Hello,
Main question: What do other Deaf people use to alert them to other family members in the household? For example, if they live with their parents, how do the parents reach them? In the middle of the night, if the parents are sick or they need help, they can't walk downstairs to get me. They use the doorbell in their bedroom and it shakes my bed and flashes my lamp. But I'm not happy with the system I have now. I need new ideas.
I'm profoundly Deaf and live at home with my parents. I currently use a Deaf notification system (Sonic Alert HomeAware) with three Deluxe Receivers, one Basic Receiver, nine Blinks, and five doorbell transmitters. The system is set up as thus: one doorbell at the doorbell chime (hardwired), one doorbell in the kitchen, one in the family room, one in the den, and one in my parents' bedroom. That way, if my parents need my attention or help, they can push the doorbell in any of those four rooms. But I've been frustrated with having to reset the entire HomeAware system every other month. It frequently goes off (flashing lights like crazy until I disconnect everything). I have two different battery testers, and they all say the batteries are good, but the HomeAware system says they're bad. I've had to change out batteries every six months. I've used both Duracell and Energizer. I even took the extra time to wipe down the contact points and the batteries themselves to remove any potential residue. I've already replaced the Main Unit and it looks like the Main Unit needs replacing again. And the stupid thing is it's always about 1 to 2 months after the warranty expires. It seems to have a one-year life-span. I'm not in the mood to spend $250 every year on a new Main Unit. That's counterproductive. That'd be $500 in two years. $750 in three---that is, if the prices stay stable during those years. I'm at my wits' end. I'm so frustrated because on one hand, I love the Sonic Alert HomeAware system. It works perfectly---when it's working! But when it doesn't, oh, my goodness, it takes me half a day to reset the entire thing. Every other month! It's like every 6 to 8 weeks, I have to reset the whole stupid thing. It's not fun being shook and flashed awake at 4:00 AM because the Sonic Alert HomeAware system thought it was a good time to go crazy. It doesn't always happen at 4:00 AM, thank goodness. The time is random. It takes me about 30 minutes to disconnect everything, and during that entire time, the whole Sonic Alert HomeAware systems flashes throughout the whole time. There has to be something better out there! What? Where?
What do other Deaf people use nowadays to alert them to other family members? I would say the biggest issue for me is my parents, not the front doorbell. I need to find a system where my parents can notify me at a moment's notice. We all have smartphones, but we don't take them everywhere with us in the house. We usually drop the smartphone on a table or a desk and go around our business. I don't keep my smartphone in bed with me because it's not strong enough to shake me awake and the flashes from the camera app are a joke. I'm a dead sleeper. I need something as strong as the Sonic Boom shaker.
I can't use notification lamps in the kitchen, bathrooms, and hallways. It has to be something I can plug into a wall outlet, similar to the Sonic Alert HomeAware Blink. I also need "bridge" devices, allowing me to connect my Deaf equpiment to regular lamps. Strobe lights aren't good for my eyes because in order to look at the display, I have to literally stare into the strobes. LOL Not a good design. I don't do well with flashing lights while sleeping because I have two walls with windows on them, so I need something that will also shake my bed.
Ideas? Suggestions? Please!!! Or am I just kidding myself and Deaf equipment is a scam?
Thank you.
Main question: What do other Deaf people use to alert them to other family members in the household? For example, if they live with their parents, how do the parents reach them? In the middle of the night, if the parents are sick or they need help, they can't walk downstairs to get me. They use the doorbell in their bedroom and it shakes my bed and flashes my lamp. But I'm not happy with the system I have now. I need new ideas.
I'm profoundly Deaf and live at home with my parents. I currently use a Deaf notification system (Sonic Alert HomeAware) with three Deluxe Receivers, one Basic Receiver, nine Blinks, and five doorbell transmitters. The system is set up as thus: one doorbell at the doorbell chime (hardwired), one doorbell in the kitchen, one in the family room, one in the den, and one in my parents' bedroom. That way, if my parents need my attention or help, they can push the doorbell in any of those four rooms. But I've been frustrated with having to reset the entire HomeAware system every other month. It frequently goes off (flashing lights like crazy until I disconnect everything). I have two different battery testers, and they all say the batteries are good, but the HomeAware system says they're bad. I've had to change out batteries every six months. I've used both Duracell and Energizer. I even took the extra time to wipe down the contact points and the batteries themselves to remove any potential residue. I've already replaced the Main Unit and it looks like the Main Unit needs replacing again. And the stupid thing is it's always about 1 to 2 months after the warranty expires. It seems to have a one-year life-span. I'm not in the mood to spend $250 every year on a new Main Unit. That's counterproductive. That'd be $500 in two years. $750 in three---that is, if the prices stay stable during those years. I'm at my wits' end. I'm so frustrated because on one hand, I love the Sonic Alert HomeAware system. It works perfectly---when it's working! But when it doesn't, oh, my goodness, it takes me half a day to reset the entire thing. Every other month! It's like every 6 to 8 weeks, I have to reset the whole stupid thing. It's not fun being shook and flashed awake at 4:00 AM because the Sonic Alert HomeAware system thought it was a good time to go crazy. It doesn't always happen at 4:00 AM, thank goodness. The time is random. It takes me about 30 minutes to disconnect everything, and during that entire time, the whole Sonic Alert HomeAware systems flashes throughout the whole time. There has to be something better out there! What? Where?
What do other Deaf people use nowadays to alert them to other family members? I would say the biggest issue for me is my parents, not the front doorbell. I need to find a system where my parents can notify me at a moment's notice. We all have smartphones, but we don't take them everywhere with us in the house. We usually drop the smartphone on a table or a desk and go around our business. I don't keep my smartphone in bed with me because it's not strong enough to shake me awake and the flashes from the camera app are a joke. I'm a dead sleeper. I need something as strong as the Sonic Boom shaker.
I can't use notification lamps in the kitchen, bathrooms, and hallways. It has to be something I can plug into a wall outlet, similar to the Sonic Alert HomeAware Blink. I also need "bridge" devices, allowing me to connect my Deaf equpiment to regular lamps. Strobe lights aren't good for my eyes because in order to look at the display, I have to literally stare into the strobes. LOL Not a good design. I don't do well with flashing lights while sleeping because I have two walls with windows on them, so I need something that will also shake my bed.
Ideas? Suggestions? Please!!! Or am I just kidding myself and Deaf equipment is a scam?
Thank you.
