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CHAPT2.DOC
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1993-11-01
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CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING AND RUNNING TINYTALK
The following discussion assumes that you know a little about DOS files and
directories. If you're not familiar with them, you'll probably want
someone else to help you install Tinytalk. If your computer has a menu
system that insulates you from the DOS prompt, you should contact the
person who set it up.
SECTION 1: SUPPORTED HARDWARE
Tinytalk will work with any IBM-compatible computer that's equipped with
one of the supported synthesizers. There are no known problems with high-
speed machines, and Tinytalk will work with any video adapter card (you
don't need to have a monitor connected to your system, but you do need a
video card). Tinytalk does not require a hard disk.
The READ.ME file that comes with Tinytalk includes a list of supported
speech synthesizers. The SYNINFO.DOC file contains descriptions of these
synthesizers along with manufacturer contact information.
There's a separate Tinytalk program file for each synthesizer rather than a
single file for all synthesizers. This reduces the amount of memory
required, since you aren't carrying around support code for synthesizers
that you aren't using. However, some synthesizers are similar enough that
the same program file can be used with more than one synthesizer:
TTSONIX.EXE will work with any synthesizer that uses the Sonix and TTS
drivers (for example, the Votalker).
TTSOUND.EXE will work with any synthesizer that uses Porttalk.
TTDOUBLE.EXE will work with any synthesizer based on the RC Systems 8600 or
8601 OEM speech boards (for example, the Litetalk).
TTDEC.EXE will work with the old external Dectalk, the Multivoice, the
Dectalk card used in Kurzweil systems, and the new internal Dectalk PC
TTECHO.EXE is for external Echo synthesizers. It can automatically detect
whether you're using the newer model Echo which provides better
responsiveness and more speed control. If you have an internal Echo, use
TTINTECH.EXE instead.
If you have an older Braille 'n Speak and run into problems using
TTBNS.EXE, use TTECHO.EXE instead.
SECTION 2: INSTALLING TINYTALK ON YOUR SYSTEM
You'll need to copy at least two files from the Tinytalk distribution disks
or archive to the disk (hard or floppy) you're going to run Tinytalk from.
You'll always want to copy the appropriate main program file for your
synthesizer. The accompanying READ.ME file has a list of the program files
for the supported synthesizers. Pick the right one and copy it to the
appropriate directory. You should name it as TTALK.EXE so that the TTCONF
utility can find it. You'll also need to copy TTCONF.EXE (the
configuration load/save/view utility). You'll probably also want to copy
this manual.
If you are a registered user of Tinytalk, there will be one or two more
files you'll want to copy. UPDATE.EXE is a program that transfers your
registration to new copies of the Tinytalk program files. If you obtain an
unregistered copy of a newer version, UPDATE will turn it into a registered
copy (we trust you not to abuse this privilege; registered copies of
Tinytalk are for your own use only). If you had an older registered copy
of Tinytalk, your upgrade package will include CVTCONF.EXE which will take
your old configuration library files (see below) and convert them to the
format used in the current version.
EXAMPLE: Let's assume you want to install Tinytalk for a Doubletalk
synthesizer. You've got the distribution files on a floppy in drive A and
you want to put them into a hard-disk directory called C:\TINYTALK. From
the DOS prompt, issue the following commands:
MD TINYTALK
CD TINYTALK
A:
COPY TTCONF.EXE C:
COPY TTDOUBLE.EXE C:
C:
REN TTDOUBLE.EXE TTALK.EXE
SECTION 3: RUNNING TINYTALK
Before running Tinytalk, make sure your synthesizer is properly connected
and that you've loaded any driver programs supplied with your synthesizer
(see the documentation that came with your synthesizer to find out if you
need any drivers). However, if you are using the SoundBlaster, DO NOT load
SBTALKER before running Tinytalk. Tinytalk will load SBTALKER.EXE and
BLASTER.DRV itself; these two files must be in your current directory. If
you are using the Speech Thing, you must use SPEECHV3 as your speech
driver; the Version 4 driver is not currently compatible with Tinytalk.
You do NOT need to install STDRIVER.SYS (it won't do any harm, but Tinytalk
doesn't need it).
If you have an external synthesizer hooked up to a serial port, set it for
9600 baud. You can use either CTS/RTS or XON/XOFF handshaking; Tinytalk
will automatically adjust.
To bring up Tinytalk, type TTALK optionally followed by ONE space and a
port number: C1 or C2 for serial ports COM1 and COM2, or L1, L2 or L3 for
parallel ports LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3. You can specify C3 or C4 for COM3 or
COM4 if you're using a synthesizer with a software driver that emulates
ports (such as the Soundingboard). Tinytalk doesn't currently support
physical serial ports on COM3 or COM4.
For example, if you had a synthesizer hooked up to serial port 1, you would
type TTALK C1. If you leave out the port number, Tinytalk will use COM2
unless you're using the Accent or the internal Echo, in which case it will
use LPT3 (if you have an Accent SA, you'll need to put C1 or C2 on the
command line), or the internal Doubletalk, Dectalk PC, Sonix, Prose 4000,
SoundBlaster and Speech Thing which don't use serial or parallel ports
(TTDOUBLE and TTDEC will check to see if you have an internal synthesizer
and use it if you don't specify a port. If it can't find one, it will
default to using COM2). You'll probably want to put the TTALK command in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
If you're using the Prose 4000, Tinytalk does not need to use the board's
interrupt facility. If you don't have a spare interrupt available, you can
simply remove the interrupt-select jumper from the board (see the Prose
4000 manual for this). Tinytalk assumes that the boards base address is
300 hex (the factory default); if your board is set to some other address,
put the letter b immediately followed by the hex address on your command
line (for example, TTALK b240 if your board is set for 240 hex).
If you're using the SoundBlaster, you can force the SBTALKER driver to load
into regular memory rather than expanded memory by typing TTALK N. This
will make the speech more responsive on slower machines, at the cost of
using about 170K more main memory (Tinytalk now fixes the problem with
SBTALKER that caused it to conflict with WordPerfect and other large
application programs when loaded into expanded memory).
If you're running an unregistered copy of Tinytalk, there will be a 25-
second pause while you hear the "nag message."
If you have a 386 or 486 machine, you can load Tinytalk into high memory
using LOADHI if you're using QEMM or LOADHIGH if you're using MS-DOS 5.0.
We haven't had a chance to try it out with 386-to-the- Max, but it will
probably work as well.