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General Category => Amstrad CPC hardware => Topic started by: zhulien on 16:25, 28 September 17

Title: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: zhulien on 16:25, 28 September 17
I am wondering if anyone knows what speech synth this one is?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/INTERFACE-SYNTHETISEUR-VOCAL-ref-1529-boite-notice-MAGECO-E-AMSTRAD-CPC-464-/302469030173?hash=item466c8f211d:g:mj4AAOSwCi9Zy-mt
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: Bryce on 07:29, 29 September 17
Nope, but we should scrape those pictures for the Wiki. It's most likely based on the SPO256, but I've never heard of it or the company before. The PCB is pressed paper, so it was a very small scale production, maybe a start-up company?

Bryce.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: Dagger on 09:38, 29 September 17
Perhaps someone could contact the seller and ask for some close up pictures explaining that this site would like to take a copy of the pictures for future reference as Ebay pictures are copyrighted to the seller.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: Patrick on 09:46, 29 September 17
You can get more information about VTR/Mageco products, a french company here (http://zx81.ordi5.free.fr/vtr/). French language.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: Bryce on 10:20, 29 September 17
Quote from: Patrick on 09:46, 29 September 17
You can get more information about VTR/Mageco products, a french company here (http://zx81.ordi5.free.fr/vtr/). French language.

What a seriously cool site. They've even reverse engineered quite a few of the devices. Unfortunately they don't seem to know about the Speech Synth at all though.

Added to my "must read" list.

Bryce.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: robcfg on 11:17, 29 September 17
CPCManiaco is going for the speech synthesizer and the Multiface-like device.


So, if he gets them, I'll be scanning and dumping the devices for the wiki.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: Bryce on 11:19, 29 September 17
Quote from: robcfg on 11:17, 29 September 17
CPCManiaco is going for the speech synthesizer and the Multiface-like device.


So, if he gets them, I'll be scanning and dumping the devices for the wiki.

Then it's not worth bidding against him, he'll probably go up to several hundred Euros :D

Bryce.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: gerald on 16:18, 29 September 17
Quote from: robcfg on 11:17, 29 September 17
CPCManiaco is going for the speech synthesizer and the Multiface-like device.
I've only found one add for it on French mag of that time, both in July 85
http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Amstrad%20Magazine/amstradmagazine_numero01/amstradmagazine%20001%20-%20Page%20053%20%281985-07%29.jpg
http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/CPC/cpc_numero001/Sans%20titre47.jpg
Quote from: robcfg on 11:17, 29 September 17
So, if he gets them, I'll be scanning and dumping the devices for the wiki.
Is it the multiface-like you're talking about ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/302468987117

If so, don't bother buying it. It a Electronique Radio plans design, and this one is in a really bad state.
It's just a 2K/8K ROM extension, with the ROM being emulated by a RAM, which could be backed-up by a battery.
I will scan and put the whole article (in french) on the wiki. I currenly only have copie of it, but I should have the original mag in my archive (1000km away)
I've made one at that time which I used to program EEPROM for other Z80 card.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: robcfg on 16:32, 29 September 17
Hi Gerald!


The ads will come handy for the wiki page, merci!


Knowing CPCManiaco, he'll get it anyway so we'll do our best to tidy it up.


I don't think my eprom programmer could read the chip, so I guess I'll have to attach it and save the memory area to a file on disk, am I right?
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: gerald on 17:53, 29 September 17
Quote from: robcfg on 16:32, 29 September 17
I don't think my eprom programmer could read the chip, so I guess I'll have to attach it and save the memory area to a file on disk, am I right?
It's a RAM, and it has not being powered since a while : you will only get garbage.
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: LambdaMikel on 23:26, 30 September 17
Wow.. EUR 365.00 for a piece of hardware that is not guaranteed to work!
I should try selling LambdaSpeak in 20 years, too - I will keep a few until then  :laugh:
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: gerald on 09:26, 01 October 17
Quote from: LambdaMikel on 23:26, 30 September 17
Wow.. EUR 365.00 for a piece of hardware that is not guaranteed to work!
I should try selling LambdaSpeak in 20 years, too - I will keep a few until then  :laugh:
Even more  :picard2: is paying 218 Euro for a DIY card half ROM card.
Could I sell mine for 10 times the price ?
It has a unique story (I build it myself, it's mine and I am unique), an original layout (hand routed with patches), and a path-trough connector  ;D
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: robcfg on 10:05, 01 October 17
Shut up and take my money!  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: LambdaMikel on 18:39, 01 October 17
Quote from: gerald on 09:26, 01 October 17Could I sell mine for 10 times the price ?

Don't make it too cheap! People think more highly of it the more you charge - that's what we learned from Apple and Co  :D
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: zhulien on 09:41, 02 October 17
crazy!
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: ||C|-|E|| on 13:23, 02 October 17
Actually, it would have gone for more money if somebody had bidden higher. It is not the first time that people inflate the prices on purpose when some guys step into the auction...
Title: Re: CPC Speech Synth on ebay
Post by: LambdaMikel on 16:17, 02 October 17
Quote from: ||C|-|E|| on 13:23, 02 October 17Actually, it would have gone for more money if somebody had bidden higher. It is not the first time that people inflate the prices on purpose when some guys step into the auction...

Lucky me - I got my NOS / brand new SSA-1 for 40 $ on Ebay.com / US... seems not many people care for the CPC here. Odd how it ended up in this part of the world anyway.
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