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Volume 16, No. 3, Summer 2008 |
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The AT Bargain Basement
Marvin Williams
New Castle County AT Specialist
DATI
Hello, True Believers, and welcome to yet another fun-filled edition of the AT Bargain Basement. I am Marvin Williams, your host through this wonderful world of assistive technology bargains! For those of you who are regulars to the Basement, welcome back. If you are new, welcome to our Assistive Technology party! We’re glad you could join us. As usual, the house rule is that I try to bring you AT bargains costing $100 or less that I find or that you bring to me. Do keep in mind that prices certainly do change and, unfortunately, I’m not in charge of setting everyone’s price on stuff. If that were the case, the world would be even more “bargain-full” than it is currently! So make sure you check out the price of a bargain before you buy. Also, check out the shipping charges, as they can make a bargain seem like less of one. That brings me to something else. If you’re not comfortable with shopping for items online, you can usually call the company and place your order on the phone as if you are catalog shopping. If you need assistance in finding the number for any of the companies mentioned here, feel free to call your local ATRC for help.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you, the readers, for the wonderful response I have been getting about the Bargain Basement. I wondered for the longest time if anyone was really reading this, but you have more than shown me that not only are you reading, but you are also buying the bargains. So I thank you all for your support, and please keep sending the feedback. And now...the bargains!
Our first bargain is one of many I’ve found in the Dynamic Living catalog (www.dynamic-living.com). It’s the Big Digital LED Calendar Clock, and it’s a handy item. The display is easy to read with large red letters and numbers on a black background. The time displays with numbers 2.25-inches tall and the letters and numbers in the calendar display are 1.5-inches tall. The only thing I would change to improve on this would be to also make it talk, but at $64.99, it’s a nice bargain. If you do need a talking clock that also gives you the date and has reasonably-sized numbers, the REIZEN Talking Atomic Alarm Clock is a nice piece. While the numbers are only 1 inch tall, it does have the great feature of being able to automatically set the time and date. It sells for only about $38 (not including shipping) from Maxi-Aids and Amazon.com. The Reizen clock is currently available for loan through the ATRCs if you would like to borrow it to see if it’s right for you.
Our next bargain is the Bionaire Remote Twin Window Fan. The unit fits in a window and can be used to blow air into or out of a room via the intake, exhaust, or exchange settings. It comes with a remote control and has three speeds so you can get as much or as little air as you would like. The remote is infra-red so if you use a communication device that can perform environmental controls, you can program it to control the fan. The twin window fan is available at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $59.99. If you do not need the remote control, you can get a non-remote controlled version made by Holmes for $39.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond or $54.99 at Sears. Be sure to check with your local stores for availability. If you order online or over the telephone, watch out for those shipping charges!
Our next bargain is the Bed Rail Advantage, and it’s a great low-cost way to assist you in getting up and out of bed. It’s made of heavy-duty steel so it can take some use. It even has a two-pocket covering that can hold magazines and/or a TV remote, and it folds up making it easy to take with you when you travel. While it is portable, it takes a bit of effort to set up—fitting it between the mattress and box spring, then locking it into place with the strap. It is only 23-inches high by 16.5-inches wide, so it’s a pretty low-profile device that won’t keep someone from rolling out of bed. It normally retails for about $70, but you can order it from Dynamic Living for $59.99 and Amazon.com has it for $49.95. If you need a full-sized bed rail, I recommend consulting a therapist as this may be covered by your funding source. You never know unless you ask!
Our final bargain proves that simplicity is the best way to go. The Tek-Pal TV remote is simplicity at its best. At a time when TV remotes can have as many as 20 buttons on them, the Tek-Pal offers a remote with just 6 buttons—on/off, mute, volume-up, volume-down, channel-up, and channel-down. The buttons are also much larger than on a standard remote control. You can get it from Independent Living Aids (www.independentliving.com) for $14.95 or from Dynamic Living for $14.99. Just don’t forget those shipping and handling fees.
And that will bring to a close this installment of the AT Bargain Basement. I would like to thank you for joining me here. Don’t forget, keep that feedback and those bargains coming! Join me here next time for even more bargains and fun. And remember, just because something’s a bargain doesn’t mean it’s cheap. ■
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