one major issue...

...at the job today was the way the brähler console, picture see previous post, works. Of the three buttons in the top right hand corner, A and C are usually set to English, B to the 'other' language, i.e. French, German, Spanish, etc. I am not quite clear why there are two buttons for the English channel when most, in fact, all other consoles make do with one button per out-going channel.

But never mind. The real issue with this console is that only one console can ever be on the English out-going channel, and on this particular job we have 10, 2 in every of the 5 booths. So if the colleague in the French booth just had to work into English and then hands over to the booth partner for the next 30 minutes and just switches her own microphone off, than that is fine with all other consoles I know. But noooooo..., not this one! If next the Spanish delegate needs to be interpreted into English, the Spanish interpreter will find that s/he can't switch on their microphone because the English channel is still blocked by the non-working French console.

It doesn't help that on this console, as opposed to the Philips model, there is no way of telling whether and if yes, by whom, the English channel is blocked.

Confusing? Imagine having to figure that out while you are interpreting, with your colleagues grimacing and gesticulating at you as nobody can hear you because oviously, your microphone isn't working, and the delegates start making light of it by saying: "The interpreter is apparently asleep." Nice, I'm sure.

So dear colleagues, if you work with this particular console, please IMMEDIATELY change your out-going channel back to your own language to unblock the English channel.

And dear technicians and team-leaders, please remind all interpreters of this peculiarity, at least until everyone has had some more experience with this just recently EU-approved new model, instead of shouting impatiently through the booth window.