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| The AirTurn BT-105 hands-free page turning system |
Earlier this year, I posted a review of AirTurn’s first hands-free page turning system, the AT-104. The 104 operated on RF technology to “turn” digital pages on a connected computer or tablet. AirTurn has now released the BT-105 which uses Bluetooth technology as the model name suggests. The company has taken an already inconspicuous and useful product and shrunk it down to make it even more appealing. You’ll find my review of the AT-104 at this link, and I’ll refer to that article for much of the duplicate information. Continue reading to find out how the BT-105 differs from its predecessor.
Hardware
The BT-105’s profile could hardly be any more svelte. Since your chosen device, be it tablet, laptop, or desktop, already has a Bluetooth radio transceiver inside, there is no need for the USB dongle required by the AT-104. The BT includes two custom-built pedals and the BT transmitter/battery assembly. I was skeptical of the custom pedals when I received the unit in the mail, but was quickly impressed by the build quality and performance. The pedals are made of an extremely durable plastic or resin material, which makes them light and flexible. They are flexible enough to bend and press under your foot, but strong enough to not crack. I can only imagine it would take an elephant with a tuba to damage these during normal use.
The brain of the unit, which includes a non-removable, rechargeable battery, is smaller than the pedals and fits between them. It is mounted securely to the pedals’ base with Velcro. There is a tri-color LED indicator light, two 3.5mm ports for pedal input, a mini USB port for charging, and a small multifunction button. The button acts as power, BT profile change, and pairing toggle all in one.
The BT-105’s profile could hardly be any more svelte. Since your chosen device, be it tablet, laptop, or desktop, already has a Bluetooth radio transceiver inside, there is no need for the USB dongle required by the AT-104. The BT includes two custom-built pedals and the BT transmitter/battery assembly. I was skeptical of the custom pedals when I received the unit in the mail, but was quickly impressed by the build quality and performance. The pedals are made of an extremely durable plastic or resin material, which makes them light and flexible. They are flexible enough to bend and press under your foot, but strong enough to not crack. I can only imagine it would take an elephant with a tuba to damage these during normal use.
The brain of the unit, which includes a non-removable, rechargeable battery, is smaller than the pedals and fits between them. It is mounted securely to the pedals’ base with Velcro. There is a tri-color LED indicator light, two 3.5mm ports for pedal input, a mini USB port for charging, and a small multifunction button. The button acts as power, BT profile change, and pairing toggle all in one.
Function
The BT-105 simply works. It is as responsive and accurate as its predecessor, so there’s really no reason to elaborate on how it performs. The pedals are broad and extremely easy to depress. Finding them with your foot without having them in view is no problem. What’s changed with this model is more on the software and interface end than anything else.
Interface
Since the BT-105 does not have any software included like the AT-104 did, the software side is dependent on whatever application you use on your interfacing device. For my review I used an Apple iPad 2, which is AirTurn’s suggested device. I chose a supported app from the App Store, where there are many compatible options to choose from. After powering on both the iPad’s Bluetooth and the AirTurn device, I was paired and connected within seconds. The app that I downloaded included some public domain music files, so I was up and running with minimal setup.
The only trouble that I had with operating the BT was interpreting the LED indicator. As I said before, there are three colors, amber, red, and green. This makes the possible combinations of indications high. And the BT-105 uses quite a few of them. The manual lists several light patterns, but correlating them to the code that it gives you is every bit as difficult as you might imagine. One example is changing the Bluetooth profile. The BT-105 comes setup for iPad use, but it must be changed to one of the other three profiles to be used with alternate devices. I tried changing it from iPad to PC/Mac mode. The process is described in the manual this way:
“To change to the PC or MAC profile (Profile 1), turn off the BT-105. Then, holding down the foot switch plugged into Port 1-2 (the port closest to the red power switch), turn on the BT-105. Release the foot switch as soon as you see the LED blink. The LED will then blink red, then green, then red, indicating that the profile has been set.”
The process worked as described when I attempted it, but many musicians that aren’t so tech savvy may be intimidated by this process. If you are one that may frequently change devices, this could indeed become very tedious.
Battery
Another advantage that the BT-105 has over the AT-104 is the inclusion of a rechargeable lithium polymer battery. This allows for longer use time and reduces the maintenance cost of the device by not having to endlessly replace alkaline batteries. Despite my initial delight over the battery type, I was alarmed when I first read the following in the operating manual:
“Note: If you fail to charge your battery when it is blinking red, you risk running it down completely which will require a factory replacement.”
Several AirTurn representatives reassured me that this is a warning to users who may neglect to charge the unit even when the LED indicator tells them the battery is almost dead. I was also told that most regular users charge their units weekly and have no trouble. They claim that 99% of units with dead batteries are recoverable when plugged into a wall socket to recharge, but the possibility of totally killing the battery is there.
Summary
With the introduction of the BT-105, AirTurn has delivered another powerful product that will help thrust music performance into the future. All of a musician’s digital sheet music can now be quickly accessed with the swipe of a finger, and it can be effortlessly played through with light taps of the feet. Being made in America, it is great to see a quality product that delivers as advertised while still maintaining a reasonable cost and excellent customer care.
Also posted here.
Interface
Since the BT-105 does not have any software included like the AT-104 did, the software side is dependent on whatever application you use on your interfacing device. For my review I used an Apple iPad 2, which is AirTurn’s suggested device. I chose a supported app from the App Store, where there are many compatible options to choose from. After powering on both the iPad’s Bluetooth and the AirTurn device, I was paired and connected within seconds. The app that I downloaded included some public domain music files, so I was up and running with minimal setup.
The only trouble that I had with operating the BT was interpreting the LED indicator. As I said before, there are three colors, amber, red, and green. This makes the possible combinations of indications high. And the BT-105 uses quite a few of them. The manual lists several light patterns, but correlating them to the code that it gives you is every bit as difficult as you might imagine. One example is changing the Bluetooth profile. The BT-105 comes setup for iPad use, but it must be changed to one of the other three profiles to be used with alternate devices. I tried changing it from iPad to PC/Mac mode. The process is described in the manual this way:
“To change to the PC or MAC profile (Profile 1), turn off the BT-105. Then, holding down the foot switch plugged into Port 1-2 (the port closest to the red power switch), turn on the BT-105. Release the foot switch as soon as you see the LED blink. The LED will then blink red, then green, then red, indicating that the profile has been set.”
The process worked as described when I attempted it, but many musicians that aren’t so tech savvy may be intimidated by this process. If you are one that may frequently change devices, this could indeed become very tedious.
Battery
Another advantage that the BT-105 has over the AT-104 is the inclusion of a rechargeable lithium polymer battery. This allows for longer use time and reduces the maintenance cost of the device by not having to endlessly replace alkaline batteries. Despite my initial delight over the battery type, I was alarmed when I first read the following in the operating manual:
“Note: If you fail to charge your battery when it is blinking red, you risk running it down completely which will require a factory replacement.”
Several AirTurn representatives reassured me that this is a warning to users who may neglect to charge the unit even when the LED indicator tells them the battery is almost dead. I was also told that most regular users charge their units weekly and have no trouble. They claim that 99% of units with dead batteries are recoverable when plugged into a wall socket to recharge, but the possibility of totally killing the battery is there.
Summary
With the introduction of the BT-105, AirTurn has delivered another powerful product that will help thrust music performance into the future. All of a musician’s digital sheet music can now be quickly accessed with the swipe of a finger, and it can be effortlessly played through with light taps of the feet. Being made in America, it is great to see a quality product that delivers as advertised while still maintaining a reasonable cost and excellent customer care.
Also posted here.
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