Freedom Scientific Braille Blazer User manual

Braille Blazer
The Portable Embosser
Owner’s Manual
December 2002
440102-001 Rev. A

PUBLISHED BY
Freedom Scientific
11800 31st 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
Introduction ...................................................................................... 1
Getting Started.................................................................................. 2
Computer and Hardware .................................................... 2
Braille Translation Software .............................................. 2
Braille Paper........................................................................ 2
Brailling Speed of the Blazer ............................................. 3
Using the Blazer as a Speech Synthesizer....................... 3
Touring the Blazer .............................................................. 4
Connecting the Blazer to Your Computer ...................................... 7
Parallel Connection ............................................................ 7
Serial Connection ............................................................... 8
Handling the Paper......................................................................... 10
Loading the Paper............................................................. 10
Setting Top of Form.......................................................... 12
Brailling a File................................................................................. 14
Preparing a File for Brailling............................................ 14
Preparing the Blazer to Receive a File............................ 15
Brailling a Different File.................................................... 15
Looking at the Last Page ................................................. 16
Removing the Paper ......................................................... 16
Customizing your Blazer ............................................................... 18
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Introduction....................................................................... 18
Printing Mode and Menu Mode........................................ 18
Configuration Menus ........................................................ 19
Appendix: Commonly Asked Questions ...................................... 40
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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 of 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.
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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
• 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.
• If 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.
• 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 device
to connect to the Blazer's serial port, or use a standard
parallel cable to connect to the Blazer's parallel port.
• If 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
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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 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.
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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 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 inside components,
let's look at the back side of the Blazer. This is where all the
connectors are located.
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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 on a
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 the 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
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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 about 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.
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