LS&S Miniguide User manual

Instructions for the Miniguide Mobility Aid
Welcome to the Miniguide. Before reading other
sections of these instructions and before using
the Miniguide, please read these important
warnings.
WARNING: The Miniguide is designed to provide
information to a blind traveller, which will
supplement that provided by other aids, such as
the long cane or guide dog. It is stressed that it is
not designed as a blind person's sole aid.
Only use the Miniguide in a safe and familiar
environment.
Always check that the Miniguide is working
properly before using it. Check that the aid is
detecting objects, and is in the expected range.
Make sure that the cap has been removed from
the case.

Please note that drop-offs such as kerbs, edges of
railway station platforms, etc. cannot be detected.
Low height objects are often difficult to detect.
Objects that reflect or absorb the ultrasonic beam
can also be difficult to detect. For example,
smooth surfaces at a slight angle, soft
furnishings.
To summarise, rely on your primary aid for safe
travel and use the Miniguide to provide extra non-
critical information. If you have any doubts about
your ability to use this aid, please seek assistance
from an organisation with experience in mobility
training.
BATTERY WARNING: The lithium battery used in
this aid can be dangerous if mistreated. Keep the
battery out of the reach of children. Do not
disassemble, damage or mistreat the battery. The
battery is not rechargeable; do not attempt to

recharge the battery. Do not short circuit the
battery. Do not apply excessive heat or incinerate
the battery. Keep the aid and the battery in a cool,
dry place.
Introductory Note
The following instructions assume you are using
a new aid that has not had its settings changed. If
your aid is not new and there is the possibility the
settings have been changed, you will need to
return your settings to the factory defaults. You
can return your aid to its factory default settings
by removing the battery for two minutes.

Description of the Aid
The Miniguide is about 80mm long, 38mm wide
and 23mm thick.
At the front of the aid are two sensors. The
sensors are circular in shape with a fine mesh
covering.
There is a single 18mm diameter switch located
near the front of the Miniguide. Pressing the
switch will allow you to turn the aid on and off and
change settings.
A wrist strap is attached to the rear of the aid. A
cap is usually attached to the wrist strap. The cap
can be placed over the front of the aid when it is
not in use.
An earphone socket is at the rear of the aid. This
can be used to provide audio feedback.

Installing the Battery
When installing a new battery, make sure that the
battery is around the correct way. On one end of
the battery there is a small bump. This end of the
battery needs to positioned towards the rear of
the Miniguide, that is, away from the sensors.
If the battery is inserted backwards, the aid will
vibrate at full speed until the battery is removed.
This will also reset the aid to its factory defaults.
If you want your present settings to be saved
while changing the battery you should change the
battery as quickly as possible.
To open the battery cover, hold the aid with the
switch pointing downwards. Place a small coin in
the slit above the lanyard attachment point and
gently twist the coin. The battery cover should lift
up at the rear. There are two latches at the rear of

the cover. If both latches have disengaged the
cover can be removed completely from the aid. If
one latch is still engaged, lift the rear of the cover
with your fingers until both latches have
disengaged.
The battery sits between two upright metal battery
contacts. Remember that the bump end of the
battery goes towards the rear of the case. Hold
the battery at its bump end and place the other
end into the battery compartment. Now gently
press down on the bump end of the battery until it
clicks into place.
To install the battery cover, rest the front lip of the
cover on the battery and slide it forward until it
stops. The front of the cover fits under the front
of the case. Check that the back of the cover is
aligned with the case. Gently press down the rear
of the cover until both latches engage. Forcing
the rear of the cover down when it is not properly

aligned could break the latches.
Switching the Aid ON or OFF
First remove the cap from the aid. Now locate the
ON/OFF switch near the front of the aid.
Pressing the switch will result in a short vibration,
or pulse, from the aid. Make sure you release the
switch once you feel the vibration. The pulse
indicates that the aid has been switched ON. You
will probably now notice the aid continuing to
vibrate, try waving your hand in front of the aid to
make the vibration speed change. Pressing the
switch again should result in a longer vibration
pulse. This indicates that the aid has been
switched OFF. Waving your hand in front of the
aid now should not produce any vibration.
Practise switching the aid ON and OFF to
familiarise yourself with the ON and OFF
vibrations.

Testing the Aid
Switch the aid ON. Now place your hand about
5cm away from the front of the aid. The aid
should be producing very fast vibrations. Move
your hand further away from the aid, keeping your
hand in front of the aid. The speed of the
vibrations should get slower as the hand is moved
away. Try moving your hand around, to get used
to how the aid reacts. Try pointing the aid at an
uncluttered wall (or ceiling) and moving the aid
forwards and backwards. The vibration speed
should change as the distance changes.
Now point the aid in all different directions. If you
are in a small room, the aid will most likely be
always vibrating. If you're in a large room, or
outside, then pointing the aid in certain directions
will cause the vibrations to stop. The vibrations
stop when the aid cannot detect an object within

its present range - the present range should be
the factory default range of 4 metres.
Please note that the aid automatically switches
itself off after about 90 minutes. So it is
recommended that you switch the aid off
occasionally, for example every 20 to 30 minutes.
This will avoid the aid automatically switching off
while it is in use.

Changing Settings
The following are the basic settings of the
Miniguide
* Setting 1 4 metre range
* Setting 2 2 metre range
* Setting 3 1 metre range
* Setting 4 half metre range
* Setting 5 8 metre range
When learning how to use the aid, it is often less
confusing to practise with a setting that has a
shorter range e.g. the 1 metre or the half metre
ranges. These shorter ranges mean that the aid
will not be vibrating most of the time, except when
there is an object close to the user.

Settings are changed by holding the switch down
continuously for two seconds or longer.
Releasing the switch after a certain number of
pulses, selects the setting. Once a new setting is
selected the aid will use that setting whenever it is
switched on. That is, the aid remembers the
selected setting.
To select a setting, first make sure the aid is off.
Now switch the aid ON, but DO NOT RELEASE
THE SWITCH. You should feel the short ON-pulse.
About two seconds after the ON-pulse, the aid will
start pulsing every second.
To select a setting, you count the number of
pulses after the ON-pulse. For example, to select
setting 4, count 4 pulses after the ON-pulse, and
then release the switch.

Here is a description of how to select setting 4,
the half metre range:
1. Make sure the aid is off.
2. Press and keep pressing the switch, the
aid will give a quick ON-pulse.
3. Count the pulses that start occurring
several seconds after the ON-pulse.
4. Release the switch immediately after
counting four pulses.
The aid should now be ON and in the half metre
range.
Use your hand in front of the aid to confirm that
the correct range is selected. The vibrations
should stop when your hand is further than half a
metre from the aid. If you misjudge the number of
pulses, then just release the switch and go

through the above steps again.
So far, we have discussed the use of one
Miniguide range at a time. If the Miniguide is set
to the 1 metre range, and a user wants to know if
there is a landmark 3 metres ahead, the unit must
be turned off, turned on, and its button must be
held down for 2 seconds until the first pulse,
indicating the 4 metre range is selected. Think of
this situation as involving one preset range. Only
one range is available to the user while the
Miniguide is on. Swapping between ranges can
be cumbersome and inconvenient. Therefore, the
Miniguide offers options to select two or three
range presets and to swap between ranges with
one press of a button.
Presets are described in more detail in the
"Settings" section below.

Battery Maintenance
The Miniguide contains a single battery, a type 123
lithium battery. This type of battery is commonly
available, particularly from stores selling
photographic supplies. Only use batteries from
well-known and respected manufacturers. Spare
batteries should be kept in their original
packaging in a cool dry place.
This type of battery has many advantages. It
stores a lot of power for its size. It has a shelf life
of up to 10 years. The battery life depends greatly
on how often the aid is vibrating. On average, the
battery should give about 100 hours of continuous
use. If the audio output is used and not the tactile
output, then the battery should last around 1000
hours. It is surprising how many products drain a
significant amount of power from their batteries

even when they are switched off. The Miniguide
uses virtually zero power from the battery when it
is switched off.
If the aid starts to lose sensitivity, especially in the
longer ranges, or behaves erratically, then try
installing a new battery. Discard the old battery if
things improve noticeably with the new battery.
The aid also has a low battery warning. The
battery voltage is checked only when the aid is
being switched off. When the battery voltage is
very low, the normal switch-off pulse is repeated 4
times. That is, instead of just one switch off
pulse, there will be five switch off pulses, all
within one second.
If the strength of the vibration is still weak or non-
existent after installing a new battery, then it is
possible that the vibration unit needs to be
replaced. As a vibration unit starts to wear out, its

vibrations become weaker and more erratic. How
long a vibration unit lasts depends on how much
it is used. It is anticipated that for all reasonable
usage the vibration unit will last for years. On rare
occasions the vibration unit can fail suddenly and
completely. To test if the vibration unit is working,
insert the battery the wrong way around for a
short time. This should make a working vibration
unit run at full speed. Always remove the battery
immediately after this test, whether the vibration
unit is working or not.
The vibration unit is best replaced by a technician
or a handy person. Two screws need to be
loosened, this allows the vibration unit to be
removed. The new vibration unit is then inserted
into the socket and the screws tightened again.
Tighten the screws evenly. Do not over tighten
the screws. If in doubt get your nearest mobility
agency to assist you.

Interference
The Miniguide detects objects by sending out an
ultrasonic pulse and then listening for the echo. If
something in the area is also producing ultrasonic
pulses then the aid may indicate there is an object
within range when really there is no object
present. Many high-pitched natural sounds
contain a small proportion of ultrasound. The
interference is usually occasional and short lived.
For example the interference may feel as if
someone quickly waved their hand in front of the
aid.
If two Miniguides are used near each other, they
will interfere with each other. The aid will still be
usable, but the user must be careful to determine
what is interference and what are real objects.
The shorter ranges are more immune to

interference than the longer ranges. So if
interference becomes persistent in a certain area,
switching to the one metre or the half metre range
will help reduce the problem.
The Miniguide has been designed and tested to be
relatively immune to radio frequency transmitters
such as mobile phones and CB radios. However
interference may occur if the aid is very close to a
transmitter, or the transmitter is very strong.
All the above types of interference cause phantom
detections. That is, the aid vibrates as if an object
is present, even though no object is present.
Interference does not stop the detection of
normally detectable objects.

Care of the Miniguide
Avoid dropping or knocking the Miniguide. The
ultrasonic sensors or the case could be
permanently damaged by a severe blow.
The ultrasonic sensors are covered by a very fine
mesh. Dirt and other substances can clog this
mesh. If this mesh becomes clogged then the
sensitivity of the Miniguide will be reduced, or the
aid will stop working completely. Store the aid in
a clean location, and avoid using the aid in dusty
or dirty conditions. Place the cap over the
sensors when it is not in use.
The Miniguide is not waterproof. It should
certainly not be immersed in water or any other
type of liquid. If possible, it should not be
exposed to heavy rain. If you are caught in rain
without an umbrella, aiming the aid downwards