# Need Help with KNFB Reader Classic

Category: accessible Devices

## Post 1 by Eleni21 (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Tuesday, 20-Mar-2012 1:29:23

If you read my Amazing Tech thread on The Rave Board, then you know that I recently got a KNFB Reader Classic on Ebay. In fact, it just came today. I read a bit of the users' guide in braille and also listened to the tutorial, following it almost every step of the way, though I did explore a bit on my own and skipped one or two sections that I had already figured out. The commands were simple and easy to learn. The problem started when I tried scanning. At first, no matter what I did, including turning on the lights in the kitchen, it kept saying "image is too dark". So I went into the sittingroom and scanned by the window, whre I knew the sun was shining. That time, it worked. But when I closed the window, it said it was too dark again. So I went into my bedroom, turned on the lamp that I keep for my boyfriend and put a book under it. That time, it scanned and I was able to focus on adjusting the page etc. Several scans were near perfect!
But then, I started getting an error message, saying "problem detected, resetting camera." At first, I was afraid that, somehow, I had ruined the lens, since I had it under the lamp. I removed the battery and placed it in again and it worked fine for a few scans. and then started again. I replaced one battery with another and got the same result. It would usually happen while I was using the field of view report, but sometimes it would occur right after I took a picture. When I looked up the error on Google, I discovered that this is a common problem and those messages can usually be ignored. But in my case, there really does appear to be a problem with the camera. After it says that it's resetting the camera, it just sits there and does nothing. Neither the Field of View Report nor the button for taking a picture work, so I have to keep removing the camera battery. I fully charged both of them as well as the one for the pda, so I know it's not that. I also have another problem and couldn't find any information on it from my searches. Each time I take a picture, the camera turns off while the reader is processing the image. It's processed, and if it is good, it reads. But I keep having to turn on the camera each time I scan a page!
Can anyone please tell me what's going on here and give me advice as to how I can resolve this issue? Also, how do I check to see what version of the software I'm running? I probably can't get the last one made, if I don't already have it, but at least I'll know where I stand. Thanks.

## Post 2 by Eleni21 (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Tuesday, 20-Mar-2012 13:28:23

When I got my reader, three sd cards came with it. The first was the one in the machine, but I didn't know what the other two were until today. I took the first one out, and when I inserted it, it started installing the software! The one thing I didn't like is that they didn't give me an option to back out. It just said there was a previous version of the software installed and then proceeded to override it. I probably could have hit cancel, but decided to let it finish and I'm glad I did! It appears to have fixed the stupid camera problem! To be fair, I was working outside, where I knew it was sunny, and not inside under a lamp. But that issue , as well as the one about the camera message, seems to be resolved. I know that my version is 3 but don't remember if it said 3.1.5 or 3.5.1. I think it was the latter. I'm getting better at shooting, but many times, it will say no text found. I know that some books have filler pages, but this is ridiculous! I also found one book that it could barely scan at all. When it did, the pages were read nicely. But when it didn't, it would spend forever processing the image until I had to cancel it! It's a book of Greek verse in English translation, so I can't imagine there being many pictures or colours. But to be fair, it is very old, so probably yellow or faded. My hypothesis is that this is best suited to things like single pages on a desk, or a few stapled pages, and not full books. I may wind up using it mostly as a reader, and since my books are all in either txt or rtf, that's fine with me. But I'm not giving up on the scanner yet! I just need to figure out how to get more consistant. I wish the stand was sold!

## Post 3 by jrjolley (Newborn Zoner) on Thursday, 24-May-2012 22:35:33

Hello,
I'm sure that you've moved on to other threads by now but I do still own a classic reader and use it a lot. The secret to good shooting is to have the camera roughly nose high, assuming that the page is on a desk or flat surface. Also, it is really helpful if you can keep as still as possible, and keep the camera square with the page. If you do want to email me on this, feel free to do so.