fibrewire Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 This one ends in 15 minutes! Anyone know how often these show up? http://www.ebay.com/itm/191223131127 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Not to often. They are pretty rare. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndary Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 does any one knows if the standard 9VDC power supply of the ATARI 2600 can fit into the voice box to power it on when using it with a 800XL computer? Nir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 Doesn't this get it's power from the SIO? Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndary Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 The XL line does not provide 12vdc on the SIO port like the old ATARI 800 So there is a DC jack on the unit and it says on the Addendum to Instruction note that you need an AC adapter with output of 9 and 12v DC at 20ma negative ground, and you need to plug this adapter into the mini-jack on the VOICE-BOX II unit. Nir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndary Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 the Question is if they write negative ground do they mean center negative? if so the ATARI 2600 will not work as it center positive Nir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 (edited) the Question is if they write negative ground do they mean center negative? if so the ATARI 2600 will not work as it center positive Nir I would interpret it exactly as written, that the ground side of the system is at the negative potential same as the Atari. So for a coaxial power connection that would mean the center pin is normally the positive connection. And if this thing originally derived 12 VDC from the SIO jack, it would have absolutely been required to share the same ground as the 400/800. Of course that is simply my way of interpreting it, and should be verified. - Michael Edited June 9, 2017 by mytekcontrols 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndary Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Thank you Michael, i opened the VoiceBox unit and confirmed that the standard ATARI 2600 power supply can power the device and make it work on an 800XL unit 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentarian Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Has anybody ever attempted to duplicate the VoiceBox? They are sure hard to come by on EBay these days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lange Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) Can you tell a Voice Box I from a Voice Box II from looking at it? Obviously there are some that have Red lettering and others that have Green lettering. Some have knobs, but some do not. From Nir's description, it sound like some have a power jack to power it so that it will work with the 800XL. I have a green labeled unit with a knob and no power jack. It works with the 800, but not with the 800XL. Do some VB2 units have a power jack and some do not? So colors, knobs and power jacks, whats what? Mine came with paperwork dated July '82. No markings on board. I believe it to be an early prototype VB1 sent from Alien Group in Manhattan with handwritten instructions to the cassette/disk duplication company "Custom Dup" in California.. Bill Edited December 5, 2017 by Bill Lange Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savetz Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Bill and I have been talking about this offline, and I have only questions, no answers. I have two units, one with a knob and one without. (Both green text, no power supply jack.) Innards. Notice top (knobless) is 12/82, and says AVB-2. Bottom (knob) is (no month) 82. So I THINK top is VB II and bottom is VB I. Here's the other side of the top, knobless one: And the other side of the bottom, knob one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Type II with part numbers pn chips. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savetz Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 OK! I've learned that my knob one is definitely a VB1. It works with the VB1 software that Bill put on Internet Archive. (https://archive.org/details/AlienGroupVoiceBoxOne) But my knobless one does not work with it. On the other hand, the knob one doesn't work with the VBII disks. The knobless one does. It's a VB2. So I don't know if ALL VB2s lack a knob, but mine does. —Kevin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savetz Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 (All of this so I can record a special intro for the podcast for my interview with the Alien Group founder. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Has anybody ever attempted to duplicate the VoiceBox? They are sure hard to come by on EBay these days. Would-be be hard af al. The real issue is the speech chip which is very rare and thuis expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Let’s try that again with English dictionary: Wouldn’t be hard at all to recreate. The real issue is the SC-01-A speech chip which is very rare and thus expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) I know that GORF etc that uses that chip have had it emulated but I'm not sure if its samples or actual chip emulation... Will dig out my MAME HD and check... EDIT: Can't find any samples so I presume its emulated, i wonder if Avery would consider an emulated device? I know its not like having the real thing but its a nice 2nd best if he was interested.. Edited December 6, 2017 by Mclaneinc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Emulation for sure, this is Ana analogue chip. Expensive but someone should offer one to the decap-Gods.... Lots of info here: http://www.redcedar.com/sc01.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Someone should also program the Atari Voicebox to produce the original speech with Q*bert....it's easy most of it is random stuff being send to it anyway I'd also love "Hello, I'm turned on" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 No one ask which situation he wants that at I wonder if the full chip has been emulated in MAME or just the bits that make the phrases used in Q'bert... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentarian Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 I wonder if the full chip has been emulated in MAME or just the bits that make the phrases used in Q'bert...mamedev.org says it is partially emulated: "MAME 0.181 also marks the debut of Votrax SC-01 emulation in MAME, based on reverse-engineering die photographs. The digital section should be pretty much perfect, although there are still some issues in the analog section (plosives dont sound quite right). Overall, its a huge improvement in Votrax speech synthesis emulation, and a great leap forward in our understanding of how the hardware works. It also means speech samples are no longer required for a number of games." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Jrok’s Mylstar board also produces the (Q*bert) voice.....but I can’t find how he did it. I asked him about it.....must be emulation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 leave the flash socketed, they wear out more often than you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 (edited) No one ask which situation he wants that at LOL......I completely restored an empty Q*bert cabinet about 3 years ago......when you turn on the power of a Q*bert cab it actually says that in the familiar Q*bert voice. This also kind of undermines the myth that the programmers didn't get the speech chip to say anything reasonable......the quiberish speech of Q*bert was deliberate.... https://youtu.be/g7agkJ7oC4E I read a lot about speech chips in my arcade collecting days and these things are some amazing technology. They actually recreate mathematically the characteristics of all human (mostly English) sounds that people can make. Somethings I will never understand, like how the Atari guys managed to get a speech chip actually sound like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and even R2D2 (Star Wars arcade machine)......because....they sound like samples....and yet they're not. Different speech chip I know....but it is some amazing stuff these brilliant people created and it is sadly a "lost craft" because of other technologies surpassing it.... Oh....and Wouldn't it be cool if your A8 said "Hello, I'm turned on" every time you power it up ? ???? Edited December 7, 2017 by Level42 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Couldn't someone recreate one of these with either FPGA or a Raspberry pi? They can do everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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