Braille Blazer Manual
Contents
1. 5 6 7 8 8 5 9 9 5 10 10 5 The smaller lengths can be used for making Braille labels The middle lengths might be best for index cards And the longer lengths serve well for more text intensive documents like class notes or letters Changing Word Wrap The term word wrap refers to a computer s ability to detect when it s coming to the end of a line so that it can determine whether to wrap to a new line if the word you just typed is too long to fit on the current line Generally this feature is controlled from your word processor But you can also control it from the Blazer When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press skip eight times to arrive at the Word Wrap setting The Blazer says Word wrap on active which is the default If you do want to turn word wrap off as when Brailling out computer rogramming code for example simply press Enter 28 440102 001 Rev A Changing the Weight of the Paper The Blazer can Braille on heavyweight and lightweight Braille paper It s important to set the Blazer for the correct paper weight to avoid tearing lighter paper or producing faded Braille on heavier paper When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip nine times to arrive at the Paper Weight setting The Blazer says Paper weight heavy active which is the default for standard 100 pound tag Braille paper To change the paper weight press Enter The Blazer lets you cycle through Plastic and L2. hinged covers of the paper guides Notice that each paper guide has four pins These pins are used to align the sprocket holes on the paper to the paper guides Starting from the front of the Blazer slide the paper under the platen over and past the pins of the paper guides until the top edge of the paper is lying on the metal plate in back of the tractor mechanism 10 440102 001 Rev A If you need to straighten the paper here s what to do About two and a half inches from the left side of the Blazer on the metal piece where the paper is resting is a small square hole This is the Top of Form sensor used by the Blazer to detect the top edge of the paper To straighten the paper align its top edge to the front of the Top of Form sensor This way the sprocket holes on the paper easily fit onto the pins of the paper guides To make sure the paper is straight count the sprocket holes on the paper that are behind the ones fitted onto the pins on the paper guides The number of sprocket holes should be the same on either side of the paper Finally to secure the paper in place close the hinged covers of the paper guides and close the cover of the Blazer itself You re now ready to turn on the Blazer Loading Narrow Paper or Labels To load paper narrower than 8 5 inch wide into the Blazer you need to unlock one of the paper guides on the tractor mechanism and move it toward the other paper guide so that the distance between the
3. or 9 pin Either works with the Blazer But you may need a gender bender or pin adapter on the computer side of the connection Find the serial port on the Blazer to the left of the parallel port Align the 25 pin male serial connector with the serial port on the Blazer and gently push until they mate The connector should slide in easily because it can only go into the port one way So if you re having trouble you may have the connector upside down Turn it around and try again Once the serial connector is snugly connected to the serial port on the Blazer you should secure it by tightening the finger screws on the connector if it has them or by using a small screwdriver to tighten the screws on either side of the connector If you want to connect a Braille n Speak Braille Lite or Type n Speak to the serial port on the Blazer make sure to use the serial cable that came with your device This cable is specifically designed to work with your unit and another serial device like the Blazer Whether you re transmitting a document from your computer or your Braille n Speak Braille Lite or Type n Speak to the Blazer a serial connection needs some extra care beyond just cabling the devices together Here we have to get a little technical but don t worry about the terminology What s important is that telecommunications settings on both ends of the connection have to match In other words the Blazer and 8 440102 001 Rev A you
4. the key closest to you to navigate through the menu At this point you can do the following e Press Skip to move forward through the Speech Configuration menu s settings e Press Back the key furthest away from you to move backward through the Speech Configuration menu s settings e Press Enter repeatedly to cycle through a setting s choices Any change you make to a setting takes effect when you move to another setting move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether 440102 001 Rev A 21 Changing the Port When you enter the Speech configuration menu the first setting you can change is the Port Whichever port is active anything coming into it from a computer or a notetaker is spoken by the Blazer s built in speech synthesizer when the Blazer is in printing mode So for example suppose the parallel port is active from within the Speech Configuration menu If you send a document from your computer to the Blazer s parallel port for Brailling the Blazer will speak the contents of the document Whether it also Brailles the document depends on whether the parallel port is active from within the Printer Configuration menu Since the factory default has the Blazer s serial port active from within the Speech Configuration menu if you send a document from your computer to the Blazer s parallel port the Blazer should not speak the contents of the document When you enter the Speech configuration menu the Blazer says P
5. top edge of the paper To change the top margin press Enter The Blazer lets you adjust the top margin up to 10 lines from the top edge of the paper before it cycles you back to 0 Setting the bottom margin As stated earlier the bottom margin setting is now disabled You cannot adjust it but it is a setting that you can bypass by pressing the Skip key repeatedly Changing the Lines Per Page You can adjust how many lines are Brailled on any given page from the Blazer When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip six times to arrive at the Lines per Page setting The Blazer says Lines per page 25 active which is the default since this is the standard for an 11 inch page To change the lines per page press Enter The Blazer lets you cycle from 22 to 30 lines per page 440102 001 Rev A 27 Changing Page Length Since the Blazer can accommodate a variety of page lengths you can adjust the page length on the Blazer through the Printer Configuration menu When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip seven times to arrive at the Page Length setting The Blazer says Page length 11 active which is the default since the standard page length is 11 inches To change the page length press Enter The Blazer lets you cycle through lengths ranging up to 12 inches and down to 1 inch Here are the actual increments starting from the default value of 11 inches 11 5 12 1 1 5 1 75 2 2 5 3 4
6. Braille Blazer The Portable Embosser Owner s Manual December 2002 440102 001 Rev A PUBLISHED BY Freedom Scientific 11800 31 Court North St Petersburg Florida 33716 1805 USA http www freedomscientific com Information in this document is subject to change without notice No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any means electronic or mechanical for any purpose without the express written permission of Freedom Scientific Copyright 2002 Freedom Scientific Inc All Rights Reserved 440102 001 Rev A Table of Contents INTFOGDUGUOM i iccsccstewecsetesseusrtstaiitieetesciseneieresssensteeaedieentacsiamiatesvenes Getting Startdan cen a eee Computer and Hardware cccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeneeeeenees 2 Braille Translation Software cessceeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 2 Braille Papet iii pecssosccccocconcnsdencien sais ixniadoaeenceeeonsenvedanseeiadinns 2 Brailling Speed of the Blazer ccceceeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 3 Using the Blazer as a Speech Synthesizer 00 3 Touring the Blazer ccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeaeeeeeeeeeenees 4 Connecting the Blazer to Your Computer ceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees Parallel Connection ssasssssssnsssssssnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nenna 7 Serial Connection cccccceeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeaneeeeeeenenees 8 Handling the PADOl scscciscnnscccnhsacccc
7. Configuration menu Left margin 0 Right margin 34 Top margin 0 Lines per page 0 Word wrap Off 5 I m trying to use the Blazer as a speech synthesizer with my computer but it doesn t talk There are several possibilities to consider e Make sure the connection between your computer and the Blazer is working properly e Check that the serial port on the Blazer is active from within the Speech Configuration menu e f you re using a straight through cable between the Blazer and the other device you may need to use a null modem cable for the transmission to work properly e Make sure the screen access program you re trying to use supports the Braille n speak as a speech synthesizer that you ve properly installed the Braille n speak driver on your 440102 001 Rev A 41 system and that you ve instructed your screen access program to use the Braille n speak driver for speech output Note Older models of the Blazer s built in soeech synthesizer did not support indexing the ability of the speech synthesizer to match precisely to a reading cursor Most Windows based screen access programs require speech synthesizers to perform indexing Call us to update your unit The Blazer is Brailling and speaking the contents of my document You have the same port active in both the Blazer s Speech Configuration menu and its Printer Configuration menu Generally you want to have the serial port active in the Blazer s Spe
8. ault Should you want to turn it on simply press Enter Selecting 6 or 8 dot Braille You re most likely to use 8 dot Braille if you re accustomed to reading it To most of us 6 dot Braille is the norm However if you do want to Braille using 8 dot characters as many Europeans are familiar with here s what to do When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip fourteen times to arrive at the setting for 6 and 8 dot Braille The Blazer says Braille 6 dot active which is the default Should you want to switch to 8 dot Braille simply press Enter Selecting Label Mode If you want to Braille labels with the Blazer you need to turn on Label mode When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip fifteen times to arrive at the Label Mode setting The Blazer says Label mode off active which is the default Should you want to turn it on simply press Enter Sideway Print Configuration Menu The Sideway Print Configuration menu as its name implies lets you Braille sideways In other words the orientation of your document will BE landscape rather than portrait so that text or graphics will appear Brailled with the long side of the page being right side up rather than the short side The Sideway Print Configuration menu has three settings you can toggle on and off whether the Blazer Brailles sideways or not whether the Blazer Brailles multiple spaces or not and whether the Blazer skips blank l
9. d the parallel ports Your choice is automatically selected once you move to another setting within this menu move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether 440102 001 Rev A 25 Changing the Direction of Paper Feed Enter the Printer configuration menu Press Skip once to move to the Paper feed setting The Blazer should say Paper feed pulling active which is the default This means that the Blazer will pull the paper from the front of the Blazer toward the back This it is the preferred direction for feeding paper through the Blazer to prevent the paper from jamming However if you want to try saving paper you can avoid wasting the first sheet of paper that is fed through the Blazer by reversing the direction of paper feed Since the only two options for Paper Feed are Pulling and Push out you can toggle between them by pressing Enter Adjusting the Margins The next four settings on the Printer Configuration menu are for adjusting the margins Although this menu lets you adjust the left right and top margins of your document on the Blazer it no longer lets you adjust the bottom margin It s usually better to adjust margins from within your word processor But if you do want to adjust the margins from the Blazer side of things here s how it works When you enter the Printer Configuration menu navigate to the margin setting you want to adjust by pressing Skip the middle key and Back the key furthest away fr
10. de components let s look at the back side of the Blazer This is where all the connectors are located 4 440102 001 Rev A Run your hand over the top of the Blazer to the backside of the machine The first thing you should notice is the handle that runs across the middle of the back of the Blazer Just above the middle of the handle is the Blazer s speaker Now run your hand over to the lower right hand corner of the back of the Blazer to find the On Off rocker switch To turn on the Blazer rock the switch up toward you To turn it off rock the switch down away from you About an inch above the On Off rocker switch find a small rectangular hole with a small square button in it This button is the voltage selector For 120 volts make sure the selector is in the Up position Now feel to the left of the On Off rocker switch to find the 3 pronged connector for the AC power cord A power cord should have come with your Blazer The connector feels like the standard three pronged connector on a computer or ink printer Plug the female end of the power cord into this A C connector to power up your Blazer About an inch to the left of the AC power connector find the parallel port that connects the Blazer to the parallel port ona computer a Braille Lite or a Type n Speak You can use a standard Centronix parallel cable like the one you use to connect your computer to your parallel ink printer on the Blazer s parallel port This port is th
11. documents Checking the Blazer s Revision Date You can find out whether your Blazer s internal software is up to date by checking its revision date Here s how Enter menu mode by pressing the three keys on the right side of the Blazer simultaneously the Blazer says Configuration Speech config Press Skip the middle key four times to arrive at the Service menu The Blazer says Service menu Move directly to the option for finding out your Blazer s revision date as follows First press Enter the key closest to you The Blazer says Print manual Since we want to bypass this option press skip fourteen times to arrive at Month Date year revision date where month date and year refer to the specific date when your Blazer was last updated For example your Blazer might say something like October 25 1996 revision date 38 440102 001 Rev A To exit menu mode press the three keys on the right side of the Blazer simultaneously The Blazer says Exit You re now back in printing mode ready to continue Brailling your own documents 440102 001 Rev A 39 Appendix Commonly Asked Questions Here are the questions we get most often about operating the Braille Blazer We suggest you try out the solutions we recommend before calling for help It might save you a long distance call When Braille a document with the Blazer the Braille seems very scrunched up and too close together You may have the Blazer
12. e Blazer says Paper out detector on active which is the default Should you want to turn it off for some reason simply press Enter Checking the Status of Auto Linefeed You re most likely to use the Auto Linefeed setting to check whether it s on or off It s best to keep it turned off all the time since your Braille translator s printing facility should be able to send linefeed characters properly to your Blazer However if you do need the Blazer to detect whether it s receiving linefeed characters here s what to do When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip twelve times to arrive at the Auto linefeed setting The Blazer says Auto linefeed off active which is the default Should you want to turn it on simply press Enter Changing whether control characters are Brailled You re most likely to use the Print Control Characters setting to check whether your formatting parameters are being transmitted properly from your Braille translator s printing facility It s best to keep it turned off all the time so the Blazer doesn t Braille strange looking characters like dot 4 m for a carriage return However if you do need to print control characters from the Blazer here s what to do When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip thirteen times to arrive at the Print Control Characters setting 30 440102 001 Rev A The Blazer says Print control characters off active which is the def
13. e Centronix end of the connection It feels like a rectangular opening with a smaller rectangular object within it Use the clips on either side of the port to secure the parallel cable in place Continuing to the left of the parallel port find the Blazer s serial port This is a 25 pin female port It feels like a rectangular object with a bunch of tiny holes in it A standard 25 pin male serial cable connects to this port The small screw holes on either side of the serial port help you secure the screws of the serial cable in place Finally about half an inch to the left of the serial port find the small 1 8th inch earphone jack This earphone jack works with any standard RCA style headphone connector so you can hear 440102 001 Rev A 5 the Blazer s voice with an earphone instead of through the Blazer s speaker The Inside of the Blazer To lift up the Blazer s lid simply find the front side of the machine and run your hands along the indentation for the cover Gently lift and pull back the cover to expose the inside of the Blazer where you can load the paper and adjust the machine to Braille graphics The cover should stay upright and rest comfortably along the top backside of the Blazer while we check out the inside Starting from the front side of the Blazer the side closest to you first notice the bar that runs across the width of the Blazer from left to right This is the platen It rests on a flat metal plate and is abo
14. ech Configuration menu and the parallel port active in the Blazer s Printer Configuration menu The Blazer is not skipping blank lines as my document is Brailled Make sure to turn on Auto Linefeed from within the Blazer s Printer Configuration menu The Blazer is not honoring page breaks in my document as it Brailles If you re Brailling your document using a Braille translator make sure the Blazer has Lines per Page set to 0 in its Printer Configuration menu The Blazer is splitting words inconsistently at the ends of lines as it Brailles my document Make sure the Blazer has Word Wrap turned off from within its Printer Configuration menu The Blazer is producing garbage characters at the beginning of my document Make sure to turn on your computer or notetaker before you turn on the Blazer for printing 42 440102 001 Rev A 440102 001 Rev A 43
15. ensnsevedesatassntonccandtnastieknwsectonmmeakenes 10 Loading the Papel c ccciicns cts cists eto ctaiies 10 Setting Top Of FORM ceccccsiiiiids cesaticsesestosatceenssvecsessete sapiens 12 Braille PNG eric cpecaneeetsncxancenacwcucespeticnanchandes e aadi rren aaaeaii 14 Preparing a File for Brailling ccccceesseeeeeeeeeeeeeees 14 Preparing the Blazer to Receive a File ccssss000 15 Brailling a Different File ccceceesssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 15 Looking at the Last Page iisiiiccicic sesstiteyscneeeceneeticereeke 16 Removing the Paper cccccceeeseeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeseeeaenees 16 Customizing your Blazer ccccceeeeeeeeeee sees eeeeeeeeeaeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeees 18 440102 001 Rev A Introduction wees tecdcscs ccticacsocsasietecoescoescaacecapatacetsaceeseaiaoseseeess 18 Printing Mode and Menu Mode ccccccessseeeeeeeeeeenees 18 Configuration Menus cccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 19 Appendix Commonly Asked Questions ccccsssseeeeeeeeeeeeees 440102 001 Rev A Introduction The Braille Blazer is a portable Braille printer that lets you produce Braille documents graphics and labels With Braille translation software on your computer you can produce well formatted Braille documents in Grade 2 Grade 1 or computer Braille And with Braille graphics software you can produce tactile diagrams and maps as well as graphs o
16. eparing a File for Brailling In order to Braille a file on the Blazer you must issue the appropriate command from your word processor or Braille translator that transmits the contents of your file to the Blazer We can t spend time here explaining how to do this because each word processor and Braille translator has its own set of commands But here are some important things to keep in mind before you try to Braille a file If you want the Blazer to Braille your document in Grade 2 Braille you must run it through your Braille translator s Grade 2 Braille translation and formatting procedures This may include telling the translator what margins you want what page length and line width to use and so on If you don t run your file through a Braille translator the Blazer Brailles the file in computer Braille because it doesn t know the difference among computer Braille Grade 1 Braille and Grade 2 Braille This may be just what you want it to do especially if the text you re Brailling is programming code But unless you specify a page length and line width that works with the size Braille paper you re using your word processor assumes you re printing not Brailling and therefore formats pages using print formatting parameters So the outcome in Braille may be quite a mess 14 440102 001 Rev A Make sure your text is really ready for Brailling before you issue the command on your computer that tells the Blazer to start Brailling Al
17. es any you can ensure the Blazer catches them all by turning on the Skip Blank Lines setting When you enter the Sideway Print Configuration menu press skip twice to arrive at the Skip blank Lines setting The Blazer says Skip blank lines off active which is the default To turn it on simply press Enter Serial Configuration Menu You can use the Blazer s serial port to connect to your computer Braille n speak Type n Speak or Braille lite You can use the serial connection either to transmit documents from a device to the Blazer for Brailling or to use the Blazer s built in speech synthesizer with a screen access program In either case the telecommunications settings on the Blazer s serial port must exactly match those on the other device in 440102 001 Rev A 33 order to work properly This can seem a bit technical at first but we ll keep it as simple as possible The Serial Configuration menu on the Blazer has many telecommunications settings you can adjust so that your connection runs smoothly You ll need to check the documentation for the device you re connecting to the Blazer through its serial port to find out how it expects telecommunications settings to be set The most critical ones are Baud rate data bits stop bits parity and handshaking You don t have to understand what these terms mean just how to make sure the settings match on both ends of the connection Enter the Serial Configuration menu by pr
18. essing the three keys on the right side of the top of the Blazer at the same time The Blazer says Configuration Speech config Now press Skip the middle key three to bypass the Speech Configuration menu the Printer Configuration menu and the Sideway Print Configuration menu You ll finally arrive at Serial config Press Enter to move through the menu s settings At this point you can do the following e Press Skip to move forward through the Serial Configuration menu s settings e Press Back the key furthest away from you to move backward through the Serial Configuration menu s settings e Press Enter repeatedly to cycle through a setting s choices Any change you make to a setting takes effect when you move to another setting move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether Changing the Baud Rate The Baud rate is the speed at which data travels between your device and the Blazer through its serial connection It s only important that both devices are talking at the same rate of 34 440102 001 Rev A speed Generally computers and even our B lazie notetakers are set at 9600 Baud When you enter the Serial Configuration menu the Blazer says Baud rate 9600 active which is the default Generally you ll want to leave it at 9600 since it s the fastest speed the Blazer can handle and since most devices use 9600 as a default However if you do need to change this setting cycle through its options by pres
19. f mathematical equations You can customize many of the Blazer s features through its various configuration menus These menus are all audible through the Blazer s built in speech synthesizer In addition the speech synthesizer can be used with screen access programs even while the Blazer is Brailling a document The Braille Blazer is very portable as it closes up into a compact 12 pound case with a sturdy handle Although you probably will not carry it around on the subway every day it is small enough that you can run it across the street to your colleague s desk or carry it with you on your next airplane trip 440102 001 Rev A 1 Getting Started To produce Braille on the Braille Blazer you need to connect the Blazer to a computer through either its serial or its parallel port and use Braille translation software to translate your document for Brailling Computer and Hardware e If you want to use an IBM PC compatible or Apple computer with your Blazer use a standard serial or parallel cable to connect to the Blazer s serial or parallel port e lf you want to use Freedom Scientific s own Braille n Speak with the Blazer s serial port use the special serial cable that comes with the Braille n Speak to connect to the Blazer s serial port e If you want to use Freedom Scientific s Type n Speak 2000 Braille Lite 18 Braille Lite 40 or Braille Lite 2000 models use either the special serial cable that comes with the dev
20. file This is one way to reduce wasting a sheet of paper because the Blazer will start Brailling your next file on the very next blank page whereas if you tear off the last Brailled page the Blazer wastes a sheet and starts Brailling on the second page Removing the Paper Once the Blazer finishes Brailling your file you may want to Braille another file right away or remove the current set of sheets from the Blazer Depending on how your word processor or Braille translator works the last page of your file may still be partially under the Blazer s cover So you may need to move this page out manually There are a couple of ways to do this 16 440102 001 Rev A One way to move the last page the Blazer Brailled out from under the Blazer s cover is to press the form feed key This is the key closest to you on the keypad on the right side of the top of the Blazer Pressing the form feed key pulls the paper that s under the Blazer s cover out toward the back of the machine but Top of Form is retained So you won t have to set Top of Form again for the next file you want to Braille At this point you can go ahead and send another file to the Blazer or remove the set of sheets that contains the current file from the Blazer by tearing off the last page from the back of the machine If you do this though remember that the Blazer wastes the next sheet to keep the paper from jamming in the Blazer A second way to move the last page the B
21. guides You don t want any waffling at all because this will make the paper go crooked and jam in the Blazer If the paper does seem to be crooked or you feel any looseness at all between the paper guides unlock the right paper guide again and readjust it so that the paper lies flat between the paper guides Once you re sure the paper is flat close the cover of the paper guide and lock it back in place before doing anything else You re now ready to turn on the Blazer Setting Top of Form The Blazer needs to know where the top edge of the paper is so it can begin Brailling in the right place When you first turn it on the Blazer moves the paper back and forth a bit to adjust it but it s still a good idea to set Top of Form manually to insure your Braille pages come out the way they should Here s how it works To turn on the Blazer find the On Off rocker switch on the right side of the back of the machine and rock the switch up toward you Within a couple of seconds you should hear the paper move slightly and the Blazer say Braille Blazer ready Now find the three keys midway along the right side of the top of the Blazer From front to back these keys are labeled form feed line feed and on line To set Top of Form press the form feed key together with the on line key The Blazer says Set top of form as it moves the 12 440102 001 Rev A paper back and forth to align to the Top of Form sensor we talked abo
22. he Blazer and much more Here s how it works 24 440102 001 Rev A Enter the Printer Configuration menu by pressing the three keys on the right side of the top of the Blazer at the same time The Blazer says Configuration Speech config Now press Skip the middle key to bypass the Speech Configuration menu and hear Printer config Press Enter to move through the menu s settings At this point you can do the following e Press Skip to move forward through the Printer Configuration menu s settings e Press Back the key furthest away from you to move backward through the Printer Configuration menu s settings e Press Enter repeatedly to cycle through a setting s choices Any change you make to a setting takes effect when you move to another setting move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether Changing the Port When you enter the Printer configuration menu the first setting you can change is the Port Whichever port is active anything coming into it from a computer or a notetaker is printed by the Blazer while the Blazer is in printing mode Since the factory default has the Blazer s parallel port active when you enter the Printer Configuration menu the Blazer says Port parallel active To change this setting cycle through its options by pressing Enter The options are Parallel Serial and Off Parallel is the default Serial activates the serial port Off turns off both the serial an
23. ice to connect to the Blazer s serial port or use a standard parallel cable to connect to the Blazer s parallel port e lf you want to use another device such as a PocketBraille or a BrailleMate use that device s serial cable to connect to the Blazer s serial port Braille Translation Software Braille translation software converts a document that is formatted as a text file or formatted through a word processor into Grade 2 or Grade 1 Braille then sends the converted document to a Braille printer Some popular Braille translation programs include Duxbury System s Duxbury Braille Translator MegaDots and Freedom Scientific s own QuickBraille Braille Paper The Blazer only works with fanfold paper not single sheets You can use standard 8 1 2 inch by 11 inch fanfold Braille 2 440102 001 Rev A paper or any other smaller width fanfold paper The Blazer works with Braille labels and index cards as long as they come in fanfold form Contact us directly to find out what paper we sell at Freedom Scientific or contact your local Braille paper dealer to see what sizes they offer Brailling Speed of the Blazer When Brailling a document in Grade 2 Grade 1 or computer Braille with no graphics the Blazer Brailles at 15 characters per second But Brailling sideways on the page or Brailling graphics slows down embossing Using the Blazer as a Speech Synthesizer Although you use the Blazer mainly to produce Braille you can also
24. ice inflection off which is the default This means that the Blazer s speech synthesizer speaks in a robotic voice Since this setting only has two options you can toggle between them by pressing Enter Off makes the Blazer s speech synthesizer sound more robotic On makes it rise and fall more naturally as it speaks Changing Speech Rate Enter the Speech configuration menu There are two speech rate settings you can change faster and slower Move to the speech rate settings by pressing Skip until you hear either Speed faster or Speed slower Once you re pointing either to Speed faster or to Speed slower you can change the Blazer s speech rate by pressing Enter repeatedly Each time you press Enter The Blazer says the word Faster or Slower at a faster or slower rate Once you hear the rate you want exit menu mode or press the Skip or Back up key to work with another setting Changing the Pitch Enter the Speech configuration menu There are two pitch settings you can change higher and lower Move to the Pitch 440102 001 Rev A 23 settings by pressing Skip until you hear either Pitch higher or Pitch lower Once you re pointing either to Pitch higher or to Pitch lower you can change the Blazer s pitch by pressing Enter repeatedly Each time you press Enter The Blazer says the word Higher or Lower at a higher or lower pitch Once you hear the pitch you want exit menu mode or press the Skip or Back
25. ight before cycling you back to Heavy The Plastic option is for Brailling on plastic labels or thermoform paper Changing the Braille Language The Blazer understands how to Braille in a wide variety of languages Of course you must also since you have to produce the text on your word processor When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip ten times to arrive at the Character Set setting The Blazer says Character set U S ASCII active which is the default In most cases you ll want to keep it this way Without getting technical let s just say that ASCII is the standard alphabet punctuation marks and numbers you already know However if you do want to use another character set press Enter The Blazer lets you cycle through the following options before cycling you back to U S ASCII Spanish Japanese French French Canadian German Brazilian Portuguese Danish and Slovak Needless to say you d better be familiar with the Braille produced by those languages or you ll b e very surprised when you Braille your next document 440102 001 Rev A 29 Checking the Status of Paper Out Detection You re most likely to use the Paper out Detection setting to check whether it s on or off It s best to keep it turned on all the time so the Blazer can let you know when it thinks it s out of paper When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip eleven times to arrive at the Paper out Detection setting Th
26. iguration Menus You navigate through the configuration menus with the keypad on the right side of the top of the Blazer Here s how it works When you press the three keys on the right side of the top of 440102 001 Rev A 19 the Blazer simultaneously to enter menu mode the three keys take on different functions from what they do while you re in printing mode The key labeled Formfeed is now your Enter key for entering a configuration menu and for cycling through its choices The key labeled Linefeed is now your Skip key for moving forward to another configuration menu or to another choice within a configuration menu The key labeled Online is now your Back up key for moving backward to another the configuration menu or to another choice within a configuration menu Pressing the three keys simultaneously twice from within a configuration menu kicks you back out of menu mode into printing mode You don t have to listen to an entire prompt or message from the Blazer before issuing another command If you press a key sequence while the Blazer is speaking a prompt or message it simply jumps to speaking its next prompt or message Here s how to move through the menus while you re in menu mode When you first enter menu mode The Blazer says Configuration Speech config At this point you can press either Enter the key closest to you to hear this menu s choices or you can press Skip the middle key to hear the name of the
27. ines or not Here s how it works Enter the sideway Print Configuration menu by pressing the three keys on the right side of the top of the Blazer at the same time The Blazer says Configuration Speech config Now 440102 001 Rev A 31 press Skip the middle key twice to bypass the Speech Configuration menu and the Printer Configuration menu You ll hear Sideway Print config Press Enter to move through the menu s settings At this point you can do the following e Press Skip to move forward through the Sideway Print Configuration menu s settings e Press Back the key furthest away from you to move backward through the Sideway Print Configuration menu s settings e Press Enter to cycle through a setting s choices Any change you make to a setting takes effect when you move to another setting move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether Selecting Sideway Print If you want the Blazer to Braille sideways on the page you must turn on Sideway print and flip the platen bar Here s what to do When you enter the Sideway Print Configuration menu the Blazer says Sideways print off active which is the default To turn it on press Enter Now open the cover of the Blazer and feel for the rubber knob on the back right side of the platen bar Lift up and flip the bar completely around so that the rubber knob is facing toward you and the platen bar is once again lying flat against the paper When you exit me
28. is chapter explains how to do things like telling the Blazer which port to use for printing whether to activate the speech synthesizer and that you want to print your document sideways on the page We ll explore each configuration menu in detail in separate sections Printing Mode and Menu Mode The Blazer has two modes of operation printing mode and menu mode Most of the time you re in printing mode which means the Blazer is ready to print a document When you are in menu mode the Blazer is ready to accept your changes to its settings for a variety of things like its ports its built in speech synthesizer and its formatting parameters It s quite simple to flip between printing mode and menu mode Find the three key keypad on the right side of the top of the Blazer Press all three keys simultaneously to toggle from one mode to the other In other words if you are in printing mode pressing the three keys at the same time puts you into menu mode If you are in menu mode pressing the three keys at the same time returns you to printing mode Ordinarily when you re in the Blazer s menu mode you get feedback from the Blazer s built in speech synthesizer If you also want feedback in Braille as you work through the configuration menus enter menu mode in the following way 18 440102 001 Rev A Press the rocker switch on the left side of the top of the Blazer toward you While holding down the rocker switch press the three
29. is located on the backside of the unit about an inch to the left of the AC power connector Align the Centronix end of the parallel cord with the parallel port on the Blazer and gently push until the connector mates with the port If the connector doesn t slide easily into the port you may have the connector upside down Turn it around and try again Once the cable is connected to the port the connection should be snug But to secure it bring the clips on either side of the port in toward the connector until they click in place On the computer side of things make sure you plug the male connector of the parallel cable into the female parallel port on the computer If you re using a Braille Lite or Type n Speak its parallel port feels just like the parallel port on a computer Computers like IBM PC compatibles generally recognize parallel ports as LPT1 LPT2 etc 440102 001 Rev A 7 As long as you direct the Braille translation software on your computer to transmit to the parallel port you re using for Brailling documents your Blazer and computer should communicate easily once the parallel connection is established Serial Connection The serial connection is a little trickier because you may have to use an adapter to make the connectors match the ports both on the Blazer and on the computer The end of the cable you need for the Blazer must be a 25 pin male serial connector Check whether the serial port on your computer is 25 pin
30. keys on the right side of the top of the Blazer at the same time Then release the rocker switch This key sequence causes the Blazer to Braille as well as speak feedback to you Whether the Blazer responds to you with a message or a prompt it moves the paper out far enough so you can read its response then moves the paper back into the machine so it can Braille its next response Configuration Menus The Blazer has five configuration menus Each menu is independent of all the other menus So changing the settings in one menu does not affect the settings in any other menu Here is what each of the menus does e Speech Configuration menu Lets you change which port the Blazer uses to interface its built in soeech synthesizer with a computer This menu also lets you change the Blazer s speech synthesizer s pitch voice rate etc e Printer Configuration menu Lets you change which port the Blazer uses to interface with a computer in order to print This menu also lets you change the Blazer s formatting parameters like page length left and top margins etc e Sideway Printer Configuration menu Lets you set the Blazer to landscape sideways printing mode Serial configuration menu Lets you change the telecommunications parameters on the Blazer s serial port like Baud rate data bits stop bits etc Service Configuration menu Lets you perform diagnostic tests on the Blazer for troubleshooting problems Navigating the Conf
31. lazer last Brailled from under the Blazer s cover is to use the key labeled paper advance This curved rocker like key is midway on the left side of the top of the Blazer To pull the paper out toward the back of the Blazer hold down the back end of the paper advance key that is the part of the key closest to the back of the Blazer The last page of your file slowly begins to emerge from the back of the Blazer Once you feel the perforation between this page and the next one release the paper advance key At this point you can remove the set of sheets from the Blazer by tearing off the last page of your file However the Blazer doesn t know you moved the paper because you pulled it out without issuing a form feed In other words the Blazer can t remember on what line it stopped Brailling So you need to issue another Top of Form so the Blazer can find the top of the page again To do this press the form feed key together with the on line key As before the Blazer moves the paper back and forth a bit until it senses the top of the page then says Set top of form You re now ready to send another file to the Blazer 440102 001 Rev A 17 Customizing your Blazer Introduction To change the Blazer s settings you use its configuration menus There are five menus of settings you can alter Speech Printer Sideways and Service You may not need to change any of the Blazer s default settings but if you do th
32. lid and check out the inside The Outside of the Blazer When you take the Braille Blazer out of the box for the first time you can see how small and compact it is It only weighs about 12 pounds and looks like a carrying case with a nice sturdy handle Notice the four rubber feet on the bottom of the Blazer These feet prevent the Blazer from sliding around as it Brailles Set the Blazer on a flat surface with the handle facing away from you and the Braille labels on the top of the unit facing up First let s check out the top of the Blazer Starting from the front the side closest to you run your hand along the top of the Blazer to the right side Now move toward the back of the Blazer along the top right side About halfway toward the back are three buttons To the left of each button is a Braille label describing what each button does The button closest to you is labeled Form Feed The next one back is labeled Line Feed and the one furthest back is labeled On line These buttons are very important because they help you move the paper in the Blazer and configure the unit to your particular needs Now slide your hand to the left side of the Blazer along the top of the machine On the top left side about halfway back is a single curved button a rocker switch that lets you move the paper toward you or away from you To the right of this button a Braille label reads Paper Advance Before we open the Blazer to check out its insi
33. next configuration menu Printer config Press Skip repeatedly to move to Sideway printer config Serial config Service menu and Exit When you hear Exit the Blazer automatically kicks you out of menu mode and is once again in printing mode If you want to exit menu mode without moving to the Exit choice simply press all three keys together from anywhere within a configuration menu then again to exit menu mode altogether By the way whenever you exit menu mode the Blazer resets top of form 20 440102 001 Rev A Once you re pointing to a particular configuration menu here s what you can do e View a menu s choices by pressing Enter the key closest to you e Move forward through a menu s choices by pressing Skip the middle key e Move backward through a menu s choices by pressing Back up the key furthest away from you e Change how a setting is set by pressing enter the key closest to you Your changes only take effect when you move to another setting move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether Speech Configuration Menu The Speech Configuration menu lets you change how the Blazer s speech synthesizer sounds You can change the synthesizer s volume speech rate pitch and more Here s how it works Enter the Speech Configuration menu by pressing the three keys on the right side of the top of the Blazer at the same time The Blazer says Configuration Speech config Press Enter
34. ng properly as follows First press Enter the key closest to you The Blazer says Print manual Since we want to bypass this option press skip once to arrive at Print test To run the test press Enter The Blazer Brailles a single page of text that provides a brief overview of the capabilities of the Blazer To exit menu mode press the three keys on the right side of the Blazer simultaneously The Blazer says Exit You re now back in printing mode ready to continue Brailling your own documents 440102 001 Rev A 37 Checking Your Serial Number Each Blazer comes with its own unique serial number If you need to find out exactly what this number is to identify your machine to Blazie for example here s what to do Enter menu mode by pressing the three keys on the right side of the Blazer simultaneously the Blazer says Configuration Speech config Press Skip the middle key four times to arrive at the Service menu The Blazer says Service menu Move directly to the option that states your serial number as follows First press Enter the key closest to you The Blazer says Print manual Since we want to bypass this option press skip twelve times to arrive at Serial number xxxxx where xxxxx is your specific serial number To exit menu mode press the three keys on the right side of the Blazer simultaneously The Blazer says Exit You re now back in printing mode ready to continue Brailling your own
35. ntly from the one you re reading right now To avoid confusion we suggest you use only the one you re reading right now as a reference But if your Blazer is up to date and you loose this manual or need extra copies of it you can have the Blazer print them out for you Here s how 36 440102 001 Rev A Enter menu mode by pressing the three keys on the top side of the Blazer simultaneously the Blazer says Configuration Speech config Press the Skip key the middle key four times to arrive at the Service menu The Blazer says Service menu To print the Blazer s built in manual which is the first option on the Service menu do the following press Enter the key closest to you once to hear the Blazer say Print manual then a second time to begin printing The manual comes out in properly formatted Grade 2 Braille To exit menu mode press the three keys on the right side of the Blazer simultaneously The Blazer says Exit You re now back in printing mode ready to continue Brailling your own documents Testing the Braille Blazer You can test the Blazer to check whether it s Brailling properly Here s how Enter menu mode by pressing the three keys on the right side of the Blazer simultaneously the Blazer says Configuration Speech config Press Skip the middle key four times to arrive at the Service menu The Blazer says Service menu Move directly to the option for testing whether the Blazer is Brailli
36. nu mode the Blazer will be ready to receive a document formatted for landscape Brailling When you re ready to resume Brailling documents in a portrait orientation remember to turn sideways print off again and flip the platen bar back to its original position with the rubber knob to the backside of the platen bar 32 440102 001 Rev A Suppressing Multiple Spaces If you want to Braille a document that was originally formatted for print it probably has multiple spaces in it That is it may have paragraphs with their first lines indented by five spaces each sentence separated by two spaces and so on Your Braille translation software should strip out most of these extra spaces before your document ever goes to the Blazer But it case it misses any you can ensure the Blazer catches them all by turning on the Suppress Multiple Spaces setting When you enter the Sideway Print Configuration menu press skip once to arrive at the Suppress Multiple Spaces setting The Blazer says Suppress multiple spaces off active which is the default To turn it on simply press Enter Skipping Blank Lines If you want to Braille a document that was originally formatted for print it probably has extra blank lines in it to create white space which makes the document more legible for sighted readers Your Braille translation software should strip out all of these extra blank lines before your document ever goes to the Blazer But it case it miss
37. om you until you arrive at your choice Then press Enter to cycle through that setting s options Your change takes effect when you move to another setting move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether Setting the left margin When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip twice to arrive at the first of the margin settings Left Margin The Blazer says Left margin 0 active which is the default This is literally the left edge of the paper To change the left margin press Enter The Blazer lets you adjust the left margin up to 10 spaces from the left edge of the paper before it cycles you back to 0 26 440102 001 Rev A Setting the right margin When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip three times to arrive at the Right Margin setting The Blazer says Right margin 34 active which is the default This is literally the right edge of the paper since the largest paper width the Blazer can accept is 8 1 2 inches Your choice is activated when you move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether To change the right margin press Enter The Blazer lets you adjust the right margin down to 28 in other words 6 spaces from the right edge of the paper before it cycles you back to 34 Setting the top margin When you enter the Printer Configuration menu press Skip four times to arrive at the Top Margin setting The Blazer says Top margin 0 active which is the default This is literally the
38. ort serial To change this setting cycle through its options by pressing Enter The options are Off Parallel and Serial Off turns off Both the serial and parallel ports Parallel activates the parallel port And of course Serial reactivates the serial port Your choice is automatically selected once you move to another setting within this menu move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether Changing How Numbers are Spoken Enter the Speech configuration menu Press Skip once to move to the Numbers setting The Blazer should say Numbers full numbers which is the default This means that the Blazer will say 2000 as two thousand Since the only two options for this setting are Full numbers and Digits you can toggle between them by pressing Enter 22 440102 001 Rev A Changing How Much Punctuation is Spoken Enter the Speech configuration menu Press Skip twice to move to the Punctuation setting You should hear the Blazer say Punctuation Some which is the default This means that the Blazer says only some punctuation as it speaks To change this setting cycle through its options by pressing Enter The options are Some Most and total Your choice is automatically selected once you move to another setting within this menu move to another menu or exit menu mode altogether Changing Voice Inflection Enter the Speech configuration menu Press Skip until you hear the Blazer say vo
39. r computer have to be talking the same language at the same rate of speed and so on The Braille translation software you use to translate your documents into Grade 2 Braille should have some kind of printing facility If the printing facility lets you configure your printer connection so you can use your computer s serial port instead of the more common parallel connection the printing facility should also set telecommunications settings for you However suppose you have documents that are already translated or that you don t want to translate into Grade 2 and you want to send them to your Blazer through a serial connection You can use a telecommunications program on your computer to do the job Here are the settings you need to check Baud rate 9600 Parity None Data bits 8 Stop bits 1 Handshaking Software If telecommunications settings match on your computer and the Blazer everything should work without a hitch Your Braille translation software should be able to send documents to the Blazer through the computer s serial port Likewise using the Braille n Speak driver your screen access software should be able to send speech to the Blazer s speaker through your computer s serial port If you get garbage on the Blazer or nothing at all chances are the Baud rate is wrong on one end of the connection or some other setting is set incorrectly Check the appendix for some possible solutions This is all you need to kno
40. says Parity none active which is the default To cycle through its options press Enter The Blazer lets you cycle through Odd and Even before it cycles you back to None Changing Handshake Without getting too technical handshake acts rather like a traffic cop making sure data transmits smoothly from one device to another If you do need to change handshake to match another device to the Blazer here s what to do When you enter the Serial Configuration menu press Skip four times to arrive at the Handshake setting The Blazer says Handshake software active which is the default To cycle through its options press Enter The Blazer lets you cycle through None and Hardware before cycling you back to Software handshake Service Menu The Service menu is really for the techies It has many options that most users won t care about at all So in this section we ll only cover four fundamental options you might want to use printing out the Blazer s manual testing whether the Blazer is Brailling properly checking the Blazer s serial number and finding out the Blazer s software revision date The rest of the Service menu options are explained in detail in the Blazer s Service Manual Call Blazie Engineering if you need a copy Printing out the Blazer s Manual The Blazer s manual is stored within its built in ROM read only memory If your Blazer was shipped to you before November 1997 its built in manual will differ significa
41. set to Braille in graphics mode and or label mode Both these modes produce Braille dots closer together than is normal Make sure the knob on the right side of the platen bar is facing toward the back of the Blazer and make sure label mode is turned off from within the Printer Configuration menu When Braille a document get a blank page between every page of Braille It s best to let your Braille translator format your document rather than the Blazer So make sure the following format parameters on the Blazer are set properly from within the Printer Configuration menu Left margin 0 Right margin 34 Top margin 0 Lines per page 0 Word wrap Off Note Make sure your Braille translator is not set to Braille with a line length of 40 as for the Juliet Braille embosser for example The Blazer can only handle a maximum line length of 34 40 440102 001 Rev A When try to Braille a document all get is speech from the Blazer Enter menu mode and go into the Speech Configuration menu enter the options for changing the port and cycle to Off Then exit menu mode and try sending your document to the Blazer again When try to Braille a document from my Braille n speak Type n Speak or Braille Lite with the Blazer the formatting is wrong It s best to let your notetaker format your document rather than the Blazer So make sure the following format parameters on the Blazer are set properly from within the Printer
42. sing Enter The Blazer lets you cycle through 75 150 300 600 1200 2400 and 4800 before cycling you back to 9600 Changing Data Bits Without getting too technical data bits per character is the setting that controls what types of characters can be transmitted to the Blazer The only two options here are 8 which is the default and 7 Generally speaking you ll only need to change data bits to 7 if the transmission requires Even parity When you enter the Serial Configuration menu press Skip once to arrive at the Bits Per Character setting The Blazer says Bits per character 8 active which is the default To change data bits to 7 press Enter Changing Stop Bits The only two options for stop bits are 1 which is the default and 2 Generally speaking you ll want to keep it at 1 But if you need to change it here s what to do When you enter the Serial Configuration menu press Skip twice to arrive at the Stop Bits setting The Blazer says Stop bits 1 active which is the default To change stop bits to 1 press Enter Changing Parity Without getting too technical parity works together with data bits per character Generally if bits per character is set to 8 which is the default parity is set to None which is its default But if you need to change parity here s what to do 440102 001 Rev A 35 When you enter the Serial Configuration menu press Skip three times to arrive at the Parity setting The Blazer
43. so you must make sure the Blazer is ready to receive data Preparing the Blazer to Receive a File When you first turn on the Blazer and set Top of Form it s ready to receive a file So when you do issue the command that tells the Blazer to begin Brailling it should start right away If it doesn t start Brailling it may be off line In other words it may not be ready to receive data Find the on line key on the right side of the top of the Blazer It s the rearmost key of the set of three we ve mentioned before When you press this key the Blazer says either on line or off line When the Blazer is on line it s ready to receive data But when it s off line it can t receive any data at all Press the on line key to make the Blazer be able to receive data again The on line key is also useful if you want to stop the Blazer from Brailling the file you just sent to it for example if you realize it s the wrong file or that you didn t run the Braille translator on the file yet Brailling a Different File Suppose you decide not to finish Brailling the file you sent to the Blazer because it s the wrong file or because you forgot to run it through the Braille translator before you sent it to the Blazer The first thing to do is to take the Blazer off line by pressing the on line key once The Blazer should stop Brailling immediately In addition you may have to issue some type of Cancel command from within yo
44. two paper guides is the right width Although you can unlock either paper guide or both of them we recommend that you only unlock the right one First lift the hinged covers of the paper guides as you would when loading standard size paper Starting from the front of the Blazer slide the paper under the platen over and past the pins of the left paper guide until the top edge of the paper is lying on the metal plate in back of the tractor mechanism In fact this is probably a good time to fit the sprocket holes on the left side of the paper into the pins on the left paper guide and close its cover This way one side of the paper is already secured in place Now reach over to the right paper guide and find the lever that s between the cover of the paper guide and the side of the Blazer itself Push this lever away from you to unlock the paper guide 440102 001 Rev A 11 so you can move the paper guide in toward the right edge of the paper Gently lift the right edge of the paper and move the right paper guide toward it until the pins on the paper guide slide under the sprocket holes of the right side of the paper Fit the sprocket holes of the paper onto the pins of the paper guide and close its cover Then immediately push the lever that s just to the right of the paper guide toward you to lock the paper guide in place At this point your paper should be secured in place on both sides Make sure the paper is taut between the paper
45. up key to work with another setting Changing the Volume Enter the Speech configuration menu There are two volume settings you can change louder and softer Move to the volume settings by pressing Skip until you hear either Volume louder or Volume softer Once you re pointing either to Volume louder or to Volume softer you can change the Blazer s volume by pressing Enter repeatedly Each time you press Enter The Blazer says the word Louder or Softer in a louder or softer voice Once you hear the volume you want exit menu mode or press the Skip or Back up key to work with another setting Changing the Tone of the Voice Enter the Speech configuration menu There are two tone settings you can change higher and lower Move to the tone settings by pressing Skip until you hear either Voice higher or Voice lower Once you re pointing either to voice higher or to Voice lower you can change the Blazer s tone by pressing Enter repeatedly Each time you press Enter The Blazer says the word Higher or Lower in a higher or lower voice Once you hear the tone you want exit menu mode or press the Skip or Back up key to work with another setting Printer Configuration Menu The Printer Configuration menu lets you change settings related to the printing of your documents For example it lets you change which port accepts the transmission of your document from your computer tell the Blazer what paper weight you have in t
46. ur word processor to stop transmitting data from your computer to the Blazer but even that may not be enough The Blazer holds several pages worth of information in its memory buffer at one time So if it still has part of the file in its 440102 001 Rev A 15 buffer when you take it off line it will resume Brailling that data the instant you press the on line key again Your safest way to clear the Blazer s buffer is simply to press the three keys on the right side of the top of the Blazer simultaneously This puts you into menu mode and clears the Blazer s print buffer To return to printing mode press the three keys all together again Looking at the Last Page Sometimes you may want to see what s on the last page before removing it from the Blazer or before sending another file to the Blazer for it to Braille Here s how you can check out what s on the last page of your file without taking it out of the Blazer Find the key labeled line feed This is the middle key of the three keys midway along the right side of the top of the Blazer Every time you press the line feed key the paper moves one line out the back of the machine As you continue to press the line feed key more of the last page that was Brailled emerges for you to read Once you re satisfied about what s on this page you can remove the set of sheets altogether see next section or you can reset Top of Form so the Blazer is ready to receive another
47. use it as a Speech synthesizer In fact you can run the Blazer as a speech synthesizer and as a Braille embosser at the same time To run the Blazer as a speech synthesizer you need a screen access program that supports the Braille n Speak as a speech synthesizer Most screen access programs have a driver for the Braille n Speak So you should be able to direct your screen access program to work with the Blazer Popular examples of screen access programs that support the Braille n Speak include ASAP JAWS and Vocal Eyes Contact us directly or check with your local adaptive technology vendor for more information about screen access programs that support the Braille n Speak To make the Blazer work as a speech synthesizer and still function as a Braille embosser at the same time you need to establish both a parallel connection and a serial connection between the Blazer and your computer You use the parallel connection to direct the Braille translation software to send documents to the Blazer through the parallel port on the computer You use the serial connection to direct the screen access software to send speech to the Blazer s speaker through the serial port on your computer 440102 001 Rev A 3 Touring the Blazer The Blazer is a compact unit We send it to you closed up into what looks much like a carrying case Both the outside and inside are important So we ll examine first the outside components Then we ll lift up the
48. ut an inch in from the front side of the Blazer Now run your hand along the platen all the way to the right and find a small rubber coated knob along the back of the platen This knob is used for adjusting the platen to Braille graphics Right now it s set so the Blazer can Braille a standard document We ll check out how to adjust the platen for Brailling graphics later About an inch behind the platen is the tractor mechanism that holds the paper in place 6 440102 001 Rev A Connecting the Blazer to Your Computer The Blazer works with an IBM PC compatible or Apple computer a Braille n Speak Braille Lite or Type n Speak The Braille Lite Type n Speak and most computers let you print or Braille through a parallel connection so the Blazer comes from the factory with the parallel port activated and the serial port off But if you do need to use the Blazer s serial port to connect it to your Braille n Speak or to a serial port ona computer we ll show you how to do that too Parallel Connection You need a standard Centronix parallel cable like the one you use to connect your computer to an ink printer The Centronix end of the cable has a rectangular housing with a long rectangular object on the inside of the housing It feels similar to the parallel port on the Blazer itself which has a ridge around the rectangular opening where it mates with the housing of the Centronix connector The parallel port on the Blazer
49. ut earlier And you ll feel part of the first page come out the back of the Blazer between the back of the Blazer s cover and the back side of the machine itself This is the sheet that has to be wasted so the paper won t jam in the Blazer Setting the Top Margin Where Braille actually begins on each page depends on how you have your top margin set from within your word processor or Braille translation software If you have your top margin set to 0 the Blazer assumes you want it to start Brailling immediately below the perforation Usually this also means that you ve set a page length of 27 the maximum number of lines that can fit on a standard Braille page If you want the Blazer to start Brailling one line below the perforation you need to set your top margin to 1 in your word processor or Braille translation software And you should probably set your page length to 25 This way the Blazer will give you top and bottom margins of 1 on each Braille page 440102 001 Rev A 13 Brailling a File To send a file from your computer to the Blazer you must make sure your file is ready for Brailling not printing you must make sure the Blazer is ready to receive your file and that it knows where the top edge of the page is and so on And of course when the Blazer finishes Brailling your file you must tear off the set of sheets it Brailled the right way so the Blazer can receive more files to Braille Here s how to go about it Pr
50. w to establish a connection between the Blazer and your computer Next let s see how to prepare the paper so you can be ready to Braille your first document 440102 001 Rev A 9 Handling the Paper To prepare the paper in the Blazer for Brailling a document you need to load the paper into the Blazer and align it to the top of the first page so that your text Brailles in the right place Here s how it works Loading the Paper You load paper into the Blazer from the front of the machine Although this process wastes the first sheet of paper before Brailling actually begins it keeps the paper from jamming As we said earlier in this chapter the Blazer accepts standard size 8 5 by 11 inch fanfold Braille paper Use heavyweight Braille paper 100 pound tag to produce sharper durable Braille and use lighter weight paper for documents you don t need to keep for a long time In addition you can use paper narrower than 8 5 inches But we ll first look at how to load standard size paper You can load paper into the Blazer whether the machine is on or off Since this is our first time out we ll start with the Blazer turned off First lift the cover of the Blazer and find the tractor mechanism behind the platen On either side of the tractor mechanism are the paper guides that hold the paper in place Right now they are closed and locked at either end of the tractor mechanism so they can accept standard size paper Now lift up the
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