Grace Church in New York

Grace Church

in New York

Assistive Listening System

During Sunday morning worship services, Grace Church provides an assistive listening system (ALS) for visitors with hearing loss.

The system uses technology called “RF Assistive Listening”. An FM radio transmitter sends the audio (spoken word only) of the service to a small radio that the listener brings to church.

Setting up the system is easy, the cost minimal – less than $35.

Bring to church a small hand-held FM radio, such as the one pictured here. If you don’t have one of these, you can purchase one for about $15 from one of the sources linked below or in any big box store. You would also need a pair of earphones, preferably the over the ear type if you wear hearing aids. You likely already own a set like this.

When you arrive at church, turn on the FM radio and wear the headphones. Tune to the lower side of the FM dial – to frequency 87.6 mHZ. Adjust the frequency and volume during one of the readings. The strongest signal would be received toward the rear of the church, preferably on the left side.

During music, sound is not heard through the ALS. Only the voice portions of the service can be heard through the ALS.

Shown below are some links to equipment used for an RF Assistive Listening Device. We have not tested all of this equipment, but show examples of equipment that might be used.