Microphone tip

This may apply to some hearing aids as well - I don't know

With your Cochlear Implant, freedom style you may have received an extension lapel microphone.

Here's a technique I have found to be quite handy, when out in the backyard - against cicadas, birds aeroplanes, wind and background noise.

Connect the lapel microphone to your speech processor - get your audiologist to show you if you don't know how.

Using a piece of velcro or sticky tape attach the microphone body to a chopstick on bamboo skewer, say 30cm long.

Now you can 'interview' your guests - this puts the microphone closer to them by 0.5m. I find the 'noise reduction' setting to be the most effective.

Also - too much wind? In the TV/video industry they use a fluffy microphone called a 'dead cat'. They don't exist in the size we need - 1cm x 2cm.

I have used a spectacle soft drawstring bag to good effect and will try a finger from a children's glove. This will fit better and be less cumbersome.

More tips as they come to hand...

What I did

On Tuesday at Better Hearing Australia [where I do my lip-reading classes] I gave a little presentation to the massed audience [of about 20] which consisted of the pictures from my Europe 09 expedition.

I imported the images from the trip from my digital camera into my computer, using a program called iPhoto. [On a Mac]

Then I edited the keywords for the final sets. Once the sets were established I uploaded the sets and pictures to my web album.

They are available on Picasa in the various sets. [link]

The next export was different. I created a slide show from the images, no music, 5 second duration for each image and exported the entire set's slideshow as a quicktime movie, to a file on my desktop.

At this point I might have imported it to iMovie to add captions, titles and other stuff. But I didn't this time.

I imported the exported slideshow to iTunes and then converted it to iPhone friendly. The iPhone friendly version was then synchronised [sent to] with the iPhone and is available on the phone for viewing.

But how to show it to 20 people? Bit too close for comfort.

I have a cable which connects the iPhone to a TV. So, I could play the movie starting and stopping as appropriate, using the iPhone as a wired remote, and giving my commentary.

Also at BHA they have an audio loop so those of us with the appropriate hearing device can hear what's said. That made it all very easy to get the message across.

It all worked quite well!