Dolphin Speech Synthesiser User Guide. Series 2 Synthesiser. Dolphin systems for people with disabilities PO Box 83 Worcester WR3 8TU Tel: 0905 754577 Int: +44 905 754577 Fax: 0905 754559 Int: +44 905 754559 Synth31/5/94 Contents Introduction Dolphin Series 2 Synthesisers The APOLLO 2 The PC 2 Card The Toshiba Card The JUNO Trouble Shooting Complete Command Set Using an APOLLO 2 with a BBC or BBC Master System Appendix One APOLLO 2 Physical Characteristics Appendix Two JUNO Physical Characteristics Appendix Three JUNO-sp Physical Characteristics Appendix Four Address Selection Appendix Five Description of UK English Phonemes Appendix Six Communications Dolphin Series 2 Synthesisers. Introduction. The Dolphin Series 2 Synthesisers have been developed in parallel with the HAL screen reader and other Dolphin special access products. They provide an affordable and powerful means of multilingual speech output, and can be used with a large variety of popular computer packages. All of Dolphin's Series 2 Synthesisers have the following features: * Advanced PC communications including indexing. * Easy control over the pitch, speed, intonation, and other aspects of the speech. * Over forty different languages available, with up to seven languages in one synthesiser. Varieties. There are currently five Dolphin speech synthesisers: * APOLLO 2, * PC 2 card, * Toshiba T1800/T1850 card, * JUNO, * JUNO-sp. All the synthesisers have the same features and command set, except that the JUNO and JUNO-sp have a software volume control. APOLLO 2. This is a mains-only desktop synthesiser with an integral loudspeaker. It can be connected to your PC's serial or parallel port, and can also be used with a BBC computer. It is ideal for use in situations where an integral loudspeaker is required. PC 2 card. This is essentially an APOLLO 2, but mounted on a PC 'half card'. It has all the features of the APOLLO 2, and is ideal for use in a sole stationary computer, where you want the speech synthesiser to be tucked away. Because it fits inside the PC you have no need for an external power supply, and will have no trailing wires. Toshiba T1800/T1850 card. This is essentially an APOLLO 2, but mounted onto a small card, called the Toshiba card. It fits neatly inside the laptop, in the slot where the modem would normally go. It draws its power from the computer's power supply. The only signs that it is there are a small volume control, and a socket for your headphones. It has all the features of the APOLLO 2, and is the ideal choice if you need a very compact portable system. JUNO. The JUNO is a Lithium Ion battery-powered, serial-only portable synthesiser, with all the functions of the APOLLO 2. It is small enough to be attached to any laptop computer, has over 10 hours battery life, and can fit into your pocket when not in use. JUNO-sp. The JUNO is also available with a built-in loudspeaker. This unit is called the JUNO-sp. Section One - The APOLLO 2. This section contains a description of the APOLLO 2 speech synthesiser. Introduction. The APOLLO 2 is a mains-powered text-to speech synthesiser which can be used with a wide range of computers. It can be used in conjunction with portable computers, as well as with desktop models. The APOLLO 2 is one of the very few synthesisers which has a British English voice, and many non-English languages are also available. It is possible to have up to 7 languages resident in the APOLLO 2 at any time. Language ROMs can also be updated or changed as required. The following is a description of the connectors and controls on the APOLLO 2. (The description assumes that you have the APOLLO 2 speaker facing you.) There are three connectors as follows. Connectors. 1 - The 25 way D-Type connector at the back is both a serial port and parallel port. It is used to connect to the computer. The connector is wired in a non-standard way so unless you have made you own cable as per the pin-out in Appendix 1. You should only use Dolphin serial cables or, if using a parallel port, the parallel adaptor cable. If you plug a 'standard' printer cable or 'standard' serial cable into the socket you may blow up the communications port of the synthesiser. For connection to an IBM PC/AT or compatible you will receive a cable with a 25-way APOLLO 2 connector at one end and a 9-way female connector at the other. 2 - The connector on the front is for a headphone set or extension speaker. It is a stereo 3.5mm socket (such as found on Walkman-type headphones), and will not work correctly if a mono jack is used. 3 - The last connector is to the rear, and is for the mains adaptor. N.B. Please use only a Dolphin mains adaptor as supplied. If using your own mains adaptor ensure that the voltage, current capacity and polarity are correct. These details can be found in Appendix 1. Controls. The only controls provided on the APOLLO 2 are the on/off switch and the volume knob. The on/off switch is located to the rear, right hand side. Down is on, up is off. The volume control is located on top of the unit, to the left, just below the speaker grill. On switching on the synthesiser, the synthesiser will self-test and issue a sound effect dependent on the result. If the test is OK the synthesiser issues a short single buzz, but if it fails three longer hoots are sounded. Earlier versions issued a greeting, e.g. `hello' for English, on power-up and when switching languages. Section Two - The PC 2 Card. This section contains information on the PC 2 card, including guidelines on installation. Introduction. The PC 2 Card is an IBM PC/AT compatible half size card that will fit inside both desktop PCs and portable PCs which have a standard card slot. The card is capable of holding up to seven languages by way of the four on-board ROM sockets. The first ROM socket is a 256Kb ROM and can hold four languages. The other three ROM sockets are 64Kb and can hold one language. The first socket can also hold a normal 64Kb ROM. The physical size of the card is 15.2cm back to front by 10.2cm high, not including the edge connector. Fitting the Card. When fitting the card to your PC try not to touch the edge connector as you may damage the card. Select a spare slot and plug the card in firmly. You may have to bend the face plate slightly to enable securing of the locking screw. This will depend on the card cage of your PC. The card is almost ready for use as you need only plug in either your headphones or external speaker. If you wish to use the internal speaker of your PC the section 'Using the PC's Internal Speaker' has information on how to do this. Controls and Connections. The Edge Connector The edge connector on the Card is the hardware communication path with the computer. It is a standard 8-bit, IBM PC slot connector but will work perfectly well in a 16-bit AT slot. The card will not work in a MCA type slot as found on certain IBM PS/2 machines. Sockets and Volume Control. The card has a volume control, 'spindle' type, to the rear of the machine and a 3.5mm stereo jack on the face plate. This will appear on the back or side of your PC, dependent on the orientation of your card cage, once the card is fitted. The jack socket is used to either connect an external speaker (if you are not using the computer's internal speaker - see below) or headphones. The card does not have a speaker on-board. There are jumpers for selecting port addresses. These are discussed in detail in Appendix 3. Using the Card with Software. If you are using HAL screen reader software you will normally include either '-cd' or '-c2d' in your command line. The first command is for the default card address and the second is for the secondary card address (See Appendix 3 for more details). This would look like: HAL -cd (default address) HAL -c2d (secondary address) HAL -cnd (special address) where n is in the range 512 to 639 or 768 to 895. The On-Board ROMs. The PC 2 Card has four on-board ROM sockets, one can hold 4 languages. The other three ROMs can hold only 1 language. The default ROM socket, i.e. the language ROM the card will use when you first turn on the computer, is the one furthest from the volume control. The second ROM (ROM2) would normally be selected automatically, if you are using HAL, when you changed language prompt files. To change ROMs outside of HAL (it actually does the same thing internally) you can use the '@=' command. '@=1' will start the default ROM and '@=2' will start ROM2 etc. See Section 6 for more details of this command. Using the PC's Internal Speaker. It is possible to use the internal speaker of your computer for both speech and computer audio output. This will not work successfully with small piezo speakers sometimes found on portables and some desktops, it should really be a standard moving cone type. This facility has two advantages in that you do not need an external speaker with its associated cable, and when using headphones you can hear both speech and computer beeps without disturbing colleagues. (A talking beeping PC can be quite a distraction in a busy office environment!). To use the internal computer speaker, follow these instructions. Disconnect the speaker from the computer and connect it directly to pins 1 and 2 on the audio socket. Pin three of the socket must now be connected to the computer. There will be two connections on the computer and yes, you do have only one lead to connect. Try the lead on both connections to ascertain which one works (this will not damage the card or computer). Only one connection is necessary as the card already has a ground connection with the computer by way of the edge connector. You are only connecting the audio live. You should now have both speech and your computer audio coming from your computer speaker. Section Three - The Toshiba Card. This section contains a description of the Toshiba speech synthesiser card. Please note that we plan to discontinue this card around the middle of 1994. Introduction. The Toshiba Card is a custom made text-to-speech synthesiser designed specifically for Toshiba Laptop Portable Computers. A card has been made by Dolphin for a number of models, including: * T1800/T1850 * T1850 The cards function in an identical way to the PC 2 Card with the following exceptions: 1. The internal computer speaker option is not available. 2. If you are using you own software the port address is different - see Appendix 6. 3. If you are using HAL you need to use the following command line parameter: HAL -td Do not forget to add any other command line parameters that you may use. There now follows a brief description of the cards. T-1800 and T-1850 Cards. Physical Characteristics. This card is actually two cards plugged together, an audio card and a logic card. The overall size of the complete unit is approximately 13cm x 5cm x 1.3cm. One ROM socket can be found on the logic board. This large socket is capable of holding either a standard 64K language ROM or a 128K ROM with two languages on board. If you wish to use two languages you must specify on purchasing which two languages you want in the 128K ROM, and in what order, i.e. which language is to be the default. The volume control (knob type) and a 3.5mm stereo jack for headphones or speaker appear on the front left and left side respectively of the Toshiba T1800/T1850 once the unit is fitted. Section Four - The JUNO. This section contains a description of the JUNO portable speech synthesiser. Introduction. The JUNO has been designed by Dolphin as a battery powered synthesiser that can be used in portable applications where the desktop APOLLO 2 or the PC 2 card may not be suitable. The JUNO has built in rechargeable batteries, has all the features of the APOLLO 2, and is totally software controlled. (This means you must use a program such as the HAL screen reader to alter the volume.) N.B The JUNO automatically powers on when the PC or laptop's serial port has been initialised and a speaker or headphones have been plugged in. It will power off when the PC is powered off, or the serial connector is unplugged, or the speaker/headphones are unplugged. (See Section 6 for details about switching languages.) The On-Board ROMs. The JUNO has a single ROM slot, and can accommodate up to four languages on a single ROM. Language switching and audio volume changes are made under software control from the PC. JUNO-sp. This recent development is a version of the JUNO, but with a built-in loudspeaker. Section Five - Trouble Shooting. This section contains information on common problems people find with their Dolphin speech synthesisers. Read this section if you are having difficulty. Introduction. If your synthesiser does not function please check the following points. 1. With an APOLLO check that your mains adaptor is plugged all the way into the synthesiser and that is plugged into the mains and turned on. 2. The synthesiser should issue a `healthy' sound effect when powered up. 3. With an APOLLO 2 or JUNO you should check that the data cable is plugged in correctly and into the right communication port on your computer. 4. With cards, you must ensure that the card is fitted into its slot correctly and that a speaker or headphone set is attached. 5. If using the HAL screen reader, have you used the correct command line parameter for your synthesiser? Check with the following list: HAL -d speech output to COM1: HAL -2d speech output to COM2: HAL -p speech output to LPT1: HAL -p2 speech output to LPT2: HAL -td speech output to a Toshiba PC 2 Card HAL -cd speech output to a PC 2 Card HAL -c2d speech output to a PC 2 Card secondary address HAL -1 speech output to an APOLLO I on COM1: HAL -2 speech output to an APOLLO I on COM2: 6. If when using cards, you still have no speech output after checking point 3, then you may already have a card installed that is using the same address as the PC2 card. (See Appendix 3, "Address Selection", for further details.) 7. When using a parallel adaptor you must again ensure that you have connected the cables up correctly. See Appendix 1 for information on the Parallel Adaptor. If all else fails, phone the Dolphin distributor in your country, or Dolphin Ltd. in the UK on 0905 754577. (Intl: +44 905 754577) between 9am and 5pm. Section Six - Complete Command Set. This section contains a complete command set for the APOLLO/PC 2 Card and JUNO speech synthesisers. These commands tell you how to control your synthesiser. Introduction. This guide covers ROM types from version 2A onwards. Most of the ROM commands start with an '@' (at sign) and are followed by an ASCII character or Hex, Decimal, Octal or Binary number as indicated by c, h, d, o or b. When a Binary number is indicated you will generally find this is a toggle switch where '0' turns the command off and '1' turns the command on. N.B. The default settings shown below are for UK English. stands for carriage return. General Commands. @Wd Controls the speed of the speech. Default = 3, and the range of values is 1 to 9, giving speeds of approximately 80 to 580 words per minute. @Fh Sets the centre point of the voice pitch. Default = 8 @Fc 'c' must be either '+' or '-'. This causes the pitch to be raised or lowered slightly. @Ro Sets the level of prosody or excitability of the voice. Default = 3 @Sb Toggles spell mode on or off. Default = 0 @Pb Toggles punctuation on or off. Default = 0 @Qd Sets the length of pause between words. Default = 0 @Bd This is used to set the degree of voicing. 1 is a whisper (very breathy) and 8 is full voicing. Default = 8 @Dh Sets the pause for end of phrase, breath group or sentence. Default = b @Vd One of the six preset voices may be selected with this command. The first three voices (1 to 3) are based on a male voice and the last three voices (4 to 6) are based on a non-male voice. Many more voices can be obtained by using the commands below. N.B. '@V0' will turn the voice off. @Kb Selects the male or non-male speaker speaker table. 0 for male, 1 for non-male. Control X This is the mute command. The speech buffer is flushed and speech stops immediately. @Ah The command @Ah where h is a hexadecimal digit '0' to 'F', will set the volume control to the selected level. That level, h, is a proportion of the level set by the physical volume control. The action of the @A command is synchronised with the speech so that the loudness of the parts of an utterance can be controlled. For example: Quietest @A0 Normal @AA Loudest @AF @? Speaks the ROM version number. @=d, This command will switch from one internal language ROM to another. @=1, Selects ROM 1 (default ROM) @=2, Selects ROM 2 @=3, Selects ROM 3 @=4, Selects ROM 4 As standard the APOLLO 2 has only one ROM of 64k. Additional languages can be ordered. The comma is not really part of the command, but should be included, otherwise any text between the @=d and the end of the current phrase will be lost. When switching between ROMs of the same version number the APOLLO 2 will do this without having to reset any communications circuitry. However, if the ROM versions are different, the switch will still occur, but by the synthesiser resetting itself. @Gb This command has no effect for APOLLO 2 ROMs from version 2 on. In earlier versions it turned the greeting on or off when switching languages. @Th This command can be inserted in your text to produce sound effects. The sound effects available are: h duration type of effect 0 very short whoosh 1 short " 2 medium " 3 long " 4 very short buzzer 5 short " 6 medium " 7 long " 8 very short warble 1 9 short " A medium " B long " C very short warble 2 D short " E medium " F long " Advanced Commands. Please note that you will probably not need to use the following commands during day-to-day use of your synthesiser. @Hb Toggles Hypermode on or off. With Hypermode on only content words are spoken, as in a telegram. Default = 0 @+c This command has no effect for APOLLO 2 ROMs from version 2 on. In earlier versions it sets 'c' to be the new command start character (i.e. 'c' is used as the new start character for a command string instead of @). @Ec Echoes back a character, where c is an alphanumeric character. See Appendix 4 for details of the communications protocols required. @L Asks for a list of its languages. The reply message sent to the PC is: L, n, s, data where: 'L' is a reply identifier, n gives the number of records in the message in hexadecimal, and s gives the size of each record. The n records then follow in slot number order. The format of each record is: language code, extn, eng_ver, lang_ver where: lang_code is the country code for the language, e.g. 00044 for UK. The first character is used where more than one language is used in that country, so Welsh will be 10044. ext will be used in the future to indicate a language extension slot. Some languages will require more than one slot. ext is '0' for all languages now. eng_ver and lang_ver are four bytes each giving the engine and language version number for the slot. The message is terminated with a carriage return, . @Mhh This sets the mark-space ratio which can be described as having an effect on the depth of the voice. The valid range is 0 to 3F, the default is 16. @Tx A `silent' sound effect giving a short pause of about 100ms. @Xb Toggles the phonetic mode on or off. Default = 0 @c? Where c is one of A, B, C, D, F, H, K, M, P, Q, R, S, V, W, X, Z, =, or $ These are the characters used above in the `at' commands to adjust the synthesisers' settings. Sending the @c? command to the synthesiser will produce a reply consisting of three characters. The first of these is the setting identifier, such as B for breathiness, followed by two characters (bytes) representing the hexadecimal value of that setting. For example, to ask the synthesiser for its current volume setting, send @A?. The synthesiser will reply with the message A60, where 6 is the current volume level. @B? Returns the current breathiness level. @C? Checks the battery level in a JUNO or JUNO-sp. The reply C00 means that the battery is OK, while C10 means it is low and the JUNO may switch off soon. @D? Returns the current end of phrase pause setting. @F? Returns the current pitch centre point setting. @H? Returns the current Hypermode setting. @K? Returns the current speaker table setting. @M? Returns the current mark-space ratio setting. @P? Returns the current punctuation setting. @Q? Returns the current inter-word pause setting. @R? Returns the current prosody setting. @S? Returns the current spell mode setting. @V? Returns the current voice setting. @W? Returns the current speed setting. @X? Returns the current phonetic mode setting. @=? Returns the slot number of the currently selected ROM. @$? Returns the current voice source and filter setting. @I? This feature is only available on serial APOLLO 2 and PC 2 card synthesisers. On receipt of @I?, the synthesiser will respond with a 4 byte message: I a b T/M Where I indicates the message is an index message, and a and b are two ASCII characters representing the one byte hexadecimal text unit counter. The final character T/M represents whether the synthesiser is Talking or Mute, e.g. the synthesiser may have 10 text units in its text buffer but is not talking as it has not yet received a comma, full stop etc. On receipt of a mute command, the normal muting operations take place, and the current values of the indexing flag and unit count are preserved. If the screen reader needs to know the index status, it must send @I? before issuing another @I+ which will clear the index flag and counter. @I+ To enable indexing, words or text units must be counted up as they are received. The synthesiser detects that indexing is on by the presence of the first @I+ command after a mute when it zeros a text-unit count. The text-unit counter is a single byte representing the number of units remaining to be spoken by the synthesiser. When indexing is on, the synthesiser will increment the unit count whenever it receives an @I+. Whenever one of these marks is due to be spoken it is not sent to the synthesiser chip but causes the unit counter to be decremented. So, the APOLLO 2 will keep track of how far the communications with the PC, and hence the application, are ahead of the speech synthesiser. Special Voice Commands. These commands have been provided for you to experiment with the sounds of the synthesiser. Most users will never need them. Commands to modify Formants. @udhh+ @udhh- Here 'd' is used to select one of the ten parameters in the table below. h- or h+ can be used to add or subtract the hex value (h) from the selected parameter (d). The fourth formant is fixed. Parameter Value of d 0 Fn frequency of nasal formant. 1 F1 frequency of first formant. 2 F2 frequency of second formant. 3 F3 frequency of third formant. 4 ALF low frequency amplitude. 5 A1 amplitude of first formant. 6 A2 amplitude of second formant. 7 A3 amplitude of third formant. 8 A4 amplitude of fourth formant. 9 IV degree of voicing. Same command as @B below Voice Source & Filter. @$o This command selects the voice source and filter as per the table below. Default = 0 Value of o Voice Filter Voicing Source 0 male default 1 female default 2 male spike 3 female spike 4 male cut-down default 5 female cut-down default 6 male reduced high frequency filter 7 female reduced high frequency filter Section Seven - Using an APOLLO 2 with a BBC or BBC Master System. Introduction. The APOLLO 2 speech synthesiser can be connected to a BBC computer by one of two ports, the serial or the parallel. The serial port is located at the back of the computer and is labelled 'RS423'. The actual position of this port varies slightly depending on which model of BBC computer you have. The plug which fits this socket is a domino plug. This means that it is symmetrical and can therefore be fitted either way round. However, the synthesiser will not work unless it is fitted correctly. The correct way is when the head of the screw in the plug casing faces to the right, as viewed from the back of the computer. The parallel port is located underneath the computer, to the front of the machine. It is labelled `Printer' and is immediately to the right of the disk drive port. To connect the synthesiser to this port you have to use a printer cable and an adaptor available from Dolphin. If the synthesiser is connected to this port, a printer cannot be used at the same time. However, if the RS423 port is required for another input device, e.g. TouchTec 501 Touch Screen, it does provide the added facility for speech. It is possible to add speech to BBC basic programs by incorporating one of the following procedures. Serial Port Procedure. 20000 DEFPROCSAY (Q$) 20010 *FX3,7 20020 PRINT Q$ '' 20030 *FX3,0 20040 ENDPROC After adding the above procedure it is necessary to call this up at the appropriate part of the program. For example, if a program prints the message "Very Good" on the screen, locate the point in the program where this is generated, and add an additional line. In the example below line 3000 is in the original program, line 3005 will make the synthesiser say the same. 3000 PRINT TAB (5,20) "Very Good" 3005 PROCSAY ("Very Good") The same procedure could be used to make a program which checks the ROM version. 10 PROCSAY ("@?") 20 DEFPROCSAY (Q$) 30 *FX3,7 40 PRINT Q$ '' 50 *FX3,0 60 ENDPROC Parallel Port Procedure. 20000 DEFPROCSAY (Q$) 20010 *FX5,1 20020 *FX3,10 20030 PRINT Q$'' 20040 *FX3,0 20050 ENDPROC This procedure is then called up in the same way as outlined in the serial procedure. Software is available for the BBC and the BBC Master System. For more Information contact the Dolphin HelpDesk. BBC Master Settings. The BBC Master series can cause confusion as it has a default protocol that is battery backed (as with time and date) and does not match the synthesiser. This default can be changed in the following way noting that all entries are in upper case. *CO. BAUD 7 followed by hard break *CO. DATA 4 followed by hard break 'Hard break' means hold the control key down and tap the break key. The two commands above should set the protocol to 9600 baud, 8 data bits and one stop bit. RM Nimbus. When using the RM Nimbus PC 186 in IBM mode with speech, the following information may be of value. The Dolphin screen reading program (HAL) can be used with an APOLLO 2, if connected to the parallel port of the PC 186. You also need parallel.sys and setpc.exe. You also require a parallel board, available from Research Machines Part No 017-587. Having installed the board, copy parallel.sys to the machine's boot disk or hard disk and alter the config.sys file to include the line: device=parallel.sys /1 This enables access to the board via device LPT1. Next, set the computer to IBM mode by running the setpc.exe program. Type: setpc /m /l=1 From now on the computer is in mono mode with the parallel port set to be LPT1. Now connect the speech synthesiser to the port and insert your HAL disk. To load the HAL screen reader type. HAL -p The -p instructs the screen reader to use the parallel port. The RM Nimbus Technical Support telephone number is Int: +44 865 796197 or you can contact their Special Needs in Education Department on, Int: +44 865 796833. N.B. When using a parallel port you must use both a printer cable and a Dolphin parallel adaptor cable. The Baud Rate Switch & Parallel Adaptor. As explained previously, the Baud Rate is the speed at which the computer and synthesiser send data to each other. Generally it is the computer that is sending data to the synthesiser. This is usually text which the synthesiser will speak but may be commands to make the synthesiser function in a certain way. If the Baud Rate setting of the synthesiser (set with the Baud Rate Switch) does not match the speed your computer is using then you will get garbled or no speech. Generally your computer will work at 9600 baud. This is how the baud rate switch in the cable is normally set (see diagram overleaf) when it leaves Dolphin. If you need to change the speed from 9600 baud, which you may need to do if the software you are using runs at a different speed, then please refer to the table of switch settings below. Switch One Switch Two Baud Rate Set On On 19,200 On Off 1,200 Off On 300 Off Off 9,600 If you wish to use the synthesiser with your computer's parallel port then you will need to use a Parallel Adaptor Cable which you can order from Dolphin. The alternative is to make your own as per the pin-outs in Appendix One. The adaptor cable is necessary to convert the synthesiser port to the correct connector and wiring arrangement for a printer cable to be attached. In short it makes the synthesiser look like a printer to your computer and printer cable. To connect the cable correctly plug the end with the 25-way D-type connector into the synthesiser. The other end will connect to the 36-way Centronix connector on the end of your printer cable, which in turn is plugged into the printer (or parallel) port on your computer. Appendix One - APOLLO 2 Physical Characteristics Weight: 670 grams Size: 17.1cm (l) x 12.5cm (b) x 7.2cm (h) Power Source: The DC supply should be 12 volts, 200 milliamps, 2.1mm barrel. The polarity is negative tip, positive barrel. Computer connection: Parallel (with adaptor) or Serial with default of 9600 baud, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. Pin-outs. Serial port Parallel port Pin 19 Ground Pin 1 strobe Pin 22 RTS Pins 2-9 data bits 0 -7 Pin 23 CTS Pin 15 ER at +5v Pin 24 Tx Pin 10 ACK Pin 25 Rx Pin 11 Busy Pin 12 PE at +5v Pin 13 SEL at +5v Pins 14,18 and 19 are ground. Baud Rate. The Baud rate can be set using pins 20 and 21 Baud Rate Table. Pin 20 Pin 21 Baud Rate NC* NC 9600 to GND NC 1200 NC to GND 300 to GND to GND 19,200. * Not connected Headphone: 3.5mm stereo jack, left and right lives shorted. Controls: On/Off control Volume control. The Parallel Adaptor. If you wish to use the synthesiser with your computer's parallel port then you will need to use a Parallel Adaptor Cable which you can order from Dolphin or your Dolphin distributor. The alternative is to make your own as per the pin-outs in Appendix 1. The adaptor cable is necessary to convert the synthesiser port to the correct connector and wiring arrangement for a printer cable to be attached. In short it makes the synthesiser look like a printer to your computer and printer cable. To connect the cable correctly plug the end with the 25-way D type connector into the synthesiser. The other end will connect to the 36-way Centronix connector on the end of your printer cable which in turn is plugged into the printer (or parallel) port on your computer. See the diagram overleaf for clarification. Appendix Two - JUNO Physical characteristics. Weight: 300 grams Size: 15.1cm (l) x 7.6cm (b) x 2.9cm (h) Power Source: Battery Type The JUNO contains two rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries with a maximum voltage of 8.4volts and a capacity of 1Ahr. Current Consumption The current drawn by the JUNO is dependent on volume and also whether it is speaking. The circuit draws about 60mA when silent and about 110mA when talking at maximum volume. Battery Life A battery life of 10 hours, continuous speaking, is achievable. The batteries can be recharged to 95% capacity in 2.5 hours and over 1000 charge/recharge cycles are possible at 100% depth of discharge. Mains Adaptor The JUNO can be used with a mains adaptor connected. There is circuitry to protect the JUNO from reverse mains adaptor connection and also to prevent the batteries from being over-charged and over-discharged. The mains adaptor requirements are as follows - Voltage - 12v DC, Maximum current - 200mA, Connection - 2.1mm (Negative tip), Supplying Power from your Own Equipment. To charge the batteries and drive the circuit properly, you need to supply a voltage of between 10v and 12v. (There is an 8.4v regulator.) If the batteries are not fitted then the 8.4v regulator can be removed and the circuit can be supplied with a voltage of between 5.5v and 9v. If the 5v regulator is removed then the circuit will just about run off 5v. (The audio will clip at maximum volume.) Connections. Data The data connection between the JUNO and the PC is made with a flying 500mm lead terminated in a 9-way D-type socket. This socket connects to the serial port (RS232) of the host device. Power. The power connection is made through a 2.1mm connector to a mains adaptor. Audio Output. The audio output is made via a 3.5mm stereo socket. Both channels are connected together. Stereo Walkman-style headphones or loudspeakers can be used. BEWARE: Damage will be caused to the JUNO if a mono plug is used. Appendix Three - JUNO-sp Physical Characteristics. Weight: 420 grams Size: 15.0 (l), 7.5 (b), 5.0 (h) All other characteristics of the JUNO-sp remain the same as the JUNO. Appendix Four - Address Selection. This section is for PC 2 card users who find that their card does not work at the default address. The majority of users will probably never need to read this section. Address Selection. The valid address of the PC card is selected by arranging links on seven of the address lines, these lines are A1 to A6 inclusive and A8, each link can be set to either 0 or 1. The default address of the card will still be 0x308, this will correspond to the links as follows. Addr line A9 A8 A7 A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A0 Hex 3 0 8 Binary 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Link no LK7 LK6 LK5 LK4 LK3 LK2 LK1 Link pos 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 To change this from 0x308 to 0x318, LK4 would have to be moved from 0 to 1. As with the old PC 2 card, the two default addresses would work in 99% of applications so not many people will need to change more than one link. Most functions of the PC 2 Card can be controlled by HAL but if you are using your own software or wish to drive the card directly please see Appendix 4 for a full software command set. Hardware Address Selection. There is only one address for the Toshiba card, this is 0x2F8, (COM 2:). The address of the PC card is selectable from two ranges, these are 0x200 - 0x 27F and 0x300 - 0x37F. This range includes the old PC card addresses of 0x308 and 0x318. Appendix Five - Description of UK English Phonemes. This section describes the APOLLO 2's phonemes. Read this if you want to change the way that words are pronounced. Introduction. The following phonemes can be embedded in ASCII text to correct the pronunciation of the APOLLO 2. This can be done using your own software, by sending phonemes only using the @X command or in the exceptions dictionary in the Dolphin screen reader (currently HAL) when misspelling proves difficult. To tell the synthesiser that the letters are to be interpreted as a phoneme then mixing text and phonemes you must prefix them with an underline (_). Examples. cat = _K_AE_T again = _A_GP_E_N zoo = _Z_OO Dolphin Representation Example of Use _AA st _AI mke _AR fther _AW wter _A bout _B at _CH oose _D og _DH is _EE hd _EI thr _ER bd _E bd _F ar _G ap _H ood _IA fr _IE t _I knt _J ug _KK sool _K at _L ong _M ap _NG lo _N ap _OA bt _OO gd _OR pe _OW pnd _OY j _O sht _PP s

eech _P

at _QQ _Q ick _R ip _SH ut _S it _TH in _TT seel _T ap _UU t _U bt _V an _W et _X epel _Y oung _ZH pleaure _Z ip You could experiment with the phoneme set for your own languages. Appendix Six - Communications. This section contains information on how the APOLLO/PC 2 card speech synthesisers communicate with a PC or Toshiba computer. You should read this only if you are going to write your own software to drive the APOLLO/PC 2 card synthesisers. Introduction. The new features for the APOLLO 2 require two way (half duplex) communications, in order for the speech and commands to be sent to the APOLLO/PC 2 card and for the indexing, language, settings data, and echo back information to be returned. Serial Communications. The communication uses RS232 with RTS/CTS hardware handshaking in both directions. The PC is 'master' over the link and initiates all transactions. (Appendix 1 specifies the baud rate selection and cabling). To talk to the APOLLO 2, the PC raises its RTS line and waits for the APOLLO to respond with 'ready to receive data', which it does by raising the PC's CTS line. A data byte is then transmitted to the APOLLO 2's UART with framing: 1 start bit 8 data bits no parity bit 1 stop bit The APOLLO 2 drops the PC's CTS for a short time while accepting each character. Another data byte may be sent when CTS is raised again. To read data from the APOLLO 2 the PC drops its RTS line and waits or idles (under higher level control) until the character(s) are received. The APOLLO 2 raises the PC's CTS line in order to indicate that it is about to send data to the PC. The APOLLO 2 drops the PC's CTS line when the transmission has finished. If the PC tries to read data when none is available, the APOLLO 2 will return with a NAK character (ASCII 21). Parallel Communications (Printer Port). Indexing and echo back will not work with an APOLLO plugged into a printer port. All other functions will. PC 2 card and Toshiba Communications. To talk to PC 2 and Toshiba cards the protocol described below is followed. The protocol is intended to make the operation of the PC to card communications independent of the bus and processor speed. The APOLLO/PC 2 card series synthesisers require robust 2-way communications for use by functions such as continuous document read. Since this protocol has to work on cards fitted into the Toshiba modem slot, having no status line back to the processor which we can easily monitor, the system relies on a software handshaking method. To send a character, c: tries = 0 do 1. Read until NULL returned 2. Send char, c, to card 3. Read until ACK(c) or NULL is returned 4. increment tries until ACK(c) or too many tries A NULL (0) read from the card indicates that it is in the quiescent state, i.e. awaiting input (it must have missed the char c being sent). An SOH (1) means that the card has received a character at some point and is still processing it. ACK(c) is a status byte; it is the character, c, with bit 0 flipped if the character was received OK bit 1 flipped if bit 0 flipped and the card has data to send To read the data from the card: tries = 0 do 1. Read until NULL returned 2. Send ENQ (5) to card 3. Read until byte > 7, or a NULL is returned 4. increment tries until too many tries or a byte > 7 is returned A request for data can be made at any time by sending ENQ to the card using the above protocol. If no data is available, NAK (ASCII 21) is returned. The maximum number of retries is typically a large number, say 1000. If you get this many then the card is probably dead. The PC or Toshiba will be much faster than the card processor, so each of the read and write operations above must include a little delay, (say, executing a 100 iteration loop in 'C' code. Machine-readable manual. This manual contains everything you should need to know about using Dolphin synthesisers. If you have a Braille Embosser and a suitable Braille translation program, such as Cipher from Dolphin, you could also produce your own Braille copy of this manual using this text file. If you have read the manual and still have a problem using your speech synthesiser, or any other Dolphin product, then please call Dolphin during office hours, and ask for the HelpDesk.