From: Mike.Freeman@f126.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Freeman)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: B n s and grade 2
Date: 12 Aug 92 21:18:50 GMT
Reply-To: Mike.Freeman@f126.n105.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:105/126 - Lawson & Reay, Vancouver WA
X-Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference

Index Number: 23846

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

In a message to William Wilson <18 Jul 92 13:57> Chuck Hallenbeck wrote:

 > TW>> turns the tranlator on and brailles
 > TW>> in grade two. then when she
 > TW>> prints it she does I think she said
 > TW>> a cord b and a cord t and
 > TW>> the paper product comes out in
 > TW>> grade 2.  so you all figure this
 > TW>> one out.
 > WW>      If you use the translator when
 > WW> you create your file, it
 > WW>  is, of course, in the form of grade
 > WW> 2 braille.  If you then
 > WW>  transmit it to a print printer, or
 > WW> want it stored as straight
 > WW>  ASCII on whatever source you're
 > WW> sending it to, you turn the
 > WW>  translator on in the status menu.
 > WW> In other words, it "reverse
 > WW>  translates" the braille file to an
 > WW> ASCII file. If, however,
 > WW>  you are sending it to a braille
 > WW> printer, and you want it to be
 > WW>  printed as the braille file it was
 > WW> composed as, you turn the
 > WW>  braille translator off in the
 > WW> status menu.  This way, it will
 > WW>  be sent out just as you composed
 > WW> it, no reverse translation
 > WW>  taking place, and assuming you
 > WW> formatted it correctly, it
 > WW>  should at the least be readable
 > WW> grade 2 braille in hard copy.
 CH> Hi, guys.
 CH> You are nearly correct, Willy. The BNS
 CH> translator actually only works on
 CH> stuff coming out of a file, and not on
 CH> stuff going into a file. It only
 CH> back-translates, and does not
 CH> forward-translate. If you write stuff
 CH> using contractions, you have to have
 CH> the translator on in order to hear
 CH> it in English, and in order to upload
 CH> it in ASCII or print it in print.
 CH> If you enter stuff without using
 CH> contractions, then forget about the
 CH> translator for reading, uploading, and
 CH> printing. The only way to get
 CH> grade 2 braille out of the BNS is to
 CH> enter the contractions yourself,
 CH> then upload or output the stuff
 CH> without the back-translator (the only
 CH> translator) turned on. Lots of people
 CH> use Turbo Braille on their
 CH> desktops to create grade 2 for downloading onto their BNS.

 > WW>  If I did, I would
 > WW>  probably still want to send it to a PC and do a good
 > WW>  translation with Turbo-Braille, so
 > WW> I would still probably not
 > WW>  use the translator in my creation of the file.

 CH> If I am right, you are saying that
 CH> Turbo Braille does a better job than
 CH> you do by hand, Willie, not better
 CH> than BNS. Turbo Braille has no
 CH> back-translator at all. I had a guy
 CH> call me once in despair because he
 CH> deleted his source file and only had a
 CH> braille file left, and he was
 CH> pretty upset that TBRL could not
 CH> back-translate it for him. I advised
 CH> him to download it to his BNS, then
 CH> turn his BNS translator on and
 CH> upload it again. He decided not to
 CH> take his own life after all. ...
 CH> Chuck.

Hi, Chuck!

Glad we didn't have to read about that feller in the obits!

As to this BNS business, you've explained it extremely well with one
tiny caveat:  In order to transmit a Grade II file to a Braille printer
from the Braille 'N Speak, one does not have to go into the status menu
and turn the Braille back-translator off.  One only needs to do a
T-chord B.  This transmits the file with the back-translator off but
still honoring the format parameters (line length, page length, top
margin and left margin) you've set from the status menu.  With the June
26, 1992, revision of the BNS640 software, those parameters are
file-specific, BTW.

Happy Brailling!

Mike Freeman < K 7 U I J >
... ** "A cynic is right nine times out of ten." -- H. L. Mencken **
___ CRR QWK 1.40

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