By Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
I know that some of you will wonder if the software is blind accessible. The answer is, yes, probably. I am only qualifying that with a “probably” because I have not heard from any screenreader users who have tried it, and I’d like to do so before I say one way or the other. Here are some things I did find out, though:
-
Under “Options”, you can choose “text to speech” enabled. This will cause the frequency display to be announced and other announcements to be made as you use keyboard commands.
-
ALT-Shift-F is a simple keystroke command to read the frequency anytime.
-
ALT-Shift-M causes the mode to be read.
-
ALT-Shift-B reads the buttons.
-
ALT-Shift-D reads the dropdowns.
-
ALT-Shift-S reads the sliders.
-
ALT-Shift-A sends an “Ask to tune” request to the software chat area.
-
You can focus on the direct frequency entry with CTRL+F. Once there, simply enter the frequency in kHz, so for example 3.925 MHz would be entered as 3925 <ENTER>. This will be confirmed by an audio announcement.
-
The mode does not change automatically as you change frequency, so you have to use CTRL+M to gain focus on the mode selection. Hold the CTRL key down while repeatedly pressing the M key to go through all the modes. The mode will be read aloud to you.
-
CTRL+T toggles transmit. If you have gained focus on the TX button, you can also use the spacebar to toggle transmit as you can with EchoLink. You can’t transmit unless you have been granted permission to do so by the station’s owner. Once you are granted permission, you can transmit any time you use that station.
If you can see the display, you will be looking at a virtual radio with the typical buttons, knobs, and frequency display. The best way to learn how to use the software is to learn by doing. Connect to different radios and give the tuning a try. It is also a good way to find out what HF propagation is like by listening from various locations.
