My Equipment and Gadgets: Part 3

I store my DVDs and other bits and pieces in my TV unit drawers. Being neat and tidy is great, but there was a bit of a problem with having things in these drawers… The types of drawers that are part of my unit have handles that are an awkward shape, with tiny little gaps at the back. I don’t remember when, but I had another brilliant idea to make pull handles out of string… This worked to a certain extent but we just tied a loop in the end and each time I went to grab the loop, the string folded onto itself, and the loop turned into a long bit of string. My dad made me some pull handles made from paracord and edging, specifically edging made for edging hardboard. The paracord is strong enough so that it doesn’t snap, and the edging means that the loop handles keep their shape. (This is the edging: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MMR21QK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1)

My computer area is extremely important to me because it gives me access to multiple things like talking to the outside world; it’s where access everything on the internet, where I edit Brains on Wheels, write my blog posts, play my games, and of course, it’s how I listen to music! To the left of my computer, I have remote switches that I can switch plugs and my lights on and off. I’ve numbered and colour-coded my remote plugs so that I know which is which, but I didn’t have two packs of the same stickers, so they do look slightly different on the plugs and remotes... I’m sure that I’ve spoken about my remote plugs before in another blog post, so I won’t go into detail about this and bore you…

Staying in the living room, I have also had adaptions made to my windows to enable me to open and close them independently. This was in the pipeline from when I was offered this flat, back in January 2021, but they weren’t installed straight away because I needed to get the essential adaptions, like the wetroom and hoists done first. Before the window openers were installed, there were lots of speculations on whether I would be able to use them… If I remember correctly, the window openers work on Radio Frequency (RF) signals. I have a tablet that has Infra-Red (IR) capability built in, but unfortunately, it doesn’t have an RF transmitter built in. After a lot of back and forth, it was decided that I could have something called a relay installed which enables me to control the window openers from my tablet. I had two options: I could either activate the buttons by pressing and holding (then I would only need two buttons), or I could have four buttons, like this... I decided to go for this option because I would have difficulty with holding the buttons.

Once it was installed, it took a while to get the system fully working with my tablet, but in the end, we got there, thanks to the NHS Environmental Controls Team – I’m forever grateful for their help.

This is extremely important to me because I get hot easily due to my involuntary movements, and being able to open and close my windows means that I don’t have to rely on someone to do it for me and it means that if someone closes them without asking (which has happened a few times), I’m not stuck not being able to open them again. This system also has a manual switch on the wall beside the window, to allow other people to control the windows.

That’s it for part 3. Come back for the fourth instalment!