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Using MIDI MUSIC SYSTEM software to build music compositions seems to fit my skill set. I'm not proficient at reading music but I can translate it. My latest arrangement was a Celtic folk song for flute and drums. Music was entered into MMS and a simple drum pattern was added. It sounded terrible. Turns out that a synthesized flute doesn't need to breath and sounds very mechanical without those breaks. Selected notes were shortened and rests were inserted to maintain timing and give the illusion that a breathing person was playing the flute. Sounded much better but it was tedious work. Then I started to think I might have saved a Voice file and used a program to make the changes. Then import the voice back into MMS. Then it dawned on me that I was going to have to figure out the file structure of a voice file and what the data means. At this time I want to share what I think I know about how to create a voice file to import into MMS. Then someday someone (or myself) might write a useful program to create those files. File header and data structure: First thing that was done was to take a look at what a voice data file contained. A few notes were entered in a voice and then the voice was saved. This short program was written to list the content to the screen. Simply change the filename to match the one you wish to view. Use the cntl-1 key to stop and start scrolling. 10 TRAP 100:COUNT=0 20 OPEN #1,4,0,"D:TEMP.V01" 30 GET #1,A:? A;" "; 33 GET #1,A:? A 37 FOR X=1 TO 3 40 GET #1,A 45 COUNT=COUNT+1 50 ? (A), 56 NEXT X 60 ? :GOTO 37 100 ? "COUNT=";:? COUNT This short voice file listing demonstrates the format of the voice file. You may want to build your own voice files and check the results. 24,0 250,0,0 10,48,0 85,48,0 75,48,0 87,48,0 250,0,0 165,48,0 245,51,255 COUNT= 24 It became apparent that the first two bytes will be the number of instructions in the file. LSB - MSB format. Then the instructions are listed. At the end of the a count of the instruction sets is displayed. This should match the 16 bit number at the beginning of the file. An instruction consists of three numbers. The first designates the specific instruction and the next 2 are for any required data. I am assuming that if the data byte is not required by the instruction then MMS does not clear them to zero. That's the only explanation I have for some of numbers I have seen. The first instruction will always be a measure marker(250). Every voice has a measure marker at the beginning. Check it out. Rests and Notes Rest Rn - 0,LSB,MSB n=0 - 65535 cycles In MMS the duration of the rest is its clock value. In MMS you would most likely assign a clock value as W,H,Q,E,S, T, or Z. Their clock values are listed on page 22 of the manual. The "." and " .. " are used to adjust the number of cycles required for the additional durations. There is also the option of setting the duration by entering the clock value as ^n. Keep in mind that meter will determine the clock value in a measure and to keep all the voices synced the total clock value must remain the same for all measures in a composition. (But you don't have to.) Note instructions are between 1 (C1) and 108(G9). If a tie is used bit 7 will be set making the value above 128. To calculate: MMS note number = (MIDI note number - 23) + (128 * IF tie) The duration is set by the next two numbers much the same as for rests. The Table The rest of the instructions are to manipulate the MMS music settings or MIDI instrument. For more information check the manual. If I missed any I'll add the information if I ever find a need to use them. If the Second or Third number's has not been determined then ND has been placed in the table. In fact, it may not have a purpose. Function MMS Input Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3 Rest Rn 0 LSB MSB Note (C1-G9)n MIDI# 24-127 MIDI#-23 (+128 if tie) LSB MSB Tempo Tn 240 35-290 ND Sound Sn 241 0-127 ND Program (CC) Pn,x 242 Controller number Setting 0-127 Repeat REPn 243 0 = forever 1-255 ND End Repeat ENDR 244 ND ND Jump to Voice JMPn 245 1-99 ND RETURN RTN 246 ND ND Change Channel Velocity /CHn VELn 247 247 Channel-1 0-127 255 0 Transpose UP TRUn 248 0-127 ND Transpose Down TRDn 248 Start +256 - n LSB * ND Transpose Zero TRZ 249 ND ND Measure Marker M 250 ND ND Tempo up TUn 251 0-127 ND Tempo down TDn 251 Start +256 -n LSB * ND Pitch Wheel High PWHn 253 ND ND Pitch Wheel Low PWLn 253 ND ND Pitch Wheel Zero PWZ 253 0 ND *= I Think ND = not determined Table edited 11/9/21 I hope this is a good start to understanding voice files. There are going to be some revisions to this table if I find a need to write a program that will import and export MIDI MUSIC SYSTEM Voice files. That may happen If I find that the M: device driver for the MIDIMax will work with Diamond GOS. I'll incorporate the changes when they are brought to my attention.

Hi guys, I have recently gotten my hands on an Odyssey 2 and it's "The Voice" module. After hooking everything up, I tried my copy of Smithereens! and found that the sound comming from The Voice was rather quiet. I suspected that the capacitors needed replaced, so I ordered a kit and installed them. After the installation I noticed a little improvement (the sound was not audible with the volume at max), but the sound is still very quiet. Has anyone here ever experienced something similar? Are there other possible common defects I can look into? I have read around that The Voice originaly came with it's own power adapter. I only have the stock AC adapter that came with my Odyssey 2 unit (11.5V, 400ma). Could this be the culprit? If so, what are the power specs of the adapter that came with The Voice? Thanks for any advice.

For those of you with Android smartphones, there is a free APP in the Google Play Store you can easily find by searching "Zello Walkie Talkie" or "Walkie Talkie". The channel to choose when signing up is "TI99". Give it a try, it might be fun to use on the "TI Weekend". When setting up it takes a little trial and error to get out of echo mode and into the channel, but you guys are smart enough to figure it out. I'll be hanging around for a few hours (after this post) if you want to try it out.

Hi: My name is Joseph Norton. I am a blind user of the TI 99/4A computer, though I do not have one at present. I am currently having success using MAME emulation, which seems to be the best way to emulate the TI using the speech synthesizer. It even runs the Ernie and Bert demo program. Anyway, I am hoping to put together a podcast on a blindness-related forum regarding things that a blind person could do ith the TI 99/4A using the speech synthesizer. I am looking for disk images that I can run using the MAME emulator. Anything that shows off the speech capabilities of the TI would be appreciated. For all I know, there might be just what I am looking for on whtech, but, there are a lot of disk images up there and I'm not sure of the best way to search them. Do any of you have any recommendations? There is one particular set of programs that would be perfect, if anyone has been able to find and convert them. Years ago, I had a disk of programs written by a gentleman in the Atlanta area which were written specifically for the blind. This gentleman, whose name is Jim Foust, was also blind and saw the potential for the text-to-speech capabilities of the TE2 cartridge, and wrote several programs using its capability. Among the programs he wrote were a game of Hangman, a personal directory program, a program to balance a checkbook, and, even a word processor. He has gone on to other things quite a few years ago, so wouldn't have them himself, as far as I know. I lost a lot of my old stuff in a house fire in 2008, so don't have access to these programs either. If any of you folks can help, let me know. There are many blind people out there with fond memories of the TI, and, quite a few who would like to know a little about the early days of using speech. Thanks for any help you can give. --Joseph Norton, Dalton, GA, U.S.A.

So I fired up Amazon prime on my PS3 fat last night and the picture is amazing, and soundtrack is fine, but you can't hear anyone talking in any movies or shows!! LOL. Just super quietly and other elements of soundtrack are normal volume. Booted Amazon Prime up on my Wii U (connected through same inputs, receiver, and TV) and it sounds fine, with voices as they should be... So obviously my "Voice" channel isn't making it to the speakers...seems like i'm not the first one to have the issue: http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=204159.0 http://www.avsforum.com/forum/184-video-download-services-hardware/1313137-sound-but-no-voice-nf-movie.html Anyone still using their PS3 for prime? My receiver is a simple Samsung all-in-one. It has five channels but I only have the front three (.1) hooked up because running the cables for the rear is a pain. The voice SHOULD go to the center channel really as it is configured. I'm thinking my best bet would be to go into my PS3 audio settings and attempt to set it to Stereo? Anyone encountered and fixed this?

Greetings! I'm looking for an Alien Group Voicebox speech synthesizer, specifically the Atari variant. I don't need anything crazy like original packaging or disks- the unit just needs to be functional and preferably in fair shape. A family member had theirs lost (along with many other things) during a rather traumatic childhood incident several decades ago, and has been looking for one since. I'm exceedingly flexible on pricing. If you have one you're willing to part with, please get in touch regardless of asking price. That said, I would prefer to spend less than $150, not inclusive of postage.

Hey all, I have three Intellivoices. Recently, the Synth chip in one of them (SP-0256-012) failed, so I decided to take them all apart and perform some surgery. Here's the album: http://imgur.com/a/2cvKK Anyone care to speculate on why some of these changes were made? Especially with included jumpers. I know the jumper block was originally going to be used for adding wireless controllers, but why bother including the jumper on some but not all units? Also, I believe my #001873 is the lowest serial number Intellivoice out there! I've never seen pictures or talk of one with a lower serial. Finally, does anyone know where to get a true replacement SP-0256-012 "Orator" chip? I've ordered a SP-0256-AL2, but I doubt it will work, at least not 100%. I hate to have a 90% working unit in good shape sitting around, just because I can't find a replacement part.

After converting the output of my Odyssey 2 to composite, I have been playing it much more lately. I also have "The Voice" accessory and im just getting annoyed with the fact that the sound comes from the speaker on the unit and not from the TV. I was toying with the idea of hooking up the red/white RCA output jacks to the back of the voice unit and tie them in with the already existing red/white output on the console itself. I have a fair amount of knowledge when it comes to electronics, but I was just wondering if anyone knows what would happen if you hook up 2 audio outputs into one audio input? Would they both play through the TV speakers together without issue? (ive attached a crude diagram for reference) Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I thought it is time to show "The Voice of Odyssey2" in action on video. I now could connect it to my European PAL G7400 thanks to the Voice+ adapter. I also got the C7060 multicart.

Recently found in an elderly relative's home, appears to be unused. Box is missing some flaps on one side, otherwise in good shape. Contains: 1 Tape Deck - KidVid sticker on it 1 Connector cord - still wrapped with a twist-tie 1 Microphone/earbud? - still wrapped in plastic 1 "Smurfs Save The Day" cartridge 3 "Smurfs" audio cartridges - still wrapped in plastic 1 "Use and Care Guide" for the tape deck I'd like to sell this, if anyone is interested. Any questions/comments please feel free to message me!