Recreate the Votrax Type & Talk?

[rmelick]

I received an AtariVox+ for my Vectrex today and it got me thinking. The AtariVox uses the SpeakJet chip, so I looked it up on SparkFun.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9578

That in turn brought me to a Text-to-Speech chip for SpeakJet.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9811

A tutorial shows a guy using serial communications to send sentences to the speech synthesizer.

https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/166

This got me thinking if we could design a new speech synthesizer for the VIC-20's User Port, like the Votrax Type & Talk would, and allow the Scott Adams adventure games to speak again.

Thoughts??

[Jeff-20]

Can someone PLEASE post a video of the VIC using Votrax to speak aloud a Scott Adams game?

[orion70]

My thought is that it would be just GREAT if someone could create a Votrax T&T replica. I'd buy one for sure, regardless of the price (well, almost ). We've had modern remakes of RAM expansion units, multi-carts, IEC devices, modems, etc. This one, together with a 40/80 column cart, is definitely the missing hardware for the VIC.

[rmelick]

My thought is that it would be just GREAT if someone could create a Votrax T&T replica. I'd buy one for sure, regardless of the price (well, almost ). We've had modern remakes of RAM expansion units, multi-carts, IEC devices, modems, etc. This one, together with a 40/80 column cart, is definitely the missing hardware for the VIC.

I'm going to try it. Parts are on order (back-order). I want to see if I can do it without an RS232C adapter; make it work with both the PET user port and the VIC/64/128 user port; and produce speech for the Scott Adams adventure games on the VIC-20. If successful, I'll publish the parts and procedure (for those who want to replicate the results), and I'll offer to put them together for those who don't want to mess with it. This will either be a big flop or an elegant solution.

[Vic20-Ian]

I would be interested too.

I bought parts for a project to do an Sp0256 based card after fixing Mikam's cartridge for him.

I have the project details but too little time and no eprom burning facilities.

[RobertBe]

An excellent project! I wish you a successful result.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
July 27-28 Commodore Vegas Expo v9 -
http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[Z0rb]

I am still pretty new to the VIC programming part. Does anyone know the maximum baud rate that the user port can delivery using BASIC?

I have a SpeakJet laying around and it has a default Baud Rate of 9600 but can be set as low as 2400.

Any thoughts?

[rmelick]

I am still pretty new to the VIC programming part. Does anyone know the maximum baud rate that the user port can delivery using BASIC?

I have a SpeakJet laying around and it has a default Baud Rate of 9600 but can be set as low as 2400.

Any thoughts?

1200 baud. The wildcard is the introduction of a text to speech chip to make it work more like a Votrax Type and Talk. I think it will accept input until it sees a CR, and then send the correct allophone stream to the speakjet at 9600.

Some guy out there has plans to make a speakjet a drop in replacement for a votrax chip - converting phonemes to allophones. That might work for recreating something like the PPP Speakeasy-C.

[Z0rb]

Well my initial thought to this was to use an Arduino as a baud rate upconverter to a speakjet.

So you could have the VIC sending commands to the Speakjet via 300bps and the arduino would upconvert that to the default 9600 bps of the speakjet.

[rmelick]

Well my initial thought to this was to use an Arduino as a baud rate upconverter to a speakjet.

So you could have the VIC sending commands to the Speakjet via 300bps and the arduino would upconvert that to the default 9600 bps of the speakjet.

I'm thinking the same. I have a couple Raspberry Pi and have also been itching to tinker with an Arduino.

[Z0rb]

Ok I am at the point now where I have 300 bps serial data coming out of the vic and delivering it to my PC at 9600 bps, via an Arduino. I need to route in my garage for some parts to get a SpeakJet circuit together to slip in place of the PC.

[rmelick]

Ok I am at the point now where I have 300 bps serial data coming out of the vic and delivering it to my PC at 9600 bps, via an Arduino. I need to route in my garage for some parts to get a SpeakJet circuit together to slip in place of the PC.

Well my initial idea didn't work, so think you are on the right track. I was going CB2 to the TTS256 text-to-allophones chip (and then finally to the SpeakJet). I was hoping it would be forgiving of 1200 baud to some extent, but it turns out that it requires 9600 baud as well (with no means to adjust it). I get sound, but its just gibberish and some sound effects. Every now and then I can hear something that sounds like English, like "vertical bar," when in fact I had not sent that character. It is not totally random, but so far off the mark that it would be basically useless to try and find some practical application to the approach. Please keep us posed on your progress and I'd like to replicate your work if you publish your procedure to incorporate an Arduino.

[Z0rb]

Well progress is slow but I am making it. I am at point now where I can talk to the arduino and then have it talk back to the VIC. Right now its merely a baud rate converter taking 300 bps and then sending it at 9600 so it can talk to the speakjet. Its a little rough around the edges and am still working with it and will keep everyone posted of my progress.

[rmelick]

Well my initial idea didn't work, so think you are on the right track. I was going CB2 to the TTS256 text-to-allophones chip (and then finally to the SpeakJet). I was hoping it would be forgiving of 1200 baud to some extent, but it turns out that it requires 9600 baud as well (with no means to adjust it). I get sound, but its just gibberish and some sound effects. Every now and then I can hear something that sounds like English, like "vertical bar," when in fact I had not sent that character. It is not totally random, but so far off the mark that it would be basically useless to try and find some practical application to the approach. Please keep us posed on your progress and I'd like to replicate your work if you publish your procedure to incorporate an Arduino.

Next I think I'm going to set aside the SpeakJect and TTS256 chips, and try something with a Raspberry Pi. The GPIO pins are 3.3V but the CB2 line on the VIC is 5V, so I've ordered a BOB-08745 Logic Level Converter from Spark Fun:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8745

There is a good TTS software package, called Festival, from The University of Edinburgh:

http://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/festi ... nload.html

[rmelick]

Next I think I'm going to set aside the SpeakJect and TTS256 chips, and try something with a Raspberry Pi. The GPIO pins are 3.3V but the CB2 line on the VIC is 5V, so I've ordered a BOB-08745 Logic Level Converter from Spark Fun. There is a good TTS software package, called Festival, from The University of Edinburgh.

Success (partially). Scott Adams is out, but the rest is fine. I've documented the procedure here. It's just the basics, so you can refine it and perfect it to your tastes. I'm basically out of ideas and approaches.

http://www.geocities.ws/cbm/doc/weekend_vox.html