Re: digispeech

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Roger Johnstone wrote:

>In <GdCdnbWwzprTxerdRVn-ug@comcast.com> MechCD wrote:
>> Heres the pics: http://xmechcd.tripod.com/digi/digi.htm
>> I'll try and scan the board itself tomorrow.
>> 
>> I have no clue what they were off of. It would be great if I could 
>> hook one up to one of my Apple IIe's. I tried doing several searches 
>> on "digispeech" and come up empty handed. I assumed they went with the 
>> Apple IIe's because they were in the same box. I may be wrong though, 
>> there was a large assortment of PC disks in the same box (including 
>> win 95 on 3.5 inch floppies).
>>
>> The wires coming from the 25 pin connector are labeled TP1-TP7. I 
>> would guess it hooks up to a PC parralel port, but I'm not about to 
>> try it until I can find some more info.
>>
>> This board says 1992 on the back, so that is in the 486 to Pentium era 
>> in the PC world. I remember having a normal 8 bit sound card in our 
>> 486 back in '91 (I think).
>
>There were several manufacturers who made external sound boxes for PCs 
>back in the late 80s to early 90s. They were pretty simple, consisting 
>of an analogue to digital converter connected directly to the parallel 
>printer port, with a small amplifier and a speaker. There were even 
>articles in the electronics magazines on making your own. A lot of 
>eductional software used them, and I even remember seeing one sold under 
>the Disney name.
>
>Looking at your picture though, there is no way that what you have is 
>one of those! They would have only had two or three chips in them, not 
>the 10 chips you have.

Agreed.

>The picture which goes with the page is missing, but this description 
>fits:
>
>from http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A1566.cfm
>
>===
>The DigiSpeech Plus audio adapter works with both DOS and Windows 3.1/95/
>NT software on the same computer. The unit -- which combines a sound 
>card, speaker and  microphone -- plugs into the back of the  PC.
>
>Specifically designed for classrooms, DigiSpeech Plus boasts a sturdy 
>shell that stands up to frequent use. The volume control, headset and 
>microphone jacks are all located on the front of the unit, so no one 
>fumbles behind the computer to make adjustments. Each adapter has two 1/
>4" headphone jacks, allowing students to share the same machine.
>
>Bundled software dictates any text file or typed sentences and 
>pronounces words from a Dictionary Editor. Another package lets users 
>play, record and edit audio files. DSP Solutions, Stony Brook, NY, (800) 
>560-1817,  www.dsps.com.
>===
>
>It sounds like a fully functional PC sound card, but running off a 
>parallel port.

And, from the photo, the name of the company that made it, and the
description of its functionality, it appears likely that the large square
TI chip is a DSP, and not an LPC speech synthesizer.

Apparently, this was made for people who wanted to add a
sound card, but didn't want to open their PC case.

To make them useful, the driver software will need to be located.

If the DSP software is downloadable rather than in ROM, and if
it can send data from the box to the PC, then it might make an
interesting DSP hack for a PC.

-michael

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