Digitalker, SP0256, and SC-01 speech chips (was Re: Digitalker Information)

[Ethan Dicks]

On Thu, Jan 31, 2008 at 05:23:09PM +0000, Pete Turnbull wrote:
> On 31/01/2008 16:27, Jim Brain wrote:
> 
> >On a related topic, someone is offering to trade me some GI SP0256-AL2 
> >ICs for equipment here. 
.
.
. 
>   I always wanted to build a SC-01 or SP0256 phenome-based
> >system to compare.  Does anyone have experience in one or the other and 
> >can relate whether it's worth it to get an SP0256
> 
> The SP0256 sounds very robotic compared to the NS and Texas devices. 
> The SC-01 is reputedly better (variable pitch, for one thing) but I've 
> not got much experience of either.

Amazingly enough, I happen to have all three sets here with me, the
Digitalker (which I'm just learning about), the SP0256, which I've heard
of, but never heard, and the SC-01, which I probably know the most about.

I have an SC-01 in my RB5X robot here, and at home, in my Gorf arcade
machine.  The SC-01 is versatile enough that there's code for the RB5X
to have it try and sing.  I can't say that it's wonderful, but it does try.

I will have to snarf a copy of those Digitalker docs when the our sat
comes up.  The board I have here, built around 1990, uses the original
speech chip, but the ROM data is on a single, modern JEDEC EPROM, not
a pair of smaller, cross-selected Nat-Semi ROMs.  I'll have to do a bit
of fiddling with the board itself - its CPU is an 8031, but the CPU
crystal was broken off before I got the board.  I was going to try 8MHz
first, but it could be faster, I suppose.  Assuming it's not some oddball
frequency (the board has no serial comms, IIRC), I was thinking 8Mhz,
12Mhz, or 16Mhz.  

-ethan

-- 
Ethan Dicks, A-333-S     Current South Pole Weather at  3-Feb-2008 at 05:10 Z
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Ethan.Dicks at usap.gov            http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html