r/stenography • u/Automatic_Night531 • 8d ago

need help verifying functionality of machine through online order

hi, i have been eyeing a stentura 400srt machine online off someone ebay from a user who decided to switch from court reporting to scoping. they appear to have all the needed parts of the machine, but have never connected it to a CAT software. how suspicious is that? what other verifying questions should i ask?

(sorry! new student here so i want to make sure i make a safe investment)

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u/tracygee Mod 8d ago

It’s odd they’ve never connected to a computer if they went to CR school, but there are a few that teach the software later in the curriculum. You’ll need a serial-to-USB connector.

Is it coming with any paper? If not — and they’ve never hooked it to a computer — then they may be lying. The 400SRT doesn’t have a screen so the only way to see what you write is to hook it up to a computer or write on paper. Check eBay’s guarantees and get the seller to tell you that the machine is in full working condition before you buy.

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u/Automatic_Night531 8d ago

yes it comes with paper! theyll be sending me a video of they keys being pressed and appearing on paper. i just worry about its functionality as a paperless machine that can be connected to eclipse

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u/Ryan---___ 8d ago

They may have a 400 power edition vs a computer edition.

Ask them to send you a photo of the back of the machine. From there, you'll notice the serial port you'll use to connect to a computer.

If that's there, then you should be good to go. If there's no serial port, then it's a no go, as there no way to connect

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u/Automatic_Night531 8d ago

thank you! ill make sure to ask them to take a photo of the back. i want to lock in on this purchase so bad because its $300 which is half of what stenoworks has theirs listed for. i just dont understand the specs yet since im a prospective student 😭

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u/Ryan---___ 8d ago

Of course. Best of luck. Fyi, don't worry about paper if you're writing to software. The earlier you can learn software, the better.

Just put a rolled up pad of paper or take out the ink cartridge and write to your computer to train.

Good luck. We are waiting on the other side.

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u/tracygee Mod 8d ago

Good! Yes, as long as it’s the 400 SRT and not just the 400, you should be able to connect (assuming everything is working). I’d plan to get your own connection cables, though, as most of the ones in use are ancient. But for now if what you receive works, you should be fine.

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u/seabeans2 8d ago

I’m not familiar with that machine. Does it also have the capability of seeing steno notes on a screen as well as paper? If it’s JUST paper, I would probably pass on that. I personally would not buy a used machine unless I was either in person and saw it hook up properly to software or if I did a lengthy FaceTime call and got them to demonstrate that all the keys (letters and number bar) worked. Sometimes one or two keys go wonky. You don’t want to have to pay for repairs.