At 01:33 PM 4/6/96 -0700, you wrote: >I have a client who recently suffered an accident and is now in a wheel chair, >paralyzed from the waist down. She can play her piano (Yamaha M304 console) but >needs some way to operate the sustain pedal. I can easily install a PianoDisc or >Disklavier solenoid and power supply to operate the pedal, but need to come up >with some type of switch that she can operate, presumably with her mouth, chin, >or head. I'd appreciate any ideas. > >I'm considering a light beam system, using a simple Radio Shack infrared motion >detector set up in front of the piano. The client would tilt her head forward to >break the beam, switching the pedal solenoid on. This would be relatively simple >but would probably require some rather unnatural head motions, especially with >repeated short pedaling. > > >Bill Spurlock > > Hi bill, I would think a couple of bucks spent on a mercury switch cobbled into a small housing (maybe heat shrink tubing) with an ear hook, or mounted in a headband or hat would be more acceptable. There used to be a drivers' snooze alarm that worked this way and would be a good ready made housing if you could find one. About five degrees of head tilt would be enough to activate the thing without eliciting motion sickness in the pianist. It's also small and self contained, clean, and doesn't require any building of support framework that a light beam system would need. A dual direction switch from an old heating/cooling thermostat could get you a loud/soft or whatever sort of dual action too. Hope this helps, let us know what you finally end up with. Ron Nossaman
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