LETTER TO STENOGRAPH

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Hello Fellow Users,
I contacted Stenograph today asking for a solution to stacking/dribbling problems with the Mira. Hopefully we'll hear from them soon. Here's a copy of what I wrote:

I am part of an Elan Mira Users Group with CSR Nation, a nationwide forum with over 4,000 reporters. Many members watch what the group has to say about the Mira before making any purchase. I think Stenograph would like to know what is being said about this machine and the problems that are being encountered by the reporters using it; namely, the stacking (even after a certified technician has gone thru it) and the repeat (dribbling) strokes of single letters, and letters coming up that weren't even stroked by the reporter. There are many, many frustrated Mira users out here (I am one) and would appreciate Stenograph's input to resolve these problems.

I am going to copy this post to several Mira users groups online. We're all hoping something can be done.

Reporting every last word is extremely stressful, and when you notice the Mira stacking, our stress becomes tenfold.
Earning our living in a profession that requires 97.5% accuracy, our Miras need to work like they're supposed to.

Thank you kindly for your attention to this crucial matter, and I look forward to hearing from Stenograph.

[Christine Kirley]

April,
What a brilliant idea. I am sure Stenograph will appreciate being informed and having this information. Thanks for sharing it with us here!

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Sure thing, Christine. I was having one of those I should have had a V-8 moments.

[Joyce Holbrook]

April,

Hi. I am so glad that I am part of this site. I thought it was just my writing.
I have the machine and a week before my 1 year warranty was up there was
a yellow spot that came up on the screen. They sent me a loaner and they
are going to "fix" the stacking and dribbling. I am just afraid now that they
won't be able to completely. It is so frustrating to be a good writer and then
for the words to stack or come out wrong.
I have a loaner and it's not the same as my writer. I have had to adjust the keys, but
it's still a different feeling.

Anyway, I think I am going to print out your letter and send it with my machine.
What do you think about that?

Joyce

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Go for it, Joyce :)

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Stenograph responded. I received a phone call from Ray this afternoon, and basically it was an individual help to some degree. Here's what I learned:

If your machine is stacking, check in your settings to see if SmartStroke is On or Off. Ray actually said to try writing on your machine with it set one way and then the other; some machines stack less while S.S. is on and some with it off. Odd, but he said to try it both ways.

Next, adjust your DEPTH and TENSION dials BEFORE adjusting any contacts. Ray said there is an order these adjustments should be made. If you'd like a lighter tension on your stroke, turn your white ridged tension dial to the left and THEN you can adjust the contact numbers up/higher for the keys on the right bank. The looser the tension dial is set, the higher the number should be set on the contact dials on the right.
For the left bank, adjust your numbered contact dials a half to one click lower in number than your right bank. This adjustment also helps for those of us that get the last word of the question and the ANSWER stroke stacked.

I was told by Ray that it didn't matter where we take our machines to be serviced/overhauled. All authorized service providers are trained by Stenograph. Just make sure when taking your Mira in that the provider is authorized to service the MIRA.

I spoke to David at Steno Doctor today (my ASP), and he did indicate that the life of the contact platen depends on the strength of your stroke (are you a feather or a hammer?). It may need to be refurbished annually or every 2 to 3 years.

I also received an e-mail msg from Stenograph stating that they did a search for my name and machine and didn't have any complaints or tech support calls on file; that if I had a problem with my writer I need to contact them. Maybe if all of us send in our individual complaints, they might come up w/a permanent fix instead of us having to go thru and make a zillion adjustments.

Can you put a cherry on top of that pile of stress?

I'll be getting my speed tapes out and start making my adjustments from scratch and in the correct order. After that, I'll just keep my fingers crossed . . .

April

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

My Latest Communication with Stenograph: The cost of their annual basic maintenance plan just steamed my britches!

Tom,

I just had my Mira serviced, a cleaning and refurbishment, with an ASP a few weeks ago. I spoke to Ray with your company earlier this week because I am a very unhappy Mira user.
I had and continue to have stacking/lumping and dribbling (one key constantly repeating) and letters coming up that I never stroked.

I posted my original communication to Stenograph with my Mira Users Group -- we members are experiencing identical problems, even after having our machines serviced by an ASP. I faxed Ray my work order from the ASP and he indicated that I did receive a cleaning, refurbishment, and the machine was back to factory settings.

Now you're telling me that I have to pay $619 per year instead of $229 per year for a maintenance contract because I have a machine "with pre-existing problems"? Well, I didn't cause these problems; they are with Stenograph's Elan Mira. And in addition to that, Stenograph wants to charge me an additional $100 for not having a continuous contract? No thanks. I'll take a pass on your exorbitantly priced maintenance plan.

One last note, if Stenograph is interested in what many reporters are saying about the Elan Mira, visit a few court reporting sites on the Internet; one of them is CSRnation.com with over 4,000 members nationwide.

Respectfully,


April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR 6786
On The Record Reporting

[Tami]

You go, Girl!!

[Alexis McCutchen]

April, you are a force to be reckoned with! I love it. Thank you on behalf of a fellow Mira user.

With that said, I want to say that I'm a student in qualifiers. I've had my Mira for about five months now. Well, within about a month or two I started having stacking/split note issues. At first I thought it was me and my sloppy writing. Then I saw this site and feel a little better knowing that it's a big problem all over with working reporters and not just me. I would like to resolve my Mira problems BEFORE I get out into the working world. With how much we pay for these machines, Stenograph should be ashamed of themselves for trying to sell us another OVERPRICED contract on a machine that was built by them with these problems. I'm also steamed that Tom had the audacity to say your machine had "pre-existing problems"!

On my to-do-list for tomorrow...Call Stenograph and strongly "express" my concerns about my Mira.

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Hi Alexis,

I urge you to contact Stenograph. They need to know what's going on out here in the real world of reporting on their Mira.

About ten days ago I faxed paperwork as requested by Tom Janus of Stenograph (verifying my recent ASP cleaning) and have not heard back, so it looks like I'm going to have to call yet again. Geeeeessshh.

I did list somewhere in one of these Stacking threads in this group how to adjust the Mira settings. Apparently there's a specific order in which adjustments should be made.

I also addressed the split note issue with the Smart Stroke setting. Try turning it ON or OFF; it will work better one way or the other. Mine is set in the Off position and my notes aren't splitting anymore. If yours is set to Off, try writing with it on.

Good Luck :)

[Alexis McCutchen]

I will be giving Stenograph a call sometime later today (I have qualifiers this morning.) I'll let you know what they say.

Thanks, too, for the Smart Stoke tip!

BTW ~ what is ASP cleaning?

[Alexis McCutchen]

Oops...I mean Smart STROKE.

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

ASP stands for Authorized Service Provider. You'll find a list of them on Stenograph's website after typing in your ZIP code.