Abilia VocaFlex Colour User manual

VocaFlex®Colour
User manual

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS...............................................................................................................................................2
WHAT IS ”VOCAFLEX® COLOUR”: .......................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION:..........................................................................................................................................................4
Before using VocaFlex® Colour:...................................................................................................................4
Overlays:..............................................................................................................................................................5
Laminating overlays:........................................................................................................................................5
GETTING STARTED:...................................................................................................................................................5
FLEXIBILITY: ................................................................................................................................................................6
SMARTGUIDES:...........................................................................................................................................................6
OVERLAYS:..................................................................................................................................................................6
BAR CODES:................................................................................................................................................................7
FILLING OUT PERSONAL BAR CODES:..........................................................................................................................7
SMARTGUIDES: - SINGLE KEYS OR SEQUENCE:.............................................................................................8
VOLUME CONTROL: ..................................................................................................................................................8
LED NUMBER 1 (RECORDING AND PLAYING):..................................................................................................8
THE MICROPHONE:....................................................................................................................................................9
THE RECORD/PLAY SWITCH: .................................................................................................................................9
RECORDING SPEECH: ..............................................................................................................................................9
In general:............................................................................................................................................................9
How to record:..................................................................................................................................................10
Recording speech in single keys ................................................................................................................10
Recording speech in sequence:..................................................................................................................10
Interrupted recording:....................................................................................................................................11
PLAYING SPEECH:...................................................................................................................................................11
Playing speech messages using single keys:.........................................................................................11
Playing speech messages using 2-keys-sequence: ..............................................................................11
ON/OFF: AUTOMATICALLY....................................................................................................................................11
EXTERNAL CONNECTION:.....................................................................................................................................12
HOLD DOWN DELAY AND RELEASE DELAY: ..................................................................................................12
HOLD DOWN DELAY:..................................................................................................................................................12
RELEASE DELAY:.......................................................................................................................................................12
SETTING HOLD DOWN DELAY AND RELEASE DELAY:................................................................................13
MEMORY AND CHOOSING OVERLAYS:.............................................................................................................13
CHECKING THE VOCABULARY: «PLAY NEXT SMARTGUIDE»...................................................................14
DELETING SPEECH MESSAGES:.........................................................................................................................14
Deleting single speech messages:.............................................................................................................14
Deleting all speech messages in a SmartGuide:.....................................................................................14

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Deleting all speech messages in VocaFlex® Colour..............................................................................15
BATTERIES:................................................................................................................................................................15
RECHARGING THE BATTERIES..........................................................................................................................16
DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURE......................................................................................................................16
ENVIRONMENT:.........................................................................................................................................................16
EXTRA EQUIPMENT:................................................................................................................................................17
TROUBLE SHOOTING:.............................................................................................................................................18
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:.............................................................................................................................20

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WHAT IS ”VOCAFLEX® COLOUR”:
VocaFlex® Colour can record and play speech messages for users with language and
speech disabilities. VocaFlex® Colour is a simple, small portable communication aid
with large speech capacity. It is a device that can extend the communication possibilities
for many people who are speech-disabled by using pre-recorded speech messages,
which can be categorized by “situations” or “themes”.
Many communication aids require daily use and a lot of energy to understand and
remember all the different functions and possibilities. During the development of the
VocaFlex® Colour, Abilia AS has focused on simplicity for the user, as this will often be
decisive for whether the user will get optimal support and help from the communication
aid. For some users it will be preferable to be able to change overlays without help.
VocaFlex® Colour is an advanced communication aid, but it is also easy to use. Even
users with reduced cognitive and motor skills can change SmartGuides and administer
VocaFlex® Colour on their own.
Just like with other communication aids, the user may activate the recorded speech by
pressing keys, which contain recorded speech. You can mark the keys with images,
words, graphical signs, letters, symbols and pictures to make it easy for the user to press
the correct key in order to activate the desired speech message.
INTRODUCTION:
Before using VocaFlex® Colour:
Unpack VocaFlex® Colour and make sure the following is included:
1 VocaFlex® Colour
1 battery charger with cable
1 VocaCover including:
User manual in English
Simple user manual
Inspiration booklet
Overview sheet for SmartGuides in use
Sheet with a survey of bar codes
How to use the overlays
A-4 overlay sheets
Service overlays
1 demo overlay
1 pen with black ink
One bag with paper laminates
SmartGuides/FingerGuides in accordance with the following table:
Model 4 keys 8 keys 16 keys
Falck VocaFlex® Colour Universal, Black 6 5 5
Falck VocaFlex® Colour 4 keys, Red 5 0 1
Falck VocaFlex® Colour 8 keys, Yellow 0 5 1
Falck VocaFlex® Colour 16 keys, Blue 0 0 6
If something is missing from the package, please contact your supplier.

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Charging the batteries:
VocaFlex® Colour is delivered with fully charged batteries. It may, however, have been
stored for a while before delivery. VocaFlex® Colour uses 0,6 mAh in stand-by mode,
and the batteries may therefore be flat or almost flat upon delivery. Start recharging
VocaFlex® Colour at least 30 minutes before you use it for the first time (you may
use it while it’s being recharged). Flat batteries will need 4 hours of recharging.
Overlays:
In order to use VocaFlex® Colour you must first make an overlay. You may choose to
use one of the demonstration overlays in your VocaCover or you can use the SmartGuide
with a mounted overlay. If you have the model ”Falck VocaFlex® Colour Universal”,
you must make sure to choose a bar code, which corresponds to the number of locations
on the overlay.
Laminating overlays:
If you are using a color printer to print the overlays, the colors may rub off and stain the
SmartGuide. To prevent this you may put laminated sheeting over the overlay before
mounting it to the SmartGuide. You will find a small plastic bag in the front of the cover,
which contains laminated sheeting. Remove the protection sheet and fasten the
laminated sheeting to the overlay before you mount it all to the back of the SmartGuide.
Do not laminate both sides of the overlay, - do not laminate the side with the barcode.
GETTING STARTED:
You are recommended to read the whole user manual before you start making overlays
and recording messages. However, here is a brief description of how to get started with a
SmartGuide and a mounted overlay. You will find the SmartGuide in the back of the
VocaCover and an overlay numbered from 1 to 4, 1 to 8 or 1 to 16 (depending on your
model) is already mounted.
First make sure your VocaFlex® Colour is fully charged. Unpack VocaFlex® Colour
and the battery charger. Connect the charger to a wall outlet and then plug the
charger plug in the power input on the back of VocaFlex® Colour. Check that the
red LED lights up. If the batteries are flat when you connect the charger, it might take
a few minutes before the LED starts lighting (the batteries must be charged a bit
before they can provide the LED with enough power to light). If the batteries are fully
charged, the LED will light green
A SmartGuide with a mounted overlay is included. Put this SmartGuide on the
VocaFlex.
Set the Play/Record switch to Record (see illustration below).
Hold Falck VocaFlex® Colour approximately 15-20 cm from your mouth and angled
slightly away from you .
Press a key and hold it down while you say the message.
Release the key.
Set the Play/Record switch to Play (see illustration next page).
Press the key you used for recording to test the recording.
The message you recorded will now be played.

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Helpful while recording:
The microphone is sensitive. Record in a room without much background noise.
Do not press the keys too hard while recording. A light key press is sufficient.
Record with a relatively loud and clear voice.
Hold the microphone approximately 15-20 cm from your mouth while recording to
avoid recording breathing noises.
Nails and rings can create scratching noises.
FLEXIBILITY:
VocaFlex® Colour was designed to be easy to use and easy to prepare for use. By
switching between SmartGuides the user will be able to use the device with great
flexibility. Both simple messages and long sentences can be recorded. VocaFlex®
Colour can save up to two hours of speech (depending on the model).
SmartGuides:
A SmartGuide is a robust frame with glue on the backside where the overlay can be
mounted. The frame fits the VocaFlex® Colour perfectly and it can only be attached one
way to make sure it isn’t placed incorrectly. This makes it easy to change SmartGuides
and difficult to do it incorrectly. Small magnets on VocaFlex® Colour keep the
SmartGuide in place and they make sure the SmartGuide doesn’t fall off during
transportation. The magnets are not strong enough to make it hard to change
SmartGuides.
VocaFlex® Colour is supplied with 6 or 16 SmartGuides, depending on the model (see
table on page 4). The SmartGuides are divided into 4, 8 or 16 keys. You must mount the
paper overlay on the rear of the SmartGuide (see next section). The overlay must
contain the same number of keys as the SmartGuide. The rear of the SmartGuide is
magnetic in order to adhere well to the VocaFlex® Colour ’ magnets.
Overlays:
You will find 16 A4 sheets with 51 overlays for recording speech messages in your
VocaFlex® Colour package. You will also find four ServiceGuides. There is a bar code
on the back of each overlay, which the VocaFlex® Colour uses to identify the overlay in
use.
Remove the protection sheet on the back of the graphical overlay before you place it on
the SmartGuide. Mount the overlay to the SmartGuide with the symbols towards the glue
and the bar code facing outwards.
Position for Record
Position for Play Loudspeaker output
Battery charger input

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CODE FUNCTION SITUATION / VOCABULARY
1 Single field 20 seconds
2 Single field 20 seconds
3 Single field 20 seconds
4 Single field 20 seconds
5 Single field 20 seconds
16 Single field 10 seconds
17 Single field 10 seconds
SURVEY OF SMARTGUIDE FOR FALCK VOCAFLEX
You should be very thorough when mounting the overlays, so that the VocaFlex®
Colour does not get any trouble reading the bar codes. If the overlays are mounted
inaccurately or if they only cover parts of the magnet frame, the VocaFlex® Colour may
have difficulties reading the bar code.
If you use a color printer to print your overlays, the color can be rubbed off on the
SmartGuide. If you later on wish to change the overlay or remove it in order to use
another overlay on the same SmartGuide, the SmartGuide may be unusable
because of the ink from the previous SmartGuide. To avoid this, it is
recommended that you mount a laminate sheet on the overlay before it is mounted
on the SmartGuide. In the Voca Map you will find a little plastic bag with 6
laminates. Do the following in order to mount a laminate on an overlay:
Make the overlay
Remove the protection paper on the laminate
Glue the laminate on the overlay (on the side with the pictures/text/symbols)
Mount the overlay on the SmartGuide with the laminate against the glue on the
SmartGuide.
Do not glue laminates on the barcode side of the overlay - this can make the
barcode reader fail.
Bar codes:
The bar codes are on the back of SmartGuide. You may record a desired vocabulary for
each bar code. The bar code reports the following to
VocaFlex® Colour :
- The number of keys on the SmartGuide
- 1- or 2-press choice (Single key press or 2 key
sequence)
- Seconds of speech for each message
We recommend that you keep a
record of the recordings on each
SmartGuide (situations and cues
for the vocabulary). An overview
sheet for this is supplied with your
VocaFlex® Colour.
Filling out personal bar codes:
Overlays with blank bar codes are included with your
VocaFlex® Colour . If an overlay is worn out, damaged or you have to modify an
existing overlay, the user/helper can copy bar codes from the damaged overlay to one of
the empty overlays. It is very important that you use strong, black Indian ink when you
copy the bar codes. If you have difficulties getting VocaFlex® Colour to work with a self-
made overlay, the reason is most often that the colour isn’t dark enough or sloppy
hatching (e.g. you have hatched the wrong field or outside the fields).

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Note: Take good care of the pen that comes with your VocaFlex® Colour and use it to
hatch new bar codes.
SMARTGUIDES: - Single keys or
Sequence:
Single keys: Every key on every
SmartGuide can contain a speech
message, which is activated by pressing
the key once.
Sequence: Messages can also be
recorded by using a 2-keys-sequence.
A SmartGuide 16 keys can hold up to 256
messages (each up to ten seconds) when
all the keys are combined with each other
(1st press + 2nd press = speech).
A SmartGuide with 4 keys can contain 4 different themes. You can connect 4 different
messages to each theme. Choose theme with pressing once on your desired key. Your
next press chooses the desired message.
Volume control:
There are three volume settings. The switch for changing the volume is on the back of
the VocaFlex® Colour . The volume switch is raised.
LED Number 1 (Recording and Playing):
When you press a key that contains recorded speech, the LED will illuminate green until
the speech has been played back. When you press the first key in a sequence, the LED
will flicker green for ten seconds in anticipation of the second key to be pressed. By
activating the second key the LED will stop flickering and illuminate green continually until
the message has been played.
When recording a message on a single key, LED #1 will light red.
When recording a sequence, LED #1 will flicker red for ten seconds after the first key in a
sequence has been pushed. When you press key number two and hold it down, the LED
One press to
activate the
message
1. press: choose
a theme
2. press:
choose the
message
3 volume settings External connection
Charging connection
Position right: Recording
Position left: Play

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will stop flickering and light red continually until the key is released (see also Recording
speech in single keys and Recording speech in sequence on page 10).
See page 11 for how to cancel the recording of a sequence (“Interrupted recording”).
THE MICROPHONE:
The microphone for recording speech is the raised hole on the front of the VocaFlex®
Colour . It is shaped like this in order to keep fluids out.
THE RECORD/PLAY SWITCH:
You must set the record/play switch to “Record” to be able to record speech. You will find
the switch on the back of the VocaFlex® Colour next to the volume switch. The switch is
recessed in order to prevent the user from unintentionally
activating and erasing pre-recorded messages.
RECORDING SPEECH:
Instructions on how to record speech are also printed on the back of VocaFlex® Colour .
In general:
It is important to hold the VocaFlex® Colour close to your mouth so that the speech will
be loud and clear enough. Approximately 15-20 cm is recommended. You should avoid
speaking with a too powerful voice and straight into the microphone, as this may cause
the speech getting “cut”. Hold the VocaFlex® Colour at a slight angle so that your breath
doesn’t go straight into the microphone.
NOTE: We recommend that you do not press a key harder than necessary to get the red
LED lit. If you use too much force there will be a small sound when you release the key.
This sound will be recorded by the microphone and will result in some disturbance when
Led no. 1 Led no. 2
Loudspeaker
Microphone

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playing the message. You are also recommended to hold the key down for approximately
1 second after reading the message. (see also “Helpful while recording” on page 6).
How to record:
You must make an overlay before you start recording. First you should decide what sort
of speech messages you want to use with this overlay/SmartGuide and whether the
message is to be recorded in a single key or in a sequence. It may be a good idea to
write the messages down before you start making the overlay. If you have the model
“Falck VocaFlex® Colour Universal, Black” with 4, 8 and 16 fields SmartGuides, you must
choose an overlay according to how many speech messages you want to use for this
particular vocabulary. Make sure you mount this overlay on a SmartGuide with the same
number of fields.
Recording speech in single keys
Choose one of the barcodes for recording speech in single keys
Design the overlay with the desired symbols, text, etc.
Mount the overlay on the SmartGuide
Put the SmartGuide with the overlay in place on the VocaFlex® Colour
Set the record/play switch to “Record”
Press and hold the key you want to use for the message
Hold the loudspeaker approximately 15 cm from your mouth. Hold it at a slight angle
Read the message
Release the key
Set the record/play switch to “Play”
Check that the recording was satisfactory by following Playing speech messages
using single keys on page 11
If you are not satisfied with the recording, please repeat the procedure.
The red LED for recording will light continually while recording. The LED will stop lighting
if the recording is interrupted by the speech duration for the chosen key reaching its limit
or if the key is released.
The red LED will switch off when the time is up if you try to record a speech
message which lasts longer than the time allowed for the overlay in use (10 or 20
seconds). The red LED will flicker rapidly if you try to record when the memory of
the VocaFlex® Colour is full.
Recording speech in sequence:
Choose a SmartGuide for recording speech in sequence
Design the overlay by using desired symbols, text, etc.
Put the SmartGuide with the overlay in the VocaFlex® Colour
Set the Record/Play switch to “Record”
Press the first key you want to use for the sequence (the LED flickers red)
Within ten seconds; press and hold the second key in the sequence (the LED lights
red)
Hold the second key down and hold the speaker about 15 cm from your mouth
Read the message
Release the key