Ability Switches

I bought this kit 3 weeks ago and I paid £70 for delivery to the uk. today I contacted broadened horizons hidden bed division and was told that they do not deliver to the united kingdom.. this is after I have purchased wood ,, constructed all the panels to the specs of they re detailed drawings and spent extra money having them all sprayed to a very high finish !!! I am now left completely out of pocket not to mention the man hours involved... and all they have said is " sorry we don't deliver to the uk and we will refund your initial purchase costs of kit.. what makes this worse is that they knew about this for 3 weeks and it was not until I grew tired of waiting ( for a parcel ,that was actually never going to arrive)that I was informed it was not coming.. to say I am disgusted is an understatement and I shall be taking legal action.. I urge anyone ( whom does not reside in the us) to not deal with this company..

I have been a C5 - C6 quadriplegic for over 30 years and have seen a lot of things change regarding technology and equipment. This has allowed me to live my life more independently. The home phone system is another of my game changers and it works in coordination with the VoiceIR system I use to talk to my house. I can place and answer calls, dial, put calls on hold, even transfer calls and more by voice control. I simply speak voice commands and use the TalkIR in coordination with the Name and Digit Voice Dialer giving me access to 50 name and individual number dialing. I have programmed the individuals I call the most but this also allows me to dial numbers that are not pre-programmed. So, let's say I receive a message to call someone I do not know. I would say "speakerphone" and it would say "yes sir" confirming that it has been activated. I say "4" and then it will beep letting me know that it understood me; then I say "6" and it beeps again; then "1" and it beeps and so on and so on. Then, at the end of my commands it says "dialing 461-5555 for example. When the phone call is over I say "speakerphone" and it says "yes sir" and I say "okay" and it hangs up for me. I also use a switch attached to the phone that I mounted on the corner of the bedside table. This allows me to activate it or more importantly to hang it up. I found out the importance of having a second option when one time I forgot to voice activate the "hang up". Are you familiar with the noise your phone makes when it has been left off of the hook? Me too, for about 2 1/2 hours! The noise was so loud that the voice recognition would not work to hang it up because there was so much background noise. I also figured out that with our digital landline system, this incredibly annoying and loud sound does not stop until you physically hang it up. After my headache went away, I immediately ordered the switch. In fact, I did not answer the phone again until the switch was installed. It ended up being a pretty traumatic situation for me! I bought the TalkIR at Broadened Horizons (www.broadened horizons.com). My friend Mark Fellings is the owner and the perfect person to assist me with my phone needs. Mark and I both have the same level of injury so he understands paralysis. He also has background in working on phone systems similar to this prior to his injury. Sometimes you can explain over and over to someone at a big-box retail store what your needs are until you are blue in the face and they do not understand what you need. Mark has lived it so it is easy for him to relate. I also purchased the mounting bracket and mounted the phone on a bedside table. The cost depends on how many additional options you need and I bought it in coordination with the VoiceIR system. This system will cost you around $1000. If you do a YouTube video showing yourself using the product you get $100 off the total cost. This may seem like a lot to spend for a phone but I did shop around and Mark even has comparisons of other phones. This was the best price I could find. Please keep in mind that it is important to have a reliable phone that you can access because if you are home alone it literally becomes your LIFELINE. This was the option I chose but they have lots of options including one that will call a list of numbers in case of an emergency. I can remember prior to the Internet and prior to knowing about phones like this adapting one. We used a paint stick and duck tape to make an extension on the "ZERO / OPERATOR" button. If there was an emergency and I was home alone, I would push down on the paint stick, pushing the zero on the phone. Then, I would be able to get the operator and they would dial a number for me for a charge. This seems like medieval times compared to where we are these days but the reason I share this with you is to give you an idea just how far the technology has come. Below is a list of some of the additional functions that this phone can do: --Seamless integration with most Environmental Control Systems (ECUs) VoiceIR Infrared Voice Controller Tash Relax, Relax II, SiCare Gewa, and any capable of learning infrared signals --Powerful yet easy to program for differenct user needs --50 number, user-friendly easy to program address book --Auto Answer option for those who find it difficult to answer in time --Professional, Business Conference Room Quality --Adaptive Microphone Gain Technology --Crystal clear sound with OmniSoundTM - Sounds as if the person you're talking to is in the same room --Automatically tunes itself to the acoustics of the room --Full Duplex Natural sound for both parties in both directions! --Plug into any analogue landline (PSTN) --Large illuminated display shows number to dial, time in call, and volume --Keypad for convenient use by anyone --Audio output for recording conversations on computer Original Article: http://www.assistivetechservices.org/ArticleDisplay.asp?prid=26

I have been a C5 - C6 quadriplegic for over 30 years and have seen a lot of things change regarding technology and equipment. This has allowed me to live my life more independently. I use a Voice IR (infrared) system with 120 voice commands. I can talk to my television, ceiling fan, heater, light, air conditioner, oscillating fan and Bose123 sound system. What does that mean for me? I can turn the overhead fan, oscillating fan or air conditioner on when I am hot, the heater when I am cold, the television when I want entertainment, turn the light on or off and independently play my music. This allows for much-needed independence at home. Being a quadriplegic, temperature has always been an issue so being able to change it has truly been a game changer. The receiver has good recognition and I have it mounted on a cabinet at the head of the bed about 3 feet away. The commands are broken down into four sections and you get a different response for each section. So if I want to change the station I say "sound system" and it says "yes sir" and then you tell it the command. The command could be one of many things like CNBC and the channel will change or volume up. If I want to change the temperature I say "temperature control" and it says "how can I help you". If I say macro control I can do a number of commands all at once. So, I say "macro control" and it says "at your service" and I can say something I programmed which is "morning routine". The light comes on, oscillating fan comes on, television comes on and goes to ESPN news and then mute's so that I have captioning, the Bose123 comes on so I have music. All of that with one macro command. You can create any commands you want as long as the appliance uses an infrared frequency. Be sure to be careful and not get radiofrequency because that will not work. Ask for an infrared fan, air conditioner etc. Most everything that has a remote control is infrared. You have to program all of your commands individually so it is time consuming. I purchased it at Broadened Horizons (broadenedhorizons.com) 855-BROADEN 855-276-2336. The owner of the company has a good understanding of needs as he is also a quadriplegic. Broadened Horizons also offers technical support that you can purchase or that is part of a package. There is not much to it, it is size wise as it is teacup saucer size with a mounting mechanism on the back. I also purchased the TalkIR ECU Speakerphone so that I can talk to my speaker phone. The TalkIR Speakerphone and Voice IR work together. I have included some of my preprogrammed commands below to give you ideas on how many different things you can do. LIGHT COMMANDS Start light Turn light off Light up WHAT YOU WANT VOICE COMMAND and RESPONSE Keyword: Temperature Control Response: How can I help you? Air Conditioner 1. Turn on AC Start air conditioner Air conditioner power 2. Turn off AC Turn air conditioner off 3. AC Fan speed Fan slower or Fan faster 4. Colder temp Temperature colder 5. Warmer temp Temperature warmer Oscillating Fan 6. Turn on/off Oscillating fan Start oscillating fan 7. Turn off Oscillating fan Oscillating fan off 8. Make fan oscillate Oscillate 9. Make fan oscillate faster Oscillate faster 10. Ocillating fan Fan Speed Keyword: SOUND SYSTEM Response: Yes sir? Television 1. Turn TV on Start Television 2. Turn TV off Television off 3. Mute TV TV Mute Bose 4. Turn Bose on Bose Power 5. Turn up volume Bose volume up 6. Turn down volume Lower Bose volume 7. Change TV input Bose TV Mode 8. Change music track Bose Change Track 9. Play music Start Music 10. Play whole CD Whole CD 11. Return to playlist Playlist 12. Return to TV Mode Previous Input Original Article: http://www.assistivetechservices.org/ArticleDisplay.asp?prid=26

I have been a C5 - C6 quadriplegic for over 30 years and have seen a lot of things change regarding technology and equipment. This has allowed me to live my life more independently. I use a Voice IR (infrared) system with 120 voice commands. I can talk to my television, ceiling fan, heater, light, air conditioner, oscillating fan and Bose123 sound system. What does that mean for me? I can turn the overhead fan, oscillating fan or air conditioner on when I am hot, the heater when I am cold, the television when I want entertainment, turn the light on or off and independently play my music. This allows for much-needed independence at home. Being a quadriplegic, temperature has always been an issue so being able to change it has truly been a game changer. The receiver has good recognition and I have it mounted on a cabinet at the head of the bed about 3 feet away. The commands are broken down into four sections and you get a different response for each section. So if I want to change the station I say "sound system" and it says "yes sir" and then you tell it the command. The command could be one of many things like CNBC and the channel will change or volume up. If I want to change the temperature I say "temperature control" and it says "how can I help you". If I say macro control I can do a number of commands all at once. So, I say "macro control" and it says "at your service" and I can say something I programmed which is "morning routine". The light comes on, oscillating fan comes on, television comes on and goes to ESPN news and then mute's so that I have captioning, the Bose123 comes on so I have music. All of that with one macro command. You can create any commands you want as long as the appliance uses an infrared frequency. Be sure to be careful and not get radiofrequency because that will not work. Ask for an infrared fan, air conditioner etc. Most everything that has a remote control is infrared. You have to program all of your commands individually so it is time consuming. I purchased it at Broadened Horizons (broadenedhorizons.com) 855-BROADEN 855-276-2336. The owner of the company has a good understanding of needs as he is also a quadriplegic. Broadened Horizons also offers technical support that you can purchase or that is part of a package. There is not much to it, it is size wise as it is teacup saucer size with a mounting mechanism on the back. I also purchased the TalkIR ECU Speakerphone so that I can talk to my speaker phone. The TalkIR Speakerphone and Voice IR work together. I have included some of my preprogrammed commands below to give you ideas on how many different things you can do. LIGHT COMMANDS Start light Turn light off Light up WHAT YOU WANT VOICE COMMAND and RESPONSE Keyword: Temperature Control Response: How can I help you? Air Conditioner 1. Turn on AC Start air conditioner Air conditioner power 2. Turn off AC Turn air conditioner off 3. AC Fan speed Fan slower or Fan faster 4. Colder temp Temperature colder 5. Warmer temp Temperature warmer Oscillating Fan 6. Turn on/off Oscillating fan Start oscillating fan 7. Turn off Oscillating fan Oscillating fan off 8. Make fan oscillate Oscillate 9. Make fan oscillate faster Oscillate faster 10. Ocillating fan Fan Speed Keyword: SOUND SYSTEM Response: Yes sir? Television 1. Turn TV on Start Television 2. Turn TV off Television off 3. Mute TV TV Mute Bose 4. Turn Bose on Bose Power 5. Turn up volume Bose volume up 6. Turn down volume Lower Bose volume 7. Change TV input Bose TV Mode 8. Change music track Bose Change Track 9. Play music Start Music 10. Play whole CD Whole CD 11. Return to playlist Playlist 12. Return to TV Mode Previous Input Original Article: http://www.assistivetechservices.org/ArticleDisplay.asp?prid=26

Assistive Technology Coordinator, Center for Independence of the Disabled San Mateo, California I just wanted to let you know that we have successfully installed and programed a VoiceIR [System's Voice Controller] unit for my client George Dill who is a quad. Even though there is a lot of room noise produced by his bed and other mediucal equipment, it works well enough that he can control his HDTV, TIVO and sound system using his voice. His voice is very weak, so this is a miracle of sorts.

Now that I've gotten some things working with the VoiceIR it's already given me so much freedom and I'm very happy to be able to control things on my own even if it's just the TV and stereo [adding control over bed, deadbolt, & door opener]. Thank you for making these available.

Just wanted to let you know that I set up M.G.'s VoiceIR QuickStart Package today, and it works like a charm!!! Very very easy to program, easy to change commands, great for him (being blind) because he can tell if it's recognized his command. What I was also happy about was that his voice recognition was the same no matter what position he is in in bed. We got all the TV commands programmed, and they work beautifully for him. He's thrilled with the independence this affords him. Next week we will do the stereo and satellite radio, as well as his assistance call chime system. Thanks again. It's a wonderful system for someone who is blind and paralyzed -- he can finally have a bit of independence, which is hard to come by in his situation!

The VoiceIR Infrared Voice Controller has been a great addition to making me more independent. Before the VoiceIR, I had to keep calling on my wife to change the TV channel or volume, which became rather annoying after a short period of time. I also have the Vocalize! Cell Phone Complete Voice Control System, and at times the TV would be to loud to answer my phone, now I can turn it down before answering the phone. The Vocalize bed mic makes things even better to control the phone. I am now able to watch TV when I'm alone; my wife works full time so I am alone a lot. I have started out slow with the VoiceIR to get use to it, and can't wait for hot weather to use it on my air conditioner. I'm planning to put my stereo in my bedroom along with a DVD player. [In the photo] The tube that's close to my mouth is for me to get water and to hold the bed microphone that goes to my [Vocalize] wheelchair cell phone system.