Another major concern, which has been repeatedly expressed by PDI, is that the BN/VN family uses very nonstandard batteries. Taking the unit to your standard run-of-the-mill battery supply place might not only invalidate the warranty, it may also result in serious damage to the unit. Same with the charger. It's good that someone has had luck buying a standard charger at Radio Shack, but this is something I would never do. BrailleNotes cost a lot, we all have to deal with this, so I would never jeopardize the health and integrity of my unit just to save a couple hundred bucks--which I don't have either--so I could have a new battery installed immediately. Besides, most of the people who work at such a standard battery supply outfit will have never seen a BN or it's specialized battery. It comes back to the same old thing, it's too bad that we get so much use out of such a proprietary device, but if we don't like it, we can go back to the days of the Perkins and the slate and stylus.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Richard Ring Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 3:07 PM To: Braillenote List Subject: RE: [Braillenote] BRAILLENOTE BATTERY LIFE??? I agree that there should be a better way of handling battery issues. I know that when I lived and worked in Oregon, we routinely visited a battery specialty company and they replaced batteries for Braille 'n Speaks and Braille Lites, but we made sure the units were no longer under warranty. We could get such batteries for about $35. Again, my only concern is voiding a warranty and thus setting oneself up for a truly high service charge if, for example, a number of Braille cells failed and Pulsedata did not honor the warranty because they felt the unit had been tampered with. Replacing Braille cells can run into a lot more money than a battery. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Victory Associates LTD, Inc. Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 2:44 PM To: Braillenote List Subject: Re: [Braillenote] BRAILLENOTE BATTERY LIFE??? You do have a point, Rich!! However, for an equipment in use daily for all sorts of tasks, including this one ... writing E-Mail--sending it away for TWO WEEKS OR LONGER for a battery change simply DOES NOT MAKE ANY MODICUM OF SENSE in my books. Authorised dealers in various regions and locales should be trained to CHANGE BATTERIES for customers near the area(s) they serve. I thank God though there is a service centre in the U.S. I pity BLIND FOLKS using the BrailleNote and related Pulsedata products in, say, West Africa )or even Asia)!! They will have to SHIP IT OFF TO LONDON )or some other NOOK AND CRANNY OF THE EARTH), and hope to God it gets there if they are lucky. I'm complaining about a TWO-WEEK wait; holy smoke, the folks will have to wait nearly SIX MONTHS just to have the battery in their BrailleNote replaced and I sure hope they'll luckily get it back in one piece?? Sincerely, Olusegun ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.pulsedata.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.pulsedata.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
