Triple-Talk PCI Users Manual Access Solutions 4536 Edison Ave. Sacramento, Ca. 95821 Web: www.axsol.com Customer Support: (916) 481-3559 Table of Contents Section 1.0 - Introduction Section 1.1 - System Requirements Section 1.2 - Installation Section 1.3 - Installation Problems Section 1.4 - Screen Access Driver Support Section 1.5 - Special Notes Section 1.6 - Trouble Shooting Section 1.7 - Advanced Features Section 1.8 - Specifications Section 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Triple-Talk PCI is a text to speech synthesizer that runs on a standard 33MHz PCI bus. Utilizing todays modern technology, the Triple-Talk PCI is extremely responsive and delivers a quality of speech that is better than ever. Unlike most synthesizers, the Triple-Talk PCI takes full advantage of the high speed transfer rates of the PCI bus. In simple terms, start and stop speech commands to the synthesizer appear to be instantaneous. The Triple-Talk PCI has 8 predefined voices, 10 volume levels, 10 different speeds, 100 unique pitches, and is fully configurable to meet your listening needs. In addition, parameters such as tone, punctuation filtering, and intonation are also adjustable. It is important to note that these settings may be limited by certain software packages such as screen access programs. With support for Windows 3.x/95/98/ME/2k/XP and DOS, the Triple-Talk PCI is easy to install and ready to start speaking. All the software necessary for installation and supporting many of todays' most popular screen readers is included. The following screen reader programs are currently supported: 1. Window-Eyes 3.x and later. 2. Jaws for Windows 3.x and later. 3. ASAW 4. Vocal-Eyes 3.0 5. ASAP 2.03 6. OpenBook 3.5 7. Ruby 4.x and later. Section 1.1 System Requirements The Triple-Talk PCI is designed to operate in an IBM or compatible computer with a 33MHz PCI bus. Most pentium based systems as well as some of the later 486 based systems are equipped with a 33MHz PCI bus. If you are not sure if your computer is equipped with a 33MHz PCI bus, we recommend contacting your computer vendor or refer to your computers' user manual. Currently the Triple-Talk PCI functions with Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/ME (including Dos Boxes and straight Dos mode), and Windows 2000/XP. Section 1.2 Installation To install the Triple-Talk PCI, follow the two procedures listed below: Hardware Procedure: It is strongly recommended that a qualified technician performs the hardware and software installation needed to get your new Triple-Talk PCI up and running. Access Solutions does not warrant products that are damaged due to improper handling or improper installation. 1. Turn your computer off and unplug the power cord to the computer. You may wish to remove other cords to make accessing the internals of the computer easier. If you do this, make sure you pay close attention to where cords are connected. 2. Remove the outer shell of your computer case to expose the inner circuitry. This usually requires the removal of a few screws from the back of the computer. 3. Locate a free PCI slot where you wish to install the Triple-Talk PCI card. You will notice several other cards placed perpendicular to a main circuit board. This main circuit board called a "mother board" contains slots that cards, like the Triple-Talk PCI, may be plugged into. PCI slots are shorter in length than ISA slots and should not be confused. 4. Place the Triple-Talk PCI card in the free slot you found in step 3. The metal bracket that is attached to one side of the card should go towards the back of the computer. This metal bracket on the Triple-Talk PCI card should also be flush against the back of the case. If you find a metal cover in the area where the bracket on the Triple-Talk PCI card should go, go ahead and remove it. This usually requires the removal of a screw. Make sure the Triple-Talk PCI card is seated well in the slot in the mother board. Finally, attach a mounting screw to the top side of the Triple-Talk PCI mounting bracket. 5. Place the outer shell of your computer case on to the computer and attach all necessary screws. 6. Attach the included speaker by placing the eighth inch male plug into the new eighth inch female hole found on the back of the computer. 7. Attach all cords removed in step 1. 8. Follow the steps for installing the device drivers for the Triple-Talk PCI as described in the next section. Software Procedure: If you plan to use the Triple-Talk PCI with windows 95, view the readme.txt file in the "win95" folder located on the Triple-Talk PCI installation disk. If you plan to use the Triple-Talk PCI with Windows 3.x, skip to section 1.4. To install support drivers for Windows 98/Me/2k/XP, follow the steps listed below. 1. Turn your computer on. 2. When the Add New Hardware Wizard comes up informing you that a PCI MultiMedia or Communication device has been detected, insert the Triple-Talk PCI installation disk into your floppy drive and press Enter. 3. When prompted for whether or not windows should search for the best driver for this device, select the radio button that allows windows to search for the best driver for this device and press Enter. 4. Next, check the check box labeled "Specify a Location". 5. In the edit box, type "a:\" and press Enter. 6. The add new hardware wizard will inform you that the Access Solutions Triple-Talk PCI has been found. Just press Enter. 7. Once you have reached this point, the add new hardware wizard should inform you that it has successfully installed all the necessary files needed for supporting your new Triple-Talk PCI. Just press Enter and you are all done. 8. Remove the Triple-Talk PCI installation disk from your floppy drive. If you plan to run a Dos screen reader, such as Vocal-Eyes, while in a Dos Box under windows 98/ME, do the following: 1. Insert the Triple-Talk PCI installation disk into your floppy drive 2. Click on the "Start" button to bring up the start menu. 3. Type 'R' to bring up a windows run line. 4. Type "a:\msdos\pci-dos.exe" and press Enter. 5. Follow the on screen prompts to install Dos support for your new Triple-Talk PCI. Section 1.3 Installation Problems The Triple-Talk PCI is a fully compliant PCI Plug and Play card that supports IRQ sharing. If you have trouble getting the Triple-Talk PCI to install under Windows 9x or find that the synthesizer conflicts with other add in cards, try the following: 1. Check to see if the Triple-Talk PCI appears under the "System" tab in "Device Manager". If it does, the Triple-Talk PCI may be conflicting with another card. 2. Try moving the Triple-Talk PCI card to another PCI slot. 3. If the Triple-Talk PCI conflicts with another add in card, try removing the add in card and see if the problem goes away. If the conflict is resolved, re-install the add in card. 4. Review the technical notes file "technts.txt" located on the Triple-Talk PCI installation disk. Section 1.4 Screen Access Driver Support Windows 9x/ME/2k/XP Users - If you have already installed all the necessary files needed for supporting your Triple-Talk PCI device under windows, you are ready to configure your favorite windows screen reader to operate with your new Triple-Talk PCI. If you are using Window-Eyes or Jaws versions 4.x or later, just choose the Triple-Talk PCI from the synthesizer selection menu within your screen access program and you are ready to start reading. For Window-Eyes 3.1 driver support, read the "readme.txt" file located in the "Wineyes" folder on your Triple-Talk PCI installation disk. For earlier versions of Jaws, read the "readme.txt" file located in the "Jaws3x" folder on your Triple-Talk PCI installation disk. If you are using an OCR package such as OpenBook Unbound or Ruby, you may select the Triple-Talk PCI driver from the applications' synthesizer selection menu. If your OCR applications' synthesizer selection menu does not have an entry for the Triple-Talk PCI, see the "readme.txt" file located in the "ssil" folder on your Triple-Talk PCI installation disk. If your windows screen reader is not mentioned above or you are a windows 3.x user, contact Access Solutions technical support team for further assistance. Information for contacting Access Solutions is located at the beginning of this users manual. Dos Boxes and Streight Dos - In order to run dos screen readers or software applications that require a 16 bit driver, such as Vocal-Eyes, you must first load the ttalkdos.com file located in your windows directory. This can be done via a batch file that loads ttalkdos.com and then your application software. A sample batch file demonstrating how to load the ttalkdos.com file and Vocal-Eyes is located in the "Vocal" folder on your Triple-Talk PCI installation disk. The name of this batch file is "talk.bat" and is a good example of how your batch file should look. If you plan to run Vocal-Eyes 3.0, read the "readme.txt" file located in the "vocal" folder on the Triple-Talk PCI installation disk. Section 1.5 Special Notes The Triple-Talk PCI has a three pin jumper block located in the lower left hand corner of the circuit board and near the mounting bracket. From the factory, a small jumper is placed over the two pins closest to the mounting bracket. In this position, the audio amplifier of the synthesizer is forced on and will remain in this state until the computer is turned off. If the jumper is placed over the two pins furthest from the mounting bracket, the audio amplifier is turned on only when words or characters are spoken. If you are experiencing an annoying whine or chatter coming from the speaker when words or characters are not being spoken, it is recommended that you place the jumper over the two pins furthest from the mounting bracket. Otherwize, leave the jumper placed over the two pins closest to the mounting bracket. Section 1.6 Trouble Shooting If you are having trouble getting your Triple-Talk PCI to install or work properly, here are a few suggestions that may help. 1. First review sections 1.1 through 1.3 of this user manual. 2. Make sure the speaker is plugged into the Triple-Talk PCI eighth inch female jack and not into an eighth inch female hole on another card such as a sound card. 3. Make sure the volume knob on the speaker is turned about half way up. 4. If you are using a screen access software package, make sure volume levels are not set to low. 5. Make sure the Triple-Talk PCI is seated firmly in a PCI slot on your mother board. 6. Make sure the Triple-Talk PCI is plugged into a PCI slot and not into an ISA slot. 7. Review the "technts.txt" file on the installation disk. If you are still having trouble and have followed the steps shown above, it is recommended that you contact Access Solutions technical support team for further assistance. Refer to the beginning of this user manual for contact information. Section 1.7 Advanced Features If you are a software developer or a computer nerd, you are in luck! Access Solutions offers a free developer kit that contains all the tools needed for writing software to talk to the Triple-Talk PCI. We do not include this information in this user manual because it is far to boring and beyond the imagination of the average user. If you are interested in obtaining the developer kit, feel free to contact Access Solutions' technical support team for more information. Section 1.8 Specifications General Specs: Max Audio Out .5W @ 8ohms Fch ~ 3kc Fcl ~ 8kc Max Pwr consumption ~ 0.625W Speech Engine: Clk ~ 7.3728Mhz 2k Byte Input Buffer Rxd, Txd @ 19.2kbps