Stentura 400SRT vs Stentura 200SRT

Hello! I will be starting my program in the fall and am having problems deciding what kind of steno machine to buy. Does the Stentura 400SRT have major advantages over the 200SRT? I'm specifically concerned with the ease of pressing the keys because I've been having wrist/finger problems lately.

Thanks in advance!

Hello!

If you can, I highly recommend renting a 400SRT (avoid the 200SRT) for a few months.

Once you have decided you wish to stick with it, you should look into buying yourself a refurbished professional writer -- mostly because if you buy a student writer (like the 400SRT, the Protege or the Wave), when you finish school, you will be faced with an unpleasant surprise:  You will need to buy a professional writer ($5,000 new) and you will need to buy your professional software (~$5,000).

Why set yourself up for that?  Buy a refurbished professional writer when it's time, use that for your first year on the job, and THEN buy a brand new writer.

As for which ones to buy, I recommend the ProCAT Flash, and you can read why here:

http://www.cheapandsleazy.net/flash.html

You might also look at the Stentura Fusion, which can switch between being paperless and using paper at the flick of a switch, as can the ProCAT Stylus.

If you simply *must* buy a Stentura 8000, see if you can get one with the "flippy" drive instead of a floppy drive; talk with the folks at Top Cat Steno ... and you'll also want to try to get one with 4MB of RAM if you can.

Well.  I've prattled on long enough! Good luck ... and hope this helps.

--gdw
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"For a Good (steno) Time ...."
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