Access: FM receivers and accessible art at Arisia '10

[kestrell.livejournal.com]

1. The New England Folk Festival has offered Arisia the loan of two hearing-
assistance transmitter/receiver sets, which will be made available to attendees on a first come, first served basis.
However, if people have their own FM receivers, they can bring those and they'll be
able to pick up the transmission.
We are working on a list of panels and GOH events at which these transmitters might be of the most use, but if attendees have specific requests, please feel free to send them to access@arisia.org and we will do our best to make it happen.
Note: the transmitters can only be set up in rooms with augmented sound (microphones, amplification, etc.).

2. We are also working on offering an accessible tour of the art show, including providing description and the ability to touch the art. Arisia will be providing cotton gloves for anyone attending this event, and we'll have more details closer to con. If possible, it would be great to get an approximation of how many people would be interested in attending this tour so that we can provide enough gloves. You can e-mail us at access@arisia.org .


Also, I wanted to thank all the artists who graciously agreed to participate in this event: thank you!

Comments

[eclecticmagpie.livejournal.com]

Just to clarify, the systems that NEFFA is lending Arisia are short-range, low-power (legal) FM transmitters that broadcast in the commercial band. So, they can be picked up with any walkman-style FM radio that's tuned to the correct frequency. They are NOT commercial Assisted Listening Devices (ALDs), and they have a very limited range -- generally speaking, one large room up to about 150 feet on a side (if the transmitter is in the center)(which is about the same range as the Conversor and probably all systems that don't require licenses). Whether they can be used with a hearing aid or not depends on the radio receiver and its headphones/earbuds/whatnot.

--Mike Bergman
NEFFA Sound Committee Chair

[kestrell.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for posting those details, Mike, and please convey our thanks to NEFFA for loaning us the devices.