4y ago
Awesome bit of luck! We are starting to look into these types of devices for my 6 year old daughter. So far her VI teacher has sent her home with a similar videomag magnifier with a fold out handle to try out.
My question is, are there any good products that add a case and camera to a smart phone, to achieve the same thing? I feel like the touch screen and computing power of most smart phones is way better than any of this specialized equipment. I feel like adding a camera and a case and combining with an app, would potentially make a better magnifier for much cheaper than they are now.
Does anyone know if this has already been tried?
My question is, are there any good products that add a case and camera to a smart phone, to achieve the same thing? I feel like the touch screen and computing power of most smart phones is way better than any of this specialized equipment. I feel like adding a camera and a case and combining with an app, would potentially make a better magnifier for much cheaper than they are now.
Does anyone know if this has already been tried?
GoBlindOrGoHome [OP] 3 points 4y ago
There were some great apps listed in the thread for my post asking where to find a magnifier, you should be able to find the post in my history
bscross32 2 points 4y ago
Actually iOS has a magnifier app that's kind of hidden. If you go into settings > general > accessibilty, then under vision, you will see two things, zoom and magnifier. Zoom is all about magnifying the screen. It will allow you to drag around the screen with 3 fingers with a lot larger print. Of course, it cannot fit the entire screen because its been zoomed way in, but it's an option. Then for what you're really after, magnifier uses the camera like a magnifier. You can even add it to the accessibility shortcut, so that if you triple tap home, you end up with it. It can be combined with voiceover if needed, in which case, you'd see two options. What I've done is actually something different. I've added it to the control center instead of the accessibility shortcut, because I really only want that turning voiceover on and off. So now, when I go to the control center, magnifier is an option there.
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Here are some things you can do with it:
* Zoom in and out the live image
* adjust the foreground and background colors to what is most comfortable
* lock the focus to view things at the same distance without it trying to compensate
* take a snapshot, then move around the frame, and even zoom further in on it.
​
It's really a good app, and it stays out of the way if you don't need it, so it's there only when you want it.
​
Here are some things you can do with it:
* Zoom in and out the live image
* adjust the foreground and background colors to what is most comfortable
* lock the focus to view things at the same distance without it trying to compensate
* take a snapshot, then move around the frame, and even zoom further in on it.
​
It's really a good app, and it stays out of the way if you don't need it, so it's there only when you want it.
aussiecrunt 2 points 4y ago
I had an app on my android phone but it wasn't much good compared to a magnifier. Maybe there are better apps for iphones.
kkolb7 2 points 4y ago
YAY!
TK_Sleepytime 2 points 4y ago
This is awesome! So happy for you! And good on you for actually investigating and fixing the issue.
GoBlindOrGoHome [OP] 2 points 4y ago
It was definitely worth the effort! Great little piece of technology!
Superfreq2 1 points 4y ago
I'm glad you got your magnifier!
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