Radio for someone with poor eyesight

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  • pramsay13
    pramsay13 Posts: 1,952 Forumite
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    agrinnall wrote: »
    The post from the OP immediately before these two posts makes it pretty clear that voice activation is absolutely not the answer in this case.
    And the original post makes it clear that anything with buttons will be a struggle too so forgive us for trying to make suggestions.
  • leylie
    leylie Posts: 105 Forumite
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    Try contacting the local council and find out who/what services are available for people with Visual Impairment (VI). Some places have a resource centre to demonstrate the equipment so you can get 'hands-on' or more detailed advice abut some of the equipment. If you are really lucky it may be poosible for someone to visit your relative with a couple of the models. They may even have some 2nd hand machines that can be loaned or bought more cheaply. Plus they should be able to give you other ideas for talking books (did you know you can get Talking Newspapers too and some even loan a machine to play then on)
    The Roberts radios do give good sound.
    If you order from one of the specialist companies (rnib; Cobolt systems; Partially sighted society; ICVision LTD) they all have very good Returns Policies.
    Also have a look at (British Wireless for the Blind) for examples. Although there is specific criteria for loaning their machines, they do show how some of the euipment has been modified to make them easier for VI people
    http://www.blind.org.uk/our-radio
    Leylie
  • fwor
    fwor Posts: 6,810 Forumite
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    pramsay13 wrote: »
    And the original post makes it clear that anything with buttons will be a struggle too so forgive us for trying to make suggestions.

    Well actually the original post makes it clear that small, close-together buttons will be a struggle, but that's Ok - different people have different needs and I'm sure that there must be many people for whom voice command will be a real benefit.

    So although they may not be applicable to me, those suggestions might help someone else.

    We did buy the the Pure Elan S3 and it's Ok, but not ideal. The good bits are that the volume control and on/off buttons are easy to find - the bad bit is that the memory buttons are in a line with no gaps between so very hard to navigate by feel. We can resolve that by adding "bump-ons", but actually it's become apparent that she's not really interested in listening to the radio, despite saying that she wanted one! Oh well, it's there if/when she changes her mind...
  • spiritus
    spiritus Posts: 684 Forumite
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    Amazon Alexa all the way!

    It will need some setting up but assuming they have, or are open to having, broadband then Alexa will make it so easy for them.

    A simple voice command allows them to listen to any radio station they choose.

    Volume controls are also operated by voice.

    If they love music then a subscription to Spotify or Amazon music is a good idea. You can curate their favourite artists into several playlists which can all be activated by voice e.g. "Alexa, play Tom Jones" :)

    You can also listen to audio books using a service like Audible
    No Unapproved or Personal links in signatures please - FT3
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