Hi Lori 

Where do you live?  I am in the Bay Area, and I have two lightspeeds if you want to try one out.

Okay, folks, I'm getting closer and closer to the REAL question of, what color do I want?  ONE MORE QUESTION FROM THE REAL EXPERTS - YOU!

Once you get the LS tweaked to your writing style, have you found that you have to re-tweak at each deposition, or at least often?  With the Mira I use presently, I have to adjust keys each time I sit it down for a deposition or trial.

My first one was blue.  My new one is white.  I think the white looks nice. 

No, you shouldn't have to tweak it much at all once you get it set how you like it.  I only adjust mine once every few months or so, and then it's only a couple keys.  It takes some playing with at the beginning for sure, but once you get it dialed in, it's great.

Hi, Lori.  I got my white LS first and then a blue one.  I like them both, but the white is my favorite.  Originally I thought I wanted red, but I'm very happy with the colors I have.  It is nice being able to switch off or even match my writer to what I'm wearing that day, LOL.

I agree with Lori about the key adjustments.  At the beginning, you'll need to pay close attention to what keys aren't registering and what keys are registering unintentionally, keep track, and tweak daily.  It's helpful even to tweak on breaks during jobs so you can see how much improvement you get from your tweaks during actual jobs. 

Once you get your own personal touch dialed in, not many adjustments are needed.  It's been months since I changed any settings.  The keys don't slip out of adjustment like mechanical keys do.

Best of luck to you.  I hope you LOVE your new LightSpeed/s!

Laura

So Lori, I see you posted in August of 2011 that you were going to be getting the LS.  How do you like it?  I am thinking of getting one myself now and am curious how you liked it.  I am also undecided as to which one to get since I've never used key pads on my machine and have always had the hard keys with the wide DZ keys but I hear you can only get one or the other?  Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Everyone - I just ordered a white LS (refurbished) and I can't wait to get it! 

I just bought a new LS.  Been practicing for two days.  This is doable but my writing is not even close to how well I was writing with the Diamante.  We'll see....

Good for you, Kelli!  It's really important at the beginning that after you write a bit, you look carefully at what you wrote.  Look for keys consistently being dragged in or dropped, adjust those keys a bit (lower number=more sensitive; higher number=less sensitive), write some more, and repeat the process.  You'll see a big improvement quickly if you do this.

Make sure you're saving your key settings files incrementally with dates so that if something you try isn't good, you can restore the previous key settings and not have to start over from scratch.  If you don't give the settings file a name when you save it, the new one will just overwrite the old one.

Thanks, Laura

That's great advice.  I've been practicing for two days on it.  I asked my office for an easy job for Monday - the calendar girl was shocked - so I'm going on a interpreter depo to try to take a job with it.  Those are slow, so sounded perfect.  I notice my E and O keys don't show up all the time and I've adjusted them to 78 and still they don't always register, sort of frustrating.

I had trouble with my O key at first and had it down to 25 at one point.  I have it at 75 now and it's fine; I rarely miss it anymore.  You could try putting a key pad on those two keys if it doesn't improve with practice, but give yourself a little time.  Just being aware that you have a tendency to miss those two keys will help, and your hands and wrists are in a different position (in a good way!) with the vowel keys on the same level as the rest of the keyboard.  It will improve.

Thanks, Laura.  It's tough when my writing has gone to the dogs.  I have an interpreter depo tomorrow, so am hoping that shoule be easy enough not to mess up too bad.

well I got my light speed and so far so good.  I reset my settings to their default values and will tweak my settings from there.  Definitely have to get used to the feel.  But so far so good.  I like the feel, the light weight, small size.

Is anyone using Mark Kingsbury's settings?  I know I spelled his name wrong here.

I'm taking the LS out today for the first time.  I have a interpreter depo, so it probably won't be all that bad.

I'm just curious how everyone uses their LS.  I tried it on my lap today, and I got pretty uncomfortable after about an hour.  My back started to hurt.

Do you use it on a tripod?  Do you use it on your lap?

I write with mine on my lap, and that's very comfortable for me.  I know other reporters who like the little lap desk you can get from Pengad.  I had a tripod at one point but sold it because I never used it.

How was your translation today?  Make sure you tweak the keys that were consistently off.

Well, I just cannot seem to get the E key to show up.  I keep adjusting and adjusting and I'm down to 40 now and still having issues.  Also, it seems to stack a lot with the punctuation as well.  I was on a super slow job, so the translation was not too terrible, even though I was correcting a lot of stuff.  When you go on a fast job, that's the scary part.  What a mess.

Janet, when you go on a job, though, you're not going to have the keyboard pullout tray, unless you're talking about something else.

If you think of it while you're writing, glance down at your hands.  You probably hold your left and right hands at slightly different angles and that's why you're missing the E key.  I had to take my O key all the way down to 25 at first to consistently have it register.  Apparently I sometimes just barely brush that key - who would've thought?  A thin pad on the E might help, or even just a strip of a pad on the right edge of the key.  It would make it easier to hit.

The LS does have anti-stacking options you can try if you're using the LS software and USB interface.  I've used Bluetooth all along so only use the basic key sensitivity settings.  The anti-stacking options aren't available with BT, but I don't have a problem, just an occasional stack here and there when things are fast and furious.  You might want to try the BT as well as the regular LS interface and see which gives you a better result.

Yeah, I'm going to have to play with it a little more.  I already have keypads on the LS.  I know it's going to be a learning process and I need to be patient.  There is nothing about me that is a patient person, however.  I better learn to be if I'm going to use this LS, however.

Hey, Laura

How do you set up the Bluetooth interface with the LS?  I'm not even sure how to do that.  I was thinking it is not solid.  It would be nice to have that set up, but how does the LS get charged?  It doesn't come with a power cord, so assumed it got the power from being plugged into the computer.

With the original writers, you power it on, then hold the power button down for a couple seconds again until the blue light starts flashing.  There's a little pinhole thing on the back you depress with a pen tip or paper clip that puts it in pairing mode so that your computer's Bluetooth will see it, and you go through the steps as your computer prompts setting up the virtual port.  The pairing code is the serial number on the writer.  That's by memory how mine worked.  The new writers might be a little different.

For day-to-day use, you turn the writer on, hold the button down again to start BT, and then click your BT shortcut on the computer to connect.  Even if you're writing via BT, you can still charge the writer with the USB cable or plugging into an outlet with an external charger.  I have an old Razr phone charger and that works fine, but check with Stenovations because the new batteries might be different.  You just have the option then of disconnecting if you need to move around, and it doesn't disrupt your RT file like it would if you unplugged with the software interface going.

I've always used Bluetooth and it's been 100% solid.  It's best to test the connection ahead of time, though, say in a courtroom back hallway or judge's chambers to make sure the signal will reach far enough or penetrate a wall from where your computer is.  In a law office or courtroom, you won't have any problems unplugging and moving around within the same room.

How are you doing with getting your key settings dialed in?  Are you seeing any improvement?  If you stick with the LS and don't switch back and forth with your old writer, it'll be easier.