Part 95 accepted radio for blind user?

[WSEZ864]

I've been helping a blind radio enthusiast with his FCC licensing and he recently got his GMRS license. We are working on getting him through his Technician exam, but it's not going quickly and he would like to use GMRS to talk with local friends while working on his other license.

I would need to find a Part 95 certified/accepted transceiver that will work for visually impaired for him to use. He has a Kenwood ham HT that audibly tells him its status and he does well monitoring with it, but cannot legally transmit with it at this time.

I realize we could probably find a ham HT to adapt, but I really don't want to put him into non-compliance and I'm not at all interested in debating enforcement/risk. I've been around radio for 50 years and understand the debate, but this is not for my own use. Whatever I suggest to him must be perfectly legal for him to use for GMRS.

Does anyone know of a decent Part 95 radio usable by a blind person?

Thank you for any suggestions!!

[WSFL951]

8 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

I've been helping a blind radio enthusiast with his FCC licensing and he recently got his GMRS license. We are working on getting him through his Technician exam, but it's not going quickly and he would like to use GMRS to talk with local friends while working on his other license.

I would need to find a Part 95 certified/accepted transceiver that will work for visually impaired for him to use. He has a Kenwood ham HT that audibly tells him its status and he does well monitoring with it, but cannot legally transmit with it at this time.

I realize we could probably find a ham HT to adapt, but I really don't want to put him into non-compliance and I'm not at all interested in debating enforcement/risk. I've been around radio for 50 years and understand the debate, but this is not for my own use. Whatever I suggest to him must be perfectly legal for him to use for GMRS.

Does anyone know of a decent Part 95 radio usable by a blind person?

Thank you for any suggestions!!

 

[WSEZ864]

Thank you for the link WSFL951! I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I searched before posting, but that didn't come up.

The info at the link is primarily about amplifiers and commercial radios, but he could get by with an HT accepted for Part 95 operation that he can use. We are fairly close to each other and to several repeaters, so 5 watts +/- should be plenty. If there is a mobile radio that offers audible setting status, etc., that would probably work fine too if it's not too expensive.

[WRXB215]

The Baofeng MP31 has audio prompts but it is only 2 watts. If you can find a similar 5 watt radio it might suit your needs. Radios like the MP31 that don't have a display are more likely to have the voice prompts you are looking for.

[SteveShannon]

2 hours ago, WSEZ864 said:

I've been helping a blind radio enthusiast with his FCC licensing and he recently got his GMRS license. We are working on getting him through his Technician exam, but it's not going quickly and he would like to use GMRS to talk with local friends while working on his other license.

I would need to find a Part 95 certified/accepted transceiver that will work for visually impaired for him to use. He has a Kenwood ham HT that audibly tells him its status and he does well monitoring with it, but cannot legally transmit with it at this time.

I realize we could probably find a ham HT to adapt, but I really don't want to put him into non-compliance and I'm not at all interested in debating enforcement/risk. I've been around radio for 50 years and understand the debate, but this is not for my own use. Whatever I suggest to him must be perfectly legal for him to use for GMRS.

Does anyone know of a decent Part 95 radio usable by a blind person?

Thank you for any suggestions!!

I’ll start by saying that I do not know of a 95E certified radio with voice prompts.  My ham Baofeng UV5R has voice prompts for the menu and a 95E lookalike exists, but I have no idea if it includes voice prompts.  I suspect it does. I do have two 95E certified radios, a Wouxun kg805 and a Garmin Rhino.  I’ll check to see if either can have voice prompts turned on, but as much as I love the Garmin, it uses a context sensitive touch screen and for that reason I could not recommend it. Maybe I’ll be surprised by the Wouxun.

Edited to add: the manual says the KG-805G, which is a pretty good 95E certified radio, has voice prompts which are enabled in menu #7.  I’ll try it sometime today and let you know how it works.

I have a friend who’s a blind-deaf ham.  He holds a General license. His name is Maurice and he’s also the president of the blind-deaf division of the National Federation of the Blind. His deafness is aided by hearing aids. He has several handheld ham radios.  If it would be helpful I would be happy to see if Maurice would be interested in talking to your enthusiast.  Maurice is a true advocate for ham radio for the blind.  He’ll be coming to Washington DC next week for NFB activities there.  The hq for NFB is in Baltimore I believe.

[WSEZ864]

2 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

I’ll start by saying that I do not know of a 95E certified radio with voice prompts.  My ham Baofeng UV5R has voice prompts for the menu and a 95E lookalike exists, but I have no idea if it includes voice prompts.  I suspect it does. I do have two 95E certified radios, a Wouxun kg805 and a Garmin Rhino.  I’ll check to see if either can have voice prompts turned on, but as much as I love the Garmin, it uses a context sensitive touch screen and for that reason I could not recommend it. Maybe I’ll be surprised by the Wouxun.

Edited to add: the manual says the KG-805G, which is a pretty good 95E certified radio, has voice prompts which are enabled in menu #7.  I’ll try it sometime today and let you know how it works.

I have a friend who’s a blind-deaf ham.  He holds a General license. His name is Maurice and he’s also the president of the blind-deaf division of the National Federation of the Blind. His deafness is aided by hearing aids. He has several handheld ham radios.  If it would be helpful I would be happy to see if Maurice would be interested in talking to your enthusiast.  Maurice is a true advocate for ham radio for the blind.  He’ll be coming to Washington DC next week for NFB activities there.  The hq for NFB is in Baltimore I believe.

Thank you for your help with this Steve, it is very much appreciated! I'll look into the KG-805G.

[SteveShannon]

6 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

Thank you for your help with this Steve, it is very much appreciated! I'll look into the KG-805G.

I took the neighbor lady to the eye doctor so I haven’t tried it yet but once I get home and have lunch with my wife I’ll check it out. 

[WSFL951]

6 hours ago, WSEZ864 said:

Thank you for the link WSFL951! I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I searched before posting, but that didn't come up.

The info at the link is primarily about amplifiers and commercial radios, but he could get by with an HT accepted for Part 95 operation that he can use. We are fairly close to each other and to several repeaters, so 5 watts +/- should be plenty. If there is a mobile radio that offers audible setting status, etc., that would probably work fine too if it's not too expensive.

The good old Baofeng is here

introduce you to the GM5RH.

https://www.amazon.com/BAOFENG-Handheld-GM-5RH-Emergency-Frequency/dp/B0CP3PH6V6

[WSEZ864]

Thank you WSFL951! Amazon is out of stock at the link, but has it under another listing that might be workable.

 

Opinions?: Is the Wouxon worth more than double this cost? I'm thinking I'll just donate this radio, but balk at $80 - $29 is more more platable

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, WSEZ864 said:

Thank you WSFL951! Amazon is out of stock at the link, but has it under another listing that might be workable.

 

Opinions?: Is the Wouxon worth more than double this cost? I'm thinking I'll just donate this radio, but balk at $80 - $29 is more more platable

The only voice prompts on the 805 are the channels and pressing the menu button.  For instance channel 10 is spoken “one, zero”. Pressing the menu button results in “function select”, but going to a specific menu isn’t reflected in any voice prompt. 

[WSEZ864]

9 hours ago, WRXB215 said:

The Baofeng MP31 has audio prompts but it is only 2 watts. If you can find a similar 5 watt radio it might suit your needs. Radios like the MP31 that don't have a display are more likely to have the voice prompts you are looking for.

Thank you for your suggestion and comments, sorry I missed them before.

[WRUU653]

23 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

The only voice prompts on the 805 are the channels and pressing the menu button.  For instance channel 10 is spoken “one, zero”. Pressing the menu button results in “function select”, but going to a specific menu isn’t reflected in any voice prompt. 

I tried my Wouxun and Baofeng radios and I'm sorry to report they all behave the same. The channels only give you a number, when you press on menu it says menu but there are no prompts once in menu. Halfway just doesn't seem like enough, I'm not sure what it's good for if it isn't complete. 

 

2 hours ago, WSFL951 said:

The good old Baofeng is here

introduce you to the GM5RH.

https://www.amazon.com/BAOFENG-Handheld-GM-5RH-Emergency-Frequency/dp/B0CP3PH6V6

I doubt this is any different but I'd be happy to find that it was. You need the promts to work for everything not just channel numbers. Imagine trying to set up a repeater with no audio and no sight. I imagine computer programming might be helpful. It would be nice if the channel names were spoken. At least with GMRS you have potentially less to memorize. 

[WSEZ864]

46 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

The only voice prompts on the 805 are the channels and pressing the menu button.  For instance channel 10 is spoken “one, zero”. Pressing the menu button results in “function select”, but going to a specific menu isn’t reflected in any voice prompt. 

Thank you VERY MUCH for checking that. I've passed that info along. Maybe that much is enough, he may have someone who can set the menu items for him and all he'll need is channels, volume and power.

[WRUU653]

9 hours ago, WRXB215 said:

Radios like the MP31 that don't have a display are more likely to have the voice prompts you are looking for.

This makes a lot of sense. good call.

[WSEZ864]

4 minutes ago, WRUU653 said:

I tried my Wouxun and Baofeng radios and I'm sorry to report they all behave the same. The channels only give you a number, when you press on menu it says menu but there are no prompts once in menu. Halfway just doesn't seem like enough, I'm not sure what it's good for if it isn't complete. 

 

I doubt this is any different but I'd be happy to find that it was. You need the promts to work for everything not just channel numbers. Imagine trying to set up a repeater with no audio and no sight. I imagine computer programming might be helpful. It would be nice if the channel names were spoken. At least with GMRS you have potentially less to memorize. 

Thank you for checking that, I very much appreciate it!

I could set him up initially, with our local repeater tones, etc.. I 'need' a dedicated GMRS HT myself and might get one like his and add the RTSystems software/cable to my end of it and program it for him.

Does either radio (Wouxon or Baofeng) voice acknowledge 'scan'? That's the only other function I can think of that he would want constant access to.

Thank you guys again!! It would be great to be able to help this guy get going.

[SteveShannon]

6 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

Thank you for checking that, I very much appreciate it!

I could set him up initially, with our local repeater tones, etc.. I 'need' a dedicated GMRS HT myself and might get one like his and add the RTSystems software/cable to my end of it and program it for him.

Does either radio (Wouxon or Baofeng) voice acknowledge 'scan'? That's the only other function I can think of that he would want constant access to.

Thank you guys again!! It would be great to be able to help this guy get going.

I’ll check and see as soon as I can. 
Thank you for helping your friend. 

[WRUU653]

18 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

Does either radio (Wouxon or Baofeng) voice acknowledge 'scan'? That's the only other function I can think of that he would want constant access to.

They both say “scanning begin” and “scanning stop” when the appropriate button is pressed again. 
 

edit- no indication of where it stops though, you have to change a channel manually to hear what channel you are on. 

[WSEZ864]

5 minutes ago, WRUU653 said:

They both say “scanning begin” and “scanning stop” when the appropriate button is pressed again. 
 

edit- no indication of where it stops though, you have to change a channel manually to hear what channel you are on. 

Excellent, THANK YOU! That's probably good enough to get him by. I'll let him know this.

He is also going to contact Maurice at the NFB and get his opinions.

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, WSEZ864 said:

Excellent, THANK YOU! That's probably good enough to get him by. I'll let him know this.

He is also going to contact Maurice at the NFB and get his opinions.

Maurice’s last name is Mines. 

[WSEZ864]

Thank you Steve. I'm apparently out of 'likes' for the day or you'd have one. My buddy actually knew exactly who I was talking about when I gave him Maurice's name and has already emailed him. We're more or less in the area - my buddy lives up near Baltimore and I'm a little further south.

[SteveShannon]

2 hours ago, WRUU653 said:

They both say “scanning begin” and “scanning stop” when the appropriate button is pressed again. 
 

edit- no indication of where it stops though, you have to change a channel manually to hear what channel you are on. 

On my 805, the radio announced the channel number when first powered up. 
When you press and hold the A/B button it says “Scan beginning.”

When you hit it again it says “Scan stop, channel 3,2.”  
There is no number pad on the 805. You can rotate through the channels using the rotary knob on top or the up and down buttons on the front center. 
This also has an FM broadcast tuner. Weirdly it begins several MHz below the FM broadcast band in the U.S. and it takes a while to tune through the dial but it sounds good once it’s tuned. 
I can’t answer whether it’s worth the extra $50. It will transmit and receive the same distance but it probably has a more selective tuner because it’s a superheterodyne receiver rather than SOC. Whether that’s noticeable I can’t really say. I’m glad to have it. 

[SteveShannon]

40 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

My buddy actually knew exactly who I was talking about when I gave him Maurice's name and has already emailed him

Three degrees of Maurice Mines!

[WSFL951]

4 hours ago, WRUU653 said:

I tried my Wouxun and Baofeng radios and I'm sorry to report they all behave the same. The channels only give you a number, when you press on menu it says menu but there are no prompts once in menu. Halfway just doesn't seem like enough, I'm not sure what it's good for if it isn't complete. 

 

I doubt this is any different but I'd be happy to find that it was. You need the promts to work for everything not just channel numbers. Imagine trying to set up a repeater with no audio and no sight. I imagine computer programming might be helpful. It would be nice if the channel names were spoken. At least with GMRS you have potentially less to memorize. 

I have one that works great for me.

[WRUU653]

11 hours ago, WSFL951 said:

I have one that works great for me.

Admittedly I certainly can’t speak definitively to all that is out there. Could you give more info on how it works for you that could help OP’s friend?

 

[WRUU653]

Here are some more details on what I found and what radios I tested.

I only tested the KG-935G plus, the KG-S88G and the Baofeng UV-9G for type accepted.  
I also tested the KG-UV9PX, KG-Q10H, KG-935H and Baofeng GT-3WP.

While they all have voice prompts there were no prompts once in the menu. The S88G didn’t even give numbers when changing channels unless you punched the number in the keypad. It didn’t work with the up and down arrow or the knob. So I would avoid that one if you are sight challenged. There may be work arounds that I’m not thinking of and I’m no expert on radios or the needs of the blind. I’m just trying to give information I think might be useful. 

[brasda91]

@WSEZ864 I applaud you for helping your friend. Sometimes it feels like there just aren't enough good friends anymore.