DECtalk® Express TEXT-TO-SPEECH SYNTHESIZER USER GUIDE. Part Number: AA-DTEUG-TH. This is an end-user document and may not be suitable for distributors or developers. Force Computers, Inc. San Jose, California 5th Edition, September 2000. The information in this publication is subject to change without notice. Force Computers, Inc. reserves the right to make changes without notice to this, or any of its products, to improve reliability, performance, or design. FORCE COMPUTERS, INC. SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR TECHNICAL OR EDITORIAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS CONTAINED HERIN, NOR FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE FURNISHING, PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS MATERIAL. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND FORCE COMPUTERS, INC. EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY EXPRESS, STATUTORY, OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. This publication contains information protected by copyright. This publication shall not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, nor its contents used for any purpose, without the prior written consent of Force Computers, Inc. Force Computers, Inc. assumes no responsibility for the use of any circuitry other than the circuitry that is part of a product of Force Computers, Inc. Force Computers, Inc. does not convey to the purchaser of the product described herein any license under the patent rights of Force Computers, Inc. nor the rights of others. The software described in this guide is furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Copyright © 2000 by Force Computers, Inc. Certain portions © 1997, 1998, 1999 Compaq Computer Corporation. All rights reserved. The Force logo and DECtalk are trademarks of Force Computers, Inc. IBM and Personal Computer AT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc. Microsoft, MS-DOS, MS-Windows, Windows, Windows 95, and Windows 98 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. The installation program used to install DECtalk Express, INSTALL, is licensed software provided by Knowledge Dynamics Corp., PO Box 1558, Canyon Lake, Texas 78130-1558 (USA). INSTALL is Copyright © 1987-1991 by Knowledge Dynamics Corp., which reserves all copyright protection worldwide. INSTALL is provided to you for the exclusive purpose of installing DECtalk Express. In no event will Knowledge Dynamics Corp. be able to provide any technical support for DECtalk Express. CAUTION: This product contains nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries, which must be disposed of properly. This battery is NOT customer replaceable. Therefore, please return the entire unit to your authorized reseller for service and/or disposal of the battery. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) CLASS-B WARNING. This device generates and uses radio frequency energy. If not installed and used properly, the device may interfere with radio or television reception. FCC COMPLIANCE - FCC ID AO9-DTC08. This device has been tested and certified to comply with the limits for a Class-B digital device, as defined in part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules. Class-B limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against radio/television interference in a residence. This product is in conformity with the following directives and/or standards: 89/336/EEC on the Electromagnetic Compatibility of Information Technology Equipment using the following standards: EN55022:1994 + A1(1995),A2(1997) Class B Limits and methods of Measurement of Radio Interference Characteristics of Information Technology Equipment. EN50082-1:1992 Electromagnetic Compatibility - Generic immunity standard - Part 1: Residential, commercial and light industry. 73/23/EEC Low Voltage Directive: EN60950:1992/A3:1995 Safety of Information Technology Equipment including Electrical Business Equipment. 93/68/EEC on the labelling of equipment. The DECtalk Express is supplied with a serial cable and connector for connecting the unit to a computer system. This cable is equipped with an in-line filter. The DECtalk Express must only be used with cables that incorporate a similar in-line filter. To comply with FCC regulations, you must use shielded cables with this device. Operation with unapproved equipment or unshielded cables is likely to result in interference with radio or television reception. Changes made to this device without the approval of Force Computers, Inc. could void your authority to operate the device. The device may cause interference even though it meets Class-B limits. (As a test, turn the device off and on, and gauge the effect on an operating radio or television.) If there is interference, try to eliminate it by one or more of the following measures: Reorienting or relocating the receiving antenna of the radio or television. Increasing the separation between the device and receiver. Connecting the device into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. Consulting the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for additional suggestions. CAUTION - ELECTRIC SHOCK AND FIRE HAZARD: This unit is for indoor use only, and is to be powered only by the supplied AC power supply. Never allow the wiring or connector attached to the battery pack to become damaged or shorted, for this can result in ignition or explosion of the battery pack. FOR USE WITH A CERTIFIED POWER SUPPLY, WITH CLASS 2 OUTPUT; RATED OUTPUT 12Vdc, 400mA min. POUR UTILIZER AVEC UNE ALIMENTATION CERTIFIE DOTE DE SORTIE DE CLASSE 2 AVEC CHARACTERISTIQUES NOMINALES DE SORTIE 12Vdc, 400mA min. CONTENTS. SECTION 1 - INSTALLATION. INTRODUCTION. BEFORE YOU BEGIN. README File. CONFIGURING THE COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS PORT. COM Ports and Available Interrupts. Default COM Port and Settings. Changing COM Settings. INSTALLATION SEQUENCE. THE DECTALK EXPRESS UNIT. Dimensions. Orientation. Locating Connectors and Controls. Charging the DECtalk Express. Connecting the Battery Charger/Power Supply. Mounting the Unit. External Audio Equipment. SELF-TEST. CONNECTING THE DECTALK EXPRESS TO YOUR COMPUTER. INSTALLING DECTALK SOFTWARE. Installation Options. Selecting an Installation Option. Standard Installation. Custom Installation. No "DECtalk is Connected" Messages. SECTION 2 - USING DECTALK EXPRESS. POWER STATUS. TALK TIME. THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS. USING DOS COMMANDS TO OUTPUT AND LISTEN TO TEXT. COPYING TO A COM PORT. USING A TERMINAL EMULATOR. USING THE MS WINDOWS TERMINAL PROGRAM. USING A WORD PROCESSOR/EDITOR. USING THE HEADPHONES. SERIAL CABLE. SECTION 3 - CONFIGURATION. FACTORY DEFAULTS. CHECKING UNIT FUNCTION. NO "DECTALK IS CONNECTED" MESSAGE. Checking Connections. Checking COM Ports. COM PORT CONFLICTS. Avoiding COM Port Conflicts. Checking COM Port Configuration. DEFAULT COMMUNICATIONS PORT. LOADING THE DECTALK EXPRESS DRIVER. Serial Port Configuration Options. Changing Serial Port Configuration. IDENTIFYING CONFLICTING DEVICES. SECTION 4 - OWNER'S INFORMATION. THE DECTALK EXPRESS. DECtalk Express Unit Description. Hardware Requirements. Software Requirements. Distribution Media. Physical Description. Power Supply Requirements. Memory Requirements. ACCESSORIES. PRODUCT WARRANTY AND SUPPORT. BATTERY SERVICE. End of Contents. SECTION 1 - INSTALLATION. INTRODUCTION. This guide provides installation information about the DECtalk® Express for general use with screen-reading software under the MS-DOS operating system. To make reading easier, this manual uses the term DECtalk when describing the system and system performance. Also since many users of DECtalk Express may be visually-impaired, descriptions are given of the size and shape of the unit or other system components. The purpose of this manual is to assist you in installing your DECtalk Express. It is not meant as a technical reference manual. BEFORE YOU BEGIN. You should not begin this installation unless: You can configure a serial communication port in your personal computer. You know how to use basic DOS commands and how to edit files. If you do not feel that you can accomplish either of these tasks, it is highly recommended that you obtain the support of someone who can help. README File. It is highly recommended that you read the file README.TXT that is on the Installation diskette. The file contains last minute information that did not make it into this guide as well as identification and workarounds for known problems. CONFIGURING THE COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS PORT. The available communications port on your computer to which you plan to connect the DECtalk Express must be configured to be compatible with the DECtalk Express. COM Ports and Available Interrupts. The COM port on your computer that you choose to connect with the DECtalk Express speech synthesizer must not be in use by any other device and must have an available interrupt. Because the four standard COM ports on PCs share only two interrupt lines, certain ports may be unavailable for use even though they appear to be free. Systems that use a serial mouse and a serial port for communications (for example, a modem) may not have a free serial interrupt available. Default COM Port and Settings. The COM port defaults used by DECtalk Express are COM Port 1 used with interrupt IRQ 4. Also the COM port's baud rate must be set to "9600", the data bits equal to "8", the stop bits equal to "one", and the parity set to "none". Refer to your computer's hardware documentation to determine how to set these options. Changing COM Settings. If you want to use a COM port other than the default to communicate with the DECtalk Express, please refer to Section 3, Configuration. WARNING: Prior to performing any hardware configuration that requires removal of your computer's covers, turn the power to the computer OFF and unplug the power cord from the wall outlet. Failure to do so may result in serious injury to yourself and or damage to your computer. INSTALLATION SEQUENCE. The DECtalk Express must be connected to the AC power adapter, connected to your computer and turned ON prior to starting the installation. The unit will speak its startup self-test message approximately fifteen seconds after the unit is turned ON. The message will say "DECtalk Express is running" and give a power status. Be sure to turn the volume to the maximum when you turn it ON. The DECtalk Express driver, DT_DRIV.EXE, must also be loaded into memory prior to installing any application software that requires it, such as a screen access program. The driver is loaded automatically if you choose the Standard Installation. The following sections describe the details of the installation procedure. THE DECTALK EXPRESS UNIT. Dimensions. The DECtalk Express unit is approximately 3.5 inches wide by 7.5 inches long by 1.25 inches high and weighs 15 ounces. Orientation. For proper orientation, the unit should first be placed with its bottom on a flat surface next to your computer. The bottom of the unit has four rubber feet located at each corner. There are also two Velcro tabs attached to the unit with their mating pieces. You may remove the mating pieces if you do not plan to mount the DECtalk Express unit or if you want to attach them later. Be careful not to remove the tape covering the adhesive backing. Locating Connectors and Controls. The top side of the unit has a speaker grill consisting of three concentric arcs. On the short side of the unit closest to the speaker grille is a square cutout, which is the modular jack for the communications cable. Next to it is a round cutout, which is the jack for the headphone plug. On the opposite end of the same side is a thumbwheel, which serves as the on/off switch and the volume control. The thumbwheel is rotated away from the headphone jack to turn the unit on and to increase the volume. On the opposite end of the unit is a single round cutout, which is the jack for the lower connector. Charging the DECtalk Express. Prior to operating the DECtalk Express solely on its battery, the battery must be charged for at least four hours. The DECtalk Express may be used while the battery is charging. Connecting the Battery Charger/Power Supply. The battery charger/power supply must be plugged into an available AC wall outlet. At the end of the cord extending from the unit is a power connector plug, which must be inserted into the power jack on the DECtalk Express. Mounting the Unit. The DECtalk Express unit may be attached to another device, such as a notebook cover, or to the side of a monitor case by using the Velcro tabs provided with the unit. DECtalk Express ships with the Velcro tabs and their mating pieces mounted to the back of the unit. The surface that the unit is to be attached to must be reasonably smooth, flat and free of dust, dirt or grease. The procedure for mounting is: a. Place the unit with the Velcro tabs and their mating pieces attached onto the selected surface. b. Make sure that the unit will fit level on the surface selected. c. Remove the adhesive backing from the Velcro mating pieces. d. Orient the unit over the surface the unit will be attached to. e. Carefully place the unit on the surface and press on it firmly. f. The unit should be attached to the selected surface. g. The unit can be removed from the surface by gently peeling the unit from the surface until the Velcro releases. h. The unit can be reattached by positioning the unit over the mating Velcro tabs and pressing the unit down on them. External Audio Equipment. The audio output of the DECtalk Express can be connected to an external electronic device, such as powered speakers, by using the output from the stereo headphone output jack. WARNING: The audio signal leads available through the stereo headphone jack on the unit must be isolated from any other external grounded connections. Plugging external equipment (such as amplifiers that have one of the signal leads grounded) into the headphone jack will result in the reduction or cessation of output, decreased battery life, increased internal heat generation, and in some cases damage to the unit. If the volume output of the DECtalk Express decreases or ceases when an AC powered device is plugged into the headphone jack, remove it immediately to avoid damage to the DECtalk Express unit. If you wish to utilize the grounded external device, it will be necessary to install an audio isolation transformer between the DECtalk Express output and the input to the grounded external equipment. Such transformers are inexpensive and can be purchased at most consumer electronics stores. Powered speakers that are powered by a wall-cube power supply without a third (ground) prong and that are not connected to any other device are generally suitable for direct connection to the DECtalk Express without an isolating device. SELF-TEST. The DECtalk Express has a built-in self-test procedure. The procedure is as follows: 1. Ensure that the on/off-volume switch on the DECtalk Express is turned OFF. This can be done by turning the thumbwheel all the way counterclockwise (towards the headphone jack). A click should be heard when it is turned OFF. Do not force the control. It may already be OFF. Try turning it ON to be sure. 2. Plug the battery charger/power unit into an AC outlet and connect the plug on the end of the cord into the power jack on the DECtalk Express. 3. Turn the DECtalk Express ON and turn the volume all the way up. 4. A short chirp should be heard almost immediately from the speaker. This indicates that the unit has started it self-test procedure. 5. In approximately 15 seconds you should hear the message "DECtalk Express is running." and the power status message from the speaker. This indicates that the self-test has been passed. 6. If the unit has passed its self test and you can proceed with the rest of the installation. 7. If you do not hear the self test message, please refer to Section 3 for problem resolution. CONNECTING THE DECTALK EXPRESS TO YOUR COMPUTER. Your DECtalk Express is intended to work with computers equipped with an available serial communications port. The DECtalk Express is supplied with a 9-pin communications connector that has a modular jack. Also supplied is a two foot long cable with modular plugs at each end. The modular plugs have an insertion tab on one side. These insertion tabs must be lined up with the corresponding cutout on the mating jacks on the DECtalk Express and on the 9-pin connector. The plug will slide into the jack when it is properly oriented and you should gently push on it until the tab clicks into place. NOTE: The 9-pin connector is shipped already attached to the serial cable. Once the cable has been connected to the DECtalk Express unit and the 9-pin plug you can connect the 9-pin plug to the appropriate 9-pin jack of the serial port on your computer. The plug and connector are "D" shaped and can only be connected one way. If your computer's serial port uses a 25-pin connector, you will need to obtain a 9-pin male to 25-pin female adapter at a local computer or electronics store. The DECtalk Express unit is now connected to your computer and ready for the software installation. INSTALLING DECTALK SOFTWARE. NOTE: Your system must be running DOS Version 3.3 or later and the DECtalk Express must be connected to your computer and be powered by the AC adapter during software installation. During software installation, follow all the instructions on the audio cassette. Sighted users will also be prompted by instructions that appear on the PC monitor's screen. 1. Turn your PC ON. 2. Choose a disk drive that takes a 3 1/2 inch diskette. In most systems, this will be either Drive A or Drive B. Insert the supplied diskette into the appropriate disk drive (either Drive A: or Drive B:). Change the drive prompt to either A:\ or B:\. 3. Turn the DECtalk Express unit ON. If it is already on, turn it OFF and then ON again. You should hear the self-test message after the unit is turned ON. 4. At the DOS prompt, type INSTALL and press the Enter key as follows: INSTALL (Press Enter.) In a few moments, you will hear rising tones from the PC speaker. The following menu will also appear on the screen: Do the install using all the defaults. or Be prompted for installation variables. Installation Options. You now have a choice of using either the Standard Installation or Custom Installation. The Standard Installation does the following: A. Runs a utility called Probe, which checks the four standard PC COM port settings to locate an operating DECtalk Express. B. Sets up a subdirectory on the system's hard disk called DTEXP and installs all the necessary files into that subdirectory. C. Adds DECtalk Express startup commands to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. D. Loads a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) driver, DT_DRIV.EXE, into memory. NOTE: This driver can be loaded into high memory. Refer to your operating system manual for details on loading programs into upper memory. E. Runs DT_START.EXE to inform you that the DECtalk Express is ready to accept input or that an error was encountered when it tried to connect to the DECtalk Express. It is not necessary to view the monitor for the Standard Installation. The Custom Installation allows you to select the drive and the name of the subdirectory. It also allows you the option not to have your AUTOEXEC.BAT updated. The Custom Installation requires that screen prompts must be followed. The Custom Installation also allows you to select the specific COM port that DECtalk is connected to or to specify a COM port with a non-standard IRQ interrupt. Selecting an Installation Option. It is recommended that the Standard Installation be used. The Standard Installation attempts to locate the DECtalk Express by polling the available serial ports and automates the installation process. However, if you have: (a) devices connected to other serial ports that cannot tolerate characters sent during polling, or (b) nonstandard hardware at any of the four standard serial port addresses, or (c) the DECtalk Express connected to a serial port at a nonstandard IRQ; then you must use the Custom installation to correctly install the DECtalk Express driver software. Standard Installation. In the default installation, rising tones from the PC speaker mean press the Enter key. Follow the rising tone prompts and press the Enter key when you hear them. After a short period of time the installation will be complete. When the installation is complete, you will hear the following message: "DECtalk Express is connected to COM port x.", where "x" is number of the connected COM port. Custom Installation. If you are visually impaired and choose not to use the default installation, you will need the help of a sighted person as the Custom Installation requires the use of screen prompts. To use Custom installation, at the first installation screen menu, press the down arrow and then press the Enter key to be prompted for entering the installation variables. From this point on, follow all instructions and respond to the menu selections as requested. When the installation is complete, you will hear one of the following messages: "DECtalk Express is connected to COM port x.", where "x" is the number of the connected COM port. or "DECtalk Express is connected to a COM port at I/O address x and IRQ y.", where "x" is the specified I/O address and "y" is the specified IRQ. No "DECtalk is Connected" Messages. If no "DECtalk Express is connected ....." message is heard from the unit and/or the message "DECtalk Express TSR error, . check COM port settings." is displayed on the screen, please refer to Section 3, Configuration. WARNING: If you are using the DOSSHELL command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the Install utility cannot place the DECtalk initialization commands before the DOSSHELL command. Therefore, when using DOSSHELL, you must manually place the DOSSHELL command as the last command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. End of Section 1. SECTION 2 - USING DECTALK EXPRESS. POWER STATUS. The DECtalk Express will speak a power status message after it speaks its self test message. The message will indicate that the unit is connected to external power or if it is not, it will indicate whether the battery charge is satisfactory or low. If the battery is low than the unit should be charged using the supplied AC adapter/charger unit. The DECtalk Express can be used while it is charging. It should take approximately 4 hours to fully charge a discharged battery. This time applies whether the unit is being used or not during the charge. Refer to the file BATTCARE.TXT for hints on battery care. TALK TIME. The DECtalk Express should speak essentially constantly at full volume for approximately six hours on a full charge. The unit will operate longer as the volume and/or the percentage of talk time is decreased. THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS. The DECtalk Express speech synthesizer is supported by a number of third-party software application packages. The primary applications are screen-access, OCR reading and reading and writing aids. Please refer to the application vendors' documentation for installing and using the application. USING DOS COMMANDS TO OUTPUT AND LISTEN TO TEXT. There are a number of ways to output and listen to text. You may copy a text file to a serial COM port, or use a terminal emulator to type directly to DECtalk using the PC as if it were a terminal connected to a COM port. NOTE: The COM port that is used to attach the DECtalk Express to your computer should NOT be directly accessed by any other software. Doing so may cause a loss of communications with the DECtalk or may crash the computer's operating system. COPYING TO A COM PORT. There are a number of ways to copy text files to DECtalk. You can create a text file using a text editor and save that file. Then use the COPY command to copy the text file to the COM port that the DECtalk Express driver is configured to intercept commands for. (COM4 is the default.) NOTE: The hardware COM port (for example, COM1) that the DECtalk Express is connected to can be and usually is different from the COM port that is used to copy text files to. The reason is that the DECtalk memory resident driver will intercept any system commands, like COPY, made to a specified COM port, for example, COM4, and redirect them to the physical COM port that the DECtalk Express is actually connected to. Because of this, it is not necessary to actually have hardware that supports the COM port that the file is copied to or to have an available interrupt. The redirection done by the DECtalk Express driver uses the physical COM port DECtalk is connected to and its associated interrupt. For example, to use the DECtalk defaults to listen to a file called DECTALK.TXT, type the following: COPY DECTALK.TXT COM4 (Press Enter.) The DECtalk driver will redirect the copy command to COM1 and the DECtalk Express will then speak the text in the text file. Refer to Section 3 for more details on setting the COM or printer ports to COPY or PRINT files to the DECtalk Express. NOTE: DECtalk requires that all text be terminated by a period, exclamation mark, a question mark, or a comma for it to start speaking immediately. USING A TERMINAL EMULATOR. There are a number of communication or terminal emulator software packages, such as KERMIT, that will support BIOS calls to a COM device. A user can create an ASCII text file using a text editor and then run the communication package to transmit the file to the COM port that the DECtalk Express program is set to receive. (The default port is COM1.) In terminal emulation mode, the communication packages will allow you to type directly to a COM port. NOTE: If the DECtalk driver, DT_DRIV.EXE, is loaded in memory, you should always use BIOS calls like COPY to communicate with the DECtalk Express. Direct access to the COM port connected to DECtalk while DT_DRIV.EXE is loaded may cause your computer's operating system to halt. DT_DRIV.EXE can be unloaded from memory by changing to the DECtalk Express subdirectory (default is DTEXP) and typing: DT_DRIV -r (Press Enter.) USING THE MS WINDOWS TERMINAL PROGRAM. The Windows Terminal program may be used to send text files to the DECtalk Express to speak. The Terminal program icon is usually located in the Accessories Group. Double click on the icon and the program will start. Select Settings(S) from the menu bar and select Communications(C) from the drop down menu. Make the following selections from the Communications options box (assuming that the DECtalk Express is connected to COM1). Baud Rate(B) 9600. Data Bits(D) 8. Stop Bits(S) 1. Parity(P) None. Flow Control(F) XON/XOFF. Connector(C) COM1. Click on the OK button after you have made all your selections. To send a file to the DECtalk Express, select the Transfer(T) menu option and the Send Text File(S) from the drop down menu. Enter the name of the text file in the File Name: window box. In this example, the file will then be sent to the DECtalk Express connected to COM1 to speak. NOTE: The DECtalk Express driver should not be loaded into memory when using the Windows Terminal program. The driver can be removed from memory by switching to the DECtalk Express subdirectory (default is DTEXP) and typing: DT_DRIV -r (Press Enter.) USING A WORD PROCESSOR/EDITOR. If you are using a screen access program, then using a word processor or editor should not be a problem. However, you cannot send a word processing file in its internal file format using the DOS COPY method described above. The file would first have to be converted to an ASCII text or print file before it could be sent to the DECtalk Express. Refer to the word processing application documentation for specific conversion details. USING THE HEADPHONES. Headphones can be plugged into the phone jack located next to the serial cable jack on the unit. Inserting the headphone plug into the jack will disconnect the built-in speaker. The volume required to operate the headphones is usually less than that required for operation of the speaker. It is highly recommended that the volume control be turned down before using the headphones. The volume can then be adjusted to your preference. SERIAL CABLE. A 10 foot serial cable is available from your reseller. End of Section 2. SECTION 3 - CONFIGURATION. FACTORY DEFAULTS. The DECtalk Express unit is configured at the factory and should require no active hardware modifications on the part of the user. The configured settings are 9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. The COM port I/O address and interrupt (IRQ) settings are software settable. CHECKING UNIT FUNCTION. The DECtalk Express has a built-in self-test procedure. The procedure is as follows: 1. Ensure that the on/off-volume switch on the DECtalk Express is turned OFF. This can be done by turning the thumbwheel all the way counterclockwise (towards the headphone jack). A click should be heard when it is turned OFF. Do not force the control. It may already be OFF. Try turning it ON to be sure. 2. Plug the battery charger/power unit into an AC outlet and connect the plug on the end of the cord into the power jack on the DECtalk Express. 3. Turn the DECtalk Express ON and turn the volume all the way up. 4. You should almost immediately hear a short chirp sound from the unit's speaker, indicating that the unit has started its self-test. NOTE: The volume control must be turned almost all the way up to hear the chirp sound. If you do not hear it, wait 15 seconds to see if you do hear the self-test message. 5. In approximately 15 seconds, you should hear the message "DECtalk Express is running. External power on." from the speaker if the unit has passed its self test. If the unit is connected to the battery charger that is plugged into a live wall outlet and it says "Battery Low" or "Battery OK", then the power supply or wall outlet may be suspect. If the unit still does not work at this point, contact the authorized distributor from whom you purchased this product. NO "DECTALK IS CONNECTED" MESSAGE. If you have installed the DECtalk Express unit and software according to the instructions provided in Section 1, the unit should speak a software startup message similar to the following: "DECtalk Express Version 4.61 is running." (The version number may differ from this example.) If the unit fails to respond, or if an error beep and screen error message is encountered, the unit may not be connected correctly or the COM port settings may have to be changed to resolve conflicts with other options. Please refer to the README.TXT file for any suggestions for resolving any known conflicts. Checking Connections. If the unit speaks its self-test message but not the Installation start-up message, then the connections between the DECtalk Express and the PC's serial COM port should be checked first. Ensure that the serial cable is firmly seated in the jack on the DECtalk Express unit and into the connector on the other end. Also check to be sure that the connector is firmly seated into the PC's serial COM port connector. Checking COM Ports. The DECtalk Express Installation program uses a utility to check the COM ports to see if a DECtalk Express is connected to any one of them. If the DECtalk Express is ON, connected to a COM port on the PC, the COM port is configured correctly and there are not any conflicts with other devices, the utility will find the DECtalk Express and configure the driver accordingly and speak the "DECtalk Express is connected to...." message. COM PORT CONFLICTS. Most PCs will allow up to four COM ports at the settings shown in Table 1 below. The unfortunate situation is that ports 1 and 3 share the same interrupt (IRQ 4) and ports 2 and 4 also share the same interrupt (IRQ 3). Placing devices that use the interrupts on either of these pair of COM ports will prevent one or both devices from operating properly. For instance, having a serial mouse on COM 1 and the DECtalk Express on COM 3 will probably mean that one or both of these options will not work correctly or at all. The same holds true for devices on COM 2 and COM 4. Avoiding COM Port Conflicts. Devices may be attached to these pairs of COM ports if one of the devices can support the setting of a non-standard IRQ setting. Usually COM port 1 and most times COM port 2 are part of the system board and do not support non-standard settings. For instance, if a COM port adapter card set for COM port 3 allowed the setting of a non-standard IRQ of 5, then the serial mouse could be attached to COM 1 and an external modem attached to COM 3 (set at IRQ 5). Or the DECtalk Express could use the standard settings for COM 2 (IRQ 3) while an internal modem uses COM 4, but with an IRQ of 5. Checking COM Port Configuration. If the Installation program cannot find a DECtalk Express on a standard COM port or at the COM port settings you specified, it recommended that you use the COMCHK utility program to identify which COM port the DECtalk Express is connected to. Run the program by typing COMCHK and press the Enter key. The program will check the four standard COM port I/O addresses in a PC for an operating DECtalk Express. The utility will report the results of its tests on the PC monitor. The message "DECtalk Express found on COM port X" where "X" is the COM port number will be spoken when an operational DECtalk Express is found. If the unit is found by the utility, then a Custom installation can be tried using the COM port and IRQ the unit was found on as the answer to the questions "Which COM port ." and "which IRQ." A beep will sound from the PC speaker if an operating DECtalk Express is not found on any of the COM ports. If the COMCHK utility does not find a DECtalk Express on COM ports 1-4 then other utilities can be used to try to identify the COM ports in your system and their settings. NOTE: The Installation program sets the DECtalk Express batch file to remove the resources used by the DECtalk Express from the system inventory. This is done to try to prevent conflict with other devices that may also try to use the same resources. System utility programs that check COM port settings, such as MSD.EXE, will then no longer show any resources for that specific COM port. The resources are returned to normal when the system is rebooted and the DECtalk driver is not loaded. DEFAULT COMMUNICATIONS PORT. If the Standard Installation program cannot locate the DECtalk Express on a standard COM port as defined in Table 1 below, it will set the driver parameters to the default. The default communications port for the DECtalk Express memory resident DOS program, DT_DRIV.EXE, is COM1 using base I/O address 3f8 and IRQ 4. LOADING THE DECTALK EXPRESS DRIVER. The DECtalk Express driver, DT_DRIV.EXE, is loaded into memory with the detected COM port settings when the system is booted if you chose the Standard installation. The driver will also be loaded with the settings you selected if you had the Install program update AUTOEXEC.BAT during a Custom installation. If you selected the Custom Installation and selected standard COM settings, the program will set the standard settings, for example, I/O address and IRQ, for that particular COM port. If you selected the non-standard option, then the COM port and IRQ settings you selected will be loaded by the program. The driver can also be loaded manually into memory with the COM settings of your choice using the following serial port configuration procedure. Serial Port Configuration Options. The following options are used by DT_DRIV to select the communications port used to connect the DECtalk Express to your computer: DT_DRIV -C # -B xxx -I d where: "#" is the COM port number for COPY command trapping. "xxx" is the I/O base address of the serial port. "d" is the IRQ used by the serial port. The standard PC COM port configurations are listed in Table 1. Table 1. - Serial COM Port Settings. COM port COPY PORT (#) I/O Address (XXX) IRQ (d). COM1 0 3F8 4. COM2 1 2F8 3. COM3 2 3E8 4. COM4 3 2E8 3. Changing Serial Port Configuration. The easiest way to change the COM port settings for the DECtalk Express driver is to rerun the Installation program and select the Custom installation. The Custom installation provides the ability to select a standard COM port number or to select a COM port at a non-standard IRQ number. Alternatively, the parameters can be changed by editing the DTEXP.BAT file that is located in the default DECtalk Express directory, DTEXP, or in the directory that you specified during installation. To change the communications port parameters, at the DOS prompt, do the following: 1. Edit the DT_DRIV command string in the file DTEXP.BAT. The Default Install program puts this file in the DTEXP subdirectory. 2. Find the line that reads DT_DRIV -C -b 3f8 -I 4. NOTE: The "-b" and "-I" settings may differ from those that are shown here. 3. Change the port parameters using the serial port settings listed in the above serial COM port settings table or to the non-standard settings of the I/O device you are using. For example, to change the physical communications port to COM3, the base address to 3E8, and the IRQ to 5, you would type the following: DT_DRIV -C (space) -b (space) 3E8 (space) -I (space) 5 The COPY command trapping of the pseudo COM4 will remain unchanged. NOTE: These base I/O address and IRQ settings must match the settings on the communications option installed in your PC. 4. Save the changes to the file. 5. Type DTEXP and press the Enter key. The system will attempt to load the DECtalk Express TSR with the newly specified settings. The DECtalk Express will now speak "DECtalk Express is connected to.... ." if all of the COM settings are correct. IDENTIFYING CONFLICTING DEVICES. If the TSR still fails to load, then it may be necessary to temporarily remove other options that use the COM ports, such as internal modems and serial mouses, until a satisfactory installation is made. Once the conflicting device is identified, adjustments in the system's resources utilized will have to be made to resolve them. The paragraph above that is titled "Avoiding COM Port Conflicts" can be used as a basis for resolving the resource conflict. End of Section 3. SECTION 4 - OWNER'S INFORMATION. This section contains general information about the DECtalk Express unit. This information is for reference purposes. THE DECTALK EXPRESS. Video terminals display information from a computer on a screen. Printers display the same information on paper. These devices allow you to communicate with computers through the sense of sight. The DECtalk Express is another device that allows you to communicate with computers. However, this device speaks information in highly intelligible synthesized speech. It allows you to communicate naturally through the senses of listening (the user) and speaking (DECtalk Express). DECtalk Express is an external PC option and a set of software components that, when properly loaded on a DOS personal computer, will provide synthesized voice output of ASCII text sent to it by other PC software applications, such as screen readers. The interface to DECtalk Express for both commands and text is via a memory-resident DOS driver or directly using in-line text commands. Refer to the files COMMAND.TXT and SHRT_CMD.TXT for more information. DECtalk Express is designed to read standard ASCII text in an intelligible and natural manner. The DECtalk Express unit, when connected to a PC or PC-compatible computer and used in conjunction with application software, such as a screen-reader, allows you to create your own talking workstation. You can hear the text you have stored in a file or any text that appears on your computer screen or is typed at the keyboard. NOTE: The screen reader software application must specifically state that it supports the DECtalk Express voice synthesizer option. Furthermore, not all of the capabilities of DECtalk Express may be utilized by the software application program that controls the DECtalk Express DOS device driver. DECtalk Express Unit Description. The DECtalk Express unit is a high-quality text-to-speech synthesizer. The unit provides hardware and firmware components that, when coupled with special speech synthesis software, offer highly intelligible and natural speech. Hardware Requirements. 1. IBM PC, IBM XT, IBM AT or 100% compatible personal computer. 2. An asynchronous serial communications port supporting 9600 baud transfer rate, 8 data bits, one stop bit, no parity and XON/XOFF protocol. 3. A diskette drive capable of reading a 3.5 inch (1.4MB) diskettes to load the distribution media. 4. A minimum of 22KB of system memory available to run the DECtalk Express memory resident DOS driver. 5. A hard disk drive with at least 1 MB of available space. Software Requirements. 1. Operating system support: DOS V3.3, V4.0x, V5.0, V6.x, Windows 95, or Windows 98. 2. DECtalk Express software. NOTE: The minimum hardware/software requirements for any future version of this product may be different from the specific requirements for the current version. Distribution Media. The distribution medium is a 3 1/2 inch Diskette (1.4MB). Physical Description. The DECtalk Express unit is an external PC option measuring approximately 3.5"x7.5"x1.25". It weighs less than one pound. It connects to the PC via an available COM port. Power Supply Requirements. The DECtalk Express unit is supplied with its own power, which plugs into an AC outlet. The unit must supply 12VDC, 400mA Regulated power. The tip is Positive (+) polarity. Memory Requirements. 22 KB of PC memory is required to run the DECtalk device driver. ACCESSORIES. The accessories supplied with this DECtalk product may vary slightly from their descriptions in the product documents. Most DECtalk product accessories can be replaced, when necessary, by purchase of an item meeting the same physical specifications at an electronic hobby shop in your area. PRODUCT WARRANTY AND SUPPORT. Contact the authorized reseller from whom you purchased this product for warranty service or support. Force Computers, Inc. provides warranty service and support ONLY to direct distributors of this DECtalk technology-based product. BATTERY SERVICE. This product contains nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries, which must be disposed of properly. This battery is NOT customer replaceable. Therefore, please return the entire unit to your authorized reseller for service and/or disposal of the battery. End of document.