| This directory contains the BRLTTY driver for braille displays which are | |
| manufactured by Handy Tech Elektronik GmbH [http://www.handytech.com/] of | |
| Germany. As a component of BRLTTY, this driver is released under the terms of | |
| the GNU Public License. | |
| This driver was originally implemented by Andreas Gross <andi@andi-bika.de>. It | |
| has since been extended, and is being maintained, by Dave Mielke | |
| <dave@mielke.cc>. Thanks to Mike Pedersen <mpedersen@mindspring.com> for his | |
| help with the design and testing of the Braille Star component. Thanks to Jill | |
| Clark <jill@handytech.com> of Handy Tech Elektronik for having graciously lent | |
| us a Bookworm so that its component could be tested. Thanks to Mario Lang | |
| <mlang@delysid.org> for his help with the development of USB and bluetooth | |
| support. | |
| A HandyTech display can be used via its serial, USB, or bluetooth interface. If | |
| you're using a serial connection then specify "serial:/path/to/device", e.g. | |
| "serial:/dev/ttyS0". If you're using a USB connection then specify "usb:" (the | |
| trailing colon is important). If you're using a bluetooth connection then | |
| specify "bluez:address", e.g. "bluez:01:23:45:67:89:AB". | |
| Active Braille: | |
| --------------- | |
| An external keyboard can be connected to your Active Braille via USB. The | |
| keyboard is presented to the host as though it were a true HID (Human Interface | |
| Device) in its own right. If you are using USB (not yet supported) to connect | |
| your Active Braille to the host, most modern operating systems will | |
| automatically recognize and correctly handle the keyboard. If you are using | |
| Bluetooth to connect your Active Braille to the host, you will need to do some | |
| additional setup to get the keyboard working. | |
| For Bluetooth on Linux: Add the Bluetooth device address and the PIN of your | |
| Active Braille to the file /var/lib/bluetooth/<host-address>/pincodes so that | |
| it will successfully pair with the host. Then, to enable keyboard input from | |
| the Active Braille, execute the following command as root: | |
| bluez-test-input connect 00:01:02:03:04:05 | |
| Note that you will need to replace the sample Bluetooth device address in the | |
| example above with that of your Active Braille. | |
| Basic Braille: | |
| -------------- | |
| Starting with the Active Braille, Handy Tech has introduced a resistor | |
| which limits the amount of power drawn via USB. This eliminates | |
| excessive draining of the host's battery. This artificial reduction in | |
| power consumtion has the side effect that the dots do not lower as | |
| quickly. This leads to a kind of blurring when you scroll rapidly | |
| through a screen. If you are a user who does a lot of rapid scrolling, | |
| you will likely notice this effect. The Basic Braille allows this | |
| behaviour to be configured. If you can afford to draw a little more | |
| power via USB and would like to get rid of the blurring, here is how | |
| to configure it: | |
| Press all six display keys at once and hold for at least one second. | |
| You will see "Config mode" on the display. | |
| Now press cursor routing key 7 to toggle "HIGH USB POWER". | |
| Pressing display key 6 will leave Config mode. | |
| The symmetry of the Basic Braille makes it easy to use when rotated | |
| 180 degrees such that the routing keys are below (rather than above) | |
| the braille cells. If you would prefer to use your Basic Braille this | |
| way, simply press both the first and last routing keys simultaneously | |
| while in Config mode. | |
| Braille Star: | |
| ------------- | |
| Braille Star models allow the use of an external keyboard for input. It can be | |
| used not only while the Braille Star is in "Notetaker" mode, i.e. while not | |
| connected to any external PC hardware, but also as a keyboard for the PC | |
| itself. Either connect the second PS/2 cable from your display to your PC | |
| (that's the old way), or just disable "Ext. keyboard autoselect" in the | |
| internal menu. This latter, much simpler, approach causes the keyboard's | |
| signals to be sent over whatever interface (serial, USB, or bluetooth) you're | |
| using to connect your display to your PC. It's particularly advantageous to use | |
| the external keyboard in conjunction with a bluetooth connection since this | |
| combination effectively transforms the Braille Star into a completely wireless | |
| yet fully functional braille terminal. |