Hello everyone. I am back with an update and some new news. I want to thank all of you who helped me last year in obtaining the Bookport Plus. That device has served me very well. The device allows me to listen to books in a format called DAISY which is a digital talking book file based on the EPUB standard. One of the big things the device has allowed me to do is it has allowed me to study for and receive my Ham Radio License. Using the audio lecture series through the HandiHam service and the BookPort Plus, I studied for both the Technician and General class licenses. I took both tests and passed them both. As I type this, I do not yet have my new callsign. I do not own any HAM radio gear but I do at least have a license on the way. My next major project using the player that the great people here provided for me is to learn the game of Chess. I will do this through the Hadley School for The Blind.
Now on to some more news. Last year I spent two monthsd at my states Rehab Center For The Blind. I was updated in the use of the white cane for example. I was also put through an adaptive technology assessment. There was a device that was recommended for me by the low vision specialist. It is called a handheld CCTV or electronic magnifier. The device was suggested for me and then I heard nothing more about it. Well, yesterday I got a phone call from the technology dept. saying “hey your device has come in and I am on my way to deliver it to you.” Great, I did not even know I was going to get it. Why am I typing all of this? It is because the people here care and also because I was told when I got the BookPort Plus that if it has an LED in it….tell us about it and make a review. Well my new device does in fact have an LED in it. So here ya go….my take on my new device.
Humanware Explore 5:
Handheld CCTV
5 inch screen backlit with LEDs
Fixed camera using digital zoom from 2x-22x magnification
Two LEDs provide light for what is being magnified and for the camera
$759 paid by my state dept. for the blind
The device is about the size of a smartphone. It charges via a microUSB port. The manual says battery life is 3 hours per charge. Charge time is 3.5 hours at 5 volts and 1.5 Amps. The paperwork does not give huge detail about the device specs. I would think the battery is Li-ion. The battery is internal and the device would have to be taken apart to find out. The device will allow me to read at a glance small print such as mail, ingredients, recipes, pill bottles etc. The device is portable and will fit into a pocket so I can take it with me wherever I go or may need it. The devices can stand up on a flat surface to read and item, held in hand by its body, or held like a traditional magnifier via a fold out handle. Here is the manufactures link to the device: http://store.humanware.com/hus/explore-5-handheld-electronic-magnifier.html
That sounds like a really cool piece of hardware! So, it’s essentially a fixed-macro digital imaging sensor that feeds to a display to use as a portable digital illuminated magnifying glass.
I must admit, for the price point, the specs are less than I would expect. Although the five megapixel sensor isn’t an issue, I’m surprised at the low-res screen used in the device. That should have at least a high-def display for better image clarity…
Funny, I was thinking the same thing. What you have here is a device that for the money should be rather serious BUT what they did was put together a device from the lowest cost bidder for the supplies used. I would have thought as well they would have used a higher resolution display. After all the device does have an HDMI output. When you really zoom in the picture on the 5 inch display get rather pixelated. It will be interesting to see if the same happens if you connect the device to a higher quality monitor. I have a Humanware desktop CCTV and if you max the magnification on that….you can see the teeth of the gears from a mechanical watch with great detail. No pixelation with that unit.
The device does seem rather expensive, given the stated specifications. I suspect that the high cost may be partly due to the relatively low volume of sales that can be expected.
The pixelation you mention is not a function of the display, but rather the fault of the digital zoom the device uses to produce a magnified image. My standard HD computer monitor (1920 x 1080 resolution) shows pixelation if I zoom in on an image from my 12mp camera. To produce better results the maker of your device would need to use a better (bulkier and more expensive) optical zoom lens.
Congratulations on your Ham license! I’m a long time Ham too, but I’m no longer active due to antenna constraints where I now live. Enjoy the hobby, I think you will meet many wonderful hams when you have a rig and station set up. :+1:
I was wondering why the device did not use optical zoom compared to digital zoom. My guess would be cost. A quality camera uses a quality lens and optical zoom. A smartphone for the sake of size and connivence uses a fixed lens and digital zoom. I just noticed something for the first time…did not think about it until now. My desktop CCTV a Humanware Smartview Synergy PI is using optical zoom. When I turn the control click by click you can hear the motor moving the lens. It has a real camera lens in it, high Acer monitor, etc. The thing cost about $3000. LOL
Humanware does seem like they are gouging the taxpayers for $750. A quick google search shows several magnifiers in the 40 to 160 dollar range. Some with better specs. A bunch of them on Aliexpress as well.
When I was at the school for the blind and was being shown several devices, the Humanware Explore line was by far the best looking unit they had. I got to see some cheaper models but they did not work as well. I even got to see some apps for Android and iOS devices. The apps did far worse then the dedicated devices. The other unit that came close to the Humanware unit was the Freedom Scientific Ruby.RUBY® XL HD – Freedom Scientific
The best known smartphone app is called Eyesight. It works but the overpriced cctv handhelds are more refined… For example smartphones have a reflective screen, a cctv is matte. The cctv has a stable image when you move it. A smartphone camera can be jumpy or gittery. The cctv has the advantage of tactile feel on the button to operate the unit a smart phone does not. The camera on a handheld cctv is located in the center making it easier to orient a items on screen. The cctv has multiple contrast and color options. Most apps just magnify. The cctv will stand up on their own stand. The cctv has a fold out handle built in to help you hold it, a smartphone does not. More even lighting due to having more than one LED plus the LEDs are recessed a bit allowing the cctv to lay flat on an item and still read it. The software is written for the hardware of the cctv. An app has to support many different types of hardware in the case of an Android phone. The iOS phones all share the same hardware in each generation of phone. Does that help? Here is a video demo of my unit.
You are very welcome. To give you an idea of how close and detailed the unit will go….on its lowest magnification which is 2x you can clearly see finger print on your finger. You can see how rough your oil skin on your hand really is, etc.
I liked the video link… Definitely a cool looking piece of hardware, especially with the aspect correction when used with the kickstand. I could see something similar being useful as a portable microscope for precision soldering (7135 stacking?). Looking on ebay for LCD digital magnifiers shows a few options, but they seem to start at around $60 for devices that are curiously devoid of any valuable specifications in the descriptions… Unfortunately, a bit expensive for an impulse purchase/toy.
Good the hear of your progress in life, especially the Ham License. As I’m sure you a;ready know, there are several rigs which have ‘voice’ options for setting frequencies and such. And for 2M there are a lot of cheap rigs to be had. Even without ‘voice’ here’s a trick you can use for memory channels- set the first memory channel to your local NOAA weather transmitter since it’s always broadcasting, then you know where you’re at without needing to look, I do that with my mobile rigs so I can watch the road and not the radio.
Long ago when CB had only 23 channels and I wasn’t a Ham, a friend and I set up our radios to work on what would become channel 35 and we played chess over the airwaves on a regular schedule. About one game in 20 there would be a conflict over where a piece was located when one of us hadn’t followed correctly so we’d toss that game out and begun a new one. We were evenly matched and over a 200 game run he won 105 to my 95 so every game was fun. Sadly, I hardly play anymore and I’ve forgotten most of what I knew though I can still hold my own with the average casual player. I mention this because you might find someone to play chess with on a simplex 2M frequency once you get on the air.
I read this and it made me smile. Thank you for the encouragement. I live on a fixed income so I will be saving up for a 2 meter/70cm hendheld unit. I live a mile away from my nearest repeater. I am still waiting on my callsign. When I started the beginners class in Chess from Hadley, they sent me an adpated Chess set. The black squares are raised from the white. The black chessmen have studs on top to identify them. Right now I am learning basic algebraic notation. Thanks again for the encouragement. When it comes to a handheld transceiver I am torn. Do you “cheap out” and chance buying a Btech/Baofeng to get on the air sooner, OR do you save for longer and hold out for a Yaesu FT60 or iCom IC-170A? Btech is $60. Yaesu is $150, Icom is $200. Wisdom would say to use disipline and get the better quality product. LOL
I use cheaper hand-helds but I also don’t ‘ragchew’ with them because they are not heat-sinked well and are not meant for that kind of use. Plus I am somewhat ‘rough’ with my stuff so I’d rather break a $50 radio dropping it than a $250 one haha. My ‘carry unit’ is an old Wouxun KG-UV2D from when they were good; their current stuff is junk. The Baofengs are a bargain and will do you well. I’d start there then get on the local repeaters letting it be known that I’m looking for a good cheap mobile rig, power supply, and antenna with a bit of help for doing the installation. In most places you’ll be pleasantly surprised how many people there are that will come out and set it up for you; it seems to just be a part of Ham Radio to help each other. And many of us have older but good rigs we will sell at good prices- I let a kid have an old Radio Shack mobile after a friend put in a power switch for his part of the deal and that rig is still in use by him 5 years later. Similar has happened around here numerous times with many other Hams. Just remember the ‘pecuniary interest’ rule when on the air- you can talk of prices but you can’t agree to the final buying or selling over the airwaves- you do that on the phone or in person and then you’re legal.
