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Blind Access Journal Launches Community Effort to Improve WSJT-X Accessibility for Aging and Disabled Amateur Radio Operators

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Blind Access Journal Launches Community Effort to Improve WSJT-X Accessibility for Aging and Disabled Amateur Radio Operators

Peoria, Arizona — December 20, 2025 — Darrell Hilliker, NU7I, a totally blind Amateur Radio operator and accessibility professional, is spearheading a community initiative to improve the accessibility of WSJT-X (and WSJT-X Improved) for blind, low-vision, and mobility-impaired hams. The work is being organized and documented through Blind Access Journal, the blog Hilliker publishes to advance practical accessibility and inclusion in technology.

Digital weak-signal protocols like FT8 have become a core part of modern Amateur Radio. Yet many hams—especially those who are aging or who acquire disabilities—are finding it harder to participate fully when widely used software lacks accessible user interface foundations.

“A month doesn’t go by where I don’t hear at least one conversation on the bands where an older ham is contemplating giving up or curtailing their activities due to a physical disability like arthritis or a visual impairment,” said Hilliker. “We can do better as a community—and we can do it together.”

Recognizing Existing Innovation and Building an Inclusive Future

This initiative is not a critique of existing community solutions, nor is it intended to replace them. Blind Access Journal recognizes and commends the developers of alternative tools such as QLog, whose efforts have helped many operators. Instead, Hilliker’s project aims to broaden inclusion by improving accessibility in the widely adopted WSJT-X ecosystem so that more hams can participate using the tools their clubs, friends, and on-air communities already rely on.

“The entire Amateur Radio community benefits from all efforts to adapt,” Hilliker added, “especially in situations where disabled hams are not fully included from the beginning.”

Goal: Full and Equitable Access to Digital Operating

The initiative’s objective is nothing less than full and equitable access to Amateur Radio digital communication protocols and the software that enables them. Key accessibility goals include:

  • Expected keyboard navigation throughout the application
  • Strong compatibility with screen readers such as JAWS and NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)
  • UI that can reflow and resize for operators using magnification
  • Support for dark mode, high contrast, and other visual accommodations that many aging hams depend on

Highest Priority Technical Need

The most critical improvement—especially for blind screen-reader users—centers on the Band Activity and Rx Frequency tables. Today, these areas are widely experienced as inaccessible because the data is effectively “painted” to the screen or presented as unstructured text, rather than implemented using the underlying Qt5 UI structures that expose information to accessibility interfaces.

The initiative seeks a redesign and implementation approach that ensures these tables are true, semantically structured UI components—so assistive technologies can reliably read, navigate, and interact with them.

Call for Volunteer Developers

Blind Access Journal is calling on a small group of experienced Amateur Radio software builders and tinkerers—especially those who:

  • Have deep experience with Qt5 user interfaces
  • Can build and compile WSJT-X or WSJT-X Improved from source with confidence
  • Are willing to collaborate with disabled hams in an open, test-driven, user-centered process

Familiarity with accessibility design and standards such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is welcome but not required. Disabled hams involved in the effort are prepared to lead the process, define needs, perform testing, write documentation, and support the work in every way outside of the core design and coding tasks.

Volunteers will gain the satisfaction of delivering long-sought, meaningful accessibility improvements to a widely used mainstream Amateur Radio application—work that can make a real difference for thousands of fellow hams.

Looking Toward 2026

Blind Access Journal thanks the Amateur Radio community for its time, creativity, and tradition of public service. The initiative’s organizers hope to make 2026 a year of digital accessibility and inclusion for all radio amateurs.

To volunteer or learn more:
Email editor@blindaccessjournal.com and follow updates via Blind Access Journal.

Media Contact

Darrell Hilliker, NU7I
Blind Access Journal
Email: editor@blindaccessjournal.com

Using Apple’s Built-In Accessibility Features to Reduce Screen Exposure During Severe Headaches

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Summary

Some people experience severe headaches or migraines that make screen use difficult—especially when light sensitivity (photophobia) and flicker or refresh effects are major triggers. While display adjustments can help, there are days when the most effective strategy is to reduce visual reliance as much as possible.

If you use an iPhone and Mac, Apple includes several built-in accessibility tools that can support a “low-screen” or even “no-screen” workflow—particularly for everyday tasks like reading and replying to email.

This article focuses on the built-in Mail app and outlines a practical approach using:
VoiceOver (screen reader),
Voice Control (hands-free voice operation),
and Dictation (speech-to-text composition).

Why VoiceOver and Voice Control can help when light and flicker are triggers

VoiceOver reads on-screen content aloud and provides a structured navigation model that does not require visually scanning the interface. Instead of looking for buttons or reading text, users move through content sequentially and receive spoken feedback.

Voice Control complements this by allowing users to operate their device through spoken commands. Actions such as opening Mail, scrolling, replying, and sending messages can often be completed without touching or looking closely at the screen.

For people whose primary headache triggers include light sensitivity and flicker, combining these tools can significantly reduce both the duration and intensity of screen exposure.

iPhone: Building a low-screen Mail workflow on iOS

Turn on VoiceOver

VoiceOver can be enabled from Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver. Apple provides a built-in practice experience that introduces the gesture model and basic navigation concepts.

Learn a minimal set of VoiceOver gestures

It is not necessary to learn every gesture. Starting with a small core set allows users to begin working quickly and add complexity later.

  • Swipe right: move to the next item.
  • Swipe left: move to the previous item.
  • Double-tap: activate the selected item.
  • Two-finger swipe up: read the entire screen from the top.
  • Two-finger tap: pause or resume speech.
  • Four-finger tap near the top: jump to the first item.
  • Four-finger tap near the bottom: jump to the last item.

Use Screen Curtain to eliminate display light

When VoiceOver is enabled, the screen itself can be turned off while the device remains fully usable. This feature, called Screen Curtain, allows users to rely entirely on audio output while avoiding light exposure.

  • Three-finger triple-tap: toggle Screen Curtain on or off.
  • If both Zoom and VoiceOver are enabled, a three-finger quadruple-tap may be required.

Adding Voice Control for hands-free interaction

Voice Control allows users to interact with on-screen elements using spoken commands. This can be particularly helpful when precise touch input or visual targeting is uncomfortable.

Common Voice Control commands

  • Open Mail
  • Scroll down / Scroll up
  • Go home
  • Show names (labels interface elements)
  • Show numbers (adds numbered overlays)

When an on-screen control is difficult to activate, VoiceOver can be used to identify the control’s name, and Voice Control can then activate it using that spoken label.

Reading and replying to Mail on iPhone using audio

  1. Open the Mail app using Voice Control or VoiceOver navigation.
  2. Move through the message list using swipe left and swipe right.
  3. Open a message with a double-tap.
  4. Listen to the message using a two-finger swipe up.
  5. Reply using Voice Control or VoiceOver navigation.
  6. Compose the reply using Dictation, speaking punctuation as needed.
  7. Send the message using a spoken command or VoiceOver activation.
  8. Enable Screen Curtain when light sensitivity is a concern.

Mac: Reducing visual load with VoiceOver

On macOS, VoiceOver enables spoken feedback and keyboard-based navigation across apps, including Mail. This allows users to work with less reliance on visual scanning.

Turn VoiceOver on or off

  • Command + F5: toggle VoiceOver.

Core VoiceOver navigation concepts

The VoiceOver cursor moves independently of the system focus and determines what is spoken. Navigation is performed using the VoiceOver modifier keys (often Control + Option).

  • VO + Arrow keys: move between items.

Quick Nav for streamlined navigation

Quick Nav can simplify navigation by allowing arrow keys or single keys to move through content without holding modifier keys. This can be especially useful once the basics feel comfortable.

  • VO + Q: toggle single-key Quick Nav.
  • VO + Shift + Q: toggle arrow-key Quick Nav.

Pacing and learning considerations

When screen exposure can trigger symptoms quickly, it helps to approach learning incrementally.

  • Practice in short sessions (5–10 minutes).
  • Focus first on listening and basic navigation.
  • Add Screen Curtain early if light sensitivity is significant.
  • Introduce Voice Control gradually for common actions.

Sources

Demonstration: Guide Accessifies the Addition of Components to Salesforce Experience Cloud Site Pages

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At the intersection of the Salesforce ecosystem and the accessibility community, it has been long known that Experience Builder contains task-blocking accessibility issues that hold many disabled people back from being able to perform important job duties including site administration and content management. While the company continues efforts to improve the accessibility of Experience Builder, disabled administrators, content managers and site developers who rely on keyboard-only navigation and screen readers are finding ways to work around barriers thanks to new tools based on artificial intelligence (AI).

Read more

Finding Balance: Easter in the Time of the Coronavirus

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In this approximately 24-minute podcast, Allison, Allyssa, Arabella and Darrell Hilliker celebrate Easter in the time of the Coronavirus while putting together the Alex Active Monkey Kids Toddler Balance Board.

Download: Finding Balance: Easter in the Time of the Coronavirus

Please tell us how you and your family are handling social distancing, feeding yourselves and generally getting along, especially from a blind perspective, in the time of the Coronavirus. Please send an audio recording or a written message to darrell (at) blindaccessjournal (dot) com or tell us about it on our social media channels.

AccessiLife Consulting, Blind Access Journal, and the Hilliker family, must frequently rely on sighted assistance in order to get important, inaccessible tasks done. In most cases, we have chosen Aira as our visual interpreter. If you are ready to become an Aira Explorer, and you feel it in your heart to pass along a small gift to the journal or our family, we ask that you use our referral link. Your first month of Aira service will be free of charge, we will receive a discount on our bill and we will thank you for supporting the important work we do here at Blind Access Journal.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Exploring the World with Aira: A Candid Discussion with Suman Kanuganti

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In this approximately 50-minute informal podcast, Allison, Allyssa and Darrell Hilliker talk with Aira CEO Suman Kanuganti at the 2017 National Federation of the Blind Convention about this promising, new disruptive service that aims to give blind people “instant access to information” through the use of augmented reality and wearable technology.

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Who Will Be Your Eyeballs Today? Exploring Remote Sighted Assistance with Be My Eyes for iOS

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In this approximately 23-minute podcast, Allison Hilliker and Darrell Shandrow demonstrate the new Be My Eyes app developed to help blind people remotely acquire the sighted help they need to perform many daily visual tasks.

Resources

We love hearing from our listeners! Please feel free to talk with us in the comments. What do you like? How could we make the show better? What topics would you like us to cover on future shows?

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

ATIA: Making Friends with Eye-Pal Scanning and Reading Products

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In this approximately 14-minute podcast from the 2013 Assistive Technology Industry Association conference in Orlando, Allison Hilliker talks with Leon Reznik, president of ABiSee, about his company’s Eye-Pal line of scanning and reading solutions for blind and low-vision people.

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Join Us for a Special Q&A Session with Fleksy

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You’ve got burning questions? We’ve got the answers!

Join us on Monday, July 23 at 6:15 p.m. Pacific, 9:15 p.m. Eastern time in the Out-Of-Sight Presents room on Out-Of-Sight as we host a special Q&A session with the developers of the hot new Fleksy typing app for iOS devices.

You can even ask your question before the live presentation! Please visit Fleksy’s Happy Typing website to ask the Fleksy team anything. We will ask the pre-submitted questions first, then we will move to live audience participation.

Please register as soon as possible for a free Out-Of-Sight membership so you can participate and contact us before the event if you would like assistance.

Freedom Scientific Acquires Blind Access Journal

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In a move that is sure to surprise the blindness assistive technology industry, Freedom Scientific has just announced that it has purchased the popular accessibility evangelism website BlindAccessJournal.com for $100,000 from its publisher, Darrell Shandrow.

Freedom Scientific representatives said this move puts the company on a par with other assistive technology companies like Serotek that also have recognized media outlets in the blind community.

“We’re excited to have Blind Access Journal on board with us,” said Jonathan Mosen, Freedom Scientific’s vice president of hardware development. “We know Darrell will put his passion for accessibility evangelism into his new role as our director of public relations, where he will be an excellent advocate for the use of our products as a means to make accessibility happen.”

“It was a very hard sell! After intensive negotiations concerning the content that will be permitted on the site, I must say I am honored to become part of the company in the industry with the largest screen-reader market share,” said the journal’s publisher, Darrell Shandrow. “I know that only JAWS can truly provide the level of accessibility we as blind people need now and well into the future.”

Apple Mum on VoiceOver Accessibility of Mac App Store and OS X Lion for Blind Customers

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs said nothing in his Wednesday Back to the Mac event about continued VoiceOver accessibility of a new Mac App Store and OS X Lion operating system for the company’s blind customers.

The new Mac App Store will offer iTunes-style one-click purchasing and installation of apps for the Macintosh computer operating system. Developers will be able to start submitting apps in November and the store’s grand opening is scheduled for Jan. 20.

A member of Apple’s accessibility team declined to comment on the status of VoiceOver accessibility in the Mac App Store.

“Since the Mac App Store is not available to the public and all features have not been announced, we can not comment on it any further,” said an unnamed member of Apple’s accessibility team.

Apple also has no comment on continued integration of the VoiceOver screen reader on the company’s new OS X Lion operating system slated for a summer 2011 release.

“As Steve said in today’s keynote, the features discussed were a ‘Sneak Peek’ into just a few of the new features being added to Mac OS X,” the unidentified accessibility team member said. “As I am sure you already know, Apple can not comment on pre-release software. Not all features are complete, and any part of it may still change.”

Blind computer science student and registered Apple iOS developer Kevin Chao said he’s not surprised at Apple’s silence on accessibility plans.

“I don’t really blame them,” Chao said. “If they say something now, they can be held accountable. Usually, they don’t talk.”

“By listening to our customers and applying thoughtful solutions to previously unsolvable problems, Apple continues to set a high standard for accessibility,” states Apple’s accessibility website. “Inventions such as braille mirroring, which enables deaf and blind kids to work together on the same computer at the same time; the world’s first screen reader that can be controlled using gestures; and captioning of downloadable digital movies are perfect examples of Apple innovation.”

It is anticipated that Apple will continue these accessibility commitments and innovations into its next operating system and far beyond.