DK'Tronics Speech Synth

[GeoffB17]

Hello,

Does anyone know anythng about this unit for the PCW?   I have one, but I don't think I ever used it.   The info in the manual does not seem to relate to the use of the unit on the PCW.   I have the original 3" disk, but I cannot access it as my 3" drive is defunct (not just the main drive band, but I think stepper motor dead as well?).   The disk was filed away with system disk/master copies, so I assume I copied stuff to another disk (hopefully 5.25 floppy, which I CAN still access) but I have piles of them, and I don't know what I'm looking for!   I do have a printout of a little basic prog, but that seems to be using OUT to an address NOT the same as the address in the manual, also the prog seems to relate more to sound (siren etc) than to speech.   The prog does appear to be DK'Tronic, and does refer to the Joystick as well, but I suspect there was a 'sound' unit as well as a 'speech' unit??

Why didn't I use it?  Well, this was 20+ years ago.   I think I did try it, and something blew in the PCW.  I understand (hindsight!) that it is NOT a good idea to plug this unit into the CPS box, much safer to plug this unit on first, and then the CPS!!   By the time I got the PCW repaired, I didn't get around to trying again??

By the way, my PCW (recently active again) had a 5.25 (BOX) B: drive (360k).   I've now got it working with the 5.25 drive as A:, using a SS 180k format to boot, and I have since got a 3.5" 730k B: drive working as well.   Achieved with help from John Elliott of Joyce emulator fame.

Thanks.

Geoff

[robcfg]

It would be nice if you could post pictures of the interface and the pcb inside it (the two sides).

With a bit luck we may spot a problem in it and suggest how to repair it, or even be able to clone the interface.

Also, an image of the disk contents would be needed.

[greatwolf1283]

I'd be more than happy to offer to image your 3" disks for you as I've got a SS/SD 3" drive hooked up to my kryoflux, and I've also got access to a DS/DD 3" drive as well (although that get's shared with the machine that it's in!).  I'm able to take the magnetic stream and generate a DSK image file from it.

[sucram]

Could it be such an Interface?
DK'Tronics Joystick/Sound Controller for the PCW - Y-cable possible?

[TFM]

Welcome to the forum, one good advice could be to contact Habi. 

[GeoffB17]

Hopefully, I'll attach some pics.
Outside, the unit looks just like the 'sound' version.   Inside the chip layout does seem to be different.
I cannot say what's on the disk, as I cannot read the disk (NB original message).   I was asking what the files were myself, in case I have them on a disk I can read.
Thanks.
Geoff, Guisborough

[Bryce]

That's a speech synth?? I was expecting an SPO256 or something. That's just a sound card with an AY. Any chance there was a second device with an SPO that needed to be connected to it?

Bryce.

[GeoffB17]

Hmmm - well, that might explain a thing or two.   Like I said, I never tried to do anything with it.
The manual I got said a lot about speech, allophones etc.   Referred to the unit using the SPO256 chip.  Like you say, the chip here is an AY-3-8912A.   Maybe they sent me the wrong unit.   The original supplied disk (which I cannot read) does not say anything, it's just a blank label - I wrote a slip of paper saying speech/joystick.   I don't think I still have it, but the dK'Tronics box did I think say Speech Synth etc.   The little demo BASIC prog I have (which I guess came from the disk back when I could access it) does seem to be about 'sounds' and not about 'speech' (as I noted in my original message).   There was nothing else, no extra bit.

So, if I've actually got the sound module, I can access some docs for that, and see if I can do anything with that.   Should still be able to get something out of it???

Thanks.

Geoff, Guisborough

[Bryce]

I suspect that the connector on the top is for a Joystick and the GND and +5V to pins 7 and 8 seem to confirm this. You could try connecting one and check it out with a few games?

Bryce.

[robcfg]

Well, you can use a joystick to play games and you get music in games like Head Over Heels.


Thanks for the pictures!

[radu14m]

can you scan the instruction that you got with the extension ?

[GeoffB17]

Hello,

The 'instructions' I have now are maybe not what you mean?   What I have is a 'Technical Manual' comprising an 82 page A6 booklet.   This includes information about:

Graphics Lightpen (30 pages), Speech Synth (13 pages), Memory Expansion (22 pages), Silicon Disk (6 pages).   All the instructions seem to relate to the CPC 464/664/6128 and not really to the PCW.   As far as I can tell?   Was there a particular bit you were interested in?

Again, I don't know what info there is on the disk, as I cannot access it.   I cannot find anything copied from it (??) on any of my 5.25" disks (that I CAN access).

However, as noted in mt first post, I do have a BASIC prog that I printed out (maybe from the original dK disk ??), this prog is a demo of some sound effects, and allows some demo of the Joystick function as well.

The address/ports used are not the same as those referred to in the manual, nor was I sure they were relevant to the PCW.

However, I have just attached the unit to my PCW, and I have typed in a few lines of the prog for one of the demo sounds (Big Ben).   It works!!   So I would assume that the demo prog IS relevant to the unit attached to a PCW.   This is using Ports 170 and 171 (hex &AA and &AB).   According to info I've seen regarding ports on the PCW, these are assigned for HD useage, so I suppose they are normally available.

The chip in the unit is the AY-3-8912A.   I have downloaded a copy of a dK doc relating to the use of a AY-3-8912 on a Spectrum, and this would seem to be useful.   Ports are different.  The demo prog seems to refer to 15 registers, the doc refers to 14 only.   Maybe this is just relatively small differences between the standard chip and the later 'A' version??

I need to write some progs that experiment with various settings.   Oh, and work out how to STOP the sounds when the prog finishes, as just now Big Ben just keeps right on Big Bonging even though prog has stopped, and even BASIC has exited.

Still, significant progress.   OK, not speech, but I'm into synths etc (and MIDI stuff) with the PCs, so the working sound thing here is still interesting.

Thanks.

Geoff

[Bryce]

That booklet you have is probably the one seen here in the first picture?: Dk'tronics Lightpen - CPCWiki

That isn't for the device you have, it was a general manual that came with all DK'tronics CPC devices. I have two of them here and the entire book is already scanned in and in the Wiki.

Glad you got it doing something now, even if it's not what you were expecting.

Bryce.

[sucram]

I think this is the right description vor the interface: http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/nc100-nc200-pcw-pda600/dk'tronics-joysticksound-controller-for-the-pcw-y-cable-possible/?action=dlattach;attach=13949

[GeoffB17]

Yes, that manual looks just like mine, except...

Mine says (c) 5 - 1986, and 'Edition 1'.   I think the one illustrated is a later version?

Glad I don't need to mess about scanning it in.   Although maybe I should check that the printer/scanner is still working??

As I understand it, this partic sound chip is already built in to the 464 etc machines, so this module would be irrelevant to them?   Unless they need the joystick???

Geoff

[Bryce]

All CPCs have an AY and Joystick ports as standard.

Bryce.

[GeoffB17]

Since my last message, I got the dk demo prog typed in, and it sort of works.   So the little sound module is making noises.   The various sound effects are coming out fine, using just a few lines of BASIC.

There is SUPPOSED to be a little tune with data in a couple of data files.   I've not got the original data, but I've tried to re-create the files, even with just a few notes in.   They are NOT working, and so far I've not sorted out why not, there seems to be enough data being sent to the sound chip to do something, but nothing.   I'll keep tinkering.   There were certainly some 'bugs' in the prog I had printed out, I've corrected ones I've spotted so far.   One at least was in the part that should play the tunes, so maybe there are others?

I assume that at least part of the code, and the numbers to send to the chip, could be appropriate to other CPC machines (using, I assume, a different port?).   Anyone interested?

Leading on from this, I was looking on the web regarding the AY chip, and I found some info regarding someone called 'Bulba', who seems to have worked on an emulator for the AY chip(s).   The prog I think relating to other computers, I assume NOT having such a chip built in?   Anyway, connected with the emulator, he seems to have quite a number of little pre-compiled 'music' files (akin I suppose to midi files).   I've downloaded some of the files, and also a doc relating to the format of the data.   Don't know if I can write a prog of some sort to use the data directly, more likely try to extract (at least) some of the music data so that something can be played.

Structure of data nothing like a midi file (which I've played with a LOT), but I can see why - the system here is clearly separating the 'tune' info from the 'sound' data - not unreasonably, as the sound data may need to be changed occasionally, while the tune/note info will need to change constantly.

Interesting.   Always loved to have some strange data to decode/manipulate!!

Geoff, Guisborough

[arnoldemu]

There is a vortex tracker player written in asm. I don't think there is a version for PCW.
But one could be made to use the AY in your hardware device and to be run from CPM.
Then you could embed the player, the data and run it on the PCW

[GeoffB17]

Hello,

Thanks for info.

Tried web site, I see the link I think you refer to.   But when I try to get that item, says it's not there.   Item above is there.

download/musicplayer.asm    about 39k.   Might I find it someplace else??

Thanks again.

Geoff

[arnoldemu]

Hmm.. I will re-upload that.

Try this instead:

sources:pt3 [Grimware]

Download the "Amstrad CPC/Plus PT3 Player".

pt3_to_ay3 is where it sends the data to the Amstrad registers.
That will need changing for pcw.

You may need to change this:

ZXtoCPC_tone

Depends on what the clock is for the AY on the PCW compared to CPC. If it's 1Mhz like the CPC you can keep this.