barrington broadcasting group , llc , headquartered in schaumburg , illinois was an american corporation focused on broadcast television , primarily in middle and small size media markets .

barrington owned or operated via duopoly twenty-four television stations , with the potential to reach 3.4 percent of households in the u.s .

it was owned by pilot group , a private equity firm .

barrington broadcasting

1 owned by tucker broadcasting , barrington operated wgtu under a local marketing agreement .
2 owned by granite broadcasting , barrington operated wtvh under a local marketing agreement .
3 owned by sagamorehill broadcasting , barrington operated wwmb under a local marketing agreement .
glassdoor gives you an inside look at what it ' s like to work at barrington broadcasting , including salaries , reviews , office photos , and more . this is the barrington broadcasting company profile . all content is posted anonymously by employees working at barrington broadcasting .
several links exist between barrington broadcasting and the now - defunct benedek broadcasting . barrington broadcasting ceo k . james yager had been president of benedek broadcasting and barrington ' s headquarters had served the same purpose for benedek . also , whoi and khqa , the purchase which started the company , were both former benedek stations .
( * * ) – indicates that it was acquired by barrington broadcasting as its founding stations .
chesapeake will be conducted as a continuation of barrington utilizing their current headquarters and barrington staff members .
the average salary for barrington broadcasting is $ 104 , 219 per year , ranging from $ 63 , 235 to $ 129 , 506 . compare more salaries for barrington broadcasting at paysa . com .
the average salary for barrington broadcasting in chicago , il is $ 122 , 933 per year , ranging from $ 65 , 906 to $ 154 , 179 . compare more salaries for barrington broadcasting in chicago , il at paysa . com .
sinclair broadcast group inc . has closed its $ 370 million acquisition of 18 television stations owned by barrington broadcasting group llc .
the station issued a joint press release with wstm channel 3 stating that both studios are now operated by barrington broadcasting group , llc . before monday , wtvh channel 5 was owned and operated by granite broadcasting corp . and barrington owned wstm channel 3 .
weyi nbc 25 is slated to change ownership , as purchase plans have been finalized between sinclair broadcast group and barrington broadcasting group .
the current report is being furnished pursuant to the indenture governing the 10½ % senior subordinated notes due 2014 ( the
notes
) co - issued by barrington and barrington broadcasting capital corporation .
hoffman estates , il - - ( marketwire - december 23 , 2010 ) - barrington broadcasting group llc (
barrington
) announced today that it will post a current report ( the
current report
) on barrington ' s website today ( urltoken ) .
in addition , on january 1 , 2008 , pilot group lp ( “pilot group” ) and barrington company entered into the first amendment to the amended and restated limited liability company operating agreement ( as amended , the “parent operating agreement” ) of barrington . pursuant to the parent operating agreement , barrington company’s contingent profits interest in barrington was amended , requiring barrington to make distributions from capital events as follows :
acadia broadcasting proudly owns and operates 14 radio stations in atlantic canada and ontario .
bristlestone broadcasting’s managing member is brian w . brady , who is also the managing member of blackhawk broadcasting , which is the sole shareholder of stainless broadcasting company . stainless controls binghamton fox affiliate wicz and mynetwork affiliate wbpn - lp / wbpn - ld .
barrington broadcasting tunes in where big city tv stations tune out . serving small to midsized markets , the broadcasting company operates more than 20 television stations serving 15 markets in 10 states , including michigan , new york , and texas . most of its stations are . . .
owned by ottumwa media holdings , llc , operated by barrington under a local marketing agreement .
( iv ) fourth , 89 % to pilot group and 11 % to barrington company .
on february 28 , 2013 , barrington announced that it would sell its stations to sinclair .
it didn ' t take long for krcg - tv and its parent company , barrington broadcasting group , to realize that firing longtime sports director rod smith was a big ol ' mistake .
due to federal communications commission rules , sinclair sold fox stations in syracuse , n . y . , and peoria , ill . , to bristlecone broadcasting and cunningham broadcasting corp . , respectively .
agreed to sell twelve of its network - affiliated tv stations to barrington for $ 262 million .
barrington broadcasting company , llc ( best known as barrington broadcasting ) , headquartered in hoffman estates , illinois is an entity wholly focused on broadcast television . the company ' s assets mainly consist of television stations in middle and small sized markets . the company began operations in january 2004 with its purchases of whoi - tv in peoria , illinois , khqa in hannibal , missouri , and weyi - tv in flint , michigan .
officials from sinclair and barrington , as well as their local affiliates , were not immediately available for comment .
sinclair broadcast group closes on acquisition of barrington stations archived december 3 , 2013 , at the wayback machine .
on december 30 , 2003 , barrington broadcasting llc ( “barrington” ) e ntered into a management agreement ( the “management agreement ) with barrington broadcasting company , llc ( “barrington company” ) , which is owned by k . james yager , chris cornelius , warren spector , keith bland and mary flodin , our executive management team . p ursuant to the management agreement , barrington company was retained as the exclusive manager of the television stations owned by and acquired by barrington broadcasting group llc ( the “company” ) . the term of the management a greement expired on december 31 , 2007 . in connection with the expiration of the management agreement , as of january 1 , 2008 , the company entered into employment agreements with each of k . james yager , its chief executive officer , chris cornelius , its chief operating officer , warren spector , its chief financial officer , keith bland , its vice president and mary flodin , its vice president . the material terms of these employment agreements are summarized below .
on february 28 , 2013 , barrington broadcasting announced it would merge with the sinclair broadcast group in a $ 370 million deal . [ 2 ] the sale was completed on november 25 . [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
d . l . m . smith was president of gateway broadcasting co . ltd . and manager of cjls .
4 owned by south sound broadcasting , sinclair programs this station , as a simulcast of komo ( am ) .
yesterday , krcg and barrington broadcasting officially rectified their mistake with the announcement that the 45 - year - old smith will return to the broadcast aug . 4 . smith said they wrapped up negotiations on a new contract tuesday afternoon .
bachelor’s degree preferred in journalism or broadcasting . training in management and newsroom computers required . high school diploma or equivalent required .
smith said this morning that leo henning , a regional vice president for hoffman estates , ill . - based barrington broadcasting , reached out to him less than a week after the firing . the station was bombarded with negative reaction to the move .
in recent years barrington has been at the forefront of integrating social media and the internet into their on - air content .
this will be interesting to see how this all plays out over time . based on the m & a call sinclair conducted . . . . chesapeake will be conducted as a continuation of barrington utilizing their current headquarters and barrington staff members . how much they will identify themselves with sinclair remains to be seen as many stations under barrington are in desperate need of upgraded equipment .
according to a trusted source who spoke to urltoken on a condition of anonymity , it is believed that sinclair and barrington are looking to close on the sale rather quickly , possibly by the end of this week or next . when that happens , sinclair will own wstm and wstq , and it will inherit barrington’s shared services agreement to operate cbs5 ( wtvh ) for granite broadcasting .
people can also check out the history of the new england planters at museums in barrington , cape sable island and woods harbour .
4 / 2006 : announced that barrington broadcasting will be acquiring wtom - tv 4 cheboygan , wluc - tv 6 marquette , wpbn - tv 7 traverse city , wnwo - tv 24 toledo and two upper peninsula translators of wluc from raycom media pending fcc approvals .
owned by south sound broadcasting , sinclair programs this station , as a simulcast of komo ( am ) . full purchase is currently pending .
barrington was formed in 2003 to acquire and operate television stations in smaller markets across the united states . barrington currently owns , operates , or supports the operations of twenty four network affiliated television stations . barrington is owned and controlled by pilot group , with management as its partner . pilot group is a non - traditional private investment firm founded in 2003 by a group of operating executives who actively help its management partners achieve their goals .
weyi has been on the air since 1953 , with barrington ownership taking effect in 2004 . wbsf has been on the air since september 2006 .
wnwo - tv , toledo , oh…tim livingston has been promoted to nd for this barrington owned nbc affiliate . he first joined the station eleven years ago as a producer and has worked his way up . he replaces pat livingston ( no relation ) who has been named director of news for owner barrington broadcasting . pat was the nd here for the last year , and has also been an nd in youngstown , oh , and peoria , il .
the barrington stations acquired are in michigan , ohio , illinois , south carolina , new york , texas , colorado , georgia , iowa and missouri .
whoever owns the barrington stations , infrastructure needs to be the top priority . only one barrington - owned station is in hd ( wach fox 57 ) , nine others stations are widescreen . but when you see almost all of the gray & raycom stations operating in hd , this is really pitiful .
. barrington grew slowly at first , adding five more stations between 2004 and early 2006 . a major expansion took place on august 11 , 2006 when
it was nearly a year ago when national tv industry trades first reported the possibility of a sinclair / barrington deal , but nothing was officially announced until the end of february . more than 8 months later , the fcc has approved barrington’s sale of wstm - tv and wstq - lp to sinclair broadcast group .
weyi and wbsf , which are currently owned by barrington , broadcast to a market containing flint , saginaw , bay city and midland , from a headquarters in clio .
the only other minority ownership i can think of is the roberts brothers that own the bankrupt roberts broadcasting ( i ' m sad about this company , i really do ) . and deborah mcdermott is running the new young broadcasting . this is the reason why the current fcc commissioner want to reform the current jsa / ssa to see more minorities own tv stations . but i don ' t think it won ' t change much of the status quo . you know i haven ' t heard anything else about former bayou city broadcasting owner dujuan mccoy , which he stated after he
at sinclair broadcast group inc . ( nasdaq : sbgi ) , we are a leading diversified television broadcasting company . we were founded in 1986 , went public in 1995 and are headquartered in hunt valley , maryland .
ckni , 91 . 9 moncton , new brunswick , was licensed to rogers broadcasting and was on the air in late 2005 as news 91 . 9 , a news / talk format . acadia broadcasting acquired the station from rogers in 2014 and relaunched it with an adult contemporary music sound including a strong focus on news , weather and local happenings every day . ckni - fm 91 . 9 the bend , metro’s perfect music mix .
smith said he also checked out van ness , who took over as krcg vice president and general manager last month after former gm betsy farris - the person who fired smith - announced her retirement in may . van ness has worked in broadcasting since 1981 and previously served in management positions at barrington - owned stations khqa - tv in the hannibal - quincy , ill . , area and whoi - tv in peoria - bloomington , ill .
according to a press release from sinclair , the agreement includes the takeover of a total of 18 stations currently owned by barrington in 15 u . s . markets , while sinclair will provide sales services to an additional 6 stations .
barrington will now provide advertising , sales , promotion , administrative services and some programming for channel 5 , according to the release . the move was cited in the announcement as a consolidation effort that will create more efficiency at the two stations .
syracuse — three local television stations will soon have new owners , after the federal communications commission approved two separate deals which were initially announced in february . barrington broadcasting is selling all of its stations — including syracuse’s nbc3 ( wstm - tv ) and cw6 ( wstq - lp ) to sinclair broadcast group , owner of fox 68 ( wsyt ) . but because fcc ownership limits forbid sinclair from owning all three stations , the company will be shedding itself of wsyt — at least , on paper .
on february 28 , 2013 , barrington broadcasting announced the sale of its entire group , including wluc , to sinclair broadcast group . [ 2 ] the sale was completed on november 25 . [ 3 ] after 30 years of separate ownership , wluc and wluk in green bay were briefly reunited as sister stations on december 19 , 2014 , when sinclair purchased wluk and wcwf as part of required sales of stations by lin media in order to merge with media general , which already owned green bay ' s wbay - tv .
olli , the osher lifelong learning institute at berkshire community college , presents the ninth annual mona sherman memorial lecture featuring bestselling author and longtime abc and npr political analyst cokie roberts at the mahaiwe performing arts center in great barrington . wednesday , may 24 , 2017 .
in the spring , the crtc approved the application by acadia broadcasting to acquire cjls from chris perry and ray zinck . the two had been involved with the station since the early 1970s , and bought it in 1998 . zinck and perry announced their retirement last fall .
it was announced in the fall that radio cjls ltd . would be sold to acadia broadcasting . cjls owner / partners ray zinck and chris perry planned to retire . they purchased the station in 1998 but both had been with the station since the early 1970 ' s .
ten years ago 1233 abc newcastle ' s phil ashley - brown , interviewed people along the hunter river between barrington tops and newcastle harbour . this year phil has gone back to the river to see how much change there has been over the last ten years . more »
gateway broadcasting co . , owned by laurie l . smith , opened cjls on april 1 . cjls broadcast on 1310 khz with a power of 100 watts . studios and transmitter were located on the top floor of the grand hotel . ( ls in the calls : laurie smith )
wluc began broadcasting its news in 16 : 9 widescreen in april 2013 . on september 6 , 2017 , wluc debuted major upgrades to its studio , including a new , larger set and a rebuilt control room . gray invested over $ 1 million into these changes . [ 13 ]
when the deals were first announced earlier this year , sinclair initially announced cunningham broadcasting would be buying wsyt . according to the national trade rbr / tvbr , that changed in august , when sinclair revealed bristlecone would be buying wsyt , for $ 5 million less than cunningham had previously agreed to pay .
executives . with benedek having filed for bankruptcy and divested itself of all television properties in 2002 , former president k . james yager along with senior vice - presidents chris cornelius , keith bland , and mary flodin pooled their talents to create a new company to focus solely on medium and small market broadcasting .
laurie smith , owner - manager of cjls , died february 17 . he was 50 . the cbc board approved the transfer of the cjls licence from the estate of laurie smith to gateway broadcasting co . ltd . gateway was now controlled by laurie ' s wife , jennie and sons , donald and malcom .
in a simultaneous deal , sinclair is selling wsyt to bristlecone broadcasting . an asset purchase agreement filed with the fcc says bristlecone is paying $ 20 million to pick up the fox affiliate , along with sinclair’s long - running shared services agreement with rkm media for my43 ( wnys ) . the deal also includes a purchase option on wnys .
hasn ' t been updated . this proves that barrington hasn ' t done any heavy lifting in any of its properties . what they have done since buying those raycom properties seven years ago ? consolidating in syracuse & peoria , changing a logo in marquette & brought hd to columbia . and that ' s basically it & nothing else .
fox 68 in syracuse to cunningham broadcasting for $ 57 mil ( $ 25 mil for wsyt & $ 22 mil for wyzz ) . nexstar will continue to provide sales & services to wyzz . sinclair will provide services to wsyt , but under a short term basis . i knew these two wouldn ' t be out of the sinclair fold .
cjls , 95 . 5 , yarmouth , nova scotia , a station which has been on the air since 1934 , joined the acadia family in june of 2016 . the station has an adult contemporary music format that reaches residents of yarmouth , digby and shelburne counties with repeaters at 93 . 5 in new tusket and 96 . 3 in barrington .
cjls added fm repeaters at barrington passage ( 96 . 3 mhz – 5 , 500 watts ) and new tusket ( 93 . 5 mhz - 3 , 000 watts ) . wayne leslie joined cjls to begin his radio career . on december 13 , cjls was authorized to increase night - time power from 1 , 000 watts to 4 , 000 watts .
kidk - tv , idaho falls , id …this fisher broadcasting owned cbs affiliate is looking for a new nd to replace ted dawson , who’s held that job since november . ted had been the sports director there before he was promoted to nd . he’ll continue as the station’s sports director . earlier in his career , ted anchored sports for two different los angeles stations .
on august 31 , the crtc administratively renewed the licence for cjls - fm and its transmitters cjls - fm - 1 new tusket , cjls - fm - 2 barrington and cjls - fm - 3 yarmouth until march 31 , 2012 . the crtc approved the change to the ownership of radio cjls limited through the transfer of radio cjls shares from ray e . zinck and christopher r . perry to their respective holding company . this transaction did not affect the effective control of radio cjls , which continued to be jointly exercised by zinck and perry . radio cjls was the licensee of cjls - fm yarmouth , and its transmitters cjls - fm - 1 new tusket , cjls - fm - 2 barrington and cjls - fm - 3 yarmouth .
wluc - dt2 signed - on at some point in late - 2005 ( under raycom media ownership ) carrying the tube music network . after that network shut down on october 1 , 2007 , due to a lack of advertising , nbc weather plus was added . later , weather plus was dropped in favor of universal sports . throughout its association with those three services , wluc - dt2 was carried on charter digital channel 306 . in late 2005 following raycom ' s purchase of the liberty corporation , the company announced wluc would be sold along with fellow nbc station wpbn - tv and full - time satellite wtom - tv serving the northern lower and eastern upper peninsula . the sale was necessary to help meet federal communications commission ( fcc ) restrictions on station ownership . on march 27 , 2006 , raycom sold 12 of its stations ( including wluc ) to barrington broadcasting . the fcc approved the deal in june 2006 and the purchase closed august 11 . wluc joined wpbn / wtom , saginaw ' s weyi - tv , and toledo ' s wnwo - tv as part of barrington ' s family of stations in and around michigan .
cjls was a cbc dominion affiliate and was operating on 1340 khz with power of 250 watts . ownership of gateway broadcasting co . ltd . : donald l . smith 60 . 4 % , mrs . jennie r . smith 39 . 2 % and malcolm j . smith 0 . 4 % . donald l . smith was president of the company , manager and commercial manager of cjls .
on march 20 , the crtc administratively renewed the licence for cjls - fm yarmouth and its transmitters cjls - fm - 1 new tusket , cjls - fm - 2 barrington and cjls - fm - 3 yarmouth to august 31 , 2012 . on august 28 , the licence was administratively renewed to december 31 , 2012 . on december 21 , the crtc renewed the licence to august 31 , 2017 .
kmir - tv , palm springs , ca…jon fischer has left this journal broadcasting owned nbc affiliate after one year as news director . jon previously had spent six years as a news director in salt lake city , started a news department for wftc - tv in minneapolis , worked for abc news in los angeles , and for three different los angeles stations . his replacement will be the fifth news director in six years here .
, armstrong williams is following david smith ' s lead in naming his company . it states that
howard
is named after his mother ' s maiden name and
stirk
is his father ' s middle name . david smith father ' s middle name is obviously sinclair and his mother ' s maiden name is cunningham . also williams will be acquiring wwmb from sagamorehill broadcasting , so sagamorehill will be divesting this station to armstrong .
like many other barrington - owned stations ( including wtom ) , wluc operates a rather low - powered ( 83 kw ) uhf signal which has a much smaller coverage footprint than its former analog station . its over - the - air digital signal covers less than half of the designated market area ( dma ) . therefore , wluc relies on cable as well as satellite carriers directv and dish network to distribute programming to the entire area .
on december 18 , cjls was given approval to convert to the fm band , operating on 95 . 5 mhz with an effective radiated power of 18 , 000 watts . rebroadcasters cjls - fm barrington cjls - fm - 1 new tusket would continue to operate . the new station offered the existing format consisting of a mixture of top 40 hits , songs from the 70’s , 80’s and 90’s and a selection of music from popular east coast performers .
at the end of the day , sinclair will satisfy fcc requirements by removing its name from the wsyt broadcast license , but it appears the company is keeping itself in a position to continue generating revenue from wsyt and wnys by providing services for and acting as a landlord to bristlecone broadcasting . ( and we can’t help but wonder if this could eventually lead to a repeat of what happened in 2009 , when wtvh moved its assets into the wstm building . )
how much they will identify themselves with sinclair remains to be seen as many stations under barrington are in desperate need of upgraded equipment . if the fcc acts on breaking up jsa & ssa agreements , this may be a simple way for sinclair to cut the cord and
dump
extra stations to an entity . . . . almost like cbs was forced to do with viacom back in the 1970s when it was illegal for a network to own a syndication company .
in 1996 , nbc affiliate wis entered into a news share agreement to produce a primetime newscast at 10 p . m . for wach , the first such primetime newscast in the columbia market and one of the first in south carolina . for many years , it was one of the highest - rated primetime newscasts in the nation . under barrington broadcasting ownership , the station terminated its news agreement with wis and established its own in - house news department at its facilities on pickens street ; wach assumed production responsibilities for the primetime newscast on march 4 , 2007 . one month later on april 23 , 2007 , wach debuted a three - hour weekday morning newscast from 6 to 9 a . m . titled wach fox news good day ( which was renamed good day columbia in april 2010 ) . in march 2007 , longtime 10 : 00 p . m . co - anchor and managing editor mike woolfolk was inducted into the hall of fame by region iii of the national association of black journalists .
cktg , 105 . 3 fm , thunder bay , ontario began broadcasting in 1944 as cfpa and it wasn’t until 2004 that then owners , newcap radio changed the name to cktg , the giant and changed the music to a classic rock format . acadia purchased the station in 2010 , changed to a classic hits format and in 2013 rebranded the station as country 105 . today it is the regions source for country music both old and new . along with the ever popular country brand cktg has become a local favourite for news , sports and information about community activities .
on september 28 , 2009 , wach became the first television station in the columbia market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in 16 : 9 widescreen standard definition , alongside the introduction of a new graphics package . video from within the main studio , field cameras and other station camera feeds are upconverted to a 16 : 9 widescreen format in the control room . on november 9 , 2009 , the station debuted a half - hour early evening newscast at 7 : 30 p . m . weeknights called the wach fox report , which maintained an entertainment - focused format .
on october 1 , 2015 , gray television announced that it would acquire wluc - tv from sinclair ; in return , sinclair would receive wsbt - tv in south bend , indiana from gray . the swap , part of gray ' s acquisition of the broadcasting assets of schurz communications ( owner of wsbt ) , was necessary as gray already owns wndu - tv in south bend . [ 4 ] the sale was completed on february 16 , 2016 . [ 5 ] a few months later , gray acquired green bay station wbay - tv , due to divestments made during nexstar media group ' s acquisition of media general . [ 6 ]
i personally would like to see the stations ( kfdm / kbtv , beaumont , tx ktvl medford , or , wtwc in tallahassee , fl and wmmp / wtat in charleston sc plus wyzz and wsyt that you mentioned get transferred to the new proxy called chesapeake television subsidiary or sold to the broadcasting companies that i mentioned ( lin media , gray television group , raycom media or local tv * ) that can make a commitment to produce enough revenue to keep the stations alive and in working order . therefore , i physically have to agree with you and also your
read between the lines
when it comes to cunningham , deerfield and manhan media and i do really agree with you ( as a matter of fact , deerfield and manhan media are controlled by stephen mumblow ) as i am typing my response out .
sinclair broadcast group , inc . is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country . sinclair owns and operates , programs or provides sales services to more television stations than anyone and has affiliations with all the major networks . in addition , sinclair is the leading local news provider in the country , as well as a producer of sports content . sinclair owns a multicast network , four radio stations and a cable network . sinclair’s broadcast content is delivered via multiple - platforms , including over - the - air , multi - channel video program distributors , and digital platforms . sinclair , either directly or through its venture subsidiaries , makes equity investments in strategic companies . sinclair broadcast group , inc . was founded in 1986 , went public in 1995 and is traded on the nasdaq global select market under the ticker symbol sbgi .
however , a look through the fcc paperwork on the latter sale shows sinclair will remain in control of the day - to - day operations at wsyt and wnys for at least six more months . through a “ transition services agreement ” filed on the fcc website , bristlecone will pay sinclair to handle engineering , programming , traffic , accounting and website / digital services “through and until the 180th day after the closing date . ”
further review of the documents on the fcc website seems to indicate that sinclair is only selling the “assets” of wsyt to bristlecone . sinclair will continue to own the 1000 james street building which houses wsyt and wnys , as well as the otisco transmitter site from which wsyt’s signal originates . sinclair will lease both the studio / office space and the transmitter site space to bristlecone . both agreements call for an initial term of 10 years , with an option to renew for two additional five year terms thereafter .
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as part of the deal , hunt valley - based sinclair ( nasdaq : sbgi ) provide sales services to another six stations . the 24 stations are located in 15 markets and reach 3 . 4 percent of tv households in the u . s .
sinclair , the largest u . s . operator of tv stations , funded the deal through cash on hand .
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the station ' s callsign is a strong reference to the cbs
eye
logo - it was once a cbs affiliate .
took to the air on september 13 , 2006 . broadcasts also available on weyi - dt2 30 . 2 / 25 . 2 .
acquired from raycom media on august 11 2006 . also available on one of wstm ' s digital subchannels .
acquired from raycom media on august 11 2006 . wtom also serves the # 208 alpena market .
popular former owners include peoria journal star , adams communications , gray television and metromedia .
kvih is kvii ' s satellite station , licensed to clovis , new mexico . kvih also serves portions of the # 44 albuquerque - santa fe market .
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washington ( ap ) — a group campaigning for the washington redskins to change their name is sending a letter to broadcasters requesting that redskins not be uttered on the public airwaves .
the letter was released wednesday and is signed by more than 100 native american , religious and civil rights organizations . it’s being sent by the change the mascot movement headed by the oneida indian nation of new york .
the letter describes “redskin” as a “government - defined racial slur” that has been used to disparage american indians “throughout history . ”
several prominent broadcasters , including bob costas and phil simms , have either spoken out against the name or say they don’t intend to use it .
also wednesday , the new york daily news announced it will no longer refer to the team as the “redskins” on its sports pages . the paper also said it will stop using the team’s indian - head logo .
“enormously popular and deeply ingrained in sporting culture , the redskins name is a throwback to a vanished era of perniciously casual racial attitudes , ” the paper said . “no new franchise would consider adopting a name based on pigmentation — whiteskins , blackskins , yellowskins or redskins — today . the time has come to leave the word behind . ”
redskins owner dan snyder says he’ll never change the name . he calls it a source of pride for native americans .
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pc insanity taken to new , unbelievable heights . all we need now is for the fcc to enter into the fray and this circus performance will be complete ( reportedly com . rosenworcel is somewhat offended by the redskins name ) .
with approval still pending of sinclair ' s merger with tribune , sinclair remains no . 1 . spinoffs from that deal push fox up to no . 2 over urltoken tvnewscheck ' s annual ranking by spot
a quick briefing on fcc proceedings affecting tv broadcasters from washington communications attorneys david oxenford and david o ' connor .
tvnewscheck’s annual multi - part series highlighting emerging tech trends in advance of the nab show . topics : ip workflow , audio , mam / storage , field operations , master control , graphics , cameras , rf , atsc 3 . 0 .
a three - part examination of the revenue , programming and technology strategies of the diginet business .
with the spectrum repack and atsc 3 . 0 on the horizen , broadcasters failing to think about sfns now may prove to be quite shortsighted in the future .
6 / 2006 : fcc approves acquistion of wpbn , wtom , wluc , wnwo , and two translators of wluc from raycom media .
olli , the osher lifelong learning institute at berkshire community college , presents the ninth annual mona sherman memorial lecture featuring bestselling author and longtime abc and npr political analyst cokie roberts at the mahaiwe performing arts center . wednesday , may 24 , 2017 .
if you ' d like to leave a comment ( or a tip or a question ) about this story with the editors , please email us . we also welcome letters to the editor for publication ; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom .
sinclair officials expect the sale , which is subject to approval by the federal communications commission , to be finalized in the second quarter of 2013 .
wsmh fox 66 , which also services the great lakes bay region , is currently owned by sinclair broadcast group .
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chwv , 97 . 3 the wave , saint john , new brunswick , is a hot adult contemporary music station that has been a community favourite since launching in 2001 . the wave is saint john’s first choice for local information about events , news and more .
chsj , country 94 . 1 , saint john , new brunswick has been one of the maritime’s top country music stations since the 90’s and has been serving saint john and area continuously since 1928 . an emphasis on local news , sports and weather and participation in local events , combined with the country sound has made chsj a perennial favourite throughout south western , new brunswick .
chtd , 98 . 1 has been on the air in st stephen new brunswick since 2001 . located on the canadian border to maine , charlotte fm is an adult contemporary music station that reaches listeners across charlotte county and most of washington county . charlotte fm is focused on “what matters” in these communities , from on line to on air , they inform and entertain .
ckbw , 98 . 1 bridgewater , nova scotia has been on the air since 1947 and it’s adult contemporary music format and local coverage reaches along the entire south shore with repeaters in liverpool at 94 . 5 fm and 93 . 1 shelburne .
cjhk , country 100 . 7 , bridgewater , nova scotia , launched in the summer of 2010 brought country music to the area along with a strong focus on local news and community events .
cjrl 89 . 5 the lake is in the popular tourist and recreation town of kenora , ontario , which is also known as manitoba’s playground due to its proximity to the provincial border and winnipeg . cjrl was originally launched in 1938 as ckca - am and became cjrl with an ownership change in 1943 . locals and visitors alike have come to rely on cjrl for news , weather sports and community event information .
ckdr , 92 . 7 , dryden , ontario went live in 1963 as a repeater of cjrl in kenora . in 1968 ckdr became an independent , full service radio station and today is the nucleus of a number of smaller communities where regional government services are centralized . total local involvement and an easy to listen to adult contemporary music format serves the communities well and the reach , thanks to repeaters in ignace at 97 . 5fm , hudson at 1450 am and ear falls at 97 . 5 is extensive . this network has been serving north western ontario since 1977 .
ckdr - 2 , sioux lookout , ontario , at 97 . 1 fm has been on air since 1979 . it provides sioux lookout and other northern communities with a full service radio station focused on their community .
ckdr - 5 , red lake , ontario is a major mining center in northern ontario and depends on the station for local news , weather , sports and community event information and sit has since its inception in 1980 . as part of the dryden regional network , red lake enjoys top quality local programming for and about the area .
cfob , 93 . 1 the border , fort frances , ontario is a river and lake front community serving two countries with an adult contemporary sound and emphasis on news and community happenings in the rainy river district of ontario and northern minnesota . the station dates back to 1944 when it opened as ckfi and in 1955 after a frequency change to 800 am the call sign was changed to cfob . the station also has a repeater at 95 . 9 fm in atikokan , halfway between fort frances and thunder bay , ontario .
cjuk , magic 99 . 9 thunder bay , ontario was first licensed as a low power station and launched in 2001 . since being acquired from newcap radio by acadia in 2010 cjuk the transmitting power has increased from 37 watts to 250 watts in 2010 . it is a hot adult contemporary music station featuring the most popular current music . the station is also very committed to local coverage and community involvement .
cjls was now available through cbc as a supplementary station for acceptance of commercial programs . fin hollinger was appointed commercial manager . he had worked in the past as a sports announcer and program producer at cjkl kirkland lake .
cjls moved its studios and offices to 222 main street . a new 100 foot tower was built at the brooklyn transmitter site . elsie allen was publicity director . ron fraser was news editor . fin hollinger , commercial and merchandising director at cjls since 1939 , left for whld in niagara falls to be promotions director . richard irvine succeeded him at cjls as of may 15 .
richard irvine signed with the rcaf . he had been commercial manager and chief announcer at cjls for two years . his duties were taken over by ronald c . fraser . dorothy smith ( ball ) , director of women ' s programs left to live in sydney .
ronald c . fraser , formerly of cjls , was appointed maritimes regional farm commentator at cbc halifax .
power increased to 250 watts . cbc dominion basic stations : cjfx , chns , cfcy , ckcw , cknb , cjls , ckco , chov , cfbr , cjbc , chex , cfpl , cfco , cfpa , chlt , cfcf , ckrc , cjgx , ckx , ckrm , chab , cfqc , ckbi , cfcn , cfrn , cjrl , chwk , cjor , cjvi . l . l . smith was manager .
the dominion and trans - canada networks merged into a single cbc radio service . cjls became an independent after the merger .
on july 25 , cjls was authorized to move from 1340 khz with power of 250 watts ( omnidirectional ) to 580 khz with power of 1 , 000 ( directional ) from a new transmitters site . cjls changed its plans to move to 580 khz and on october 23 , the crtc approved the station’s application ro remain on 1340 khz , but increase power from 250 watts ( omnidirectional ) to 5 , 000 watts dayand 1 , 000 watts night ( directional ) . cjls increased power to 5 , 000 watts day and 1 , 000 watts night from a three tower array at a new transmitter site , located at overton .
on july 27 , the transfer of a 67 % interest in radio cjls ltd . was approved . the shares would move from leland g . trask ( 40 % ) and michael l . trask ( 27 % ) to m . l . trask holdings ltd . as a result , m . l . increased its holding from 6 % to 73 % . this holding company ( m . l . ) was 98 % controlled by michael l . trask . the remaining 27 % of radio cjls ltd . would continue to be held by bruce d . raymond .
andy newman left cjls to be morning man at cigo port hawkesbury . ray zinck was news director .
morning man wayne leslie left cjls to take over the afternoon show at ckcq quesnel .
on canada day , ray zinck and partners gerry boudreau and chris perry ( radio cjls ltd . ) closed on their deal to purchase cjls . cjls received recognition from nova scotia ' s legislature on the first day of the fall sitting . the resolution , which passed unanimously , asked the house of assembly to congratulate the new owners and praised the station for promoting nova scotia music and culture .
on february 1 , gerry boudreau retired . his partners in radio cjls ltd . , chris perry and ray zinck purchased his shares ( each holding 50 % ) . in june , cjls began operating on 95 . 5 mhz in yarmouth . the tower was located at tusket . cjls - am left the air a short time later .
cjls was given approval to operate a low - power rebroadcast transmitter at yarmouth to resolve signal deficiencies caused by rough terrain surrounding the tusket falls site of the originating transmitter . the rebroadcaster would operate on 94 . 7 mhz with effective radiated power of 50 watts .
on september 16 at 1 : 04 p . m . , cjls changed its branding from the wave to y95 . 5 . the adult contemporary format remained in place .
the atlantic living history association is holding a reenactment of the lives of new england planters .
there will be demonstrations of making butter , ice cream and candles , and razor and tool sharpening .
the reenactment is open to anyone from 10 a . m until 5 p . m saturday and sunday and 10 a . m until 2 p . m on monday .
the hunter river isn ' t as well known as some of australia ' s big waterways like the murray or darling .
in the late 80 ' s brett and linda keeping started a vineyard on the edge of the hunter river near denman .
moonan flat ' s byg swig finds inspiration in ' the mighty hunter ' for river stories song .
for lifelong bird lover tom clarke the hunter river at stockton sandspit provides a chance for him to work on his greatest passi . . .
though the hunter river ' s journey comes to a close where it meets newcastle harbour , the river stories continue to flow on .
a look into john wright , the hunter river and the traditional practice of making brooms .
hunter valley grammar school director of rowing peter bond is passionate about his sport , and he is passionate about the hunter . . .
muscle creek landcare convenor stephen thatcher tells of his personal connection to the hunter river through his bush regenerati . . .
wendy bowman is an advocate for people affected by mining in the upper hunter region of nsw .
fifth generation grazier liam mcloughlin reveals his river story to tricia hogbin for abc open .
muswellbrook ' s gill warburton has created a story with abc open that started out looking at how scouts help keep the carp popula . . .
des collison tells the story of the hall and river crossing at moonan flat for abc open .
this video of belltrees station explores the history of belltrees in video , audio and stills .
howard archbold exchanged a big city job as an advertising photographer for a shack on the moonan brook which flows into the hun . . .
artist craig layer draws inspiration for his artwork from the hunter river , creating work with titles such as the mullet run and . . .
from the springs three small creeks are formed called the first , second and third hunter . the creeks join to form the hunter riv . . .
abc open along with 1233 abc newcastle invite you to share your river story . more »
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registration and sign in using a twitter , facebook , or google account is temporarily unavailable . please see this post for details .
talked to williams about his plans on acquiring wwmb & he ' ll be acquiring nbc station , weyi 25 in flint . wsmh will still be own by sinclair proper . he said he wanted to wait until the fcc greenlights the deals to state his plans on what he will do for these stations ; and he hopes to expand his station portfolio in the near future .
this will be interesting to see how this all plays out over time . based on the m & a call sinclair conducted . . . .
armstrong williams ' new company could be even less connected . . . based on the above article . this is more like a time - brokerage agreement where there is very little room for sinclair to operate .
if the fcc acts on breaking up jsa & ssa agreements , this may be a simple way for sinclair to cut the cord and
dump
extra stations to an entity . . . . almost like cbs was forced to do with viacom back in the 1970s when it was illegal for a network to own a syndication company . armstrong williams ' new company could be even less connected . . . based on the above article . this is more like a time - brokerage agreement where there is very little room for sinclair to operate .
giving them high praises . smmfh ! ! they won ' t do that when they be in gigantous debt .
as for the howard stirk ' s firm , if that is the case , it better be the case . i don ' t want to see yet another sinclair umbrella shell that is secretly calling all the shots , like this new chesapeake entity . imho , i feel very edgy because i think smith is using williams as a poster guy to shut the fcc folks up so they can see more minority owners . i hope this is what williams wants , and it appears he wants to expand under his own stewardship .


sip-and-puff or sip 'n' puff ( snp ) is assistive technology used to send signals to a device using air pressure by " sipping " ( inhaling ) or " puffing " ( exhaling ) on a straw , tube or " wand . "

it is primarily used by people who do not have the use of their hands .

it is commonly used to control a motorized wheelchair by quadriplegics with very high injury to their spinal cord or people with als .

sip - and - puff

sip / puff headset with attached 6 - foot ( 1 . 8 - meter ) air tube and twist connector for attaching to sip / puff switch
sip / puff headset with attached 6 - foot ( 1 . 8 - meter ) air tube and twist connector for attaching to sip / puff breeze
the imperium sip and puff switch is activated with either a
sip
or
puff
of the lips with the included small mouth piece .
sterilize the straw portion of the sip and puff assistive technology switches before using .
no product reviews have been submitted yet for the sip and puff assistive technology switches .
figure 4 . output signal from the pressure sensor with a sip and puff actions .
these are operated by sucking and blowing on a mouthpiece . sip and puff pressures are programmable and will also have a mode change feature in order to operate other chair controls such as lights or actuators . they require quite a bit of practice by the user to get good at driving . not only does the wheelchair electronics distinguish between a sip and a puff , it can also recognize the strength of the sip and puff . basic sip and puff pressure is interpretation as… hard puff – forward , soft puff – right , soft sip – left and hard sip – reverse .
sip and puff drives are the solution for those users who aren ' t able to use any part of their body to operate a control device on their power wheelchair . sip and puff systems are non - proportional drives and require quite a bit of practice by the user to get good at driving . the user will either puff air into a tube or sip on the tube . not only do the wheelchair electronics distinguish between a sip and a puff , it can also recognize the strength of the sip and puff . a hard sip or puff will mean one thing to the wheelchair and a soft sip or puff will mean something else . the trick for the user is to get used to how hard to sip or puff and be consistent with those actions . pictured is the asl sip n puff / head array package .
if you can use a drinking straw you can use our sip / puff switch .
if a usb output is desired then sip / puff breeze is the proper choice .
at least one of a bite switch or a sip and puff switch incorporated into the body .
add to cart sip and puff switch sku # : end - 970 $ 261 . 85 add to cart
please note that the sip and puff devices will not be available at your advance or ordinary polling station .
sip / puff breeze is an advanced usb sip / puff switch in an extremely compact package . it connects directly to standard usb ports on computers , laptops , and aac devices and provides hardware emulation of mouse buttons or joystick functions .
grogg k , anschutz j , jones m . development of a sip and puff interface for the ipod music device .
this is a demo of sip and puff control on motorized wheelchair as a part of my research project at tas .
the origin instruments sip / puff switch with headset is the leading sip - puff system for individuals with motor disabilities and limited dexterity . this multi - user version of the popular sip / puff switch offering provides healthcare institutions , assessment centers , hospitals , etc . with a means to support multiple users while eliminating concerns over sanitation .
the disposable mouthpiece is connected by plastic , latex - free tubing to the sip / puff switch that converts sips and puffs into electrical signals . the sip / puff switch connects to the computer or interface device through one stereo or two mono cables .
for people effected with severe motor disabilities , manipulating a standard switch can be difficult , tiring and in some cases impossible . with origin instruments sip / puff offerings users can easily activate and have control over devices through a simple “sip” and / or “puff” into a mouth tube .
the imperium sip and puff switch is activated with either a
sip
or
puff
of the lips with the included small mouth piece . features a 1 / 8 - in / 3 . 5 - mm stereo plug and includes a gooseneck mount and mounting clamp .
use the second generation sip / puff breeze™ to access ipad , iphone and the ipod touch with apple ' s switch control feature .
the sip / puff switch translates sips and puffs into independent switch closures . the sip / puff switch has two ( 2 ) 3 . 5mm ports for connecting two standard mono cables or a single stereo cable and has integrated test buttons to assist in application testing .
4 . the mouth activated input device as defined in claim 1 , wherein there is provided both the bite switch and the sip and puff switch .
check it out , a sip - and - puff arduino shield . this is an assistive technology that allows the physically challenged to control things using a plastic air tube . different combinations of sucking ( sip ) or blowing ( puff ) differentiate between control commands .
jones m , grogg k , anschutz j , fierman r . a sip - and - puff wireless remote control for the apple ipod .
the multi - user sip / puff switch with headset provides healthcare institutions , assessment centers , hospitals , etc . with a means to support multiple users while reducing concerns over sanitation .
sip
and
puff
test buttons are integrated to assist in application testing .
sip and puff assistive technology switches are designed for patients with severe physical impairments , and can be hooked up to two devices . sipping on the switch will activate one , while puffing will activate the other . all sip and puff assistive technology switches come with a 19 in . gooseneck and three - way mounting clamp .
sip / puff solutions are ideal for people who have limited or no motor capability to operate switch activated devices , including computers , augmentative communication devices , adapted toys , environmental control systems and devices accessed or controlled by scanning . sip / puff technology is also popular for wheel chair navigation .
strong , lightweight and versatile , the sip / puff gooseneck features a universal mount that securely attaches to table tops , beds and wheelchairs . the flexible steel gooseneck and the ball - and - socket mount enable easy and secure mouthpiece positioning . the filtered mouthpiece is replaceable and a thin , pliable connecting tube interfaces the mouthpiece to sip / puff breeze with a simple twist connector .
with all the equipment that ' s in my face
with the sip - and - puff system ,
people saw that and not me ,
he said .
strong , lightweight and versatile , the sip / puff gooseneck features a universal mount that securely attaches to table tops , beds and wheelchairs . the flexible steel gooseneck and the ball - and - socket mount enable easy and secure mouthpiece positioning . the filtered mouthpiece is replaceable and a thin , pliable connecting tube interfaces the mouthpiece to the sip / puff switch with a simple twist connector .
the sip / puff multi - user headset is uniquely designed to support disposable mouthpieces . each disposable mouthpiece is enclosed in a sealed package that includes a pair of latex - free gloves and an instruction sheet . the mouthpiece filter eliminates sanitary concerns on behalf of both the user and the attendant while retaining sip - puff convenience , accuracy and reliability .
5 . the mouth activated input device as defined in claim 1 , wherein the sip and puff switch has an elongated opening , which extends axially along the body .
dual pressure switch has two 3 . 5 - mm ( 1 / 8 - inch headphone ) connectors . one connector provides both sip and puff events with a stereo cable
although beneficial results may be obtained through the use of the mouth activated input device , as described above , even more beneficial results may be obtained when the sip and puff switch has an elongated opening which extends axially along the body . the elongated opening is designed to prevent the user from accidentally blocking access to the sip and puff switch .
6 . the mouth activated input device as defined in claim 1 , wherein the sip and puff switch has a saliva trap chamber with a removable cover to facilitate cleaning .
12 . the mouth activated input device as defined in claim 10 , wherein the sip and puff switch has a saliva trap chamber with a removable cover to facilitate cleaning .
if a simple switch closure over a standard switch 3 . 5 - mm connector is desired then the passive sip / puff switch is the proper choice .
a gentle sip or puff on a tube may be easier and more suitable for some than a more traditional adaptive switch . like a traditional switch , our sip puff switches can be used to access all manner of switch activated devices - speech generating devices , computers , tablets , mobile phones , environmental control systems , and other devices designed for switch scanning .
the most popular technology for operating a motorized wheelchair , called sip - and - puff devices and based on inhaling or exhaling into a tube , offers only four commands - forward , back , left and right - and is also slow and cumbersome .
there are a variety of point and click headgear mechanisms in the prior art . point and click headgear devices generally utilize ultrasound or light detectors to position the cursor on the computer screen and a “sip - and - puff” device to simulate pressing the mouse buttons . “sip - and - puff” refers to breath - operated devices wherein the user initiates commands to the control unit by either blowing or sucking air from the mouthpiece .
the multi - user sip / puff switch with headset is packaged in a compact case for easy storage and transport . the case is similar to a small briefcase , complete with handle and snap closures .
sip / puff breeze now supports ios switch control . with an apple usb camera adapter , breeze can now provide complete access to your ipad , iphone or ipod touch .
the second generation breeze builds on the original ' s comprehensive sip and puff switch , and computer interface solution by adding the capability to generate apple ios switch control events . it is a first class sip / puff sensor with an integrated usb computer interface . use breeze ' s integrated dip switch to tell it what events your application needs , plug it in , attach a pneumatic tube , and your application is ready for access .
this shield uses a pressure sensor to receive input from the plastic tubing . but we’ve also seen it done using mechanical pressure switches . that technique is what was used in the sip - and - puff kayak build .
the disposable mouthpiece attaches in seconds using a snap - fit fastener to the sip / puff multi - user headset . after usage , the mouthpiece is discarded and replaced so the system is immediately available for the next user .
suck and blow , exactly . the title made me think this was a device to help with consuming alcohol and smoking “tobacco . ” you sip a drink , you puff a cigarette and neither of those has anything to do with moving air through a tube for triggering things .
the arduino series of micro - controllers opens up a huge world of possibilities for novice programmers and hobbyists ! with freely available development systems and tutorials , and a vast array of library functions and sample sketches , just about anyone can succeed in designing and building projects that once would have required an advanced degree in electronics and programming . when i set out to develop my sip & puff controlled kayak , the subject of another instructable , i discovered that commercially available sip & puff switches were very costly , and thus prohibitive for many hobbyists to experiment with in their designs . this instructable will fully detail how to construct a u - contoller based sip & puff switch with the minimum and least expensive hardware i know of . i ' ll present complete purchasing info and detail how to fabricate a few parts you may wish to make yourself .
the second consideration is connectivity . the device that turns the sips and puffs into electrical signals ( often referred to as a
switch interface
) for a computer or aac device is available in two forms . if a simple switch closure over a standard 3 . 5 - mm connector is desired then the passive sip / puff switch is the proper choice . if a usb output is desired then sip / puff breeze™ is the proper choice .
the integramouse enables the user to activate all mouse functions with as little as 10 grams of lip pressure . left and right mouse clicks can be made with the built in sip and puff switch . use this tool for students who cannot access a standard mouse and have breath control .
this filter is required for the breeze and highly recommended for the sip / puff switch . the origin instruments sip / puff headset is designed such that gravity will generally minimize saliva moving past the headset . if saliva gets past the headset then an in - line filter is required . there is no need to insert more than one filter . for example , the gooseneck mouthpiece has an in - line filter so a second filter should not be used .
although beneficial results may be obtained through the use of the mouth activated device , as described above , even more beneficial results may be obtained when the sip and puff switch has a saliva trap chamber with a removable cover to facilitate cleaning .
sip / puff headset is a comfortable , adjustable head frame . the padded headset slips over the ears and behind the head . a replaceable mouth tube is held in position with an integral stainless steel forming wire . the tube and wire can be bent and cut to adapt to individual needs .
however , if you have a limited range of motion or strength , then using the standard joystick may be difficult . there are a growing number of alternative options that are becoming available . these include light touch mini joysticks , switches , touchpads and sip and puff controls .
sip - n - puff devices are widely used for controlling powered wheelchair . in sip - n - puff system , the user gives commands to the chair by “sipping” ( inhaling ) and “puffing” ( exhaling ) on a pneumatic tube . this method works , basically , on the amount of pressure applied to the pneumatic tube and whether the sign of the pressure is negative or positive ( indicating sipping or puffing , respectively ) . sharp sips and puffs can be used to change the speed and direction of the wheelchair . steering is accomplished by lower - level sips and puffs .
using the sip and puff device with the audio session is safe and confidential . the device can be easily mounted on a table or wheelchair , for which our special voting officers are trained to assist . every elector will use a headset supplied with disposable ear covers for sanitary reasons . the audio is only heard by the elector who is wearing the headset . also for sanitary reasons , our special voting officers will use disposable latex gloves to replace the disposable tips with built - in filters from the sip and puff device after each use .
sip’n puff is the industry term used to describe this type of assistive device . although it isn’t 100 % correct , it is a more elegant description . i’m sure a suck and blow ipod dock would have recieved a bigger response from a different type crowd . : )
thanks ! i have seen just the switch and mouthpiece units starting around $ 80 . they go up from there . this project adds the endless capabilities of a microcontroller to take a project to the next step - intelligently timing and responding to sip & puff commands , and the ability to control the rest of the project beyond the user interface . referring to my earlier instructable : urltoken the same arduino that manages the sip & puff portion of the design also controls the operator display panel , communicates with the motor driver , and monitors the rc throttle input as well as the man - overboard switch .
is this likely a 2 switch setup ? urltoken ( $ 160 ) or is there simply a single pressure switch available ? i need a switch that if i sustain a puff / sip the switch will close until i release ( momentary ) . .
the sip / puff replacement mouth tube has a stainless steel forming wire to position the tube in a convenient location next to the mouth . for best results the plastic tubing should slip up to the plastic mount for the headset ' s stainless steel tube .
there are several things to consider for a sip and puff switch solution . first is the user interface . we provide two standard options for positioning the mouthpiece , a headset and a flexible shaft with universal clamp . however , you may wish to attach the mouth tube to some other apparatus already positioned next to the user . in that case we have extra tubing available for a custom interface . our multi - user headset features a disposable mouthpiece and filter assembly that is easily replaced . this sanitary solution is perfect for evaluation centers and situations where multiple people will be using the same sip / puff switch . our flexible shaft interface also features twist - on and disposable , filtered mouthpieces .
the sip / puff multi - user headset is uniquely designed to support disposable mouthpieces . the disposable mouthpiece attaches in seconds using a snap - fit fastener and includes an inline aseptic filter to enable hygienic , worry - free access by a succession of users . the system is packaged in a compact case for easy storage and transport .
sip and puff is an access method which is not as common in europe as it is in the us however it is an ideal way to increase the functionality of a joystick controlled by lip movement . see the above link to learn more about sip and puff but to give a brief explanation , it uses a sensor that monitors the air pressure coming from a tube . a threshold can be set ( depending on the user’s ability ) for high pressure ( puff ) and low pressure ( sip ) . once this threshold is passed it can act as an input signal like a mouse click , switch input or keyboard press among other things . the flipmouse also has two jack inputs for standard ability switches as well as infrared in ( for learning commands ) and out ( for controlling tv or other environmental controls ) . all these features alone make the flipmouse stand out against similar solutions however that’s not what makes the flipmouse special .
using only tongue movements , the volunteers also navigated a powered wheelchair through a 50 - meter - long course with 13 turns , 24 obstacles and occasional alarms signaling
stop ! emergency !
here , too , on average the 11 tetraplegics drove the course three times faster with the tongue system than with sip - and - puff , and just as accurately .
the jouse 2 is a joystick - operated mouse that is controlled with the user ' s mouth . users can move the joystick with their mouth , cheek , chin , or tongue to shift the mouse cursor . using a built - in sip and puff switch allows users to perform typical mouse button functions .
all user interface solutions can be attached to the separate , breeze sensor using a simple twist - on pneumatic connector . the electronic pressure sensor in breeze will sense a sip or puff and convert these events to mouse button clicks or joystick button presses , and pass these to the connected usb host device ( typically a pc or mac computer ) .
breeze is a usb sip / puff switch in a compact package . it connects directly to standard usb ports on computers , laptops and aac devices and provides hardware emulation of mouse buttons or joystick functions . for special applications , sensitivity is selectable and dynamic pressure readings can be directly accessed through the usb interface . the integrated pneumatic port connects directly to a range of available user interface options including headset and gooseneck .
you can’t drive a powerchair with a gaze tracker , at least not outdoors with a bunch of ambient ir light everywhere . driving a powerchair is something that needs to work very reliably . also , gaze trackers require calibration and take up a lot of space . for certain tasks they’re just not feasible and sip in puff is a much more appropriate solution .
assistive and educational technology tools and resources to support learning for students with disabilities and their classmates .
in this case the device is used to control an ipod dock , but [ bob johnson’s ] kickstarter project seeks to put the sip - and - puff functionality out there so that it can bridge the control gap no matter what the need . one example that he mentions in the video after the break is a morse code keyboard .
a prototype intra - oral module was developed to verify the interface functionality with the user . the intra - oral module consumes a maximum of 28ma when it is activated and zero power while it is deactivated . figures 3 , 4 and 5 show the output signals from a hall effect sensor while the moveable plate was cycled through its range , a sip and puff action on the air pressure sensor and a biting action on the switch .
why not use a pressure transducer ? you ' d only need one , plus a precious analogue pin , and this would allow you to use graduated sips and puffs ( hard puff / soft puff , etc . ) as well . this would allow quite a range of short commands , assuming your client has sufficient breath control . it would also be amenable to control using a sealed bulb - this would avoid the problem of using up all the puff or sip , which is the curse of concertina players everywhere , amongst many others . would it be an idea to include a drool catcher as well ? or is drool resistance the reason the designflex units are so satisfyingly expensive ?
the multi - user headset features a totally detachable mouthpiece assembly that is easily replaced for situations where multiple people will be using the same sip / puff switch . for situations where a headset is not desired , a flexible gooseneck style interface is available . the gooseneck user interface features twist - on filtered mouthpieces .
neural control of speech movements in phonetics and phonology in language comprehension and production : differences and similarities .
attach the head mounted or gooseneck user interface to the breeze sensor using a simple twist - on pneumatic connector . using available tubing , you can even fashion your own custom interface . the sensitive electronic pressure sensor in breeze will sense a sip or puff and convert these events into mouse button clicks , joystick button presses , or keyboard characters , and pass these to the connected usb host device .
the sip and puff device is attached to a vote tabulation machine designed to allow you to cast your vote with the help of an audio session . this method is ideal for individuals that already use a sip and puff device on a regular basis . when using this method , you will automatically hear the name of the first candidate . puffing will allow you to hear the names of all subsequent candidates and will return you to the top of the list once all names have been read . once you have found the candidate you want to vote for , sipping will allow you to select that individual and cast your vote . the machine will confirm to you your selection , and your completed ballot will then be printed into a secrecy sleeve . at that time , one of our special voting officers can help you deposit your ballot into the ballot box
when the user wishes to perform a mouse button command input , the user utilizes the sip - and - puff procedures to trigger a pressure transducer which converts the user - induced , pneumatic signal into an electrical signal which is relayed to a signal . transmitter unit . the signal transmitter unit transmits the mouse button command signal to sensors on the reception unit where it is converted into a serial bit stream and transferred to the computer for execution
i ' m a quadriplegic can ' t move from neck down i use sip n puff controls to drive my wheelchair , i ' ve always wondered if it was possible to fix something up to drive an rc car , do you know of anything or have you ever herd of anybody doing this ? i ' m looking for something that i can turn the car not just go forward and backward .
after just 30 minutes of training , everyone was able to move a computer cursor , clicking on targets on a laptop screen , playing video games and dialing phone numbers . accuracy and speed improved with practice , even though subjects used the system only one day a week . after six weeks the tetraplegics were , on average , three times faster with the tongue system than with sip - and - puff , which six of the 11 ( including disanto ) had been using . it was equally accurate .
target selection is another challenge for eye input to computers . while a computer mouse includes both movement tracking and selection capabilities , there is no equivalent or inherent
button click
capability for the eye . using an eye tracking system for computer input , therefore , requires an additional and satisfactory implementation of the select operation that typically follows pointing . one possibility is to use a separate physical switch for selection . the hand , a head action , or even a sip - and - puff straw can activate the switch .
awesome project ! for those of us not in the industry , could you give us a sense of what
very costly
means for a commercial sip & puff ? you ' ve specked this project out at just under us $ 100 ( i assumed 9 feet of tygon , to get a nice round $ 10 : - ) . is that half of a commercial unit ? 10 % ?
the flipmouse ( finger - and lip mouse ) is a computer input device intended to offer an alternative for people with access difficulties that prevent them using a regular mouse , keyboard or touchscreen . it is designed and supported by the assistive technology group at the uas technikum wien ( department of embedded systems ) and funded by the city of vienna ( torades project and asterics academy project ) . the device itself consists of a low force ( requires minimal effort to operate ) joystick that can be controlled with either the lips , finger or toe . the lips are probably the preferred access method as the flipmouse also allows sip and puff input .
analysis powerful real - time video , heat map and line trace recording and printable reporting .
a mouth activated input device includes an elongated tubular body having an exterior surface , a first end and a second end . a first portion of the body at the first end has a first axis . a second portion of the body at the second end has a second axis , which is inclined at an angle to the first axis . a tongue activated multi - directional sensor element is positioned on the second portion . either a bite switch , a sip and puff switch or both are incorporated into the body .
the mouth activated input device , as described above , is designed to provide maximum comfort to the user with maximum functionality . the comfort is provided by the elongated body which has a “bend” forming the first portion with the first axis , the second portion with the second axis and the tongue activated multi - directional sensor element being positioned on the second portion . functionality is achieved by the combination of the tongue activated multi - directional sensor element in combination with one or more switches . the tongue activated multi - directional sensor element is capable of controlling such things as computer cursor movement . either a bite switch , a sip and puff switch or both are used to make selections . it is preferred that both the bite switch and the sip and puff switch be provided to give maximum flexibility and functionality . although the primary market for this device is perceived to be for persons with disabilities , it will be understood that the device will also be useful to persons , such as helicopter pilots or crane operators , who may wish to use this device when their hands are occupied with other tasks .
the intra - oral module consists of four hall effect sensors coupled with four magnets , a single air pressure sensor and a single push button switch . the four magnets are permanently embedded in a moveable plate , which is attached to the main body of the device through a post . the four corresponding hall effect sensors detect the movement of the plate ( in particular the magnets ) toward and away from each sensor . the tongue is used to move this plate , much like a joystick . these movements are converted to direction and speed data , and cause the on - screen pointer to move . for ` return - to - center ' feedback , a rubber bumper is attached to the base of the post . the pressure sensor is used to detect the puff and sip actions . the puff simulates a right mouse button event , and the sip event is configurable . lastly there is a bite table , which is connected to a push button that can detect a biting event . this simulates a left mouse button click . the length of the intra - oral module is adjustable so that it fits comfortably into the mouth . figure 2 depicts the intra - oral module .
but every physically challenged person is unique . they may find headgear uncomfortable , and not prefer to wear it at times when a simpler interface , like a puff sensor , is adequate for what they want to do . or they may want to have both interfaces at their disposal simultaneously , and divide tasks between them .
according to the present invention there is provided a mouth activated input device which includes an elongated tubular body having an exterior surface , a first end and a second end . a first portion of the body at the first end has a first axis . a second portion of the body at the second end has a second axis which is inclined at an angle to the first axis . a tongue activated multi - directional sensor element is positioned on the second portion . either a bite switch , a sip and puff switch or both are incorporated into the body .
according to the national spinal cord injury statistical center , the number of people having spinal cord injury ( sci ) in the united states has been estimated at approximately 265 , 000 persons in 2010 . there is a growing interest in improving the quality of life of individuals with disability by helping them to become more independent [ 1 ] . therefore , numerous assistive technologies ( at ) have been developed , such as sip - and - puff , eye tracking system , electromyography ( emg ) switches , voice recognition , brain - computer interfaces , and head arrays [ 2 ] .
beyond the drive parameters , there are many options to consider with each non - proportional input device . you may need to program multiple functions to be performed with one switch ( e . g . , on / off , mode changes , and emergency stop ) . it may be necessary to program a specific way for a head array to control the power seat functions , or the individual pressures needed for a sip - and - puff system . setting up the programming for a non - proportional input device can take a great deal of time and investment by everyone on the team , so a big commitment will be necessary .
resrach supported in part by the national institute of biomedical imaging and bioengineering grant 1rc1eb010915 and the national science foundation award cbet - 0828882 and iis - 0803184 .
the normal electric powered wheelchair needs to be operated through joystick by hand . however , the hand function may be limited or even not available in some patients with severe disabilities . the idea of the alternative wheelchair control is to use other part of the body rather than hand to operate some sort of a proportional control joystick . [ 1 ] the alternative wheelchair control includes sip - n - puff control , chin control , head control , speech control and tongue - operated solution - each of those can in some form be found on the market nowadays .
the regression models for the able - bodied and tetraplegic participants using mouse , keypad , tds , and snp are summarized in fig . s1 , a and b .
mackenzie , i . s . and isokoski , p . , fitts ' throughput and the speed - accuracy tradeoff ,
the prototype intra - oral module was developed and the results demonstrated that all the embedded sensors and switches function properly . it fits comfortably in the mouth and is easy to operate . the next two stages of this project are the refinement of the prototype and electronics module , and the start of clinical trials .
small and lightweight , with simple setup and calibration make the mygaze® eye tracker an essential tool at home or in the classroom .
tien , g . and atkins , m . s . , improving hands - free menu selection using eyegaze glances and fixations ,
physically disabled individuals who lack the ability to utilize normal arm and / or hand movement must depend on assistive devices and / or software to help them control a computer in the same manner as a non - disabled user . existing assistive devices do not provide disabled persons with a comparable ability to both manipulate screen objects using “point - and - click” , “drag - and - drop” , and “double - click” and to control the keyboard effectively and efficiently .
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those home systems already exist , with many smartphones offering apps that control home appliances , lights and heating - and - cooling systems .
collins , j . f . and blackwell , l . k . , effects of eye dominance and retinal distance on binocular rivalry ,
comparison of four fisheye techniques to improve target selection . the techniques were no action , always on , and appearing only after fixation begins ( with and without a grab - and - hold algorithm ) .
easy eye gaze interface allows users of varying abilities to access and control windows - based programs using eye gaze . designed for the needs of ‘independent’ users as well as ‘supported’ users and their teachers and parents .
yes , this design uses two of the same ( very ) low pressure / vacuum switches joined on a ' y ' junction . one is connected at the high ( pressure ) port and the other at the low ( vacuum ) port . the common pins of the switches are tied together , and the switches can be configured as active high or active low , depending on which level the common pin is tied to . they are so sensitive that the user does not need to form a complete seal around the mouthpiece . the switches stay closed so long as there is the slightest amount of pressure or vacuum , however they do not give indication of higher or lower pressure / vacuum like a transducer switch would . there is extremely little or even no airflow through the switch , so holding a sip or puff is quite easy and the tube stays relatively dry .
suck and blow ! oh how i loathe the mamby - pamby phrases , that are incorrect . one can not sip air , only liquids . i am all for assistive tech , as i am somewhat dyslexic . i can’t stand icons just give me plain text . this should be standard for ada access . this is clearly a job for a microswitch or 2 and a diaphragm or bellows . put a 15amp switch in it and suck and the vacuum comes on . couldn’t get any easier . make the bellows trip a toggle switch both ways and you have a bistable on off setup , no flip flop required . come to think of it this rather familiar . i rebuild player pianos .
, inset ) . able - bodied and tetraplegic participants completed pc access and powered wheelchair navigation sessions on a weekly basis to measure learning effects .
= 3 . 1 ) . participants would likely demonstrate lower error rates if further training was provided and improved feedback mechanisms were considered and tested .
figure 14 . error rates ( a ) by block and input method ( b ) by input method and target width . error bars show ±1
sure , eye tracking is a potentially higher bandwidth , and more interactive , interface . it can be diy’ed ( see urltoken and other examples ) .
for the new study , published in science translational medicine , ghovanloo and his team tested the tongue system on 11 tetraplegia patients from rehabilitation centers in chicago and atlanta and 23 able - bodied volunteers who already wore tongue jewelry .
instead of using a keypad and the tds , participants with tetraplegia used a snp device and the tds to complete the center - out tapping task .
the universal mounting arm is composed of two separate pieces , a ball and joint assembly and a clamp . the ball and joint assembly aligns with the clamp using an orientation pin that fixes it in one of eight 45 - degree orientations
a computer user traditionally controls the movement of a screen pointer using a standard point and click mouse ; however , some individuals who have poor to no hand or finger movement or are totally disabled cannot use standard input devices . alternative input devices are required to provide similar functionality to these individuals . such devices come in many different shapes and sizes to accommodate a variety of limitations . this paper reports on an innovative intra - oral input device ; its major advantages being user comfort and ease of use . this intra - oral device requires a tongue to control cursor movement , a puff to simulate a right mouse click and a bite on a switch to simulate the left mouse click .
follow this link for more breeze information and an explanation of joystick plus mode .
progression 18 carefully graded activities designed to assess and teach early eye gaze skills .
keyboard shortcuts to easily check positioning and change interaction settings without exiting your activity .
a variation will now be discussed with reference to figs . 7 and 8 .
data and materials availability : all the raw clinical data are available on urltoken .
one degree of separation : paralysis and spinal cord injury in the united states .
comparison of letter prediction and word prediction in eye typing using a soft keyboard .
mcgriffin , m . and balakrishnan , r . , acquisition of expanding targets ,
author contributions : m . g . was the principal investigator ( pi ) in this study , and a . l . , e . r . , m . j . , and d . w . were co - pls . all authors contributed to the design and execution of the study . h . p . and j . k . were responsible for developing and troubleshooting the hardware and software . j . k . , j . b . , e . s . , d . r . , b . n . , d . p . , j . h . , and j . m . conducted the trials . j . k . and e . v . analyzed the results . j . k . and m . g . wrote the paper and all co - authors edited it .
when the user wishes to perform a mouse button command input , the user utilizes the sip - and - puff procedures as outlined in fig . 7 . for example , if the user wishes to perform a “left click” command ( i . e . , to position the cursor in a standard word processing program for text insertion ) , the user puffs or blows into the airway passage 21 a of the enhanced mouthpiece 21 an amount of air sufficient to raise the air pressure in the airway conduit enough to trigger the pressure transducer 40 . the pressure transducer 40 converts the user - induced , pneumatic signal into an electrical signal which is relayed to the signal transmitter unit 50 . the signal transmitter unit 50 transmits the mouse button command signal to sensors 15 on the reception unit 10 . the reception unit 10 converts the mouse button command signal into a serial bit stream and transfers the signal to the computer 1 for execution .
at the user level , guis are utilized by employing three basic computer mouse operations : ( 1 ) “point - and - click” ; ( 2 ) “drag - and - drop” ; and ( 3 ) “double - click” . however , while basic , these three operations actually require complex and coordinated hand and eye movements . the majority of computer operators take for granted the complex set of mouse movements , mouse clicks , and keyboard manipulations inherent in using gui applications . furthermore , the typical user is scarcely aware of the powerful user functionality created by the mouse and keyboard that allow him to efficiently utilize the software application . in fact , as a typical user ' s skill levels increase , the keystrokes and mouse clicks become more automatic and intuitive , causing the interface ' s look and feel to become deceptively easy to manipulate . however , for physically disabled individuals , the basic operations necessary to properly utilize guis and window - based applications are oftentimes arduous and cumbersome if not at times impossible .
the use and operation of mouth activated input device 10 will now be described with reference to figs . 1 through 6 . referring to fig . 11 mouth activated input device 10 is connected to an electronically responsive device by cable connection 44 and fitting 46 . guard 40 may be adjusted for individual physiology by selectively snapping it in place at any one of adjustable positions 42 . upon insertion into the mouth , a person may actuate tongue activated sensor element plate 30 by changing its orientation along one or both of perpendicular axes 32 a or 32 b . plate 30 may be inclined toward any of four primary positions and any secondary positions in between . when tongue activated sensor element plate 30 is manipulated in this way , any one of magnets 50 will be re - oriented closer to any one of hall effect sensors 51 illustrated in figs . 4 and 5 . the combination of changes in proximity between magnets 50 and hall effect sensors 51 is translated as a signal that is transmitted through cable connection 44 to an electronically responsive device . for example , the multi - directional capability of multi - directional gimbal 48 illustrated in figs . 4 and 6 , would translate into the same kind of multi - directional movement required to operate a cursor in a computer . in a similar fashion , a person can actuate bite switch 34 and sip and puff switch 36 to click and select items in a computer . due to first axis 24 being inclined at an angle to second axis 28 , mouth activated input device 10 is operated with optimal comfort .
( c ) means for relaying said first and second signals to said computerized device .
cooper ra , cooper r , boninger ml . trends and issues in wheelchair technologies .
hello : due to age and other factors , i am considering a power wheelchair . and since i have trouble with my right side , ( leg foot arm and hand . ) and need my left arm and hand to carry items , handbag etc . urltoken wondering if a powered wheelchair can be controlled with my good left foot only . no mouth or head controlls please . do you have any ideas for me ? thank you josie
takahashi , k . , nakayama , m . , and shimizu , y . , the response of eye movement and pupil size to audio instruction while viewing a moving target ,
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mygaze eye tracker is an easy and affordable eye gaze control system for hands - free computer access . easy to set up and use ; appropriate for a wide range of needs .
table s1 . summary of the statistical analysis for center - out tapping and itr tasks .
. portions of this example are based on work by zhang and mackenzie [ 34 ] .
the information transfer rate ( itr ) quantifies how quickly and accurately a command is issued following a visual or auditory cue . it is a widely used measure to evaluate and compare bcis (
this is another example of how the field of rehab engineering and assistive devices is continuously evolving and benefiting from incorporating the emerging new technologies ,
said dr daofen chen , program director at the national institute of neurological disorders and stroke , part of the national institutes of health .
shown are ccc % and itr , which quantifies how quickly and accurately a command is issued within a given period . ( a ) ccc % and ( d ) itr for 9 of 23 able - bodied participants using tds . ( b ) ccc % and ( e ) itr for participants with tetraplegia using tds . ( c ) ccc % and ( f ) itr for subjects with tetraplegia using snp . error bars represent ±sem . * p < 0 . 05 , repeated - measures anova and least significant difference pairwise comparisons for session - by - session effects .
it’s all highly situational , and there is no such thing as too many assistive tech options .
we thank pride mobility inc . for donating the quantum 6000 powered wheelchairs . we also thank x . huo for his assistance with developing the tds hardware and software . funding : national institute of biomedical imaging and bioengineering grant 1rc1eb010915 and national science foundation awards cbet - 0828882 and iis - 0803184 . j . m . was supported in part by a grant from the national psoriasis foundation .
when an eye tracker is used for computer input , how well does the interaction work ? can common tasks be done efficiently , quickly , accurately ? what is the user ' s experience ? how are alternative interaction methods evaluated and compared to identify those that work well , and deserve further study , and those that work poorly , and should be discarded ? these are the sorts of questions that can be answered with a valid and robust methodology for evaluating eye trackers for computer input .
participants were briefed on the purpose and objectives of the experiment and on the operation of the eye tracker and the selection methods employed . they sat at a viewing distance of approximately 60 cm from the display . calibration was performed before the first eye technique , with re - calibration as needed .
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, and a permanent magnetic tracer was attached to their tongue , 1 cm anterior to the tip .
facebook ( facebook , inc . ) : find the “gtbionics” group page and leave a given message .
= 1 . 2 s and dropped during shorter periods to 38 . 9 ±28 . 1 % at
) revealed that the tds was easier to use than snp in terms of both speed and accuracy .
table s2 . summary of the statistical analysis for maze navigation and electric - powered wheelchair driving tasks .