Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc:10006 comp.binaries.ibm.pc:160
Path: utzoo!lsuc!ncrcan!brian
From: brian@ncrcan.Toronto.NCR.COM (Brian Onn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.binaries.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Neat voice|gag program
Message-ID: <559@ncrcan.Toronto.NCR.COM>
Date: 29 Dec 87 17:39:02 GMT
References: <3692@uwmcsd1.UUCP> <1107@titan.camcon.uucp> <2732@watcgl.waterloo.edu> <11017@oliveb.UUCP> <2988@tekgvs.TEK.COM> <4438@bellcore.bellcore.com> <794@aplvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: brian@ncrcan.Toronto.NCR.COM (Brian Onn)
Distribution: na
Organization: NCR Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario
Lines: 47

In article <794@aplvax.UUCP> scoop@aplvax.jhuapl.edu.UUCP (Steve Cooper) writes:
>>begin 644 help_me.arc
>...
>...
>...
>>end
>
>So how does this program generate such a good voice?  Is there a
>way to adapt the program to say anything the user wants?  Can the
>sources be found, and are the hackable so that this voice could be
>more versatile that just a "Help!"?  Like the SPEECH program that allows
>you to program the computer to say anything...
>
>Any ideas, answers?

I disassembled the executable.  It is about 1k of code, and 30k data.
The voice is digitized.  This is why it so good sounding.   The code basically
goes like this:

	while (data available)
	    read a byte
	    for i = 1 to 8
		shift the byte
		if carry bit on
		    turn speaker on
		else
		    turn speaker off
	    delay a bit
	    end for
	end while

Playing with the delay is fun.  You can change the pitch of the voice with
a shorter delay producing a higher pitch.

I doubt that the code can be used for anything else.  Without re-digitizing
whatever you want to say, it will be hard to figure out what the data should
look like to produce other words.  An idea could be to digitize some phonemes,
then use this code as an engine to produce spoken text from constructed 
phonemes.  Any takers?

Brian.

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