reactive micro v1a mockingboard and SSI-263 speech chip, how to test?

[Egan Ford]

Hi,

I just got a few SSI-263 speech chips from ebay for my v1a mockingboard
(reactive micro clone). This is installed in slot 4 of my enhanced //e.

What I can use to test these chips?

I've tried the Mockingboard Sound-Speech Generator.dsk, however the
speech demo just hangs. I've tried both chips together and separate
without any luck. Actually it hangs with zero chips installed the same
way, leading me to believe it may be the wrong software for testing.

Thanks.

[Michael J. Mahon]

One of the Mockingboard disks had a text-to-speech demo. That’s what I’d
use.

--
-michael - NadaNet 3.1 and AppleCrate II: http://michaeljmahon.com

[frank_...@hotmail.com]

I think this is the disk image that Michael was referring to...

https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/ftp.apple.asimov.net/images/hardware/sound/mockingboard/Mockingboard_Disk2_Snd-Speech_Dev.dsk


That /mockingboard/ folder has tons of images to try out, some of which do not work (as you already know).


I got partway into dissecting the speech playback code on that image before discovering it's fairly complicated and not phenome-based like the SP0256 chips. The SSI-263 chips are are also fairly rare. Here's my notes if you're interested. Still on my list of A2 to-dos.


TEXT TO SPEECH PROGRAM (memory locations):

$800 - BASIC program

$4000 - STRING INPUT asm program

$6000 - input buffer
$6100 - converted speech data?

$6600 - TEXT TO SPEECH asm program ($6D00 is playback routine)

$6E00 - MKB:RULE.INDEX
$6F00 - MKB:RULE.LENGTH
$7000 - MKB:RULE.TABLE



f

[qkumba]

Alternatively, run Rescue Raiders which has speech during the briefing.
I posted in another thread which version on Asimov has that part working.
I don't have it handy, though.

[James Davis]

The "LIS'NER 1000 Rev. 2.0 Speech Recognition for A2, ©1984 Circuit Cellar, Inc." Apple II peripheral card I have for sale has/uses an SSI-263 chip. See: "Apple II Stuff I have for Sale," <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.sys.apple2.marketplace/sj2KiKimgOs>. The card comes with an all-in-one microphone/headphone set. And probably, a 5.25" floppy disk (which I'm sure I can find {it or a copy of it})]. I don't remember if I have an instruction manual for it or not. I'll have to look for that on my Apple II bookshelves.

[Michael J. Mahon]

Actually, the SSI 263 is phoneme-based, just with a different phoneme basis
set. It is derived from a discrete implementation by Votrax.

Their original integrated synthesizer was the SC-01, and the second
iteration, the SC-02, was marketed by SSI as the SSI 263.

It still has a couple of bugs—like clicks in certain phoneme
combinations—but it’s quite acceptable, and, since formant frequencies can
be set, it’s capable of “singing”.