Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!itsgw!brspyr1!davef
From: davef@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Dave Fiske)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Digital Sample/Playback machines?
Keywords: Who, what, where, howmuch?
Message-ID: <5425@brspyr1.BRS.Com>
Date: 14 Feb 89 16:43:36 GMT
References: <11180@shamash.cdc.com>
Organization: BRS Info Technologies, Latham NY
Lines: 66

In article <11180@shamash.cdc.com>, jwabik@shamash.cdc.com (Jeff Wabik) writes:
> I'm trying to find a "box" that will serially attach to a host machine
> (be it a PC, or a Sun, or ..) that does digital sampling and playback.
> E.G.:
>    Via a microphone, digitally record my voice, convert to some format
>    I can save to disk, then play back from the disk image at some later
>    time.
> The box should have (obviously) a mic jack (or jacks for a similar type
> of input), and an internal speaker or speaker jacks.   
> 
> I've never seen anything like this, but it must exist.  Any info would
> be appreciated.

The Tandy 1000SL and 1000TL have such a feature.  They just came out
last fall.  The 1000SL sells for roughly $900, the 1000TL for about
$1300 (the TL has more memory, a 3.5" drive instead of 5.25", and is
supposed to run with AT speed).

I bought a 1000SL.  There is a 3/8" jack on the front for a microphone
(this is the jack size of microphones that come with most portable
cassette recorders).  If you open the case, there is a jumper inside
which will allow you to switch to line-level inputs for the sound
input--in other words, you could put output from a stereo in instead of
an unamplified mike.  There is also a volume control and an earphone
jack, so you can pipe the output into an amplifier or tape recorder.

There is sound software that comes with it.  You hit the Record
command, and it records a few seconds of sound (I only have 384K, so I
can only record about 6 seconds of sound).  Different sampling rates
are available, though, so with lower reproduction you can get
longer recording.  You can save the sound to disk, you
can use the Sound program to cut and paste parts of the
sound, you can reverse the sound to hear it backwards (probably a great
feature for rock albums :^) ).  With the Deskmate software that comes
bundled with the computer, you can set up alarms to remind you of
appointments or whatever, and it's possible to use a sound file instead
of just a bell when the alarm sounds--although I find it's startling to
unexpectedly hear your own voice yelling at you from the computer.

It's also possible to digitize a sound and use it as a musical
instrument in the Music program, which is also included, but I haven't
tried this yet.

I read in an article that the sound files are similar in format to
Macintosh sound files (except for the headers), and that it should be
possible to use them with the SL and TL, but I don't know the specifics
of this.

A serial port is built in (unlike the 1000 EX/HX's where you had
to spend a couple hundred dollars getting all the Plus-type boards
just to add one).  Also, MS-DOS 3.3 is built-in in ROM, so the thing
boots in about 3 seconds.  (Settings in EEPROM allow you to boot from a
disk drive, if you ever want to upgrade DOS.)

All in all, Tandy put together a pretty decent piece of equipment for
the price--some of the mistakes from their earlier "home" version IBM
compatibles--lack of a serial port, dorky keyboard (the SL and TL come
with the new enhanced keyboards), and incompatible expansion
slots--have been rectified.

I'm just a satisfied customer--no affiliation to Tandy.
-- 
"FLYING ELEPHANTS DROP COW           Dave Fiske  (davef@brspyr1.BRS.COM) 
 PIES ON HORRIFIED CROWD!"
                                     Home:  David_A_Fiske@cup.portal.com
Headline from Weekly World News             CIS: 75415,163  GEnie: davef