Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!mtune!icus!gil
From: gil@icus.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Speech Synthesizer Info
Summary: How do I use/get info on the Intellivision Intellivoice chips?
Keywords: intellivision intellivoice speech-synthesis
Message-ID: <264@icus.UUCP>
Date: 21 Feb 88 08:04:20 GMT
References: <2459@ihuxv.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: gil@icus.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Distribution: na
Organization: ICUS Computer Group, Islip, NY
Lines: 30

In article <2459@ihuxv.ATT.COM> tedk@ihuxv.ATT.COM (Kekatos) writes:
>Review and Information on B.G Micro Text to Speech Board.
>------ --- ----------- -- --------- ---- -- ------ ------
>...
>This Board uses the General Instruments SPO256-AL2 and CTS256-AL2
>chip set. I think that these are the same chips that Radio Shack
>sells. These chips have been mentioned in several books on
>voice synthesis.

I got Matell Electronics' Intellivision Intellivoice cartridge for Christmas
a few years ago when they were cheap so that I could take it apart and see
how it worked (I liked their use of male and female voices in the games!).

I noticed that the speech synthesis is performed by the SPO256-012 (is this
different from the ...-AL2?) and an unknown 40 pin chip, also manufactured
by GI and labelled SPB-640.  Questions:  Are the SPO256-AL2 and -012 the same
chip?  Where can I get information about the SPB-640?  I tried tracing the
PC board by hand ( *:-{ ) but I hit some dead-ends since I had no info about
the internals of the intellivision game unit.  Is there any information about
the hardware/software inside the game available?

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance to anyone who posts/emails
a reply since I sometimes am lax about personal replies.

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