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Optimizing your website for the blind
You have your own show, a killer website but are you reaching all your listeners?
Don't think that everybody listening to your show appreciates all the "Eye Candy" on your website. The Talk Radio audience has a significant number of blind or visually impaired listeners. Here are some tips to optimize your site and include them on your website.
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The blind talk radio listener
Not everybody listening to talk radio is sighted, that's obvious but as sighted people we hardly ever give that any thought. Good radio and Talk Radio in particular engages the mind ... it paints a thought picture in the way no TV show ever could.
In the summer of 2002 I exchanged email with an avid radio listener in California name Russ Kiehne. He sent me much of the information and feedback that you will read on this page. It's with him, and all the blind listeners, in mind that this page is built for.
How do they read a webpage?
Speech programs read the webpage in a digital voice from left to right and top to bottom. They do well with tables and cells and even read mixed layout sites such as this one reasonably well. Properly labled icons are also taken care of. Microsoft includes MSAA (Microsoft Active Accessibility) into Internet Explorer 6.0 that will read a webpage.
Links
www.gwmicro.com - related information for the blind, sells screen reader. Has support link, hints.
http://www.vischeck.com/ - run your website through this color blind simulator
From WebDevTips - Another good article with plenty of tips
Optimizing your site for the blind
Optimizing your site for the blind doesn't mean you have to give up on all the nifty images you hold so dear. You can include information into a graphic rich site and still make it useable for the blind visitor. Sites or pages that are mostly informational (commentary, links, etc.) should be built with that in mind. Fancy Flash animations done just to jazz up a page not only increase the load time of your page they are usually ignore on subsequent visits by sighted people. They are totally lost on the blind. Same goes for large graphics. Small images need to have tags included to tell the blind (and those surfing the Net with graphics turned off or on text only browsers) what the image is supposed to be about. By all means post those images that are relevant to your site, just keep in mind that there are easy steps to optimize them for the blind.
Images:
This is a no brainer, if they can't see your images are lost on them but they still will want to know what is there and why.Solution - Include the ALT tag to describe the image, especially important for visitors using text based browsers.
Code - alt="describe your picture here"
Place the alt tag inside the image tag with a space in front and in back. Put your own description inside the quotes. Upload and hover your mouse over the image to test. In text only browsers and page readers that is what will come up.Image Links:
Reading programs and search engine spiders don't read links attached to images.Solution - Place text based navigation links on all your pages in addition to your image or icon based links.
Animated Menus:
Script coded and animated navigation menus pose a stumbling block to blind users. Programs that will read your site don't work well with this. Using roll over images for navigation lock the reader on the main page if there is no text based navigational links.Solution - Place text based navigation links on all your pages in addition to your image or icon based links.
Text Layout:
While screen readers can interpret tables and cells they don't always read it the way you want them to.Solution: - Avoid heavy use of nested tables and cells. Place the text in a straightforward manner. Keep one topic or paragraph per table or cell.
Reception tips and help for the blind
Russ Kiehne lives in San Leandro near San Franscisco and has five 50K watt stations nearby. Some of his notes will be also posted on the reception help page.
Those purchasing more complicated radios meant for DXing would understandably have trouble reading the manual without yet another type of text reader. Russ says that www.ccrane.com sent him an audio tape version of their manual for one piece of equipment he bought. Call and ask the vender if they have such a tape when you are considering a new radio.
Reception Feedback
I was interested in knowing your testing between the Select-a-tenna and the Justice AM antenna? I'll have to go back to your site again. I didn't have much problem with it. I also wanted to ask you if you know about the following antenna? This one should really make your CCradio come alive! ...
The Edek 26" Inductively Coupled MW Loop
I spent my first couple of years in MW DX'ing acquiring an arsenal of capable MW receivers. The next couple of years were spent on experimenting with various antennas - longwires, phasers and loops. The first inductively coupled loop I tried was the well known Select-A-Tenna followed by the Radio Shack AM Loop. These "magic" devices brought many of my mediocre MW receivers onto the playing field. As I corresponded with SWL's and MW DX'ers, I was directed to a loop builder in Maryland named Ed Wawzinski (K3FDY) who operates Edek Electronics. Ed hand assembles and sells inductively coupled loops for MW and direct-connection loops for SW. The MW line includes the 16" Torus-Tuner and the 26" "big brother" version. Ultimately, I purchased the 26" version after Ed convinced me that the performance difference vs. the Select-A-Tenna was significant. He was being modest. The 26" loop blows the doors off both the Select-A-Tenna and the RS Loop. There is significant gain over the smaller loops and I find that it's ability to null and reject noise to be much better. It's the best inductively coupled loop I've used yet for MW. Like other inductively coupled loops, it just needs to be placed close to a receiver with an internal loopstick antenna. Because the overall gain of the Edek is greater than the smaller loops, I find that the distance it is placed near the radio is not nearly as critical. It very much resembles a black hula hoop (remember those?). The antenna comes with a nice wooden base for the loop to sit in. The MW band is covered in two segments by way of a switch built into the loop. The low position covers approximately 530-1150 khz and the high position covers 1120-1710 khz, so the overlap is about 30 khz. (Since my loop was built, Ed reports that he extended the overlap to about 60 khz). The capacitor knob is located opposite the switch and is used to precisely tune the desired frequency. Any negatives? Well, it is big! If you're not careful, it can be tipped over. I hang mine on a peg on the shack wall for storage.I have also had excellent success direct coupling the loop by using the RSLoop as a pick up loop or by using other pick up schemes. To date, Ed has sold most of his loops at hamfests or by word-of mouth - so many in the hobby are unaware of this fine MW antenna. The current cost (2002) of the 26" Loop is $69.95. If you are interested in a high performance inductively coupled MW loop, visit the Edek website at www.torustuner.com You will find that Ed will be happy to tell you more about his loops via e-mail (P.S. - Ed's direct connect Shortwave Loops work great also).
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