Orbit Slate 340

Quick-start Guide

Introduction

This guide provides the basic instructions for using the Orbit Slate 340 Multi-line Refreshable Braille Display. For more information and complete instructions, consult the Orbit Slate 340 User Guide included on the SD card. The Orbit Slate 340 is the world’s first Multi-line Braille Display. It is the first and only product in the world to provide multiple lines of true real-time refreshable braille in a single, compact, tablet-sized device. It enables people who are blind or visually impaired to seamlessly and intuitively experience spatially arranged text and information such as spatial math problems involving fractions, mixed numbers, and matrices, reading and writing braille music, manipulating spreadsheets and tabular data in real time. The Orbit Slate 340 has 3 lines of real-time refreshable, signage-quality braille with each line having 40 TrueBraille™ cells, for a total of 120 cells.

The Orbit Slate offers features that include a book reader, editor, and the ability to connect to a smartphone or computer via Bluetooth or USB and access all the features of these platforms using popular screen reader programs. It also includes features for productivity and convenience such as onboard braille translation in over 40 languages, a clock with alarms, a calendar, and a calculator.

The Orbit Slate 340 produces braille symbols using 8 pins that can move up and down to produce braille dots and can show three lines of 40 such symbols. It features a high-quality 8-key Perkins-style braille keyboard, a cursor pad and rocker keys for navigation and panning, cursor routing buttons and a full-sized SD-card slot for loading books and files for reading and editing. When connected to a computer or smartphone, the Orbit Slate leverages the extensive screen-reader ecosystem developed for the Orbit Reader family of braille displays to provide instant access to Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Fire OS and Linux systems. Its integration with all popular platforms means that users have countless ways of interacting with their favorite apps and software.

In the Box

The following items are included in the package. Contact your distributor if anything is missing or damaged.


·       Orbit Slate 340 unit

·       Charger

·       USB Cable (USB-A to USB Type C)

·       SD Card with User Guide and content (installed in unit)

·       Printed Quick-Start Guide

 

 

Orientation of the Device

The normal operating orientation of the device is with the space bar closest to you. Moving toward the top there is a navigation pad in the middle, between the Braille Input. The navigation pad contains the four directional arrow buttons (Up, Down, Left, Right) and the Select button. The navigation pad is used to move within a book or file and through menus.

On the left and right side of the navigation button are eight traditional braille input keys aligned horizontally with Dots 7 3 2 1 on the left and Dots 4 5 6 8 are on the right. These keys are used to type in braille and to enter commands.

As you continue toward the top you will find 3 braille displays. The Panning keys are at each end of the three braille displays.

For orientation purposes, there are forty slightly raised tick marks located above the braille displays. Every fifth tick mark is slightly raised than others. For example, the fifth tick mark from the left is somewhat higher than the following markers.

There are cursor routing buttons above each braille cell of first braille display. These are used to move the cursor to the desired location while editing. 

On the left side of the device, is the recessed on-off switch.

On the right side of the device, from front to back, is the USB Type-C (front) and USB Type-A (back).

At the front right corner of the device, is the SD card slot. The SD card is inserted with the card connector fingers facing up and towards the device. To remove the card, press in and remove your finger to pop out.

Charging the Device

We recommend charging the device fully before or during first use. To charge the battery, plug the small end of the cable into the USB Type C port on the right side of the unit and insert the other end into the supplied charger or a USB port on a computer.

Powering On and Off

To turn on the device, press and hold the power button for 2 seconds. If the device is already on, pressing and holding the power button for 2 seconds will turn it off.  If the device is running on batteries and you do nothing with it for 10 minutes, it goes to sleep automatically to conserve power.

The device shall give long vibration and buzzer together to indicate power on.

The device shall give two pulses of vibration and buzzer together to indicate power off.

 

 

 

Language Settings

Your Orbit Slate 340 comes with support for several languages and more can be loaded from the SD card as needed. You can select a language by pressing the Select button and one of the Dot keys together. The Select and Dot 1 keys will choose English US Grade 1 (uncontracted) braille for reading and writing. All the messages and menus will also be shown in English US Grade 1 (uncontracted). The Select and Dot 2 keys will choose English Grade 2 (contracted). The Select and Dot 3 keys will choose the BRF format, which is independent of language. The Select and Dot 4 keys will choose the language you have loaded from the SD card. There are many other options that provide a lot of flexibility. Please refer to the User Guide for more details.

Reading

The Orbit Slate 340 comes with an inserted SD card containing the User Guide and translated braille material already on it. If the SD card is removed or there is no SD card present when the unit is turned on, the Orbit Slate 340 displays “SD card [no media]”. To insert a card into the slot, make sure its contact fingers are facing up and gently push it in until you hear or feel a click. To remove a card, press and release it.

When you first power the device on, the display shows the name of the first file or folder on the SD card or opens the previously opened file starting with the file’s last position.

You can scroll through the list of files using the Up and Down Arrow buttons on the navigation keypad.

To open a file in the list for reading, press the Select key. To read a file, use the panning buttons to move forward or back through the contents of the file. For more details on how panning operations work please refer to the User Guide. To exit from reading a file and return to the list of files and folders, press the Dot 7 key.

Setting Preferences

The Orbit Slate 340 offers several options which are accessed through the menu. This allows you to do things such as checking the battery status, configuring the way braille is displayed, etc. 

        To see the menu, press the Select and Up arrow key.

        To move through the menu items, press Up or Down Arrow keys.

        To see the options for an item in the menu, press the Right or Left Arrow keys.

        To select or unselect an option, press the Select key.

        To close the Menu, press the Dot 7 key.

Connecting to a Computer or Smartphone

The Orbit Slate 340 can connect to computers and mobile devices to access all of their functions and features using braille. The connection can be either through USB or Bluetooth.  The access to the computer or mobile device’s features is through a software program called a Screen Reader. This software is available for all platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS, Chrome, and Amazon FireOS. For further details, please refer to the User Guide.

Further Information

For the latest information, specifications, troubleshooting tips, software upgrade instructions, care and user information, warranty information, and more detailed instructions, contact us at techsupport@orbitresearch.com.

 

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