DECtalk® PC2 TEXT-TO-SPEECH SYNTHESIZER USER GUIDE. Part Number: AA-DTPUG-TH. This is an end-user document and may not be suitable for distributors or developers. Force Computers, Inc. San Jose, California 3rd 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. AEB is a registered trademark of dialogic Corporation. 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. SoundBlaster is a registered trademark of Creative Labs, Inc. Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. The installation program used to install DECtalk PC2, 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 PC2. In no event will Knowledge Dynamics Corp. be able to provide any technical support for DECtalk PC2. 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 A09-DTC7B. This equipment 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 equipment 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. Any modification to this equipment that is not expressly approved by Force may void the user's authority to operate this equipment. The speaker interconnect cable as supplied with the DTC07 interface card may not be substituted, nor altered or modified in any way. The equipment may cause interference even though it meets Class-B limits. 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 equipment and receiver. Connecting the equipment 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. The user may find the booklet "How to Identify and Resolve Radio/TV Interference Problems", prepared by the Federal Communications Commission, helpful. The booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, Stock No. 004-000-00398-5. CAUTION - ELECTRIC SHOCK AND FIRE HAZARD: In order to minimize the risk of a fire, this module is constructed from a UL Recognized Component Printed Circuit Board. However, it is not to be operated as a stand-alone product. It is to be mounted within a UL Listed, CSA Certified product that provides it with a full fire enclosure. In order to minimize the risk of electric shock, this module is to be powered from a power supply output that is provided with Overload Protection and supplies Safety Extra Low Voltage (less than 60 Volts DC or 30 volts rms). WARNING: Discharges of static electricity (ESD) can damage sensitive electronic components. Do not remove the module from its protective packaging until actual installation. CONTENTS. SECTION 1 - INSTALLATION. INTRODUCTION. UPGRADES. BEFORE YOU BEGIN. DECTALK PC2 CARD PHYSICAL LAYOUT. EXTERNAL SPEAKER. INSTALLATION SEQUENCE. TOOLS NEEDED TO INSTALL THE DECTALK PC2 CARD. INSTALLING THE DECTALK PC2 CARD. INSTALLING DECTALK PC2 SOFTWARE. Selecting Standard or Custom Installation. Standard Installation. Custom Installation. DTDEMO. README FILE. DEFAULT COM AND LPT PORT TRAPPING. SECTION 2 - USING DECTALK PC2. THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS. USING DOS COMMANDS TO OUTPUT AND LISTEN TO TEXT. COPYING TO A COM PORT. PRINTING TO AN LPT PARALLEL PRINTER PORT. USING A TERMINAL EMULATOR. USING A WORD PROCESSOR. USING DIGITIZED SOUND FILES. USING HEADPHONES. USING EXTERNAL STEREO SPEAKERS. ANALOG EXPANSION BUS (AEB). MODIFYING DECTALK PARAMETERS. SECTION 3 - CONFIGURATION. FACTORY DEFAULTS. DECTALK SOFTWARE START-UP. STARTUP PROBLEMS. Devices No Longer Operate. I/O Address Conflicts. Hidden Use of I/O Addresses. DIP-SWITCH PACK SETTINGS. Changing Switch Settings. Checking Board Function. CUSTOMIZATION OF THE STARTUP MESSAGE. DEFAULT COMMUNICATION AND PRINTER PORTS. SECTION 4 - OWNER'S INFORMATION. THE DECTALK PC2. DECtalk PC2 Board Description. Hardware Requirements. Software Requirements. Distribution Media. Physical Description. Power Supply Requirements. Memory Requirements. ACCESSORIES. PRODUCT WARRANTY AND SUPPORT. End of Contents. SECTION 1 - INSTALLATION. INTRODUCTION. This guide provides installation and user information about the DECtalk® PC2 for general use and for use with screen-reading and other third party application software. To make reading easier, this manual uses the term DECtalk when describing the system and system performance. Also since many users of DECtalk PC2 may be visually-impaired, descriptions are given of the size and shape of the board or certain other system components. The purpose of this manual is to assist you in installing and using your DECtalk PC2. It is not meant as a technical reference manual. UPGRADES. If you already have an operational DECtalk PC2 and you are only upgrading your DECtalk PC2 with a new version of the software, consult the file UPGRADE.TXT for upgrade instructions. BEFORE YOU BEGIN. Do not begin this installation unless: You can install an option board in your personal computer. You know how to configure options installed in your computer. You know how to use basic DOS commands and to edit files. If you do not feel that you can accomplish one or more of these tasks, it is highly recommended that you obtain the support of someone who can help. DECTALK PC2 CARD PHYSICAL LAYOUT. Your DECtalk PC2 is an 8 bit option card that works with IBM PC and 100% compatible computers. The board operates on an ISA or EISA bus. NOTE: DECtalk PC2 does not support the Micro Channel (MCA) or PCI buses. The DECtalk PC2 board is approximately 4 inches wide by 8.5 inches long. With the front (component) side facing up, orient the board as follows: 1. The mounting bracket to the right and the bus connector tab facing downward. 2. The bus-connector is 3 inches long by 1/3 inch deep and protrudes from the bottom right of the board. 3. The DIP-Switch Pack (SW2) that sets I/O addresses will be located on the right edge of the board adjacent to the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket has a rectangular cutout to also allow access to the switch levers from the outside of the computer. The DIP-Switch Pack (SW1) that configures the Analog Expansion Bus (used for telephony applications) is located along the top right edge of the module, between the 20-pin AEB header (J3) and the mounting bracket. 4. The two speaker jacks will be located on the upper right hand side of the board and protruding through the mounting bracket. The one closest to the DIP-Switch Pack is the monaural jack (J2), and the one closest to the upper edge of the board is the stereo jack (J1). These jacks are enclosed in a metal EMI Shield. 5. The board will fit into a three-quarter-length, full-height (8, 16 or 32 bit) slot in your PC or PC compatible computer. EXTERNAL SPEAKER. An external loudspeaker comes with your DECtalk PC2. The loudspeaker enclosure is 4 inches by 5 inches by 2 inches. Orient the loudspeaker with the speaker grill facing forward. There is a standard 1/8 inch subminiature stereo headphone jack on the upper left-hand side of the speaker and a volume control on the middle right-hand side. Attached to the speaker on the lower left-hand side is a 36 inch long cable that terminates in a 1/8 inch monaural phone plug. NOTE: The audio outputs contain self-protection circuitry that guards against shorts or overloads. No external signals should be applied to these outputs. The ground side of the audio outputs is connected to the computer chassis. Connecting these outputs to external equipment that has one side of the audio connected to ground may cause electrical noise to be coupled into the audio signal. If this occurs, it will be necessary to utilize an audio isolation transformer between the DECtalk PC2 output and the grounded external equipment. Such transformers are inexpensive and can be purchased at most consumer electronics stores. INSTALLATION SEQUENCE. The installation is a two-part process: Part 1 is installing the DECtalk PC2 card into an available option slot in your PC. Part 2 is installing the DECtalk software onto your hard disk. TOOLS NEEDED TO INSTALL THE DECTALK PC2 CARD. There are many different types of personal computers. It is beyond the scope of this manual to describe all types of designs. If you have a standard IBM personal computer, you will need only a flathead screwdriver. If you have other PC-compatible systems, you may need other tools - for example, a 5 millimeter hex wrench for Compaq computers or a Phillips head screwdriver for some others. Refer to the user guide supplied with your computer for more information. INSTALLING THE DECTALK PC2 CARD. WARNING: Prior to performing any installation of the DECtalk PC2 board, 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 or damage to your computer. Perform the following steps to install the DECtalk PC2 card in your personal computer: 1. Remove all diskettes from the diskette drives. 2. Set the power switch on the system unit to OFF. 3. Unplug the power cord from the wall socket. 4. Remove all cables from the rear of the system unit. 5. Remove the system unit cover. Since PCs tend to be slightly different, simply follow the instructions that came with your personal computer. Many PCs contain screws at the back of the system unit that must be removed. Most covers will then slide out towards the front. 6. With the system cover off, remove the screw from the bracket of an available option slot on the rear panel. Save the screw for later use. Remove the bracket insert. NOTE: The DECtalk PC2 board has a switch pack that lets you determine how the DECtalk PC2 board interfaces with the PC. This switch pack is already set to correspond to the needs of most users. The default setting, I/O address 250, may already meet your computer's requirements. If you suspect that it does not, you may have to change the setting of the DECtalk PC2 board or other installed options. Refer to Section 3, Configuration. 7. Install your DECtalk card in an available slot as you would any other similar-sized card, with the mounting bracket toward the rear of the unit and the bus connector pointing down. Firmly press the card in place until it is correctly seated. Replace the screw. The bracket should be flush with the rear mounting panel. 8. Replace the system unit cover. Replacing the system cover is the reverse of removing it. Follow the instructions that came with your personal computer. 9. Reconnect any other cables (for example, keyboard and mouse) to the rear of the system unit. 10. Connect the power cable to the rear of the system unit and plug the other end into the wall outlet. 11. If using the supplied monaural speaker, connect the 1/8 inch phone plug on the speaker cable to the connector nearest the square cutout on the DECtalk PC2 mounting bracket at the rear of the DECtalk PC2 card located at the rear of the PC. Make sure the volume is ON by turning the volume control knob on the speaker in a full clockwise direction. Section 2 provides information about using user-supplied external speakers. The DECtalk PC2 board is now installed in your system unit. CAUTION: For safe operation, be sure there are no missing slot covers when you complete the installation. INSTALLING DECTALK PC2 SOFTWARE. NOTE: Your system must be running DOS Version 3.3 or later. Please follow all instructions on the audio cassette. Sighted users will also be prompted by instructions that appear on the screen. 1. Turn your PC ON. 2. Choose a disk drive that takes a 3 and 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. 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 PC2 speaker. The following menu will also appear on the screen: Use the Standard Installation. or Be prompted for the Custom Installation. Selecting Standard or Custom Installation. You now have a choice of using either the Standard Installation or Custom Installation. The Standard Installation creates a subdirectory called DECTALK2 and installs all necessary files in that subdirectory. It also adds DECtalk PC2 startup commands to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and assigns the default I/O base address of 250. The Custom Installation allows you to select the drive, the name of the subdirectory, the I/O base address that the board is set to and whether the AUTOEXEC.BAT should be updated. NOTE: It is recommended that you use the Standard Installation. Standard Installation. In the Standard installation, rising tones from the PC2 speaker mean that you should press the Enter key. To use the Standard installation, at the installation screen menu, press Enter. Follow the rising tone prompts and press the Enter key wehen you hear them. After a short period of time, the installation will be complete. When the installation is complete, you will hear a message similar to the following: "DECtalk PC Version 4.61 is running." (The version number may differ from this example.) Custom Installation. If you are visually impaired and choose not to use the Standard 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 once 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. NOTE: Make sure that the I/O address you select corresponds with the I/O address DIP-Switch setting on the board. (The initial default I/O base address is 250.) Refer to Section 3 for more information. When the installation is complete, you will hear a message similar to the following: "DECtalk PC Version 4.61 is running." (The version number may differ from this example.) WARNING: If you are using the DOSSHELL or WIN command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the Install utility cannot place the DECtalk initialization commands before the DOSSHELL or WIN command. Therefore, when using DOSSHELL or Windows, you must manually place the DOSSHELL or WIN command as the last command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. DTDEMO. A demo program, named DTDEMO, can be started by typing DTDEMO and pressing the Enter key after a successful install. The user is given the option to hear the menus by pressing the Enter key or to not hear them by pressing the Space bar. DTDEMO may be used to read the release note file named README.TXT. Refer to the next section, README FILE, for the necessary procedure. NOTE: Do not attempt to use DTDEMO when a screen access program is loaded. Unpredictable results will likely occur if you do. With both programs loaded, they each are unaware of the other's presence and inadvertently step on each other. README FILE. The DECtalk PC2 Installation diskette contains a file named README.TXT. Read this file as soon as you are able to as it contains the latest information regarding the product. The file can be read after the installation of the DECtalk PC2 is completed in either of two ways: 1. From DTDEMO, select the "L" option (load a file to DECtalk). At the prompt for the file name, type README.TXT and press the Enter key. 2. Change to your DECtalk subdirectory (default is DECTALK2) and type: COPY README.TXT COM4 (Press Enter.) DEFAULT COM AND LPT PORT TRAPPING. DECtalk's DOS memory-resident program (TSR) can emulate a COM and a LPT port. This allows the use of the DOS COPY and PRINT commands, respectively, to send text to DECtalk to speak. The default communications ports are COM4 and LPT3. NOTE: The use of COM4 by the DECtalk PC2 will NOT in any way interfere with the use of COM2 by other options. DECtalk does not actually use COM or LPT hardware. Its driver only emulates them so that operating system functions like COPY and PRINT can be used to send files to DECtalk to speak. So, when the command COPY MY_FILE.TXT COM4 is entered, the DECtalk driver traps the command and sends the text file to DECtalk rather than to a real COM port. It does not require any additional system resources like IRQs or I/O addresses to do this. So there is not any conflict with actual COM or LPT hardware on your PC. To change the communication port trapping, see Section 3, Configuration. End of Section 1. SECTION 2 - USING DECTALK PC2. The DECtalk PC2 speech synthesizer is supported by a number of third-party software application packages. It also can be used to speak text files sent to it by using the DOS COPY and PRINT commands. THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS. There are a number of application software packages that support the DECtalk PC2 synthesizer. The primary applications are screen-access, book reading, and learning programs. These applications usually contain features for controlling the attributes of the DECtalk PC2, such as speaking voice, rate, and volume. The applications run under MS-DOS, Windows, or OS/2. Please refer to the application vendors' documentation for installing and using the applications as well as for setting the DECtalk parameters. 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, print a text file to a parallel LPT printer port, or use a terminal emulator to type directly to the DECtalk using the PC as if it were a terminal connected to a COM port. COPYING TO A COM PORT. There are a number of ways to copy text files to DECtalk. You first need to create a text file using a text editor or a word processor that can create text files and save that file. NOTE: The synthesizer requires that all text be terminated by a period, exclamation mark, question mark, or comma for it to start speaking immediately. Then use the COPY command to copy the text file to the COM port the DECtalk driver is emulating. For example, to listen to a file called dectalk.txt, type the following: COPY dectalk.txt COM4 (Press Enter.) The DECtalk driver will trap the command and redirect the text file to the DECtalk PC2 on the PC bus, which will then speak the text in the file. PRINTING TO AN LPT PARALLEL PRINTER PORT. You can also have DECtalk speak an ASCII text file by printing it to an emulated LPT parallel printer port. The default port is LPT3. Again, create a text file using a text editor and save that file. Then use the PRINT command to send the text file to a printer port. For example, to listen to a file called dectalk.txt, type the following: PRINT dectalk.txt LPT3 (Press Enter.) The DECtalk driver will trap the PRINT command and redirect the text file to the DECtalk PC2 on the PC bus, which will then convert the text file to speech. 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 or LPT device. Again, a user can create an ASCII text file using a text editor and then run the communication package to transmit the file to the emulated COM or LPT port that the DECtalk PC2 program is set to receive. (The default ports are COM4 and LPT3.) In terminal emulation mode, the communication packages will allow you to type directly to a COM or LPT port. NOTE: The number of the COM port or LPT port will differ depending upon the configuration. USING A WORD PROCESSOR. If you are using a screen access program, using a word processor should not be a problem. However, you cannot send a word processing file in its internal file format using the DOS PRINT or COPY methods 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 PC2. Refer to the word processing application documentation for specific conversion details. USING DIGITIZED SOUND FILES. DECtalk PC2 can play prerecorded 8 bit mono digitized sound files. The files must be in the Creative Labs, Ltd. SoundBlaster VOC or Microsoft WAV format. The PLAY command in the DECtalk subdirectory will play the desired file. The format for playing the file is: PLAY sndfile.wav (Press Enter.) Utilities are usually provided with sound cards for creating SoundBlaster compatible VOC sound files or for converting other sound file formats to the VOC format. Refer to the sound card's user documentation for details. USING HEADPHONES. The DECtalk PC2 speaker has a 1/8 inch stereo headphone jack located below the volume control. Headphones with a 1/8 inch stereo plug may be inserted into the jack. The speaker will be disconnected when the headphones are plugged in. The volume control will control the volume to the headphones. If your headphone has a mono plug or a different size plug, an adapter that adapts the plug on your headphones to the stereo jack on the speaker can be purchased from most consumer electronic stores. WARNING: Turn down the volume control prior to inserting the headphones. The output level required by the headphones is much less than that required by the speaker. USING EXTERNAL STEREO SPEAKERS. The audio jack furthest away from the rectangular DIP-Switch Pack access opening on the mounting bracket is designed to connect to external stereo speakers. Connecting a monaural device to this jack may cause cessation of output. To use common PC-style stereo speakers, connect the speaker signal lead to this jack, and follow the instructions supplied with your stereo speakers. ANALOG EXPANSION BUS (AEB). Connector J3 is provided for telephony applications that use the Dialogic Analog Expansion Bus. Normally, this connector is unused. Switch SW1 configures this connector, and when the connector is unused, all switches should be in the UP (away from the board) position. MODIFYING DECTALK PARAMETERS. Although most application programs that support the DECtalk PC2 provide the capability to change DECtalk parameters, such as the speaking voice, rate, or volume, it is also possible to modify these and other parameters via commands that can be inserted into a text file at the location where they are to take effect. The text file must then be sent to the DECtalk PC2. WARNING: The use of DECtalk commands embedded in the text may cause conflicts when used with application programs that provide support for DECtalk. The application may not pass the commands embedded in the text file to DECtalk, the embedded commands may be spoken, or DECtalk may stop speaking. Also, most applications that support DECtalk also control the same parameters and will more than likely override some if not all the commands that are embedded in the text. It is highly recommended that if you are using an application that supports DECtalk, such as a screen access program, you use the facilities of the application to change the DECtalk parameters. The file COMMAND.TXT in the subdirectory where the DECtalk files are located (the default is DECTALK2) provides information on how to insert these commands as well as information on the programming interface to the DECtalk PC2. End of Section 2. SECTION 3 - CONFIGURATION. FACTORY DEFAULTS. The DECtalk PC2 card is configured at the factory and should normally not require modifications on the part of the user. If you have installed the DECtalk PC2 card and software according to the instructions provided in Section 1, the board should speak the startup message. If the board fails to respond or if an error message is encountered, the switch settings may have to be changed to resolve conflicts with other installed options. It is important that you have the installation and operating manuals for the other devices installed in your system to be able to determine the optional setting parameters. DECTALK SOFTWARE START-UP. When the DECtalk software starts up, it checks for a DECtalk board at the Standard or Custom I/O address. When it finds it, it initializes the board and proceeds with loading the required software into memory on the DECtalk board. STARTUP PROBLEMS. If after installing the DECtalk PC2 option card, your system or another device fails to operate or system errors are reported, there may be a conflict with other installed options, for example, a scanner. This will require some adjustments to either the other options or the DECtalk PC2 card to eliminate the conflicts. For instance, if the DECtalk PC2 board is set to use an I/O address that another option module uses, your computer or other device may not operate correctly when you power up the system. If the system fails to start then it will be necessary to remove the DECtalk PC2 option card and proceed with the DECtalk PC2 software installation. The DECtalk PC2 module does not have to be installed in the system to install the software. If it is necessary to change I/O address assignments, the appropriate switch settings are listed in Table 2 in the section titled "Changing Switch Settings". This change should be done by someone familiar with configuring PCs. NOTE: If changing the DECtalk PC2 switch settings does not resolve the conflicts, you may need to remove other option modules from the computer to identify the conflicting modules. Devices No Longer Operate. If a device such as a CD ROM drive is no longer accessible after the DECtalk PC2 is installed, it is most likely due to an I/O address conflict between the DECtalk PC2 and the particular device. The most obvious solution is to be sure that each device has its own unique I/O address. I/O Address Conflicts. Most devices, including SCSI II adapters, cannot tolerate other devices reading an I/O address it is using. If an adapter is using one of the possible I/O addresses that DECtalk can also use, the adapter will probably no longer be accessible. For instance, if a CD ROM drive is connected to the SCSI adapter that is set to use I/O address 340, and the DECtalk PC2 is also set to use I/O address 340, you will no longer be able to access the CD ROM. Hidden Use of I/O Addresses. Many devices use I/O addresses that are not apparent from reading their manuals. For instance, some SCSI II adapters use an I/O address as a mailbox. This mailbox I/O address is hardly ever listed in the adapter's documentation. We have found that I/O address 240 is often used for this purpose. Other adapters will list the base I/O address they use, but will fail to indicate the range of the addresses used, which may flow over into the next available range. For instance, a sound card adapter might list an I/O range of 220 or 240, when in fact the adapter uses 220 and part of 230 or 240 and part of 250. The unsuspecting reader of the adapter manual might believe that 230 or 250 are available. So even when you may think that you have set all the adapters in your PC to exclusive I/O address settings, you may still have a conflict. If the adapter that does not work has an I/O address that is adjacent to another adapter, then changing it so to be at least two addresses away may resolve the conflict. DIP-SWITCH PACK SETTINGS. Settings are done by a DIP-Switch Pack on the extreme lower right-hand section of the board as described in Section 1. The switch pack lets you determine how the DECtalk PC2 board operates and its default settings already correspond to the needs of most configurations. If your DECtalk board is speaking, these settings meet your computer's requirements and nothing else needs to be done. Your DECtalk is ready to use. However, if the board is not speaking, you may need to change the settings of the switch pack on the DECtalk PC2 board. This is because the DECtalk PC2 board is set to use an I/O (base) address that another installed option module uses. If conflicts exist, consult your PC option manuals and select new non-conflicting settings. Changing Switch Settings. The configuration switches may be accessed in the following ways: 1. With the board installed in your computer: through the rectangular access hole in the mounting bracket. 2. With the board NOT installed: Place the board on a flat surface with the bus-connector to your lower right. The bank of DIP-Switches is 1 in. long by 1/3 in. deep and is located in the lower right-hand corner of the card. There are 6 switches arranged in a vertical row with switch 1 closest to the bus connector (lower) and switch 6 closest to the audio jacks (upper). The switches are numbered. Switches set to the UP position are ON even though the marking on the switch pack says OPEN (with UP being away from the board). The factory default settings are shown in Table 1. If no other options are installed in your computer, the default settings should be satisfactory. Otherwise, adjust the DIP-Switches using a hard-tipped item, such as a ball-point pen. Never use a lead pencil as the point may break and become lodged in the switch pack. NOTE: After changing the I/O address switch setting, reinstall the DECtalk software using the Custom Installation and select the corresponding I/O address. An alternative procedure is to edit the DT.BAT file in the DECTALK2 subdirectory to set the -b switch to the new I/O address. For example, with the -b switch set for I/O address 350, DT.BAT would look like the following: dt_driv -r >NUL dt_driv -c -l -b 350 dt_load kernel.sys dtpcdic.dic lts.exe ph.exe cmd.exe usa.exe dtstart Table 1. - Default Switch Settings, I/O Address 250. Switch. Default Setting. 1 OFF. 2 ON. 3 OFF. 4 ON. 5 OFF. 6 OFF. Table 2. - I/O Address Switch Settings. I/O Address. SW2-6. SW2-5. SW2-4. SW2-3. SW2-2. SW2-1. 200 Off Off Off Off Off Off. 208 Off Off Off Off Off On. 210 Off Off Off Off On Off. 218 Off Off Off Off On On. 220 Off Off Off On Off Off. 228 Off Off Off On Off On. 230 Off Off Off On On Off. 238 Off Off Off On On On. 240 Off Off On Off Off Off. 248 Off Off On Off Off On. 250 Off Off On Off On Off. 258 Off Off On Off On On. 260 Off Off On On Off Off. 268 Off Off On On Off On. 270 Off Off On On On Off. 278 Off Off On On On On. 280 Off On Off Off Off Off. 288 Off On Off Off Off On. 290 Off On Off Off On Off. 298 Off On Off Off On On. 2A0 Off On Off On Off Off. 2A8 Off On Off On Off On. 2B0 Off On Off On On Off. 2B8 Off On Off On On On. 2C0 Off On On Off Off Off. 2C8 Off On On Off Off On. 2D0 Off On On Off On Off. 2D8 Off On On Off On On. 2E0 Off On On On Off Off. 2E8 Off On On On Off On. 2F0 Off On On On On Off. 2F8 Off On On On On On. 300 On Off Off Off Off Off. 308 On Off Off Off Off On. 310 On Off Off Off On Off. 318 On Off Off Off On On. 320 On Off Off On Off Off. 328 On Off Off On Off On. 330 On Off Off On On Off. 338 On Off Off On On On. 340 On Off On Off Off Off. 348 On Off On Off Off On. 350 On Off On Off On Off. 358 On Off On Off On On. 360 On Off On On Off Off. 368 On Off On On Off On. 370 On Off On On On Off. 378 On Off On On On On. 380 On On Off Off Off Off. 388 On On Off Off Off On. 390 On On Off Off On Off. 398 On On Off Off On On. 3A0 On On Off On Off Off. 3A8 On On Off On Off On. 3B0 On On Off On On Off. 3B8 On On Off On On On. 3C0 On On On Off Off Off. 3C8 On On On Off Off On. 3D0 On On On Off On Off. 3D8 On On On Off On On. 3E0 On On On On Off Off. 3E8 On On On On Off On. 3F0 On On On On On Off. 3F8 On On On On On On. Checking Board Function. If all settings are correct, the board should be able to speak its startup message. To make sure the board is working properly, type the following test command: C:\DECTALK2\DTSTART (Press Enter.) You will hear a message similar to the following: "DECtalk PC Version 4.61 is running." (The version number may differ from this example.) NOTE: It may be necessary to remove other option boards in the system unit to reduce the potential for conflict. If the board does not speak after adjusting the switch settings, check to see that the PC is powered on, the speaker is plugged into the rear of the DECtalk PC2 card, and the volume is turned full on (clockwise). If the board still does not speak, contact the authorized distributor from whom you purchased this product. CUSTOMIZATION OF THE STARTUP MESSAGE. The command DTSTART in the DT.BAT file makes the DECtalk PC2 speak its startup message. You can customize your startup message by inserting a new message in quotes after the DTSTART command. For example: DTSTART "My own personal message" . To remove the startup message completely, simply remove the DTSTART command from the DT.BAT file. DEFAULT COMMUNICATIONS AND PRINTER PORTS. The default emulated communications port for the DECtalk PC2 memory resident program is COM4 and the default emulated printer port is LPT3. To change these these settings, at the DOS prompt, do the following: 1. Edit the DT_DRIV command string for the DECtalk PC2 program. The INSTALL program puts this in the DT.BAT file. 2. Edit the DT.BAT file and find the line that reads DT_DRIV -C -L -B 250 . 3. Change the port numbers to the new port using the following lists: For Comm Ports (-C). BLANK = COM4. 0 = COM1. 1 = COM2. 2 = COM3. 3 = COM4. For Printer Ports (-L). BLANK = LPT3. 0 = LPT1. 1 = LPT2. 2 = LPT3. For example, to change the communications port to COM3 and the printer port to LPT2, you would type the following: DT_DRIV -C 2 -L 1 -B 250. NOTE: The -B switch is used for setting the I/O address for the DECtalk PC2 and should not be changed from the value it is set to when modifying COM or LPT port trapping settings. The default value is 250. 4. Save the changes to the file. 5. Reboot the system. End of Section 3. SECTION 4 - OWNER'S INFORMATION. This section contains general information about the DECtalk PC2. This information is for reference purposes. THE DECtalk PC2. 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 PC2 is another device that allows you to communicate with computers. However, this device speaks information in highly intelligible synthesized English. It allows you to communicate naturally through the senses of listening (the user) and speaking (DECtalk PC2). DECtalk PC2 is a PC option board 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 access programs. The interface to DECtalk PC2 for both commands and text is via a memory-resident DOS driver. DECtalk PC2 is designed to read standard ASCII text in an intelligible and natural manner. The DECtalk PC2 board, when installed in 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. NOTE: The screen access software application must specifically state that it supports the DECtalk PC2 voice synthesizer option. Furthermore, not all of the capabilities of DECtalk PC2 may be utilized by the software application program that controls the DECtalk PC2 DOS device driver. DECtalk PC2 Board Description. The DECtalk PC2 board is a high-quality text-to-speech synthesizer. The board 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 (PC), with ISA or EISA (8, 16, or 32) bit bus, and a three-quarter-length option slot for the DECtalk PC2 option board. 2. A diskette drive capable of reading 3.50 inch (1.4 MB) diskettes to load the distribution media. 3. A minimum of 20 KB of system memory available to run the DECtalk PC2 DOS driver. 4. A hard disk drive with at least 1 MB of available space. 5. A system power supply that provides at least 130 watts. Software Requirements. 1. Operating system support: DOS V3.3, 4.0x, V5.0, V6.x, Windows 95, or Windows 98. 2. DECtalk PC2 software. NOTE: The minimum hardware and 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 diskette. Physical Description. The DECtalk PC2 board is a three-quarter-length (8.5 inch) IBM PC card that uses the 8-bit bus connector with no overhang interference. Power Supply Requirements. The DECtalk PC2 board draws approximately 2.5W. However, because most systems will contain a number of other boards, it is recommended that the power supply on the system be a minimum of 130W. Memory Requirements. 20 KB of memory is required to run the DECtalk PC2 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. End of document.