Alva Braille Displays and Bluetooth

Blue tooth and Alva Braille Displays: Setting Up The ALVA Braille Controller to Interact with a PC Via A Bluetooth Connection Objective: The user will learn to configure their primary PC to both connect and interact with the ALVA Braille Controller. Before proceeding with this lesson, please ensure that the user first understands what the Bluetooth wireless protocol is, how it differs from other wireless options and services, and how such a service will provide the user with many different opportunities to maximize their utilization of the ALVA Braille Controller. Procedure: 1. From the ALVA BC640 “Setup” Menu (which was covered in the previous lesson), locate and select the “Bluetooth Setup” button, and press either the space or enter key to activate the Bluetooth installation software. 2. This action allows the files for the installation process to be unzipped to a temporary folder on the user’s hard drive. Select and activate the “OK” button to continue. 3. Locate the Belkin Bluetooth Dongle that ships with the ALVA Braille Controller. It may be possible to use other Bluetooth dongles that implement a similar “Bluetooth Stack”, but use of the included dongle is strongly recommended for optimal results. Plug the dongle into an available USB port on the PC. This will convert the USB port into a Bluetooth access port to which numerous Bluetooth devices might be connected. 4. When prompted, select and activate the “Next” button to continue. 5. The installation wizard will automatically execute and complete the installation, and in all likelihood the installation will complete within five to ten minutes, depending on the speed of the PC. Allow the installer to automatically answer the prompts and complete the installation. More often than not, the machine will reboot upon completion of the installation, and may prompt the user to restart the PC if files are in use that need to be modified in order to complete the installation. 6. Once the PC has restarted, power on the ALVA Braille Controller. The user is now ready to connect the ALVA base unit and Feature Pack wirelessly to the Bluetooth Dongle which is now powered by the newly installed software. There are a number of methods by which this can be accomplished. However, it is recommended that the following steps be taken in order to provide a simplistic means of establishing a Bluetooth connection to all available services within ALVA Explorer: Locate and open the “My Bluetooth Places” icon on the PC desktop. Press Alt + B to open the “Bluetooth” Menu. Once this menu has been accessed, use the down arrow to locate and access the “Search for Bluetooth Devices” menu option. This will search for all Bluetooth devices in range of the PC. Both “ALVA BC” and “ALVA BC FP” will appear. Use the arrow keys to select “ALVA BC” and press enter. Enter the PIN security code “0000” when the computer prompts for the unit’s PIN. Select the “Keyboard”, “Headphones”, and “DEV” services as authorized services for this device. It is important to select these services so that the unit’s keyboard and audio features will be available for use. The “DEV” service will allow Screen Readers to communicate with the ALVA Braille Controller and send information on to the Braille display. Repeat the same process by selecting the “ALVA BC FP” device, and install the Feature Pack using the same PIN code. Select the “Stereo Audio” service offered by the feature pack. When initially connecting these devices to communicate with a PC, the user may need to “Search” for these devices and press enter on each of them to connect each device. Subsequent connections should then occur automatically when the ALVA Braille Controller is in range of this computer. Audible tones emit from the ALVA Braille Controller’s speakers as each service connects. 1. Power off and then power on the ALVA Braille Controller and listen for the tones. If, after five to ten seconds the tones do not emit, then manually activate the “Braille”, “Keyboard”, and “Stereo”, or “Mono” audio services directly from the ALVA Braille Controller. Press Smartpad2 + Left Arrow (on the five way navigation key) + Smartpad, as a shortcut to bring up the “Bluetooth” menu. The ALVA Braille controller’s “Braille”, “Keyboard”, “Stereo”, and “Mono” audio services are displayed. The services that have a highlighted row of dashes under them are active services and the services that are inactive are not highlighted by these dashes. Simply press a cursor routing button under the desired service and then press a cursor routing button under the “primary” option, and the ALVA Braille Controller’s active connection tones sound to announce the availability of this service. One may also re-enter the “Bluetooth” menu to ensure that an active service is highlighted, or to disable a service by pressing a cursor routing button under the active service to disable it. 2. Finally, there is an “ALVA BC6 Bluetooth Settings” shortcut on the PC desktop that may be accessed to ensure that the ALVA Braille Controller’s Braille keyboard and Stereo / Mono Audio services connect either “Automatically” or “Manually”. This dialog box also provides a means of ensuring that “Bluetooth HandsFree Audio” is selected as the default audio device if the user wishes to automatically connect audio services when connecting the ALVA Braille Controller. Please note that if “Bluetooth HandsFree Audio” is selected as a default device, and the ALVA Braille Controller is not being used with the PC, the PC’s sound will in all likelihood be muted, and this default setting may require an adjustment back to the PC’s primary sound card.


Technical Highlights