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USERS

MANUAL

THE

MICROMINT

INC.

561

Willow

Avenue,

Cedarhurst,

N.Y.

11516

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction

1-2

MicroVox

Hardware

3-4

Speech

Synthesizer

and

Inflection

Circuitry

5-6

Device

Control

Codes

7-15

Setting

the

Serial

Port

15-16

Parallel

Input

Port

-

17

Phoneme

Codes

18-19

J3

-

Connector

Pinout

20

Jl

-

Connector

Pinout

21

Phonetic

Word

List

22-25

Parts

List

26-27

Layout

28

Schematics

29-32

Warranty

33

THE

MICROVOX

TEXT

TO

SPEECH

SYNTHESIZER

Copyright

1982

The

Micromint

Inc.

The

MicroVox

is

a

stand

alone

intelligent

peripheral

that

converts

ASCII

text

to

spoken

English.

The

MicroVox

is

attached

to

the

computer

(or

terminal,

modem,

etc.)

via

either

a

serial

or

parallel

cable.

Its

operation

is

similar

to

that

of

a

printer

except

that

the

output

is

speech

rather

than

printed

word.

The

MicroVox

has

many

programmable

options

which

produce

its

high

level

of

intelligibility.

It

has

the

following

features:

*

Phoneme

based

speech

synthesizer

*

6502

Microprocessor

*

64

crystal

controlled

inflection

levels

*

700

character

buffer

(optional

2.7K)

*

6K

byte

text-to-phoneme

algorithm

*

Full

ASCII

character

set

recognition

and

echo

*

Adjustable

baud

rates

(75-9600)

*

EIA

RS232C

and

parallel

input

interfaces

*

Phoneme

access

modes

*

Serial

X-on/X-off

handshaking

*

One

watt

amplifier

and

volume

control

*

Onboard

power

supply

*

Music

and

sound

effects

capability

Basically,

the

MicroVox

Speech

Synthesizer

consists

of

a

6502

based

microcomputer

with

a

voice

synthesizer

output

port.

It

has

a

6502

microprocesor,

crystal

controlled

75-9600

bps

full

handshaking

serial

interface,

parallel

input

port,

2K

bytes

of

RAM,

8K

bytes

of

EPROM,

and

has

an

onboard

power

supply.

The

EPROM

contains

the

operating

system

and

text

to

speech

algorithm.

Special

control

signals

are

sent

from

the

host

computer

to

select

among

many

different

user

options.

In

general,

these

control

signals

are

in

the

form:

I(letter)(option).

The

exclamation

point

is

a

signal

to

the

MicroVox

that

a

control

code

follows.

Options

can

be

changed

at

any

time

by

sending

the

appropriate

codes

preceding

or

imbedded

within

the

text.

What

is

a

Text

to

Speech

Synthesizer

?

With

the

majority

of

speech

synthesizer

interfaces,

text

to

speech,

or

the

actual

conversion

from

ASCII

characters

to

phonemes,

LPC

formants,

word

codes

etc.,

is

left

to

the

user.

Such

a

conversion

routine

will

be

more

or

less

elaborate,

depending

upon

the

required

vocabulary.

For

short

vocabularies,

the

conversion

program

might

consist

merely

of

a

table

of

words

and

their

appropriate

synthesizer

codes.

When

the

required

vocabulary

becomes

very

long,

or

in

fact

unlimited,

tables

become

cumbersome

and

a

text

to

speech

algorithm

is

required

instead.

page

1

A

text

to

speech

algorithm

is

a

program

which

takes

ASCII

data

and

performs

a

synthesis

by

rule

analysis

of

character

strings.

It

determines

which

characters

are

voiced

and

which

are

silent

by

following

a

set

of

general

rules

for

pronouncing

English

(text

to

speech

algorithms

can

be

written

for

other

languages

as

well).

Text

to

speech

algorithms

vary

in

length

depending

upon

exactness

of

voice

translation.

Typical

algorithms

are

in

the

4K

to

8K

byte

range

but

f

some

of

the

more

sophisticated

programs

are

up

to

80K

bytes.

The

primary

difference

between

a

6K

and

a

20K

algorithm

is

more

often

the

spelling

of

input

text

rather

than

any

specific

sound

quality

differences

(an

80K

algorithm

can

often

be

half

look

up

tables

for

exceptions

to

the

rules).

For

exact

pronunciation

it

might

be

necessary

to

spell

words

differently

to

more

easily

fit

the

prescribed

rules

on

the

smaller

algorithm,

such

as

entering

"com

pu

ter"

instead

of

computer.

The

only

other

limitations

are

features

such

as

pronunciation

of

punctuation

or

inflected

speech.

Both

of

these

capabilities

are

supported

in

the

MicroVox.

The

MicroVox

text

to

speech

synthesizer

is

a

smart

peripheral.

It

speaks

only

those

ASCII

strings

which

are

directed

to

it

through

either

its

serial

or

parallel

input

ports.

The

ASCII

text

can

result

from

PRINT

statements

in

BASIC

or

the

contents

of

complete

disk

files.

MicroVox

connects

to

the

computer

in

the

same

manner

as

a

printer

or

modem

and

virtually

anything

that

can

be

printed

or

viewed

on

the

CRT

can

be

vocalized.

The

MicroVox

is

a

combination

of

two

major

elements:

a

6502

based

microcomputer

and

a

Votrax

SC-01

speech

synthesizer

chip.

The

SC-01

is

a

CMOS

(complimentary

metal

oxide

semiconductor)

chip

which

consists

of

a

digital

code

translator

and

an

electronic

model

of

the

vocal

tract.

Internally,

there

is

a

phoneme

controller

which

translates

a

6

bit

phoneme

and

2

bit

pitch

code

into

a

matrix

of

spectral

parameters

which

adjusts

the

vocal

tract

model

to

synthesize

speech.

The

output

pitch

of

the

phonemes

is

controlled

by

the

frequency

of

the

clock

signal.

The

clock

frequency

is

nominally

720

KHz

but

subtle

variations

of

pitch

can

be

induced

to

add

inflection.

This

prevents

the

synthesized

voice

from

sounding

too

monotonous

or

"robotlike".

Listed

in

Table

1

are

the

64

phonemes

defined

for

the

English

language

(three

produce

no

sounds).

The

phoneme

sound

is

generated

when

a

6

bit

phoneme

code

is

transmitted

to

the

SC-01.

Each

phoneme

is

internally

timed

and

has

a

duration

of

47-250

msec

depending

on

the

particular

phoneme

selected

and

the

clock

frequency.

The

computer

operating

system

sends

these

codes

to

the

synthesizer

chip

through

a

latched

parallel

output

port

and

monitors

the

synthesizer's

activities

(the

A/R

line)

through

an

interrupt

line.

page

2

The

MicroVox

Hardware

As

previously

mentioned,

the

MicroVox

is

a

stand-alone

microcomputer

configured

to

function

as

an

intelligent

peripheral.

Figure

1

is

a

basic

block

diagram

of

MicroVox.

It

can

be

viewed

as

a

general

purpose

6502

based

computer

with

a

speech

synthesizer

attached

as

a

memory

mapped

I/O

port.

MicroVox

is

best

explained

by

dividing

the

circuitry

into

four

functional

subsections:

processor

and

timing,

memory,

serial

and

parallel

I/O,

and

speech

synthesizer.

Figure

2

is

the

complete

MicroVox

schematic.

Processor

and

Data

Rate

Clock

The

processor

is

a

1

MHz

6502.

The

processor

and

data

rate

clocks

are

derived

by

dividing

down

a

4.9152

MHz

crystal

through

IC6.

Using

a

4.9152

MHz

crystal

(base

is

75

times

2

to

the

16th)

and

a

12

stage

CD4040

binary

divider

(IC6),

9

rates

are

derived

directly:

75

bps,

150

bps,

300

bps,

600

bps,

1200

bps,

2400

bps,

4800

bps,

9600

bps,

and

19200

bps

(while

the

hardware

can

produce

19200

bps,

it

is

not

supported

by

the

operating

system).

The

MicroVox

will

not

communicate

at

110

bps.

See

"Setting

the

serial

port".

The

6502

processor

operates

at

a

clock

frequency

of

611

KHz.

Memory

Section

ICs

2-5

and

9

form

the

address

decoding

and

memory

section

of

the

MicroVox.

IC

9

decodes

the

5

most

significant

address

bits

to

create

8

strobes.

They

are

defined

as

follows:

Name

Hex

Address

Connection

and

Function

SEL0

000

IC2

Memory

Block

(RAM)

SELl

800

IC3

Memory

Block

(RAM)

SEL2

1000

IC10

Serial

Port

SEL3

1800

IC11

Parallel

Ports

SEL4

8000

IC14

Inflection

Clock

Rate

SEL5

A0

00

IC14

Phoneme

Latch

SEL6

cooo

IC5

Memory

Block

(EPROM)

SEL7

E000

IC4

Memory

Block

(EPROM)

the

MicroVox

configuration,

ICs

2

and

3

are

intended

be

RAM

while

ICs

4

and

5

are

EPROM

or

ROM.

The

pin

designations

for

ICs

2

and

3

are

for

2K

by

8

RAM

chips

such

as

the

Hitachi

6116

or

Toshiba

2016

(these

devices

are

2716

pin

compatible.

You

could

also

use

2716

EPROMs

in

these

sockets).

This

programmable

memory

is

used

for

conversion

tables,

register

stacks,

and

the

ASCII

input

buffer

(the

MicroVox

can

receive

data

faster

than

it

can

speak

it).

The

basic

MicroVox

uses

only

one

RAM

chip

which

allows

a

700

character

input

buffer.

By

adding

the

second

RAM

chip

in

IC3

(and

changing

a

few

EPROM

constants),

this

buffer

can

be

optionally

expanded

to

2.7K

characters.

page

3

The

text

to

speech

algorithm

is

placed

in

EPROM/ROM

positions

ICs

4

and

5.

Either

2716

(2K

X

8),

2732

(4K

X

8),

or

2764

(8K

X

8)

devices

can

be

used

in

these

positions

depending

upon

the

jumper

selections

JP4

and

JP5.

The

8K

byte

MicroVox

software

will

be

either

on

two

2732

EPROMs

and

require

both

sockets

or

a

single

8K

2764

(or

ROM

equivalent).

Serial

and

Parallel

I/O

MicroVox,

unlike

most

other

voice

synthesizers,

has

both

serial

and

parallel

input

ports

to

receive

ASCII

characters.

The

serial

port

uses

a

6850

asynchronous

communications

interface

adapter

(ACIA,

IC10)

which

is

software

programmable.

During

initialization,

the

ACIAs

functional

configuration

is

preset.

Considerations

such

as

word

length,

clock

division

ratios,

parity,

stop

bits,

etc.,

are

selected

by

properly

setting

bits

in

the

ACIA's

control

register.

The

data

rate

is

set

by

the

system

data

rate

clock

(from

SW2

and

IC6)

and

data

is

sent

and

received

from

the

Transmit

and

Receive

data

registers

respectively.

Information

such

as

framing

errors,

parity

errors,

and

buffer

and

handshaking

status,

are

determined

by

reading

the

ACIA

status

register.

On

the

MicroVox,

the

serial

port

can

be

used

with

or

without

hardware

handshaking

(CTS,

DCD,

RTS,

etc.).

This

is

especially

useful

when

communicating

over

modems

or

terminals

which

have

no

handshaking

signals.

Instead,

the

MicroVox

software

incorporates

software

handshaking.

When

receiving

ASCII

text

in

the

software

handshaking

mode

the

MicroVox

sends

an

to

the

host

computer

when

its

input

buffer

is

almost

full

(the

host

should

stop

sending

data).

It

sends

a

"#"

when

it

is

ready

to

receive

data

again.

Obviously,

even

this

can

be

ignored

if

the

data

rate

from

the

host

computer

never

exceeds

the

speed

at

which

the

buffer

is

emptied.

The

parallel

input

section

uses

an

8255

PIA

(IC11)

which

is

also

programmable.

As

configured,

8

bits

of

it

are

used

to

receive

parallel

format

ASCII

data

such

as

would

be

transmitted

to

a

parallel

printer.

Using

2

additional

pairs

for

the

strobe

and

acknowlege

handshaking,

the

MicroVox

can

attach

to

any

conventional

Centronics

printer

interface.

(As

configured,

the

34

pin

edge

connector

is

exactly

compatible

with

the

Radio

Shack

TRS

line

of

computers

and

can

connect

directly

to

their

34

pin

Centronics

printer

edge

connector).

DIP

switch

SWl

also

attaches

to

IC11.

Switch

positions

6

thru

8

set

serial

word

length,

stop

bits,

and

parity

on

the

ACIA;

switch

section

3

selects

hardware

or

software

handshaking;

sections

1,

2,

4,

and

5

are

not

used.

page

4

Speech

Synthesizer

and

Inflection

Circuitry

Probably

the

most

important

section

of

the

MicroVox

is

the

actual

speech

synthesizer

circuitry.

The

MicroVox

allows

64

levels

of

pitch

inflection.

The

output

pitch

of

the

phonemes

is

controlled

by

the

frequency

of

the

clock

signal.

The

output

pitch

is

a

function

of

this

clock

input

frequency

and

two

pitch

control

lines,

il

and

12

(each

acts

independently).

Four

rather

large

variations

in

pitch

(corresponding

to

!P1

thru

!P4

in

the

operating

system),

can

be

achieved

simply

by

using

these

manual

inflection

inputs.

More

subtle

variations

in

output

pitch

are

attained

by

externally

controlling

the

synthesizer

clock.

Using

the

1.22

MHz

system

clock

and

a

digital

rate

multiplier,

a

programmable

clock

can

be

created

to

produce

smaller

and

more

defined

pitch

inflection

changes.

On

a

SEL4

strobe,

a

four

bit

inflection

code

is

latched

into

IC13

and

applied

to

the

rate

multiplier.

The

four

bit

combination

results

in

16

clock

rates

from

614.4

KHz

to

902.4

KHz

in

19.2

KHz

increments

(corresponding

to

!Rl

thru

1R16

in

the

operating

system).

20

KHz

creates

a

relatively

small

pitch

change

by

itself

(out

of

a

720

KHz

nominal

input

frequency)

but,

used

dynamically

in

a

sentence

it

creats

a

definite

improvement

in

intelligibility.

The

pitch

levels

IPl

thru

IP4

are

the

base

pitch

and

the

16

frequencies

from

the

rate

multiplier,

IRl

thru

1R16,

are

the

clock

rate.

The

combination

of

the

two

functions

results

in

64

pitch

levels

or

inflections.

The

pitch

at

which

individual

phonemes

are

pronounced

may

be

controlled

automatically

by

the

text

to

speech

algorithm,

kept

fixed,

or

altered

by

user

command.

Some

users

prefer

automatic

inflection,

because

of

the

variety

it

gives

to

the

speech.

Others

think

a

computer

should

sound

like

a

computer

and

prefer

the

flat

speech

to

artificially

intoned

speech.

Still

others

may

wish

to

directly

control

the

pitch

to

make

the

unit

"sing"

(pitch

and

rate

codes

may

be

mixed

with

phoneme

codes

to

produce

"singing")

or

pronounce

words

with

special

emphasis.

The

user

may

control

the

base

pitch

setting

independently

of

the

clock

rate.

The

user

options

are:

IPl

(low

pitch)

IP2

(medium

low

pitch)

IP3

(medium

high

pitch)

1P4

(high

pitch)

The

user

may

also

control

the

clock

rate.

IRl

(slowest

rate

—

lowest

level

for

the

given

base

pitch)

IR2

(slightly

faster)

1R3...IR16

(increasingly

faster

rates)

page

5

The

MicroVox

has

the

ability

to

play

musical

notes

and

produce

sound

effects.

This

is

accomplished

by

using

a

program

routine

to

toggle

one

bit

of

IC11

at

a

predetermined

rate.

This

lead,

in

addition

to

the

output

from

the

speech

synthesizer

chip

(IC12)

is

connected

to

the

output

amplifier.

The

results

are

similar

to

the

sound

produced

on

the

internal

speaker

in

an

APPLE

II

computer

(it

uses

the

same

technique).

OPERATOR

INTERACTION

WITH

THE

TEXT

TO

SPEECH

SOFTWARE

The

MicroVox

is

a

stand

alone

intelligent

peripheral

that

converts

ASCII

text

to

spoken

English.

The

MicroVox

is

attached

to

the

computer

(or

terminal,

modem,

etc.)

via

either

a

serial

or

parallel

cable.

Its

operation

is

similar

to

that

of

a

printer

except

that

the

output

is

speech

rather

than

printed

word.

The

MicroVox

has

many

programmable

options

which

produce

its

high

level

of

intelligiblity.

These

options

are

called

device

control

signals

and

are

transmitted

to

the

MicroVox

along

with

the

text.

Device

controls

signals

are

sent

from

the

host

computer

to

select

among

many

different

user

options.

In

general,

MicroVox

control

signals

are

in

the

form:

l(letter)(option)(option)

for

example:

1HXY

The

exclamation

point

is

a

signal

to

the

MicroVox

that

a

control

code

follows.

The

user

may

if

he

wishes

use

any

other

character

as

the

signal.

This

is

done

by

giving

the

following

instruction:

(old

signal

character)X(new

signal

character)

for

example:

1X$

will

change

the

control

signal

from

an

exclamation

point

to

a

dollar

sign

and

$X*

will

change

it

then

from

a

dollar

sign

to

an

asterisk.

Device

control

signals

can

be

imbedded

anywhere

in

the

text

transmission

and

are

not

spoken.

Once

a

device

control

signal

has

been

sent

to

the

MicroVox,

all

succeeding

text

entry

will

be

subject

to

that

default

setting

until

it

is

changed.

For

example

if

letter

by

letter

pronunciation

is

invoked

with

IE

then

all

text

will

be

spelled

until

a

IT

is

sent

to

reinvoke

text

to

speech

translation.

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