Need advice on wireless TTY/pager

T

TS

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I’m 45 years old and have been profoundly deaf since 3 years of age. I wear a hearing aid for environmental sounds and rely on lip reading for communication. I am an senior electrical engineer and I recently passed my PE exam. I’ve worked in the electric utility business for almost 25 years. My work involves a lot of travel and I need a better way of contacting my associates and clients while on the road.

I currently use a TTY with VCO connected via phone line for telecommunication. I have a one way pager for receiving messages or phone numbers. I also carry a laptop but here in Maine, wireless connections are few and far in between, I must use dial up most times while on the road.

There so much information on wireless TTY/deaf pagers that after a few days of research, I’m still not finding the answers I’m looking for. I’m hoping someone here will help steer me in the right direction.

A stand alone cell phone with VCO TTY, 2 way pager and text messaging would be ideal, but best I can tell that isn’t available. I know there are TTY compatible cell phones, but involves connecting a 2nd device (TTY) and I’m not sure if you can communicate to pagers.

I’ve researched the Sidekick III but I believe it may be more than I really need (maybe not). I also believe it does not have VCO capability, correct me if I’m wrong.

Obviously, I’m way behind times when it comes to wireless communication gadgets. So, all you deaf communication wizards out there, please help point me in the right direction. Thanks to all who respond. :)

TS
 
I wish I could help you but I am not much into that crap cuz I used regular cellphone as I can hear better than the normal land line phone. As for tty I wish there is one for me. As for Sidekick I, II or III the cellphone is not loud enough for me to hear as I was told by hearing person. Dang on that one. I would like to have SK also. Maybe in the future when I lose more hearing then I will go for it. :giggle: I know I am losing some. Oh well that life.
 
There is no device out there that does any kind of stand alone TTY or VCO messaging. You will have to have a TTY-compatible phone, such as a Blackberry, and hook up a VCO reader or a portable TTY in order to do your messaging if you wanted to do VCO at this time.

I am aware of certain technologies that are coming that will allow VCO to happen for wireless devices, but there's nothing that does it right now. You can get a Sidekick 2 and pay an additional $9.95 a month for the ability to do TTY to TTY calls, but in Maine, I'm afraid that coverage might not be the greatest for any Sidekick.

The Sidekick 3 doesn't exist right now. Anything you read about the Sidekick 3 is all speculation, so there's no real way to know if it's "too much" for you.
 
2-way pager isn't quite popular anymore, SMS (or text-message) is, because you can reach everybody in the world who own mobile phone already.

Why don't you get portable VCO device? It work great with any mobile phone with VCO compatible.

I love my Nokia 6822 under former AT&T Wireless (now under Cingular), it's better than Sidekick-poo under lack coverage from T-mobile.
 
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