BibleCourier User Guide

Version 1.0
October 2003
Springer Design, Inc.

Chapter 2 - Listening to the Bible
The BibleCourier Keypad
Listening to the Talking User Guide
Playing the Bible
Spelling Unclear Words
Using Talking Help
Turning Off BibleCourier
 

Chapter 3 - Moving Around in the Bible
Finding a Particular Book, Chapter, or Verse
Using Bookmarks
Using Power Search
 

Chapter 4 - Other Functions
Adjusting the Volume and Other Preferences
Restoring Default Settings
Locking BibleCourier
Replacing Batteries
Changing a File Description
 

Warranty Information
 

What is BibleCourier?

BibleCourier is a hand-held, text-to-speech player, about the size of a cassette tape. Using the BibleCourier and the supplied earphones, you can listen to the Bible without being connected to a computer. BibleCourier holds all 66 books of the Bible and uses the DoubleTalk speech synthesizer from RC Systems to read the text. BibleCourier can read continuously for up to 40 hours, using two AA batteries.

BibleCourier is specifically designed to help you jump quickly to any book, chapter, or verse within the Bible. You can move sequentially through the Bible or you can set bookmarks on your favorite verses and then jump directly to them. BibleCourier also provides a powerful search feature that lets you quickly zero in on a particular spot in the Bible.

How Does It Work?

BibleCourier is easy to use. The keypad is similar to a telephone keypad, with 12 keys arranged in four rows of three. Every key can have up to three functions. You perform one function by pressing and releasing the key and two other functions by holding the key down until you hear one or two beeps. Every key provides talking help about itself.

Customer Service

If you have a question or suggestion, please contact the dealer who sold you the product.

The BibleCourier Keypad

1 Previous Verse Chapter Power Search (Back) Talking Help 2 Play/Stop Spell Word Talking Help 3 Next Verse Chapter Power Search (Forward) Talking Help 4 Previous Chapter Book Power Search (Back) Talking Help 5 Next Word Talking Help 6 Next Chapter Book Power Search (Forward) Talking Help 7 Previous Book Bible Power Search (Back) Talking Help 8 Previous Word Talking Help 9 Next Book Bible Power Search (Forward) Talking Help * Decrease Value Previous Bookmark Talking Help 0 Preferences Define Bookmark Talking Help # Increase Value Next Bookmark Talking Help

Listening to the Talking User Guide

Springer Design, Inc. ships BibleCourier with a modified version of the user guide loaded into the unit along with the Bible. The Talking User Guide is the first book you will hear, just before Genesis. You can use the Talking User Guide to teach yourself how to operate BibleCourier and navigate through the Bible. Here's how to get started:

1. Put on the earphones and plug the cord into the BibleCourier headphone jack. The earphone cable fits into the only jack on the unit.
2. Press the 2 key to start playing the Talking User Guide. You can listen to the guide straight through or you can press the 6 key to jump by chapter or the 3 key to jump by section.

Playing the Bible

The Bible starts immediately after the Talking User Guide. Follow these steps to begin listening:

1. If you haven't already done so, put on the earphones and plug the cord into the BibleCourier headphone jack. The earphone cable fits into the only jack on the unit.
2. Go to Genesis by pressing the 9 key. BibleCourier should announce "Genesis." If BibleCourier announces the name of a different book, press the 7 key to jump to the previous book. Continue pressing the 7 key until you reach Genesis. (For more information about moving around in the Bible, look ahead to Chapter 3.)
3. Start playing the Bible by pressing the 2 key. Press the 2 key again to stop play.

Here are the general rules of play:

• To start playing the current verse, press the 2 key. If BibleCourier is positioned at the beginning of a book or chapter, it plays the first verse in that book or chapter.
• To stop playing the current verse, press the 2 key.
• To resume playing the current verse, press the 2 key. BibleCourier begins reading the verse at the beginning, regardless of where you stopped play earlier.

Remember: BibleCourier must be positioned on the desired verse before you can resume playing it. If you stop playing a verse, navigate to another book or chapter, and then try to resume playing the previous verse, you'll get unexpected results.

Spelling Unclear Words

BibleCourier uses DoubleTalk, a state-of-the-art text-to-speech engine from RC Systems. Occasionally, the engine mispronounces words. Acronyms containing vowels and proper names are notorious culprits. The English language also contains a fair number of heteronyms, words with the same spelling, but different pronunciations and meanings. For example, the word wind is pronounced differently in the following two contexts:

• The wind is cold.
• Wind up the loose cords.

In some cases, BibleCourier doesn't know which pronunciation to use. If you have trouble understanding a particular word, you can make BibleCourier repeat and spell the word.

1. Press the 2 key to stop playing the current verse.
2. Use the 5 and 8 keys to locate the word you don't understand. Press and release each key to move forward or back through the verse, one word at a time.
3. When you hear the word you want to have spelled, hold down the 2 key for one beep. BibleCourier repeats the word, spells it, and announces any punctuation associated with the word.

Using Talking Help

You can get help on any key on BibleCourier's keypad simply by pressing that key and holding it down for two beeps. BibleCourier must be stopped for you to access Talking Help. BibleCourier announces the name of the key and then describes what it does when you press and release the key or hold it down for one beep.

Turning Off BibleCourier

BibleCourier does not have an on/off switch. When BibleCourier is playing, the unit is on and when BibleCourier is not playing, the unit is off.

Finding a Particular Book, Chapter, or Verse

BibleCourier allows you to move through the Bible by verse, chapter, or book. On the keypad, the first row of keys allows you to move forward or backward by verse. The second row of keys allows you to move forward or backward by chapter, while the third row of keys allows you to move forward or backward by book.

The following list describes exactly how this navigation works. You can stop BibleCourier before you navigate to a new location or you can continue play while you navigate. If BibleCourier is stopped, you must press the 2 key to restart play after you navigate to the desired location. If BibleCourier is playing when you navigate to the new location, it will start playing automatically.

• To jump to the previous verse, press the 1 key. BibleCourier begins playing at the beginning of the verse.
• To jump to the next verse, press the 3 key. BibleCourier begins playing at the beginning of the verse.
• To jump to the beginning of the current chapter, press the 4 key. BibleCourier begins playing at the first verse in the chapter. Be aware that if you are already reading the first verse of a chapter, BibleCourier jumps to the previous chapter when you press the 4 key.
• To jump to the previous chapter, press the 4 key once to get to the beginning of the current chapter and then press the 4 key again to jump to the previous chapter. BibleCourier begins playing at the first verse in the chapter.
• To jump to the next chapter, press the 6 key. BibleCourier begins playing at the first verse in the chapter.
• To jump to the previous book, press the 7 key. BibleCourier begins playing at your last position in the book.
• To jump to the next book, press the 9 key. BibleCourier begins playing at your last position in the book.

Note: When you navigate within the BibleCourier Talking User Guide, it's better to keep BibleCourier playing. If BibleCourier is stopped while you navigate through the user guide, BibleCourier doesn't announce the current chapter and section titles.

Using Bookmarks

A bookmark is a user-defined place in a book. You can set any number of bookmarks in a book and then use those bookmarks as a quick way to jump to important places. You can add, remove, and jump to bookmarks when BibleCourier is playing or when it is stopped. However, you must stop BibleCourier before deleting a bookmark.

• To add a bookmark, go to the verse you want to mark and hold down the 0 key for one beep.
• To jump to the next bookmark in the current book, hold down the pound key for one beep.
• To jump to the previous bookmark in the file, hold down the asterisk key for one beep.
• To delete a bookmark, stop BibleCourier, jump to the bookmark you want to delete, and then hold down the 0 key for one beep.

Using Power Search

BibleCourier also has a Power Search feature that jumps halfway between the current verse and the end or beginning of the current chapter, book, or Bible as a whole. From the new current verse, you can jump half the previous distance in either direction, and so on. This approach is a quick way to move within the Bible without stepping through each book, chapter, or verse in sequence to find a particular text.

Searching a Chapter

1. While playing the desired chapter, hold down the 1 or 3 key for one beep to move halfway between the current verse and the beginning or end of the chapter. BibleCourier announces the book, chapter, and verse in the new position.
2. Hold down either key again for one beep and BibleCourier moves half the previous distance, and so on.
3. Alternately hold down the two keys to zero in on the area of interest.

Searching a Book

1. While playing the desired book, hold down the 4 or 6 key for one beep to move halfway between the current verse and the beginning or end of the book. BibleCourier announces the book, chapter, and verse in the new position.
2. Hold down either key again for one beep and BibleCourier moves half the previous distance, and so on.
3. Alternately hold down the two keys to zero in on the area of interest.

Searching the Bible

1. From any location in the Bible, hold down the 7 or 9 key for one beep to move halfway between the current verse and the beginning or end of the Bible. BibleCourier announces the book, chapter, and verse in the new position.
2. Hold down either key again for one beep and BibleCourier moves half the previous distance, and so on.
3. Alternately hold down the two keys to zero in on the area of interest.

Canceling a Search

You can cancel the current search by playing the current verse or by using the regular navigation keys to move to a different book, chapter, or verse. You can also cancel the search by using the bookmark functions or Talking Help. You can adjust the BibleCourier preferences like volume and speed without affecting the current power search.

Adjusting the Volume and Other Preferences

You can enhance your listening experience by adjusting the following preferences:

• Volume. This preference controls the volume of the voice. There are 10 different options, with the default in the middle.
• Speed. This preference controls how fast the voice reads the Bible. There are 10 different options, with the default in the middle.
• Voice. BibleCourier has several different voices: Big Bob, Precise Pete, Biff, Perfect Paul, and Vader. Big Bob is the default.
• Pitch. The pitch determines whether BibleCourier's voice sounds high or low. There are 10 different pitch options ranging from very low to very high. The default is somewhere in the middle. BibleCourier reverts to the default pitch setting when you change the voice setting.
• Sleep timer. This feature causes BibleCourier to shut off automatically after the specified length of time. Use this setting to continue play while you are drifting off to sleep. BibleCourier will shut itself off so that you don't have to. The timer restarts whenever you press a key. The options are Disabled and 10 minute increments from 10 minutes to an hour. The default is Disabled.
• Footnotes. This feature determines whether or not BibleCourier will read any footnotes available in the version of the Bible you are listening to. BibleCourier uses a higher pitched voice to read the footnotes where they appear within the text of the Bible. This setting is either on or off with the default set to off. However, footnotes are always on in Spell Mode.

You can change the Volume and Speed preferences while BibleCourier is playing or stopped. You must stop BibleCourier to change the Voice, Pitch, Sleep timer, and Footnotes preferences. The process is the same for every preference:

1. Press the 0 key. BibleCourier announces the first preference and its setting, if appropriate. If you have not changed the default, BibleCourier says, "Volume" at the default loudness setting.
2. Continue pressing the 0 key until BibleCourier announces the preference you want to change.
3. Use the asterisk and pound keys to adjust the setting for the current preference.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have changed as many preferences as you like.

Restoring Default Settings

The restore function resets all the BibleCourier preferences to their default values. This function also removes all bookmarks.

To activate this function, stop BibleCourier and then simultaneously press the asterisk and pound keys, twice in a row. The first time, BibleCourier says, "Reinitialize system." The second time, BibleCourier says, "System restored." You can also perform the restore function when BibleCourier is locked.

Locking BibleCourier

You can lock BibleCourier so that most of the keys won't work. (The exception occurs with the restore feature; see Restoring Default Settings.) This feature prevents you from accidentally playing the Bible and running down the batteries. Use this feature if you think you might accidentally turn on the unit without knowing it - for example, when you pack the unit.

• To lock BibleCourier, press the 1 and 3 keys simultaneously. BibleCourier says "Locked."
• To unlock BibleCourier, press the 1 and 3 keys simultaneously. BibleCourier says "Unlocked."

Replacing Batteries

BibleCourier uses two AA batteries. These batteries will power BibleCourier for 30 to 40 hours of normal use. BibleCourier gives you a warning when the batteries run low. Replace the batteries as soon as you can after you hear this message.

1. Make sure you are wearing the earphones during this process so you can hear any messages during the installation process.
2. With the BibleCourier keypad face down and the headphone jack away from you, slide off the bottom quarter-panel of the unit.
3. Remove the old batteries.
4. Insert a new battery in the top slot with the positive end of the battery (the nub end) pointed to the left.
5. Insert another new battery in the bottom slot with the positive end of the battery (the nub end) pointed to the right. Normally, BibleCourier does not give you a message to indicate that the batteries are correctly installed. If you hear a "Ready" message, BibleCourier has restored its default settings and you'll need to reset any settings you may have changed.
6. Replace the quarter panel.

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Copyright © 2002-2006 Springer Design, Inc. All rights reserved. Revised: November 4, 2003