Drews Sound

well, this cardboard box was way too much fun to drum on. 

Well, this has absuletly, nothing to do with sound, and most deffinitly, every thing to do with sight.

I walked out in the middle of the solar eclipse this afternoon. I could not feel the sun on my face, even though I was on a west facing patio.  It was cold, almost felt like night to me. I am not, in the path of the event, but it was interesting to at least enjoy the moment.

I Found an image of the eclipse and ran it through Be My A-I.

here is how artificial intelligence  describes, at least, one snapshot of the solar event.

a celestial scene with a crescent moon at the center. The moon is surrounded by a vibrant halo of blue and white light, giving the impression of a luminous eye in the sky. The rest of the image is filled with a mix of dark and light clouds, creating a moody and ethereal atmosphere. The clouds have hints of orange, pink, and green, which add a subtle warmth to the otherwise cool tones of the blue moonlight. The overall effect is both serene and mysterious.

The same as I’ve done for the BTSpeak basic model in the post below, this post contains bite-size chunks audio how to use for the pro. This page will be updated with more content coming soon.

introduction to Pro: Switching from tablet mode, to desktop mode.

an overview of Orca’s preferences window, how to switch from ESpeak to DecTalk.

navigating the desktop 

an introduction to File explorer on the desktop side 

an introduction to chromium web browsing.

thunderbird: adding an email account, creating and replying to emails, and more. 

all the sounds were created with a Coke bottle. Pretty fun experimentation.

been using this update for a couple of months strong now and everything seems to be fixed plus a couple of new features. these could easily sell for 20 bucks a pop, but like everything I do for the blindness community, it is free 🙂 really hope you get a lot of use out of them! I do on a daily basis.

Daily planner Scripts V1.2
Written by Drew Weber
March 2024.

These scripts are not for a specific Daily Planner application, but rather, they are a Daily Planner Mini application program written in the JAWS scripting
programming language.

These scripts focus on creating notes for a day in question, vs, focusing on a time and appointment as a calendar provides.

• Note. You may not use the Grave accent key within your notes. This is the key directly below the escape key as it is being used as a delimiter within
  programming.
• You should expect to hear a click after the main month settings file is updated. this will let you know that writing has completed and you may then Toggle
  off Daily planner with Control+alt+P. You will also hear a click when toggling off the Daily Planner after JAWS lets you know it is inactive. This lets
  us know that the planner has fully exited.

Keystrokes:

• Toggle on/off with control+alt+p.

When active, you will hear a chime every 2 minutes to remind you that Daily planner is active.

• Control+alt+w: Set day of week You will enter the weekday number associated with the first day of the month.

For example.

If Sunday is Day 1, and Saturday is day 7 and the month of February begins on a Thursday, you will enter the number 5.

Each time a new month starts you will need to press control+alt+w and retake this step.

• Control+alt+left: move back day
• Control+alt+right: move forward day
• Control+alt+up: move back month.
• Control+alt+down: move forward month
• Control+alt+rightShift: create new note.

Edit mode:

• Control+Alt+shift+right arrow: move forward, select, and read individual note on a day.
• Control+Alt+shift+Left: move backward, Select, and read individual note on a day.
• After selecting:
• Control+Alt+E: Edit currently selected note. Pops up in the same style dialogue that you originally composed the note in.
• Control+Alt+D: Delete currently selected note.

Viewing Entered Planner Information:

Control+alt+end: review notes for day.

Note review pops up in virtual viewer so may select/copy.

• Control+alt+M: review entire month in viewer.

You first must select a month.

Month review pops up in virtual viewer so may select/copy.

• To quickly export a month to clipboard: First select a month, and then press Control+Shift+Alt+M.

Launch Notepad and paste. Notes are organized in order month/day.

Installation

Coppy the ToggleDailyPlanner script from the DefaultDotJSS file to the end of your Default script file. Opening the Script manager with Insert+0, then control+shift+D to navigate to your Default file. If you are in the Shared default, you will need to press Control+end and then, Control+e to create a new script. You may call it test, and type comments in the comments fields, then press ok. Press control+end again. You may then paste the script from the DefaultDotJSS.txt text file. If you are in the User Default file, press control+end, paste the script. In either case, press control+s to save. You should hear, compile complete. open the default.jkm key map file in the Script manager, and in the common keys section, paste the key mapping from the DefaultDotJKM.TXT file. Press control+s to save.
Next copy the
DailyPlanner.JKM
DailyPlanner.jsb
files from the zip file into your JAWS Settings folder. To get there:
Navigate to the JAWS main window.
Press alt+u to launch the utilities menu.
Press x, to launch the Utilities folder.
Press E until you reach, Explore My settings. Press enter.
Now, using Insert+t, JAWS should announce, ENU. If so, you are in the correct folder.
Paste the above files here.
Personalised settings files will be created for each month, along with files to store your position so that you will come back on the same month and day where you left off between sessions of JAWS.
Restart JAWS. You may now use your new scripts! Download is below.

Reading, navigating, and searching through the file. I can’t say I’ve seen this before with this type of speed on windows.

So the ability to record this song so easily really confirms to me that I purchased the right Zoom Essential recorder for me. Below, are two different audios. The first, will be the Overdubs, just as they came out of the Zoom. This one, is not the entire song, but is just to compare to the second audio which is the full mix of the song.

The second audio, is a mix of the song, just how I would normally be able to do this. I was able to grab the individual stems, from the overdubs, so yes, the below is mixed from the same recordings. Let me explain.

When yu overdub with the H1E, what you do is, record your first dub, then as you overdub a second take, the first dub plays back, and in the second recording, is both the playback from recording one, and the new information that you have dubbed in. When you dub the third take, you have takes, 1,2, and 3, together. So what you can do is put say, tracks, 2, and three into Reaper, flip the faze on track three, and you are only left with track 2. You can put tracks 1 and 2 into Reaper, flip faze of track 1, and you are left with track 2. So, you are able to grab each of the stems.

I was able to, as I said above, completely mix the track as I normally would, EQ-ing each of the tracks, compression limiting, autotune on vocs. And you know what? The quality is as good as I would get going through any of my interfaces. This to me is amazing! This little H1-E really stands up as a mighty recorder when used in this way. Audio of full track below mixed.

BTSpeak Firmware release used: 3/20/2024
BTSpeak basic.

Things you will need

BTSpeak Basic or Pro.
iPhone.
Wireless network, (IPhone hotspot unfortunately will not due.)
File Browser iOS Application:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/filebrowser-documents-manager/id364738545
Price: $7.99

setup:

bTSpeak:

verify the bTSpeak is connected to the WiFi network of choice.
To do this.
Enter the Options menu with O chord, (dots 1,3,5 and space).
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System submenu.
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System Administration subMenu.
Braille W, (Dots 2,4,5,6) to navigate into the “WiFi Administration menu”
braille down arrow, (Dot 4 Chord), to navigate to “Add network”
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to start the process of adding a network.
The BTSpeak will report, ‘Discovering visible WiFi networks”
You will feel several vibrations as network discovery is taking place. You will land in a list of available networks that you may move down (Dot 4 chord) through.
Once you have found your network braille enter, (dot 8.)
You will feel Vibrations and when pressing c Chord, (dots 1,4) the BTspeak will report, “Password”
Braille in your network key and press enter.
The BTSpeak will report “Password”
You may feel several more vibrations as the bTSpeak finalises connecting to the network.
The bTSpeak should report the SSID, Network name and announce, “Connected”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
You may Braille Z Chord, (1,3,5,6,space) until the BTSpeak reports, “System” and then press T Chord, (2,3,4,5 space) to verify the title of the menu you are now in, “Options Menu”
Enable both File Sharing, and Network File system.
To do this.
If not already there, Enter the Options menu with O chord, (dots 1,3,5 and space).
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System submenu.
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System Administration subMenu.
Braille (A, Dot 1), to navigate to Advance System Administration submenu.
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the system services submenu.
braille down arrow, (Dot 4 Chord), to navigate to File Sharing. You will hear the bTSpeak report, “file Sharing is disabled.
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to start the process of enabling File sharing.
The BTSpeak will report, “Enabling File Sharing”
File Shareing will now be started when the device is booted.
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to proceed with the process of enabling File sharing.
The BTSpeak will report, “Shal File Sharing be started right now? default is no.”
Braille, Y, (Dots 1,3,4,5,6) for yes.
Braille, enter (Dot 8)
The BTSpeak will report, “File Sharing has been started.”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
You will land back in the system services menu, on the option, “File sharing Is Enabled.”
braille down arrow, (Dot 4 Chord), to move to “Network File System is disabled.”
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to proceed with the process of enabling Network file System.
The BTSpeak will report, “Enabling Network File System”.
The BTSpeak will report, “Network File System will now be started when the device is booted”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
The BTSpeak will report, “Shal Network File System be started right now? default is no.”
Braille, Y, (Dots 1,3,4,5,6) for yes.
Braille, enter (Dot 8)
The BTSpeak will report, “Network File System has been started.”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
You will land back in the system services menu, on the option, “Network file System Is Enabled.”
I have found that with this current version of software in the bTSpeak it may be best to disable both, File Sharing, and Network file System previous to powering down the unit, as they don’t always load appropriately on future system boot up.
To disable these services, follow the previous steps outlined above. They will take reverse effect, of disabling these services. You will receive one extra prompt, for example:
“File Shairng is running,shal it be stopped? Default is no”.
It is your choice how you choose to proceed, as services will of course be stopped when powering down the unit.

IPhone Setup: Note, we are assuming you hav Voiceover enabled while performing the below steps.

If you have the File Browser app installed, launch the app. Either by invoking Siri and asking, “open File Browser”,
or perform a three finger pull down under the status bar to invoke Spotlite search. Type, “File browser” and double tap on the application within the results.

When the app pops up for the first time you will land on a “Lets get started” Screen.
This screen will allow you to double tap on, +Add Location.
You will land on the “Connect To?” screen. Find, and double tap on, “Computer/Network drive”.
You will receive an alert: “File Browser would like to find and connect to devices on your local network”. double tap on Allow.
You will then land in an empty list of devices. Find the close button and double tap.

You will then land in File browsers main interface.
flick right, down the screen, until you reach, +Add location. Double tap on this.
The same screen we saw previous will launch.
“Connect To?”
Flick right until you come across, “Computer/Network drive”.
Double tap to invoke.
File browser will report, “scanning now.”
Flick right on the screen until you come across your bTSpeak’s host name.
To find your bTSpeak Host name, within the bTSpeak, navigate to Options, (O, Dots 1,3,5 space Chord),>
System, (S, dots, 2,3,4),>
About This device, (D, dots 1,4,5).
Down arrow (Dot 4 Chord), until you reach HostName and take note of it.
An example hostname may be:
bTSpeak123
Now, back in the File Browser iOS Application,
Double tap to invoke.
You will reach a User Name and Password screen for your BTspeak.
The, “Blank” option will be selected for the username, as well as the password. Leave these set as, “blank” and flick right, untilyou reach the “Save” Button close to the end of the dialogue.
Double tap the save button.
You will land back on the main screen ov the application.
This screen will show all of your locations. When flicking to the right, you should land on your BTSpeaks host name. Double tap on this button to open it’s storage.
at the top of this screen, you should see a heading, that is the same as the host name of your bTSpeak.
As you flick down the screen, you should see the directory listing within your bTspeak.
You may, double tap on, “Home” to enter the main directory used for file storage and brows yrou files.
To the right, as you flick, you will see a menu with the same name as the file or directory. Double tap on this to receive options that you may perform on the selected entry.

Sharing text brailled in on the bTSpeak with other devices
BTSpeak Firmware release used: 3/20/2024
BTSpeak basic.

At this time, you may nnot control your smart phone or other devices from the BTSpeak pirkins style Braille keyboard.
We can now, however, easily share text Brailled in on the bTSpeak with other devices and there apps.
This guide is written, assuming you will be using an iOS device. With this assumption in mind we will be using an iOS Shortcut developed for this task. If you are using Android, or a Windows PC, for example, you can still cary out all the long steps to grab your text over the network.
Things you will need

BTSpeak Basic or Pro.
iPhone.
Wireless network, (IPhone hotspot unfortunately will not due.)
stock iOS Files app.
BTSpeakMessage iOS shortcut shared within this guide.

Things you may want:

GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 (Slate AX) Pocket-Sized Wi-Fi 6 Gigabit Travel Router
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2J7WSDK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
This router is powered via UsB C, configurable over Ethernet, and it’s config quite accessible via JAWS screen reader under Windows. There are cheeper options out there, but we know this one works. I have this router configured, without an internet connection but this allows me the WiFi network I need between the BTSpeak and IPhone to cary out this task from anywhere I might be. Note, If you are using an internetless network, you may still send IMessages and or, text messages. Your data connection will be used.

setup:

bTSpeak:

verify the bTSpeak is connected to the WiFi network of choice.
To do this.
Enter the Options menu with O chord, (dots 1,3,5 and space).
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System submenu.
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System Administration subMenu.
Braille W, (Dots 2,4,5,6) to navigate into the “WiFi Administration menu”
braille down arrow, (Dot 4 Chord), to navigate to “Add network”
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to start the process of adding a network.
The BTSpeak will report, ‘Discovering visible WiFi networks”
You will feel several vibrations as network discovery is taking place. You will land in a list of available networks that you may move down (Dot 4 chord) through.
Once you have found your network braille enter, (dot 8.)
You will feel Vibrations and when pressing c Chord, (dots 1,4) the BTspeak will report, “Password”
Braille in your network key and press enter.
The BTSpeak will report “Password”
You may feel several more vibrations as the bTSpeak finalises connecting to the network.
The bTSpeak should report the SSID, Network name and announce, “Connected”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
You may Braille Z Chord, (1,3,5,6,space) until the BTSpeak reports, “System” and then press T Chord, (2,3,4,5 space) to verify the title of the menu you are now in, “Options Menu”
Enable both File Sharing, and Network File system.
To do this.
If not already there, Enter the Options menu with O chord, (dots 1,3,5 and space).
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System submenu.
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the System Administration subMenu.
Braille (A, Dot 1), to navigate to Advance System Administration submenu.
Braille S, (dots 2,3,4) to navigate to the system services submenu.
braille down arrow, (Dot 4 Chord), to navigate to File Sharing. You will hear the bTSpeak report, “file Sharing is disabled.
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to start the process of enabling File sharing.
The BTSpeak will report, “Enabling File Sharing”
File Shareing will now be started when the device is booted.
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to proceed with the process of enabling File sharing.
The BTSpeak will report, “Shal File Sharing be started right now? default is no.”
Braille, Y, (Dots 1,3,4,5,6) for yes.
Braille, enter (Dot 8)
The BTSpeak will report, “File Sharing has been started.”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
You will land back in the system services menu, on the option, “File sharing Is Enabled.”
braille down arrow, (Dot 4 Chord), to move to “Network File System is disabled.”
Braille Enter (Dot 8), to proceed with the process of enabling Network file System.
The BTSpeak will report, “Enabling Network File System”.
The BTSpeak will report, “Network File System will now be started when the device is booted”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
The BTSpeak will report, “Shal Network File System be started right now? default is no.”
Braille, Y, (Dots 1,3,4,5,6) for yes.
Braille, enter (Dot 8)
The BTSpeak will report, “Network File System has been started.”
Braille, Enter, (Dot 8) to acknowledge this message and cary on.
You will land back in the system services menu, on the option, “Network file System Is Enabled.”
I have found that with this current version of software in the bTSpeak it may be best to disable both, File Sharing, and Network file System previous to powering down the unit, as they don’t always load appropriately on future system boot up.
To disable these services, follow the previous steps outlined above. They will take reverse effect, of disabling these services. You will receive one extra prompt, for example:
“File Shairng is running,shal it be stopped? Default is no”.
It is your choice how you choose to proceed, as services will of course be stopped when powering down the unit.
IPhone Setup: Note, we are assuming you hav Voiceover enabled while performing the below steps.
Navigate to the Files app, by either invoking Siri and saying “Open files”, or by a three finger pull down, under the status bar on your home screen to invoke the Spotlite search,type “Files”, find the files app, and double tap on the result to open the app.
Once the files app opens,
Place a finger on the bottom of your phones screen on the right side to set focus to the “Brows” tab.
Double tap to invoke.
The IPhone should now report that the “Brows” tab is selected.
verify that close to the top of the screen you have a “brows” heading, and you don’t have a “back” button at the top left.
If you do see a back button double tap it until you see the Browse heading.
Now flick right to land on the “More” button and double tap this button.
You will now land in a context menu. Your focus should be set so that you may flick right until you reach the, “Connect To server” button. If you don’t and are stuck on “Dismiss button scroll around the screen with your finger instead of flicking to find the button.
Double tap on the “Connect To server” button.
You will land in the “Server address” edit field. You want to type:
smb://hostname.local
To find your bTSpeak Host name, navigate to Options, (O, Dots 1,3,5 space Chord),>
System, (S, dots, 2,3,4),>
About This device, (D, dots 1,4,5).
Down arrow (Dot 4 Chord), until you reach HostName and take note of it.
An example hostname may be:
bTSpeak123
the above URL using this example would be: smb://bTspeak123.local
Once you have typed the Address, double tap the connect button, at the top of your screen.
You will be on a “Connect as, screen, Connect as will show as a heading.
you have edit fields for Username and Password on this screen, if you are connecting as a registered user, along with a “Guest” option. Double tap guest, as we will not be entering a username or password at this time.
Double tap the next button, at the top right.
after a moment you should be taken to the BTSpeak as shared storage.
If you can navigate to the “Public” folder and it launches, though it may be empty you should be set to go.
You may not navigate to the Home directory as a guest.
we may not login as a registered user as we do not have credentials for the BTSpeak for sMB sharing.
You may now exit File Browser

You may now want to instal the iOS Shortcut provided, linked to below:
This Shortcut will perform these steps in the background, without you thinking about performing them: Open the AMSG.TXT file over the network from the BTSpeak
copy all text from the AMsG.txt file to your iOS pasteboard.

Installing the iOS Shortcut

If you have never downloaded a shortcut from a third party before, You may have to enable some permissions in iOS settings to add untrusted shortcuts.
I have performed this some time ago, and the below instructions for doing so may or not be accurate. Google may be your friend here.
Navigate to the settings app on your home screen.
Type in, “Shortcuts” into the search field.
Find the Shortcuts option and double tap to open the options.
Double tap, “Enable Allow Untrusted Shortcuts”.
double Tap Allow.
Enter your iPhone passcode to confirm.
Once you have enabled untrusted shortcuts, On your iOS Device, doubletap the below link
https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/25a53644a6634878bbff047d8008c185
to start the process of installing BTSpeakMessage.

The shortcuts app should open. at the bottom of the screen, should be an “Add” button. Double tap this.
Adding the shortcut to your home screen for eas of use:
The BTSpeakMessage shortcut should be added. and it should contain two actions. The shortcut may be open. If you find a, bTSpeakMessage, Actions Menu, double tap here to open it’s options.
Double tap on, “Add to home screen.”
You will drop into the Name edit field. bTspeakMessage may be already in this field.
The rest of the screen will contain various colors for icons. don’t worry about this.
Find the “add” button and double tap this to add the shortcut to your home screen. You will be taken to your home screen.
BTSpeak Message will appear on an empty spot on an empty page of the home screen, you may have to search through your apps to find it if focus is not set to the icon.

creating your file
We will use a file called AMSG, to braille into and transport the text between your bTspeak and your iOS device.
The AMSG file name, allows the file to be at, or near the top of your file list.
This file needs to be created in your public directory.
Ultimately, this will need to be a text file, so, we may use the built in braille translater to achieve this.
The ultimate file name will be:
amsg.txt
You may create amsg.brl if you desire to braille in in your chosen translation.
Enter the Options menu with O chord, (dots 1,3,5 and space).
braille, F, (1,2,4) to navigate to your files.
Navigate down the list with (dot4 chord) until you find the, Public, directory and press enter, (dot 8) to navigate to the directory.
press c, (dots 1,4) to create the file.
Enter the file name, for example,
amsg.brl
press enter (dot 8) to create and launch the file in the Editor.
Braille in some text.
Though we may expect the BTSpeak to autosave the file, we need to save it. either with Control S, (Control,dots 1,2,4,6. S, Dots, 2,3,4. or Z chord to save and exit the file, (dots 1,3,5,6 and space).
Now navigate to the options menu, (dots 1,3,5 chord)
F for files, (dots, 1,2,4).
Down arrow, (Dot 4 Chord).
You should land on amsg.brl
Braille T, (dots 2,3,4,5), to enter the translater. The BTSpeak will report,
“Which format would you like to translate the file too”.
Braille T, (Dots, 2,3,4,5) to choose text.
The BTSpeak will report,
“File amsg.txt has been created.”
Press enter to navigate back to files. Note, you must press enter for the file to be created or updated.
When you translate this file in the future, as it will already exist in text format you will recieve the message,
“File ams.txt exists, Overwrite it? default is yes”.
Braill Enter (dot 8), to confirm.
The bTSpeak will report,
“File amsg.txt has been created.
Press enter (dot 8) to accept and cary on. Note: you must press enter for the file to be created or updated.
Now doubletap the BTSpeak Message shortcut to grab the text.
Navigate to the app you want to use the text in on your IPhone.
Spin the rotor to navigate to “edit”, flick down until you reach “Paste” and doubletap.
Check the edit field which has been set to verify the text copied from the iOS Pasteboard.