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RC8650 VOICE SYNTHESIZER
RC SYSTEMS
Expression (E/nE)
Expression, or intonation, is the variation of pitch within a sentence or
phrase. When expression is enabled (
n
> 0), the RC8650 attempts to
mimic the pitch patterns of human speech. For example, when a sen-
tence ends with a period, the pitch drops at the end of the sentence;
a question mark will cause the pitch to rise.
The optional parameter
n
determines the degree of intonation. 0E pro-
vides no intonation (monotone), whereas 9E is very animated sound-
ing. 5E is the default setting. If the parameter is omitted, the current
(last set) value will be used. This is useful for re-enabling intonation
after a Monotone command.
Monotone (M)
This command disables all intonation (expression), causing the
RC8650 to speak in a monotonic voice. Intonation should be disabled
whenever manual intonation is applied using the Pitch command or
phoneme attribute tokens. Note that this command is equivalent to
the 0E command.
Formant Frequency (nF)
This command adjusts the synthesizer’s overall frequency response
(vocal tract formant frequencies), over the range 0F through 9F. By
varying the frequency, voice quality can be fine-tuned or voice type
changed. The default frequency is 5F.
Pitch (nP)
This command varies the synthesizer’s pitch over a wide range, which
can be used to change the average pitch during speech production,
produce manual intonation, or create sound effects (including sing-
ing). Pitch values can range from 0P through 99P; the default is 50P.
Tone (nX)
The synthesizer supports three tone settings, bass (0X), normal (1X)
and treble (2X), which work much like the bass and treble controls on
a stereo. The best setting to use depends on the speaker being used
and personal preference. Normal (1X) is the default setting.
Reverb (nR)
This command is used to add reverberation to the voice. 0R (the de-
fault) introduces no reverb; increasing values of
n
correspondingly
increase the reverb delay and effect. 9R is the maximum setting.
Punctuation Filter (nB)
Depending on the application, it may be desirable to limit the reading
of certain punctuation characters. For example, if the RC8650 is used
to proofread documents, the application may call for only unusual
punctuation to be read. On the other hand, an application that orally
echoes keyboard entries for a blind user may require that all punctua-
tion be spoken.
The RC8650 supports four primary levels of punctuation filtering as
shown in Table 2.4. These levels determine which punctuation char-
acters will be spoken and which will not. In addition to the four base
levels, the command can be expanded to control how number strings
will be read. This is done by ORing the values 04h and/or 08h to the
base parameter range, as described below.
Table 2.4. Punctuation Filter
Effect on number strings
The values of
n
listed in Table 2.4 cause number strings to be read one
digit at a time (e.g., 0123 = “zero one two three”). ORing 04h to the
values listed in the table (
n
= 4-7) forces number strings to be read as
numbers (0123 = “one hundred twenty three”).
N
= 6 and
n
= 7 also
force currency strings to be read as they are normally spoken—for
example, $11.95 will be read as “eleven dollars and ninety five cents.”
Finally, ORing 08h to these values (
n
= 8-15) disables leading zero
suppression; number strings beginning with zero will always be read
one digit at a time.
The default filter setting is 6B (Some punctuation, Numbers mode,
leading zero suppression enabled).
CONTROL COMMANDS
Volume (nV)
This is a global command that controls the RC8650’s output volume
level, from 0V through 9V. 0V yields the lowest possible volume; maxi-
mum volume is attained at 9V. The default volume is 5V. The Volume
command can be used to set a new listening level, create emphasis in
speech, or change the output level of the tone generators.
Timeout Delay (nY)
The RC8650 defers translating the contents of its input buffer until a
CR or Null is received. This ensures that text is spoken smoothly from
word to word and that the proper intonation is given to the beginnings
and endings of sentences. If text is sent to the RC8650 without a CR or
Null, it will remain untranslated in the input buffer indefinitely.
The RC8650 contains a programmable timer that is able to force the
RC8650 to translate its buffer contents after a preset time interval. The
timer is enabled only if the Timeout Delay parameter
n
is non-zero, the
RC8650 is not active (not talking), and the input buffer contains no CR
or Null characters. Any characters sent to the RC8650 before timeout
will automatically restart the timer.
The Timeout parameter
n
specifies the number of 200 millisecond
periods in the delay time, which can range from 200 milliseconds to 3
seconds. The default value is 0Y, which disables the timer.
Sleep Timer (nQ)
The sleep timer is used to force the RC8650 into Standby mode after a
programmed time interval. For example, the RC8650 can power down
automatically if the user forgets to turn off the power at the end of the
day. An audible “reminder” tone can even be programmed to sound
every ten minutes to remind the user that the power was left on, before
shutdown occurs.