Dragon help

[Cole Parker]

A friend whom I've been encouraging to get a voice activated typing system because of severe arthritis just sent me this message. Can anyone help?

Dragon took name, voice modulation but keeps telling me it's not loud enough. I turned the volume on the computer all the way up. Still not loud enough. Dragon help in not available Saturday and Sunday. I'll let you know what happens Monday.

C

[Gee Whillickers]

Did he perhaps turn up the wrong volume control? The volume for the speakers, which is the obvious one, isn't the correct one for this. He'll need to ensure the microphone volume is turned up all the way.

[Cole Parker]

Did he perhaps turn up the wrong volume control? The volume for the speakers, which is the obvious one, isn't the correct one for this. He'll need to ensure the microphone volume is turned up all the way.

OK, I passed that on. We'll see. Thanks.

C

[Cole Parker]

OK, this is what I got back after sending him a note to turn up his microphone volume control:

I've looked and I can't find one. What I have is an HS-GEN-B. I've tried both the USB attachment and the pins one pink and one brown. They tell us where to put brown one when using the pins but not when using the USB adopter. Where should the brown and pink pins go when the Dragon logo is up.

I'm not sure he actually has a microphone, although there must be something if he says it understands his speech.

Any more helpful advice? You know me. I can't help here at all.

C

[Gee Whillickers]

The pink one should go into the pink audio jack in the back of his computer for analog microphone input. Since it has USB, it sounds like it could also be hooked up digitally, so that would work too.

From the answer above, I'm wondering if he's looking for a physical, mechanical volume control. What I was referring to was the software volume control. Depending on the version of Windows he has, he can either click on the volume control in the lower right tray area, then click on "mixer" or he can double click on the volume control to bring up the mixer. Alternatively, he can go into the control panel, find the sound settings-volume control and do it there. He's looking for the Microphone setting, which could be either immediately viewable, alongside the volume controls for various other settings, or there may be a tab to click on, to change it from "outputs" to "inputs" to find the microphone setting. Anyway, once he finds the microphone volume setting, he can just raise it all the way and see how Dragon responds. He may need to adjust it downwards from there.

[Cole Parker]

The pink one should go into the pink audio jack in the back of his computer for analog microphone input. Since it has USB, it sounds like it could also be hooked up digitally, so that would work too.

From the answer above, I'm wondering if he's looking for a physical, mechanical volume control. What I was referring to was the software volume control. Depending on the version of Windows he has, he can either click on the volume control in the lower right tray area, then click on "mixer" or he can double click on the volume control to bring up the mixer. Alternatively, he can go into the control panel, find the sound settings-volume control and do it there. He's looking for the Microphone setting, which could be either immediately viewable, alongside the volume controls for various other settings, or there may be a tab to click on, to change it from "outputs" to "inputs" to find the microphone setting. Anyway, once he finds the microphone volume setting, he can just raise it all the way and see how Dragon responds. He may need to adjust it downwards from there.

Thanks again. I'll relay this.

C

[blue]

Oh! Duh! I'd written the items below when it occurred to me: Your friend's microphone or headset may have a physical toggle switch to mute the volume. He or she should be sure that is not on mute. There can also be keyboard and software switches that do the same. Earphones and headsets sometimes have a volume control slider or thumbwheel (dial), as do external speakers, but these are for output volume control, not input from the microphone.

It may be obvious to many people, but there's always the chance someone overlooks it or it isn't obvious to them, because they're focused on another part of the problem, or unfamiliar with the equipment and software.

Gee is right on this, and there are similar operating system controls for microphone audio input in Macintosh OS X.

What I typically use for audio is a headset that includes stereo headphones and a microphone all in one. Many people use a separate microphone.

When you use a separate microphone, you do have to have your mouth within a given distance (a couple of inches or less) from the microphone, in order for it to pick up your voice. That's intuitive for most people.

If you ever want to sing along or dance around, then of course, you may need a microphone stand such as a floor stand. Otherwise, you have to be careful about the cord, so that you don't pick up noise as the cord moves. That, and watch your feet; don't trip!

Yes, and if a person uses a wheelchair or scooter for mobility reasons, the headphones and microphone can be arranged to suit him or her. :)

Some microphones and headsets have a volume control thumbwheel or slider, while others don't have any control.

[Tim]

A friend whom I've been encouraging to get a voice activated typing system because of severe arthritis just sent me this message. Can anyone help?

Dragon took name, voice modulation but keeps telling me it's not loud enough. I turned the volume on the computer all the way up. Still not loud enough. Dragon help in not available Saturday and Sunday. I'll let you know what happens Monday.

C

Cole, you didn't say what kind of computer your friend is using. It's important and if he's/she's using a laptop with a built-in mic, he/she will have to make sure the built-in mic is turned off and the option for external mic selected. They can do this by right clicking the speaker symbol in the tray and choose adjust audio properties.

Tim

[Cole Parker]

Thanks to both of you. I'll send this along.

C