This guide provides information to get you started with reading CELA books and magazines on the Stratus12 M.

About the Stratus12 M

The Victor Stratus12 M is a simple to use digital talking books player. Other than reading books on CD, the Stratus12 M can also connect to your CELA account and download books over a wireless internet connection or by using an SD card or USB key. Note that if you are using an external storage device, such as an SD card or USB key, it must remain inserted into the player to read books saved on it.

Where to get Stratus12 M

The Stratus12 M may be obtained directly from the manufacturer (HumanWare), or from CNIB SmartLife or other distributors. Some provinces may offer subsidy programs to support purchasing a player for users with print disabilities. 

Stratus12 M at HumanWare
Stratus12 M at CNIB SmartLife

There are a few options to receive digital audiobooks from CELA on your Stratus12 M. 

Using internet

Books can be placed on your personal Direct to Player bookshelf. The Stratus connects to it and allows you to select and start reading any of the titles currently on your bookshelf. You can learn more about this on our Direct to Player page. To set up Direct to Player on your Stratus12 M, refer to How to configure a Stratus12 M for CELA Direct to Player access.

Note: Some players may have a protective cover on them that hides some of the buttons, that you will have to remove. Refer to the Stratus12 M layout description for more information.

Without using internet

If wireless internet access (Wi-Fi) is not an option for you, the Stratus12 M can read books from a SD card or USB drive. In this case, you will need to log in to your CELA account on a computer and download the books to the SD card or USB key. They can then be connected to your player, and you can start reading your books. For more information on loading books this way, see the tutorial: How to transfer a DAISY .zip book to your Victor Stratus.

Stratus12 M diagram

1. Tone controls
2. Volume controls
3. Speed controls
4. Numeric keys
5. Go to
6. Bookmark
7. Eject
8. Power
9. Rewind
10. Play/Stop
11. Fast Forward
12. Sleep
13. Earphone jack
14. Power input jack
15. CD drive slot

Stratus12 M layout description

Your Stratus12 M may have a protective cover meant to avoid accidentally using some of the more advanced functions. This cover will need to be removed to access books from CELA. For instructions on how to remove it, see Stratus12 M user guide (Word document).

Layout (without protective cover)

The built-in speaker is located on the upper left corner of the face. 

On the top centre, there are three pairs of up and down keys. From left to right, these are the Tone, Volume and Speed controls. 

Beneath the Tone, Volume and Speed controls, you will find a telephone-style numeric keypad.  There is a raised dot on the number 5 key. You will use this numeric keypad to access the bookshelf, navigate and configure player menus and functions, move through the structure of a book as well as enter bookmark or page numbers. 

Numeric keys description 

• 1 Bookshelf
• 2, 4, 6, 8, serve as navigation arrows up, left, right and down respectively. The arrows are also indicated with tactile markings.
• 5 Where am I? key giving information about current position in the book. It is marked with a dot for easy orientation.
• 3 delete or copy book
• 7 enters the menus for configuring the player.
• 9 switches between human narration and text to speech if a book has both options. 
• 0 More info such as number of books, battery status and other player info.
• * (left of 0) cancels current operation
• # confirms operation 

To the right of the twelve numeric keys is the Power key. It is slightly recessed to prevent you from accidentally pressing it.

To the left of the four Navigation keys, about midway down the player, are three more keys. From top to bottom they are:

• Go to key for quickly jumping to a page, heading or book number.
• Bookmarks 
• Eject (for removing CDs or deleting books from the player).

Beneath the four Navigation keys is a group of four keys. Three of them are lined up along the lower edge of the player. These are, from left to right, the Rewind, Play/Stop and Fast Forward keys. Finally, above the Play/Stop key is the Sleep key. It is crescent shaped and has an orange LED.

This guide assumes that you have already set up Direct to Player service or connected an external storage device such as a USB drive or SD card loaded with books from CELA. For more information, see tutorials for How to configure a Stratus12 M for CELA Direct to Player access or How to transfer a DAISY .zip .book to your Victor Stratus.

Powering the Stratus12 M on or off: Press and hold the Power key (right hand edge of the face of the player). If the player is off, it will turn on and beep once. If it was on, pressing and holding the Power key turns the player off.

Once your player has powered on, it will begin downloading books and magazines. This could take between five and 30 minutes.

Choosing a book

To access the list of available books, press the Bookshelf key (1 on numeric keypad). Use the Left or Right keys (4 and 6 on numeric keypad) to jump from title to title until you hear the one you want. Confirm your selection by pressing the Play key (middle key along the bottom of the face of the player). The book will start playing from the last reading position. 

Playing a book 

Below is a list of instructions on how to perform the most common functions of your Stratus12 M player.

• Play/Stop: Press Play (middle key along the bottom of the face of the player) to start listening to your book. Press the Play key again to stop playback.
• Rewind, and Fast forward: Holding down the Rewind or Fast Forward keys (to the left and right of Play key) moves you backwards and forwards through the book. 
• Navigating a book or magazine: The four navigation keys (2, 4, 6, 8 on numeric keypad) help you quickly move from one book element to another. 
  • The Up and Down keys (2 and 8 on numeric keypad) change navigation level and allow you to choose if you want to jump between chapters, subsections, pages etc. The options depend on the way the book was produced. 
  • The Left and Right keys (4 and 6 on numeric keypad) move you backwards or forwards between locations at the selected navigation level.
    • Note: If you accidentally press the Left or the Right key, press the opposite key within 10 seconds and you will be returned to your previous location. 
• Tone/volume/speed:  Along the top of the face of the player is a group of three up-down buttons. From left to right, the first set is to adjust tone, the middle set is to adjust volume and the last set is to adjust the speed of the playback.
• Where am I? Use the Where am I key (5 on numeric keypad) to hear your position in a book.
• Info: Use the Info button (0 on numeric keypad) to find out information about the player model and version and more. Stratus12 M user guide (Word document) for more information and instructions for advanced playback features.

When you are done reading a title from CELA, we ask you to remove it from your Stratus12 M.

Whether you use CELA’s Direct to Player service or use a USB key or SD card, the way to delete books is the same.

1. Press the Bookshelf key (1 on numeric keypad) and use the forward or backward navigation keys to find the book or magazine you would like to remove.
2. Press 3 on numeric keypad repeatedly until you hear the option to delete book. 
3. Confirm by pressing the Play button or the pound key to the right of 0 on numeric keypad. Press any other key to cancel.

Useful tips

Key describer

If you would like to learn more about each key and its function you can enter a key describer mode. When it is active, pressing any key speaks its function, without taking any action. Press and hold the Information key (0 on numeric keypad) to enter this mode. Press and hold it again to return to normal functions.

User guide 

The Stratus12 M has a preloaded user guide talking book. Press and hold the Bookshelf key (1 on numeric keypad) to start listening to it. Press the Bookshelf key again to exit the user guide. The user guide is also available from the HumanWare web page: Download Stratus12 M User Guide (Word document).

Where to get help

If you need help with your Direct to Player service, with listening to CELA books on Stratus12 M, or with anything to do with your CELA account, services or materials, we are here to help!

• 1-855-655-2273, Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 7:30 pm Eastern time
• help@celalibrary.ca